linda biloni

Testimony and witness strengthen faith and restore hope which would be needed in times of persecution, and are needed everyday as long as we are living in the world we live in. Faith is needed to remember that God is in control and will see His believers through the persecution and hope is needed for them to remember that there is a better place awaiting those who believe. This world is temporary. Jesus gives us hope that one day we will be with Him and strengthens our faith by the example He set while on earth. We fall short on our ability to witness and give testimony because of apathy and because of the fear of rejection by loved ones, friends or those in authority. I pray that God will strengthen us in this area.

I haven't got to participate in this study due to having house guests. Reading the study, has made me aware of being the temple of God as a church. I have been convicted of not being more active within the community and my church. Also, I need to be enthusiastic about witnessing, not only to people within the community, but within my church. Brother Ralph, thank you...I apoligize for not answering questions, and I appreciate the time you give to us. God Bless You

By sacrifice, God intended for us to realize the cost and repulsiveness of sin. God is a righteous and holy and without our sins being forgiven, we wouldn't and can't, approach Him in a way that is pleasing to Him. The fact that God allowed animals and Jesus to be sacrificed shows His mercy. The fact that this was required that our sins be forgiven shows how offensive sin is to Him.

It was an expression of His mercy because it was a way to purge one's sins and be able to come back into His presence. Though we He was offended by the sin, He loved us enough to still give us a chance for atonement. Animal sacrifices were no where enough to atone for our sins. The life of an animal could not make up for the sins of a human.

The basic elements involved in sacrifice for sin are confessing the sin brining an animal without defect , something costly to the sinner The sinner is to lay his hand on the animal and slay it Then the priest uses the blood and fat of the animal to make atonement Confessing the sin is still necessary. Sacrificing an animal and having a priest make atonement for us is not necessary today because Jesus was sacrificed for us and made atonement for us by the shedding of His blood.

We are not accustomed to killing animals for a sacrifice. In the city we buy meat from a store and we're not involved in the raising of an animal to be slaughtered, whereas on a farm it may be a way of life.

I know the statement refers to sacrifice because lambs were used for sacrifice and John referred to jesus as the lamb that would take away the sins of the world. One man's sins required a lamb to be killed so that it's blood would be shed. The sins of the world would require more than the bloodshed of lambs. Also, the sinner was the one that killed the lamb. Therefore, what would the world have to kill to get atonement?

Anger is an appropriate response to sin because sin is offensive to God. Uncontrolled anger usually doesn't bring positive results. Apathy would be just as bad. Anger towards something that is immoral or deceitful can bring about results that would have a positive effect as opposed to apathy.

Because they had killed his brothers, Gideon was the avenger and he was to put the murderers to death. He was fulfilling his obligation. We are to leave room for God's wrath and have faith that he will be the avenger. We are to overcome evil with good.

They refuse to help Gideon because they fear the Midianites more than they fear Gideon who was being led by God, They showed a great lack of faith. Gideon punishes them because they didn't come to the aid of their brethren. Whether Gideon was just or not, I couldn't say..I know it was a shameful way for God's people to behave towards their brothers, and I'm not too sure that Gideons's vengence wasn't shameful also. If I missed something here, someone please enlighten me.

Gideon must vanquish the Midianites to make sure they do not attck his people again. When we deal with problems half way, we face the danger of having to deal with them again in the future.

Gideon asks them to come down against the Midianites and seize the waters of the Jordan ahead of them. They are angry because Gideon hadn't called them earlier and they are jealous. I learned to exercise humility and restraint to avoid an argument that would take my eyes off the goals at hand. Sometimes I find this is done only by the grace of God

He did this to surround the Midianites. The strategy was to make the midianites think the army was larger than it was. The result of this strategy was chaos and confusion within the Midianites. The strategy worked because Gideon was obeying God and God was there with him in battle

It is hard to live in and work in this world and at some point, not want acceptance and approval. It is the times I say or do something to get this acceptance or approval, that I have to ask for God's forgiveness. Oh to be a religious kook and be comfortable with it among co-workers, family and friends!!

We demand that God's directions make sense to us because we feel that we are risking something, such as our finances or security. Our faith isn't strong enough to blindly obey God. We let our mind interfere with what God has put in our hearts. The spiritual danger is that we are letting satan weaken our faith by allowing him to influence our thoughts and cause doubt and confusion. Spiritual people will give us encouragement when we need it. As our faith is strengthened through encouragment by other christians, the easier it will be to be blindly obediant.

I think it means something small and irrelevant being used to destroy something bigger and more powerful.

Someone lapping water with their tongues like a dog, seems to give the impression of an uneducated person, maybe of a lower class, just the type God like to use to do the impossible God had a mission for Gideon and he provided Gideon with what he nedded...encouragement.

Israel has had a reputation for doubting God and a large army would give them reason to doubt God's part in the victory. For an army of 300 to fight and be victorious over an army the size of the Midianites, they would have to have faith and the grace of God. Gideon would have the pressure of appearing to be weak by sending men home that were afraid to fight. He would also look foolish to send all his army home except for 300, especially after he went through the trouble of organizing them. He might appear indecisive to his army Gideon could overcome these pressures and obey God because he had God's promise and he also had his faith strengthened by the signs God gave him with the fleece.

I think it would be alright to "test" God if we had a decision to make and if we wanted to be sure it was God's will and not our own will. To demand a sign is to ask God to prove that he is God and shows disbelief.

Gideon knows what God has promised and has been obediant so far-but his faith needs to be strengthened. He does believe God, or he wouldn't have came this far, it's his faith that needs to be reaffirmed, not his belief. Gideon is not testing God to have Him prove He's God, he's asking God to strengthen his faith.

Joash seems to have been a weak leader. He seems to have been more of a follower. After Gideon' action, Joash takes a definate stand for the Lord and Gideon. I would think that knowing God is going to be with him and enable him to overcome the Midianites, Gideon made the right decision with consideration for his father. joash is bold enough to tell the community that Baal should be able to defend his own alter, indicating that he doesn't see Baal as a god. Therefore, choosing to defend the Lord's alter and Gideon's choice to worship the Lord.

A person can be a disobedient disciple. Being a disciple of God requires obedience to Him which, at times, could lead to disobedience to family, friends and other associates. If Gideon was exercising his own will, yes he would've had a choice. Knowing God's will, and wanting to be obedient, he had no choice. We do have a coice, we can do our will and the will of others, or we can do God's will. We need to pray that God's will, will also be ours.

Gideon knew to do God's will, he must be obedient to God above all else. We must trust God and know that by being obedient, things will work out for the best. Gideon has been instructed to destroy the alter by God. By obeying God, Gideon has been told he would overcome the Midianites, which would benefit his parents as well as the rest of the community.

God tells Gideon to tear down the Baal alter and asherah pole because He wants the worshiping of false gods to stop. The destruction of the Baal alter and the asherah pole show the people of the community the futility in worshiping such gods. Gideon is to replace it with an alter to the true God. Gideon faces the anger of the community as well as the anger of his family. This is why he does it at night . Gideon had the faith to obey the Lord, but still let his emotions play a part in his thinking.

God saw Gideon as a warrior. Gideon saw himself as a weak, lowly person. Considering Gideon was threshing wheat in a wine press because of his fear of the Midianites, and his doubting character, I'd have to say Gideon's perception is the most accurate at the moment. When we listen to the words of our mind, we hinder our ability to listen to God speaking to our heart. This makes it hard to accomplish God's will because our mind and our spirit are in conflict. Therefore, pray for God to speak to our hearts and keep the enemy from using our mind against us.