Marloes

It means that there's nothing greater than God and that we must show Him all respect. And that we have to obey Him.

From this name we can only conclude that both Abraham and Melchisedek thought that God was the highest God. We really can't conclude if Melchisedek also thought that God was the ONLY God.

The Kingdom starts small, with only a few people. It grows when more people become christian. The door is narrow because not many people will enter at all or at the same time. The banquet will be beautiful. It will be selective with guests.

The Kingdom is spiritually discerned and entered. This means that you can't see or touch it, and that you can only enter if you repent. Not only your body has to be born but also your religious understanding of Jesus.

The Kingdom, i.e. being with Jesus, is most important and valuable there is. We value it so little because we can't have it now right at this moment and we have to make efforts. And we don't know how it will be. So we get impatient and discouraged and things like that. Personally, Isaiah 52:13-53:12 is helping me to appreciate the true value of what Jesus did for us. For example verses 4 and 5 give a short summary of the sacrifice. He didn't do us just some pleasure, but He really had to pay for it.

It's not abouth ow much money you have but on how you use it. Jesus asks everyone to follow him, only for this man it's meant literally. It's a great privilege to be in the presence of an honoured rabbi/ the Lord. In my country it would be a great privilege to meet the Queen.

The man loved Jesus but he loved his money even more. With his money, the man also would give up his possessions, status, family relations, power/leadership, ... It's not good to love something else more then Jesus, whatever it is.

Both are on a man selling everything to be able to buy something better. Lesson: to us Jesus must be most important. To me, this question is embarassing. Because I was busy with other things, I begin this week's study just now. However yesterday there was a Bible quiz, with also questions on the merchant and his pearl. I had them all wrong, because I thought it was about the hidden treasure. If I should have begun in time, I would have known the answers.

It simply means that some people go to heaven and other people go to hell. I don't care how this will happen in detail. The only thing that matters is that Jesus will return and that we have to be prepared.

We have to believe as if Jesus was about to come every second. Examples are the lightning and the (not so sudden) flood of Noah.

To be in the Kingdom is to be with Jesus. The apostles were with Jesus so they were more or less in the Kingdom. As for us, we have the Spirit. Since the Spirit is part of God, maybe we might count this as well.

Jesus says that not everybody will enter. We must give every effort possible to enter.

We must take action in order to enter the Kingdom. Ask, seek, knock. We want everything at the moment we think about it. We don't like waiting, and get easily impatient or discoraged. I guess we gain boldness and persistence by practicing a lot.