Kaitlin

Well, I think it pretty much goes without saying that the journey was especially dificult for Mary because she was probably quite close to her due date, and I'm sure a long, hard rode on the back of a donkey did not help the situation. Pleasure is definately not an indication that we are in God's will. In fact, it may at times be an indication that we are not in His will. This is probably one of the areas I struggle with most in descerning God's will for me. I find it difficult to know whether a circumnstance is difficult because the Devil is trying his best to make things hard for me, or if it is God closing the door and gently (or not so gently) telling me that that I was coming up with my own ideas and He wants me to focus my energy elsewhere. As far as whether or not "Being a consistent Christian causes more hardships than just going with the flow." The other day, I was listening to a chorus from Handel's Messiah, in which the text is taken directly from Matt 11:28-30 "Come to Me all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke on you and learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you shall find rest to your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light." I got to thinking about this, and how many times, this seems so contradictory and the burden seems terribly heavy. Then I realized that when the burden is heaven it is not that God has given us more than we can bear, but rather that we are not carrying all that God has asked us to bear. It is only in carrying the whole burden that we are filled with the joy that makes it so light. So the answer is false, Being a consistent Christian causes less hardship than just going with the flow. We must only make sure we carry the whole burden.

He is vallidating his account by associating it with outside sources and the historical context. In addition, this context provides many reasons for the actions of the people in the account. If it wasn't for the census, Jesus would have most likely been born in Nazareth, thus not fulfilling the prophecies. It is amazing how God engineers circumstances for his purposes. I'm sure that when Caesar issued the census, he wasn't thinking, hmmm, I guess I better have a census so the prophecy that Jesus will be born in Bethlehem will be fulfilled. Whether or not Mary and Joseph were aware of the necesity of them going to Bethlehem in order to fulfil prophecy, I'm not sure. Either way, it is amazing to see how God works circumstances out.

Joseph's action of taking Mary as his wife suggests first of all obedience to God. Second, it suggests love, righteousness, etc. (All the ones that Helena said are very good.) Joseph was part of the line of David, and his naming and thus adopting Jesus as his own son make Jesus even more a part of the line of David as the prophecies require.

I got a bit lost in how the prophecy was fulfilled in Ahaz's time, considering that, to my knowledge, there was no virgin birth that occurred then. Nevertheless, as far as how this profecy was fulfilled in Jesus' birth--Jesus' birth was indeed a virgin birth and He literaly was Immanuel.

Jesus' name was a very clear indication of God's intended purpose for Him. He was not here to save Israel from Roman tyranny or anything of that nature. He was here to save them from their sin. I think the angel may have told Joseph as well as Mary because in that time, women were not always considered as credible as men were, and it was a verification for not only Joseph, but for others who would hear of the angel's visit. Many times, I think we also need to be reminded of what Jesus came to save us from. Sometimes we get so wrapped up in the physical realm that we put to much of an emphasis on how God provides for our earthly needs. We think, yes, of course He saved me from my sins, and that's all very well, but why isn't He saving me from this financial problem or relationship struggle? Rather than take His salvation for granted, we should take time to put in perspective what a sacrifice it was, and truly appreciate what He has done.

Mary's options did look rather bleak from a human standpoint, but her trust and faith in God is definately eveident throughout the account. Joseph exhibits a humbling amount of character in this. We don't know to what extent this was an arranged marriage, or to what extent they actually loved each other, yet whether or not Joseph was driven more by his own reputation or his love for Mary, Joseph shows his maturity and determination to do right, even in a very difficult situation. In Joseph's decision to divorce Mary, he demonstrates his determination to place his comitment to God and what he believed God would see as the right thing to do ahead of everything else, including his relationship with Mary. In his decision to divorce her quietly, Joseph demonstrates a love for mercy. He could have easily gotten revenge on Mary for her supposed unfaithfulness by having a public stoning, yet his heart is full of forgiveness. We cannot say that Joseph is competely selfless in this, because he still put his own reputation above Mary, but while preserving his reputation, he was doing as much as he could for her.

As the son of a carpenter, Jesus would have learned the skills necessary to grow up to be a carpenter. He would have learned the value of hardwork, patience, persistence, etc. As a father, Joseph would have taught Jesus the skills necessary to become a carpenter and one day support a family. Yet I wonder if he ever thought, how in the world can Jesus be the Messiah--how can he lead us as a people out of Roman oppression, much less oppression from our sins? I imagine Joseph often felt extremely inadequate, as well as under a lot of pressure, trying to raise the Savior of the world.

These terms are appropriate because they are truly what happened. She was blessed to be the one to bear Jesus, and she was his mother, and He is God. As a protestant myself, I am hesitant to use this terminology, because I feel it may be putting a disproportionate emphasis on her, rather than God. It seems that be exalting her, we put the emphasis on what the relative importance of what God asks of us, rather than putting the importance on whether or not we have obeyed what he asks, no matter how small. In the parable of the talents, we see that when we are faithful in the small things, God will entrust us with the large things. After reading this, I have come to realize that by Mary's being entrusted with this responsibility, she must have already proved herself in the small responsibilities. In honoring Mary, I think it should be as a celebration of her obedience, not in the fact that she was the mother of God. Here's another interesting idea related to that of Mary being the Mother of God, which I recently read in the poem "The Dry Savages" by T.S. Eliot. It is an allusion to a line from Dante's Paradiso: "Figlia del tuo figlio" (translated Daughter of your son) I think this idea emphasizes the fact that while Mary was the mother of God, she was equally the child of God, and in need of the same grace that we all are.

Mary's response was, as many have already said, one of complete belief, humility, and submission. She was ready to trust and follow after God, even though she knew the consequences of this pregnancy could easiliy be ridicule, isolation, rejection, even death by stoning. We can apply this to our own lives by examining how we have reacted to what God has already asked us, commanded us, called us to do, as well as how we should better respond in the future. The responsibility that God asked Mary to bear jepardized her relationships with Joseph, her parents, her society, as well as jepardizing her own life (from an earthly standpoint). Many times, I think we feel like we'd be willing to follow God unconditionally when it makes sense, yet when it seems redicuous, we think, "God couldn't really be wanting me to do that, doesn't He see how important this relationship or that job is to me, and how if I lost that, God couldn't really use me as well any more?" We don't understand how much bigger his plans really are. What do we consent to when we choose to follow? Matt 10:22,24-25,28-39 And you will be hated of all men for My name's sake, but the one who endures to the end shall be kept safe... A disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord. It is enough for the disciple that he is like his master, and the servant like his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more those of his household?...And do not fear those who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul. But rather fear Him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for an assarion? And one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Therefore do not fear, you are of more value than many sparrows. Then everyone who shall confess Me before men, I will confess him before My Father who is in Heaven. But whoever shall deny Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father in Heaven. Do not think that I have come to bring peace on earth. I did not come to send peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a man's foes shall be those of his own household. He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life shall lose it. And he who loses his life for My sake shall find it.

The virgin conception teaches us that Jesus is more than just human. Jesus is, as the Nicene Creed states, "...very God of very God...being of one substance with the Father..." Yet because Mary is His mother, we must not say that he is not human, and that He was only God. Out faith hinges upon the necessity of Jesus being 100% God AND 100% man, as SojournersHeart said. Expounding on that, I have found a good way to visualize this seeming impossibility is to picture a smaller box inside a larger box. If both boxes are open on top, and the larger one is filled, the smaller one will be filled as well, because it is contained inside. This is also much like submersing a cup in a large, water-filled pan in the sink. Is the smaller container 100% full? Yes. Is the larger container 100% full? Equally so. The capacity of the smaller in less, thus 100% is only part of the larger container's 100%. While in some aspects, this analogy does not work as well, such as God's sinlessness and humanity's free-will/disposition to sin, it seems to help me begin to comprehend this concept a bit easier. The doctrine of the virgin conception and birth are quite central to Christianity. In fact, they are essential. Even at the surface level, if these doctrines were proved false, they would make God out to be a liar, because He has given these doctrines to us as truth. Upon deeper consideration, it becomes evident that if Jesus was not 100% God and 100% man, we would have no hope of salvation. If Jesus was only one or the other, there would be no reconciliation of God and man--no possibility of finding a worthy sacrifice to bear more than his own personal sin. If Jesus was only human, He could have only paid for His own sins. If Jesus was only God, He would not have been a compatible sacrifice for the sins of humanity. I say this, not to disprove these things, but for us to gain a realization of the seriousness and desperate necessity of the solution found in the virgin birth. From this, I realize that I must come to see this miracle in all its profound, miraculous, yet simple and humble beauty. I am amazed and in thanks and praise to God, who would do such a thing, to come to a world of pain, time, and limitations, in order to save us, the very ones who's sin crucified Him.

I believe the main difference seems to be in regard to what their question was trying to prove. For Zechariah, his how was in some respect an attempt to disprove God. His how said, "This is impossible, and I won't believe it or act upon it until you can prove it." For Mary, it was an effort to increase her faith. Her how asked, "OK God, this is crazy. I know it must be so, because You have said so, yet I am in complete amazement. Please use this to help me understand You more." Zechariah's question reveals his doubt and his insistance to see in order to believe. Mary's question reveals her faith and her willingness to follow and obey. Time and time again in the Bible, God makes it clear that he rewards the faithful. "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." -Jesus (John 20:29b) Although Zechariah was not able to speak until John's birth as a result of his unbelief, I do not think we should necessarily think of this as a bad thing. I imagine that after that time of silence was over, Zechariah had recieved a priceless lesson in faith and humility. As Proverbs 3:11-12 says,this discipline was indeed a blessing.

~ His name would be Jesus, that in itself an indication of His role here on earth ~He would be great--a Son of the Most High ~He would reign over Israel as the promised Son of David, the Messiah, with an eternal kingdom Imagine how Mary must have felt. In her childhood as a Jewish person, she would have undoubtedly been taught of the coming Messiah and waited with expectancy for Him, and then to find that she would be the one throught which the Messiah would be born. What a humbling and overwhelming thing this must have been for her.

Hello, I'm Kaitlin from Minnesota. I just finished the Names of God study several weeks ago, so this will be my second one. I'm really looking forward to doing this study, because lately, I've been thinking about the point of everything a lot, including the real meaning of Christmas. I know we always say "Jesus is the reason for the season," but are we really acting like that's what we believe? Since when did we ever get presents on other people's birthdays? Christmas is first and foremost Jesus' birthday, so shouldn't we be thinking about what we could give to Him, thinking about what He has asked of us in His word? This is what I feel like I need to be working this Christmas. I'm in choir at the college I go to, and we've been working on Part One of Handel's Messiah for our Christmas concert. This has also caused me to consider the deeper implications of Christmas. I wasn't aware of it before, but the Messiah is pretty much 100% inspired by scripture, if not direct quotes, and it has been great to be able to meditate on these verses much more than I would have had the chance to otherwise. I miss hearing the solos in our rehersals, since I am only part of the choir, yet even the chorus parts that I sing on are some aspects of Christmas that I think we tend to forget. Take the words from the first chorus--"And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed. And all flesh will see it together." Isn't that ultimately what God's plan has always be aiming towards? Everything God does brings Him glory. Here's another..."And He shall purify the sons of Levi, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness." This purification, this redemption, is what Christmas started. We tend to compartmentalize Christmas and Easter, yet they are each pointless without the other. This is where it starts. Sure, we all know that we give gifts supposedly because God gave the best gift of all, in His Son, yet I think we often forget the implications of this gift. This gift was pure sacrifice. Pure humility. Pure love. This Christmas, I hope we are all challanged to more fully consider the gift of salvation we have been given, and that, in light of this gift, set into motion at Christmas, we will pursue of life of great joy and sacrifice.

One last thought--perhaps the most important concept of the peace found in the new heaven and earth, is that it is an eternal gift. Whenever we experience a faint glimmer of peace here in this fallen world, it seems we must ironically alway fight to preserve peace, we remain fearful of the next outburst of strife. In the New Heaven and the New Earth, the peace will be forever, without end, and we will not have to fight to protect the peace. We will live in complete and perfect peace, freely and without fear, forever.

The first thing I think of when I see this picture is a peace of restoration--the peace that is found because of Jesus' death and resurection. The complete idea of this peace doesn't come from the reconcilation alone, but rather from God's presence as well, YET reconciliation gives us a peace knowing we are then granted the gift of dwelling eternally in God's presence. (Romans 5) The peace that will be found in the New heaven and earth will truly be peace that goes completely beyond our understanding of peace (Phil. 4:7) This peace is so complete it will make unthinkable things commonplace--little children will play near and with ferocious beasts without fear. But I highly doubt this one benefit of the New heaven and new earth's version of peace is even the tip of the iceberg. I have experienced God's peace that passes all understanding here on earth--amidst all the confusion and distractions that get thrown at me, how much more so will I be able to experience God's peace in this new environment. This New world will be free of the deadlines and distractions and sin that threaten our ability to connect with God and recieve his peace here. In the New heaven and earth, Isaiah 11 says "For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea." I imagine that the peace will be as deep and complete as the water as well. I think we will literally be drowning in peace.

Gideon named the altar "the LORD is Peace" because he had experienced the incomparable undeserved peace of the LORD. THe contrast between the meanings of Shalom and peace remind me of the essay "A Piece of Chalk" by G.K. Chesterton (which I would strongly recommend). In this essay, a boy is drawing with chalk on brown paper, and he is missing his white chalk. Because of this, he comes to realize that white, and every aspect of morality and goodness that it symbolizes, is so much more than an absence of color. The English peace is like drawing with white on white paper, it is simply an absence of black, symbolizing strife, hatred, death, etc. The Hebrew shalom is white on brown paper. In the misdst of this dark world or brown or even black paper, when God colors in white, it is so much more than absence. It is the only thing that can complete us.

Synonyms (from Roget's New Millennium Thesaurus) Save: bail out, defend, deliver, emancipate, extricate, free, liberate, ransom, recover, redeem,rescue, salvage, set free, spring, unchain, unshackle Savior: Good Samaritan*, conservator, defender, deliverer, guardian, guardian angel, hero, knight, liberator, messiah, preserver, protector, rescuer, salvager, salvation *=informal/slang It really bothers me when God is disrepected and his name, character, and commandments are thrown around so lightly. Not that I think I am so much better than them, because like Paul said, I am the worse of sinners, yet people have no idea what they are doing, who they are mocking. One place I have seen this a lot lately is in choir at the college where I go, we are working on part of Handel's Messiah for Christmas, and the way the term Messiah as well as things in specific parts of the song have been mocked at times in our rehersals is really sad to me. When ever we practice it in rehersal, I so easily enter into an attitude of worship, and find it to be more a time of praise than just a time to practice. It's mostly, if not completely scripture, and singing it is such powerful meditation for me. The songs get stuck in my head and I can just soak in God's words, the words are so true, right from the first chorus--"And the glory, the glory of the Lord, shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together." For me the glory of the Lord truly is revealed, yet I can only imagine that as God hears us sing each Mon/Wed/Fri in choir, that it is such a bittersweet song. While I know there are those of us who truly seek God and love His word, there are others who, right before and right after their mouths proclaim God's glory, from the same mouth let curses come forth from the abundance of their hearts. Our society has devalued the work or and need of a savior to such an extent that it is difficult to say what a Savior really does. For many, a savior is just someone with a fairly good idea for fixing a problem. For many, a savior is by no means a neccesity. For me, with Christ as my Savior, He is the one, and only one, who could provide the only solution. To, Christ as my Savior is exclusive, irreplacable, irrepayable. Without Him, I would have been a hopeless, dying, worthless, nobody. He restores me, and takes me beyond restoration. He is taking me from glory to glory, continuing the good work He has begun in me, bringing it to completion on that glorious day.

The role of the Kinsman-Redeemer was, plain and simple, to redeem. 1) His would help his kin out in financial trouble, etc., 2) avenge wrongs commited against his kin, and in cases, 3) marry his kin to extend their family line. In a way, Jesus has done all of these. Jesus has 1) paid debts for us that we could never pay, 2) gotten us out of trouble and punishment that we could never get out of, and 3) He is the bridegroom of the church (although he does not extend our line, but make us part of his). One thing different about our Redeemer is that He does not conform to social expectations by redeeming us. The Kinsman-Redeemers of Biblical times had a social or religious obligation where Jesus does not. That God would even humble himself to become human like us is impossible to understand. Here's another way of looking at the process of redemption. (And I realize this is still pretty literal, but when you break it down like this, it's a lot more vivid.) When I look at the word redeem, I see two parts, re and deem. Some I think we could say it means the act of "deeming" us over again. The word deem means to form an opinion or judgement of something/someone. We were once considered the worst, most evil, and fallen, but in God's love, He has "re-judged" us--given us a second chance. We can now be seen as His son is. And even the price He paid in order to pay our debt we could never pay is irrepayable! I am continually amazed, humbled, and thankful that God in His complete vastness and Holiness would consider me and value me life at such a price.

The first thing that comes to mind for me is the legal situation my family has been going throught. The contractor that built on to our house sued us for not paying him when he wouldn't finish up a lot of little things. While this was going on, we found out he had violated a lot of building codes, and there were venting problems in the attic--resulting in mold/moisture problems, cut trusses, and missing reinforcements in the foundation. It has been a big struggle financially, as well as in learning to let go of control and things working out how I want them to. I have been learning how to surrender my plans and all of my problems/stress to God. Even throught this, I have been so blessed. If God hadn't allowed us to find out about the things that were wrong with our house, it may have been less stressful for a while, but eventually, we would have had to face an even bigger mess. Also, many of the people involved go to our church or other churches around the area, and I feel that the physical confrontation of getting rid of the mold, and faulty structures is very symbolic of what is going on spiritually--a confrontation of the sin and faulty foundations found in many of these peoples' lives. 1Co 3:9-19 For of God we are fellow-workers, a field of God, and you are a building of God. According to the grace of God which is given to me, as a wise master builder, I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let every man be careful how he builds on it. For any other foundation can no one lay than the one being laid, who is Jesus Christ. And if anyone builds on this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble, each one's work shall be revealed. For the Day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try each one's work as to what kind it is. If anyone's work which he built remains, he shall receive a reward. If anyone's work shall be burned up, he shall suffer loss. But he shall be saved, yet so as by fire. Do you not know that you are a temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God shall destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which you are. Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you seems to be wise in this world, let him become a fool so that he may be wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God; for it is written, "He takes the wise in their own craftiness." God in his grace is using us as instruments of His grace. In His grace and mercy, He is giving a lot of people a chance to fix their work, before the final judgement, when it is tested with fire.

The whole Old Testament points to Jesus, the Messiah. As my pastor often says, "The Eastern concept of prophecy is one of repetition, not at all like our Western view of fulfilment." Old Testament Jews, as well as Jewish/Eastern people of Jesus' time and on, would understand this method. They understood that the Old Testament was an intricately woven foreshadowing of the coming Messiah. Many of the customs and traditions established in the time where animal sacrifice was expected give us today beautiful pictures of redemption. From things as basic as the sacrifice of a lamb foretelling the sacrifice of the Lamb of God, to more subtle things like Jewish wedding traditions and how they relate to us being Christ's bride. From the beginning of time, God has been calling us to himself.

I think faithfulness is the fulfillment or result of trustworthiness. God's claim of trustworthiness is established as truth through His proven faithfulness. Because I know that God is trustworthy and faithful, I am not afraid to love Him. I am not afraid to make myself completely vulnerable to Him. God's faithfulness inspires me to strive to be trustworthy and faithful myself. I know I fall short on this daily in my relationship with Him as well as other people, but His character encourages me to press on. Here is a beautiful passage about God's faithfulness... Rev 19:11-16 And I saw Heaven opened. And behold, a white horse! And He sitting on him was called Faithful and True. And in righteousness He judges and makes war. And His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head many crowns. And He had a name written, one that no one knew except Himself. And He had been clothed in a garment dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies in Heaven followed Him on white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, so that with it He should strike the nations. And He will shepherd them with a rod of iron. And He treads the winepress of the wine of the anger and of the wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His garment, and on His thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

We can learn a lot from reading several chapters before Ex. 34, especially chapter 32. For some background, in Ex. 20, God gives Moses the first set of commandments. The chapters between 20 and 32 are about God giving Moses other laws, as well as guidance for building the tabernacle. Then in chapter 32, we first hear that Aaron has made the people a golden calf to worship and have a celebration for in order to keep them satisfied while they sit there and wait. I just occured to me that they had probably been doing this at the same time that God was talking to Moses. THen when He's done talking He says, "Oh, by the way, I think I 'm going to kill everyone." To get a perspective on this, imagine you are the main contractor of a substantial house-building project for a king, president, prime minister, etc. He and you are talking out in a parking lot, and as he stands there telling you about which sub-contractors he would like to hire, there the sub-contractors are, a ways across the parking lot, smashing the leader's car. Your back is turned, so you don't see it, but after He's done telling you about his building plans, he says, "You had better go over to the other side of the parking lot and talk to your sub-contractors, they just smashed my car, and now I'm going to kill them." That must hvae been something like what Moses felt like. So God says, "Go! Get down, for your people...are corrupted...now leave Me alone, so that My wrath may become hot against them and so that I may consume them. And I will make of you a great nation." And Moses says, "Why does Your wrath become hot against Your people whom You have brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand?...Turn from Your fierce wrath, and be moved to pity as to this evil against Your people..." And Jehovah repented as to the evil which He spoke of doing to His people. Then, right after Moses pleads with God to save Israel from God's wrath, it says that "as he came near to the camp and saw the calf and dances, the anger of Moses became hot, and he threw the tablets out of his hands, and broke them at the bottom of the mountain." He is doing the exact thing he asked God not to do. Then Moses commands the Levites to kill many of the people, and about 3,000 are killed. Israel's contriteness comes in Exodus 33. God says He isn't going with them any more, but that He will send an angel instead, "lest [He consumes them] in the way." So they go and put on sackcloth. Moses talks to God, and He says He will go with them. From what I can tell, the Israelites were really into bargaining. If there wasn't something in it for them, I don't think they really wanted to serve God. It was more of a "how can we appease Him?" sort of thing. Somewhat of a "we better be on our best behavior for a while, until God isn't so mad at us. They went on this sin and blessing rollercoaster all the way to the promised land and beyond. And God continued to be merciful. God's forgiveness is amazing because it never ends and it is always fair. It is a beautiful mix of mercy and justice. God is always glorified in His forgiveness, because it is NOT forgetfullness (there is a transfer of punishment, not an ommision of punishment). He is not just letting things slide, but He is demonstrating His loving, patient, gentle, merciful character--something so much more admirable than judgement and punishment alone.

When we look to the very first chapters of the Bible, we can see that the idea of females being subordinate to males. Although many people have capitalized on this idea throughout the world's history, there is some validity to it. I will be one of the last ones to want to admit it. I am always the girl who wants to compete with the guys and prove I can do just as good, the girl who always wants to appear unemotional and tough. But I am not invincible, and I am weaker. My attempts prove that. The Bible further verifies the partnership/helping role intended for women. There are a lot of typical stereotypes for women that I despise, and I think some of this may be why it does not work as well to represent God as a female. God is not swayed in His thinking nor does He become shaken emotionally. In power, God has no equal. He is the leader. He is first. Look at what happened with women's frist attempt at leadership...sin entered the world, because Eve was easily swayed in her thinking and viewpoint. While God is neither male or female, there seem to be many more of God's characteristics that line up with the typical male roles. God knows what He's doing, and He chose to come to earth as a male. OK, so I think I pretty much bashed females there, but I am one, so I guess it's OK. There are also aspects of God's character that are very beautifully portrayed by traditional female roles. One of my favorite "mother verses" in the Bible (well actually a three verse chapter) is Psalms 131... "A Song of Ascents. Of David. O LORD, my heart is not lifted up; my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me. But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me. O Israel, hope in the LORD from this time forth and forevermore. " Male or female, God has created everyone in His image, as Havilah, a friend of mine said, "We are all facets of God's character." That is so true. While some characteristics are generally considered more male or more female, they can all ve inspired by God's own character. Some "male" examples: strength, power, stability, firmness in decisions and commands, not emotionally driven. Some "female" examples: gentleness, kindness, self-sacrifice, nurturing, mercy, sensitivity. This is kind of a side note, but one thing I have alway wondered is how the male portrayal of God affects males as opposed to how it affects females. I'm sure that the Father role isn't as big of a deal, because it's pretty natural that guys would love thier fathers. However, things like loving Jesus and being the Bride of Christ are what I'm talking about here. I mean, to me that seems worthy of anticipation, and pretty exciting, but when I think about how that must seem to guys, it seems a bit awkward. If it were that Christ were the bride, that would seem a bit odd to me and possibly uncomfortable. Maybe guys don't see it that way, I'm not sure.

In what sense was God the Husband of Israel? ~The first thing that comes to mind is the book of Hosea, in which God crafts a beautiful metaphor of His love for unfaithful Israel, by having His prophet, Hosea, marry a prostitute. I think one of the reasons God chose to reveal Himself as the husband of Israel was that their unfaithfulness and lack of commitment to Him, as well as His grief and disappointment were very well likened to the feelings generated by an unfaithful wife. Also some of the characteristics of a husband would be that he found joy in his wife, as well as desired intimacy with her, also, that he was expected to be the provider and protector of his wife. God's feelings, as well as things he wanted to provide for Israel are represented well by this metaphor. What is the New Testament extension of this metaphor? ~We as the church are the bride of Christ, and should seek to please and honor Him with our words, actions, and sprirtual apperance. LIkewise, as the bridegroom, Christ is crazy about us, and cannot stand to be without us. The Jewish traditions that go with this are so amazing, I don't have time to go into it in great depth right now, but things like the cup of wine being offered in communion, Jesus building a place in heaven for us that is part of His Father's house, and things such as the kids' song "Give me oil in my lamp, keep me burning..." are all things directly tied to the Jewish betrothal and marriage traditions, and they are something I would challenge eveyone to look into! What causes God to be jealous? ~Spiritual adultery and unfaithfulness toward Him. Also, if God sees that another "man" (religion or anything that could be an idol) that is harrassing or encouraging adultery against Him, He will confront the "man" in some way, and avenge the wrongs, whether it be in this life, or at the throne of judgement. I think perhaps one of the biggest things we can understand form this metaphor is that God desires intimacy with us. In the current state of things as far as marriage, divorce, adultery, etc. are concerned within our culture, it is easy to have a distorted view of God as husband. Just as God intended for the husband and wife to be "one", so God desires us to be one with Him. That was Jesus' prayer for all belivers right before He was crucified. Likewise, as we live on this earth, it is essential that we strive to have marriage relationships that would be worthy metaphors of the relationship God desires to have with us.

In what sense are Jesus and the Father one? ~They are both 100% God. (which would be infinity, and I'm thinking that 100% of infinity + 100% of infinity still equals 100% infinity.) In what way was Jesus distinct from the Father? ~1 Corinthians 8:6 covers that pretty well. Their relationship must be somewhat like the relationship we think of between a father and son. It is like the Old Testament concept in that Jesus is in a position of obedience, and the Father is the One that gives Him everything (Matt. 11:27a). The difference here is that Jesus is equal to the Father, and that He has chosen to be in a position of obedience. Also, I would imagine the whole issue of respect would be quite irrelevant considering the fact that they are both Holy. Is Jesus God in the sense that the Father is God? ~Yes and no. Yes in that Jesus is equally God, but no in other ways. Back to 1 Cor. 8:6, we live for God the Father, we live through the Lord Jesus Christ. The Father is Holiness. power, perfection. Jesus is all of that, but He is grace and reconcilation as well, all because He was also 100% man, making Him a valid sacrifice for human sin. This is just a side note on the 100% God/100% man thing. Here's a neat illustration...(No pun intended, but I'm not trying to put God in a box) Imagine a 1" square box(man). Now imagine a 100' box(God). (Both boxes are hollow, without tops)If the 1" box is placed inside the 100' box, and the boxes are both filled with water(Jesus filling the roles of 100% God and 100% man simultaneously). Both boxes(roles) would be filled entirely, but the 100' box (role of God) would not be filled more than 100%, because 100% of man is far less than 100% God. Now only make the 100' box the size of a stadium or something to get a more accurate picture. Actually, it also makes a lot of sense mathmatically. God is infinite, and anything added to infinity can't make infinity any bigger, that I know of). I'm probably just rambling now, and considerably off topic.