Seanbowes

Q1. (1:13) What about Christ's coming should get our undivided attention? Why should it inspire hope? Why should it inspire self-control and soberness? What happens in our lives when we don't really expect Christ to come soon? The fact that God's Son is coming to fetch us, that we will live in peace and harmony with Him and all in heaven, the fact that we will live like this forever, and never be bothered again by satan. It should also inspire self-control as we should live a self-controlled life now and not give in to the so called pleasures of the world, so that we can receive the reward of living with Christ forever. Often we tend to compromise christian standards when we don't expect Christ to come soon. We become less self-controlled as we think we still have time to change later.

Q4. (1:6-7) Can you remember any instances in which God used difficult circumstances to refine and purify your faith? What did God accomplish in your life? How, exactly, does genuine, tested faith bring glory to Jesus During this economic recession we experienced, I did not receive any salary for a month, and my wife had not received her full salary since Feb 2009. It was and still is difficult times, but we never gave up on God and the more we prayed and relied on God, the closer we came to Him and to each other. We did not blame God and remained lotal and faithful to Him. This total dependence on Him glorifies Him as non-christians can see that christians still have peace and can rely on God during difficult times. Who can they turn to?

Q2. (1:2) Why do forgiveness (sprinkling) and obedience come together as a package? Why is it deceptive to think you can have one without the other? Extra credit: If true faith requires obedience, how can we say that we are saved by grace rather than works? (Ephesians 2:8-10) We cannot receive forgiveness if we are not obedient to God. Matthew 6:14 - 15 confirms this. There is a condition, forgive others, or you won't be forgiven. We have to obey that condition. We need to be obedient to God to please God, and to be truely obedient, we need fiath, and without faith it is impossible to please God. Romans 8:28 states that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose (obedience). That is why forgiveness and obedience come together as a package. We are not saved by our works, but through the grace of God. However, if we have faith in God, we will be obedient to Him and this obedience requires that we do works as He wants us to. We wil want to go out in the world and preach, and take food to orphans etc.

Q1. (1:1) How would you describe the behavior of a Christian who identifies more with his present homeland than his heavenly one? Have you ever caught yourself doing this? What has to happen to get our spiritual priorities straight? His or her behaviour will reflect the behaviour and priorities of the world. They will seek worldly pleasures rather than being obedient to God's will. It seems like a person like this is not ready for his/her heavenly home. Rom 12: 1-2 says "Do not be conformed to this world.... ". Ocassionally I have caught myself being quite comfortable in this worldly home, then I just refer back to the Word of God to get closer to God. James 4:8 specifically states that if we draw close to God He will draw closeto us, and if we are close to Him, we will not identify with the present homeland. Matthew 6:33 says that we should seek the Kingdom first, and that helps me to get my priorities in line with what God wants from me. I physically go out to visit the ill and strive to be obedient to Him all the time, which helps me get my prioirites straight. If we realise how much God really loves us, what He has done for us, then it would be easier to get our prioirtites straight.