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John's presence at the foot of the cross tells us a lot about him. He was generally always there for Jesus.He must have had traits which endeared him to Jesus and made him the most suitable person to whom Jesus could entrust Mary. Even in the midst of His own suffering, Christ thought of others.Jesus concern for His mother must be an example for the rest of us to treat our mothers with love and concern.

John's presence at the foot of the cross tells us a lot about him. He was generally always there for Jesus.He must have had traits which endeared him to Jesus and made him the most suitable person to whom Jesus could entrust Mary. Even in the midst of His own suffering, Christ thought of others.Jesus concern for His mother must be an example for the rest of us to treat our mothers with love and concern.

Listening to constant complaints is a very draining experience and can frustrate the best.When you're on the move all day, physically tired,but you're doing the best you can .. and in such a situation,if all you get are complaints,you'll undoubtedly feel frustration. Hence,Moses certainly seems to have had grounds for his complaints; the constant, exasperating complaints , his own helplessness and physical exhaustion... but of course, theoretically ,we know that complaining is not the best response to complaints. Is this a model prayer? The Lord's Prayer is a model prayer.From that point of view this is not.But it's a very reassuring prayer for the rest of us who frequently succumb to situations and whine and complain and feel guilty about that. It's so good to know that even Moses ( or any other 'hero', for that matter) went through such situations. And God will not throw us out if we appraoch Him at times in this manner.And God did listen and give some practical solutions to Moses' problems.

I guess you're from the United States CRiv.It was hard for me to believe that a so-called Christian country, could do away with prayer in schools,especially when no other religious groups could really object in a 'christian' country.. Now to hear it from the horse's mouth , as it were, is really very distressing. It's such spiritual blindness and an even more perverted form of worldliness than some other forms... though I guess there can be no degrees of sin. sin in Sin.

The sins covered by the 3 examples of worldliness would include, I think : (1)all kinds of self-indulgence catering to physical pleasure (2) indulging in materialism ... amassing wealth,etc. (3) pride in our achievements, status etc. Ofcourse we often fail to discern it in ourselves because we think they are all quite legitimate needs.Even being proud of our achievements is fine(or so we explain to ourselves) since we're not not exhibiting false modesty. Worldliness would be harmful to our future , since it is really so empty. No matter how much pleasure we get or how much wealth we have or how much we seem to have achieved, there will be a void in us until our spiritual needs are met. And that can be satisfied only by Jesus Christ. PS. Being told to be not of the world used to bother me since I'd argue why then are we put into the world. Like being put in a room full of a contagious disease and being told not to get the disease.However, thinking things out like this helps one to pause and really think things out. However, one wonders how ascetic one ought to be. How or where does one draw the lines? By saying everything is a sin, won't we drive non-believers away? And then there is the self- righteousness of those unworldly individuals,(ie.those who believe they've been so disciplined and able to curb their naural desires and hence are so superior) who think they're the sole inheritors of heaven.

The 'world 'would refer, I think ,to all those aspects of life on earth which are not in keeping with the fruits of the Spirit... the materialism, the yearning for physical pleasure and comfort, the self centred nature of people are all of the world. Naturally when we are so bent on satisfying our insatiable appetites,we are kept from loving the Father as we ought.Self-control, generosity of spirit, humility are all pretty unworldly and in need of cultivation.

Though I was a trifle distressed that John omitted to mention women at any stage,I guess in this passage he is really referring to believers at various stages of life; he has simplified it from Shakespeare's Seven Ages to John's three basic stages. No matter at what stage of life one is , one can always do with some encouragement.And John's obviously understood that.And it's good for us to remember to encourage others.

I'm a Syrian Christian from Kerala, India. My sister in Australia sent me the link to this study and I'm just checking it out since I've not done a Bible study on the net prior to this.Looking forward to it.