SherAnna07

Q1. (Romans 5:1-2) According to verses 1-2, faith is a key to salvation. For Abraham (4:3), what was the relationship between faith and justification? For us (5:1-2), what is the relationship between faith and justification? In your own words, just what does it mean to be justified? Abraham believed God, believed His promises which showed his faith and this pleased God because it was not of works. For us to be justified is to believe, have faith that God sent his Son to die on the cross to atone for our sins and to believe that because of this we have eternal life. We like Abraham cannot be justified by our works. From then until now its all about faith. To be justified is to be made right with God.

A. Why is it necessary to be aware of your spiritual poverty before you can become a Christian? It takes getting physically sick, before we see our need to see a doctor. In the same way there is a sickness in our soul, that we need to be aware of before we go to the Great Physician. God's diagnosis of man is that he is empty, poor and helpless and that he needs mercy outside of himself. He needs to see that no one on his own level, or his horizontal environment can help him. Man's help must come from God who is far more superior. Before a person becomes a Christian he must become aware of his spiritual poverty which is the realization that he is completely empty and is unable to fill the void within him. We must be aware of our emptiness before a fullness can take place. To be poor in spirit or having spiritual poverty is being aware of our emptiness. Unlike being poor in material things, we must come to realize our spiritual self is empty. The only way God can communicate with us is in our spirit and once we realize this and allow Him to fill us then we will begin to experience the abundant life. To be poor is to aware of a need. To be poor in spirit is to be aware of our need for Jesus Christ and His mercy. When we become aware of this we become truly humble. Only those who are humble will go to the Lord. To have poverty in spirit and to be aware of it is humility, which looks away from self and depends upon a strength that is stronger and a wisdom that is wiser than what we are. To realize we are poor in spirit and go to Christ then the kingdom of heaven is ours. Isaiah 66:2 the Lord says," To this man will I look even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit and trembleth at my Word." To have humility by realizing we are poor in spirit is the first step into the kingdom of God. B. What kind of mourning is necessary for a person to become a Christian? The kind of mourning that is necessary for a person to become a Christian is a deep grieving or sorrow over our sin and the evilness of it. Mourning or having a godly sorrow will cause us to repent, leading to our salvation. When we mourn or grieve over our sin, its then placed next to the light of Christ and then we are able to see His agony on the cross. Zechariah 12:10 "They shall look upon me whom they have pierced and they shall mourn." C. What kind of mourning is a common experience of Christians? This kind of mourning is for all the sins that are around him. Its a sensitivity to all the sin that is around us. The more we are mourning about the sin going on in the world the closer we are moving into the holiness of God. For the true believer mourning starts at his conversion and will continue throughout his life on earth until we are finally face to face with Christ. The true believer will constantly mourn whelther sin in him or around him. To lose that sorrow and take any type of joy in sin would be to break fellowship. The greater the light in us the greater the darkness around us. The holier we become, the greater our discernment of sin in and around us.

A. The first part of the Beatitude would be the state or being of the believer and the second part would be the blessing that would come from being in that position. B. I believe the reason Jesus made each Beatitude a paradox was to grab the attention of the Jews, to show them that they were not in right standing with God. Everything to them was a surface obedience to the law. The Sermon on the Mount shows a paradox of blessings. For example, many Jews, as well as others today, consider blessings to be riches, happiness or be well thought of by others. Often, the opposite is true though. C. The Fruit of the Spirit is actually attributes of the Holy Spirit that He imparts to believers. They produce the characteristics in the Beatitudes that Jesus is talking about and who He is. I notice that there are nine Beatitudes and nine Fruit of the Spirit which complement one another. For the believer if he is poor in spirit, he will be long suffering. If he mourns, faith will come out of that. The meek will have meekness. Those hungering and thirsting for righteousness will have temperance. The merciful will show love. The pure in heart have goodness. The peacemakers have peace. The persecuted for righteousness will have gentleness. Those who are reviled or falsely accused for Christ are to rejoice and be glad therefore having joy. I believe the Beatitudes and the Fruit of the Spirit are the characteristics of Christ that go hand in hand.

Exercise for Psalms 27, 42,43, 63 These particular lessons has caused more of a desire to meditate on this particular group of Psalms by thinking on ways the psalmist battled with despair and depression. It shows me how human he was and not a so-called super Christian who totally had it all together but that he battled the same things we all do and there are anwers and they are all in Christ because He is our ALL in ALL.

Psalm 63 If we don't recognize how much God loves us, then how can we truly trust Him, or put our faith in Him? By understanding and knowing His great love for us, will cause us to recognize the ways He is helping us, guiding and protecting. God not only loves us, He is absolutely passionate about us and will go to any great lengths to chase us down and bring us to Himself. God sending Christ to die on a cross and shed His blood should tell us about what great lengths He has, and will go to just to reconcile us to Himself. To realize that He loved me enough to die for me and to continually and tenderly care for me causes me to want to obey Him. Knowing that He loves me causes me to want to be obedient to Him and serve Him which spills over into loving others and wanting to serve them as well.

Psalm 42 and 43 The psalmist is feeling an intense thirst for God like a deer or a wild animal in the wilderness that is dehydrated and panting for water. This is an intense longing that the psalmist is feeling. He is feeling separated from God and knows he can't rest until he has restored a right relationship with Him. He is feeling very discouraged and depressed because of looking back on better days in Jerusalem ministering and worshipping in the temple. Also discouraging words and taunts from others were really discouraging and bringing him down. The Psalmist combats his spiritual depression by meditating on the kindness of God and His stedfast love. The Psalmist also sings songs and praises to the Lord and prays to Him. He places his trust in the Lord and then thanks Him for His help. I too, have felt exactly like the psalmist. I've been discouraged and depressed wondering the whole time,"Where is God? and doesn't He care?" There are numerous ways I have reached out to God. I read the Word, but more importantly I meditate on it. I also pour out my heart in prayer, and thank and praise Him for my salvation, and all the great things He has done in my life, along with all the blessings He has given me and my family. I also put my hope and trust in Him and look to the future. When I look back, I think about how He delivered me from sin and has given me testimonies of His activity in my life. I talk to unbelievers, or weaker Christians about Him, and I talk and fellowship with godly, spiritual people who are positive or encouraging. I retreat from the negativity of the world. I take my thoughts captive, and not feed on my own emotions. I listen to wise counsel. Another thing that helps me alot is to read biographies of great saints of God, who stood strong in times of adversity. For example, Corrie Ten Boom and her life in a Nazi concentration camp or great martyrs who laid down their lives for Christ. I think about heaven and heavenly things. By doing these things I'm pulled out of self-pity. I get my focus back on the Lord, and put my hope and trust in Him, believing His promises.

Psalm 27 To dwell in the house of the Lord means to be in His prescence. In other words, we are to abide in Him. Seeking God's face is wanting to know Him, which is establishing a relationship with Him, not just merely wanting His help in situations. Its uninterrupted fellowship with Him. David provides hope by telling us to wait on the Lord, to be patient and expectant, that He will help us and that He will strengthen us.

Exercise- Lesson 1 I chose to pray a little portion from each of these three wonderful psalms of creation that we have studied-Ps. 8,19 and 139 Heavenly Father, I praise Your majesty and glory. Your creation shows Your great awesomeness and power. Your artistry of the earth, nature and the human body is something that could never be comprehended. Your artistry reaches out across the heavens, in the morning sunrise, the beautiful sunsets and the starry night sky. Thank you for giving us a beautiful world in which to live. I also praise You and thank you that Your a God of law and order. Its just one of the many ways You show us how great Your love is for man. Your laws are part of who You are and are designed for our protection and to make us wise and give us joy and light. I pray Father that You would deliver me and cleanse me from hidden faults and sins, that You would keep me from deliberate wrongs and help me to stop doing them. I realize its not only what I say but what I think must be pleasing to You. May You search me Lord, look into my heart and test my thoughts and send a spirit of repentance to my heart so that I may grieve the way You do, and I would desire to turn away, following only Your path to the way everlasting. In Jesus Name

Psalm 139 I believe David stands in awe at God's creation. To know that God knows everything about him because He knitted all his delicate, intricate parts while in his mother's womb, brings David a sense of security and peace. He would also feel a sense of protection knowing that God always knows his whereabouts and that he can never get away from God or be lost to His Spirit. This Psalm shows that David knows that his God is personal and upholds his human dignity. In verses 23 and 24 David asks God to test his heart and mind and to point out any wrong motives in him and to lead him along the right path of everlasting life.

Psalm 19 The common thread is God revealing who He is through creation, in verses 1-6 and through the law, or His Word in verses 7-13. His creation is what He does and His Word is who He is. The psalmist is meditating in God's Word, thinking about His laws and why they are perfect. He is basking in the absolute perfection of the Word. I have basked in the laws of the Lord, epecially in Psalm 119. The Lord's laws are perfect, designed to protect us and to make us wise. When obeyed these laws will give us an abundant life. The psalmist is affected by who God is through the wonder of creation. He is in amazement with God's glory and his love and passion for God is expressed in his writings. The psalmist asked God to find him acceptable in His sight and to give him the strength to overcome his sins.

Psalm 8 This Psalm teaches that our God is magestic and is worthy of our praise and honor. He is the Creator of the universe and all living things in it. God is all wisdom, and He is also referred to as one who is finger working, meaning He is a working God. His ability to create is beyond our comprehension. He is magnificent and excellent! Human beings are small in comparison to God and yet He created us in His image, therefore man has worth and value in the eyes of God. Christ even though God Himself came down to man's level while on earth, He too was made a little lower than the angels so that He could identify with man. God through Christ now becomes our Creator/Redeemer because of the fallen nature of the world and man. Our responsibility is to show God through Christ, our honor and praise and to take care of all He has given us and not be neglectful. We are to show stewardship which shows honor and respect to the Lord.