KAFWEMBE
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Posts posted by KAFWEMBE
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Q1. (Matthew 7:1-2) What do the words "ask," "seek," and "knock" have in common? What distinguishes them from each other? Does one word convey more intensity than another? What is the significance of the present, continuous, imperative tense of these verbs?
The three words "ask", "seek" and "knock" have in common the fact that they all call for persistance. We should never give up asking God for what we want nor seeking our desires nor knocking on His door until we are successful.
Ask means we expect God to reply while in seeking there is personal pro-activity. God promises that if we really search for what we want without giving up, we can find it. We should not remain in one place but should go out and look until we are rewarded. Knocking is about taking advantage of our opportunities. If one does not work out then we should try the next one.
In my view they are all equally powereful and each can meet our point of need. However I think I like the one on kncking because it is denoting that I should not just sit there but try all I can until I'm successful. I think this onr spurs you on a lot more
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Q3. (Matthew 6:11) Why do we seek to be independent of asking anyone for help? Why do we seek to be independent of God? Why should we ask God to "give" us daily bread so long as we can earn a living for ourselves?
The reason we seek to be independent of asking anyone for help is because we want to give credit to ourselves. We want it to go down that our achievements are due to us and not anybody else and therefore Glory must go to ourselves.
We seek to be indepent of God because of the selfcentredness that is in all of us. We need to be liberated from this thinking. We are rebelious and want to think that we are responsible for our own existence. We think that following God's plan is restrictive because it does not allow us to do what we want. When we are separated from God we can do what we want. But what we do not realise is that going our own way lead to destruction. God's way is the one that leads to life.
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Q2. (Matthew 6:10) In what sense are we asking that the Father's kingdom should come? Why are we asking for the Father's will to be done here on earth? How should this prayer affect our living?
When we say to our God "thy Kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven, we are calling upon God to reign on this earth by letting His will be done in all our lives. The Kingdom of God comes to us when God's will reigns in all that we do.
This is an important prayer. It makes us realise that the ultimate is th reign of God in our world. We should learn to make Him first in our lives and always submit to His will. The time when each human being submits to God, that time God's Kingdom will have been done and Jesus will make His triumphant return.
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Q1. (Matthew 6:9) What about our lives and words "hallows" the name of our Father? What desecrates and besmirches it? How should we "hallow" the Father when we begin to pray?
When we become Christians we become "Children" of our Father God. This means that we should give him the respect due to Him. What we do and say must reflect that we are His children. Our lives must give respect to Him because we must live for Him and other people must see God in us.
When we begin to pray we should give respect to God because we are coming before a Holy Father. We should praise and let Him know that He is Holy and that there is no other God but Him.
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Q2. (Matthew 5:42 and 6:1-4) How does Jesus' teaching here and in 5:42 on giving to the needy influence you and your attitudes towards the poor? What will you do differently as a result? What keeps us from giving more to the poor? Is that a good enough reason?
The teaching that comes out is that when you help the poor you are doing it for Jesus because Jesus has a very high regard and love for them. I now see giving to the poor and needy as an important undertaking as a Christian and I want to do it to the "odience of one"
I think what prevents us from giving to the poor is mainly the fact that we seem to blame them for being in that situation. We see them us a burden on our resources. Such reasons do not take away the fact that they need help. We must help whatever the circumstance.
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Q1. (Matthew 6:1-18) How do the commands in this section relate to "performing for the audience of One"? What is the antidote for the chief sin that is addressed here? In what ways do churches and non-profit organizations use this sin to motivate people to give?
The commands in this section relate to the "performance of one " in the sense that whatever we do we should do it in the name of God and not in the name of our fellow men. Our alms and offerings should be because we love God and not because we want people to see us so that they can praise us. The chief sin addressed here is self centredness, self praise, palying to the people rather than to God.
When such groups as NGOs and even churches ask for donations they usually do it with pomp. Those who have given are publicly praised and decorated. The danger is that the donor may be tempted to enjoy the pomp rather than God's glory in giving.
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Q2. (Matthew 7:1-2) Read a similar passage in Luke 6:37-38. According to Matthew's account, what is our fate if we measure out big heaps of judgment with a critical spirit? According to Luke's account, how can measuring be both positive and negative? What should we measure out instead of judgmentalism?
When you measure out big heaps of judgement with a critical spirit God will give us the same measure of judgement at judgement day. According to Luke the measure will be according to the same measure you have used. If your measure is more then you get more and if your measure is less then you get less.
What we should measure out is love and support for those who have failed. The more the love and support the higher the measure.
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Q1. (Matthew 7:1) Have you ever caught yourself severely criticizing others Christians behind their backs -- or to their faces? What is the attitude that underlies censoriousness? How can the psychological concept of "projection" motivate harsh judgment? Why must Christians show love in the face of a brother's or sister's failing?
I think in my Christian life I may have fallen pray to this practice. It is a question of being self righteous and this drives us to be excessively critical of others. I suppose that Projectionism comes when we want to escape from our own faults. What we condemn others about may be due to the fact that we practise exactly the same. Christians must show love in the face of a brother's or sister's failing because we may not be any better than them. We need to help one another because the next day it might be our turn to fail.
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Q5. (Matthew 6:34) Is there humor intended in verse 34? What is the point of Jesus' joke here? What is the command in this verse?
I suppose there is humor but it is humor with a serious message. The point Jesus is raising is that we have enough problems today. Lets deal with them now without bothering ourselves with tomorrow's problems. The command is "Do not worry about tomorrow"
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Q4. (Matthew 6:33) What is the command in this verse? How must our seeking God differ from our seeking of food and clothing, according to this verse? What is the promise found in this verse?
The command in the verse is that we must seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. We must seek God first and then the rest, food and clothing will be added. This is God's promise that all things shall be added unto us.
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Q3. (Matthew 6:31-32) Why does Jesus mention the "pagans" or "Gentiles" in verse 32? What point is he making? How should a Christian differ from a Gentile, according to Jesus' teaching in this passage? What emotional and faith effect does the phrase, "your heavenly Father knows that you need them," have in your life?
By mentioning the "pagans" or "gentiles" Jesus means that these are full of worry and pursue the issues of food and clothing as the only things that matter in life. If they havent got them then to them that is the end of their existence.
A Christian on other hand knows that God cares for him and will ensure that he is provided for. Therefore what is required is to just bring these concerns to God in prayer. The prayer helps the Cristian to be assured and therefore his heart will be set at peace. God is our sustainance, our supplier and I can rely on Him because He knows what I want.
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Q2. (Matthew 6:25-34) How many times in this passage does the phrase "do not worry," "do not be anxious," or "take no thought" occur? In what way does excessive worry border on sin? Are worry and trust exact opposites?
According to my count the number is three. Yes, excessive worry borders on sin because it seems to be contrary to God's promise which is that we should not worry because He is there to care for us. Excessive worry seems to imply that there is no one to help us out of our problem. But God says He is there!
I think that worry and trust are exact opposites because when you are worried it means that you do not trust that God is going to help you.
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Q1. (Matthew 6:26-30) What point does Jesus make with his twin Parables of the Birds of the Air and of the Flowers of the Field? Is the point trivial or is it valid?
Jesus is making the point that God loves us so much that he will provide all our needs and we need not worry. This is valid as all Christians have experienced it. Just when you think all is lost God steps in and offers a solution.
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Q3. (Matthew 6:19-21) According to the Bible, how does one "store up treasures in heaven"? What advantage does this have over accumulating earthly possessions? Why are we uncomfortable with the concept of rewards in heaven?
I think one stroes up treasure in heaven by believing in Jesus and living the way He wants us to so that at the end of our time He will reward us. Earthly possessiond end when we die, they are only for as long as we live. God's rewards go on for ever.
We are not confortable with rewards in heaven because of our lack of faith. We are not sure if it is true, whereas we can see the earthly wealth with our own eyes.
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Q1. (Luke 12:15-21) Read the Parable of the Rich Fool. What did Jesus condemn him for? Storing his harvest? What is the key verse in this passage? What is the context of this parable? How does this relate to the Sermon on the Mount?
Jesus condenmed him for his greed. He thought that after this good harvest all his problems were over and he could just sit back and enjoy himsels for ever, not knowing that his life was in the hands of the Lord.
The key word in the passage is be 'Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions'. The context is that we should always ensure that our treasure is stored in heaven and not on earth. We are to "seek first the Kingdom of God"
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Q6. (Matthew 5:48) In the context, what do you think verse 48 means for the Christian? Is perfection taught here? Does maturity express the idea best? How about the doctrine of "sinless perfection"? How does verse 48 relate to verse 45?
That the Christian's aim is perfection. He must strive to reach the standard of God. It is all a question of being transformed and this is not something that can be achieved at once but over a period of time as we walk with Him. As we we mature in our faith so do we also get closer to God's standard.
We can never be sinless. If we say we are sinless then we make God a liar and the truth is not in us. But we must learn to lean to the cross because only the cross can make us perfect because it is the cross that takes our sin away
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Well what do you do when your home or country is invaded by selfish enemies who have come with bombs and other arsenal to exterminate your family or race and cannot compromise with your reasoning and pleading? You would physically defend yourself. The children of Isreal were attached so many times in the old testament and God himself empowered them with physical power to defeat their enemies.
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Q4. (Matthew 19:10) Why do you think Jesus' disciples reacted so negatively to his teaching on marriage and divorce? Did they misunderstand it?
I think that originally the Disciples did not fully understand the implication of marriage, until Jesus came with the teaching. They thought thatthey could simply divorse and easily marry. Jesus's teaching opened their eyes just how strict God was with the issue.
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Q3. (Matthew 19:7-8) According to Jesus, does the Mosaic law command divorce? Does it allow or regulate it? Why does it allow divorce at all? What was God's original intention ("from the beginning") for marriage and divorce, according to Jesus?
The Mosaic law does not allow divorce, this is simply a distortion from the Pharisees. I think that the Mosic law was there to regulte divorce. A womwn had to be given a certificate so that he could go and remarry. Divorse was allowed by Moses simply because of the hardness of heart of the people because God's original purpose was that when a man and a woman came together they became one flesh never to be sepaprated.
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Q2. (Matthew 19:4-6 quoting Genesis 2:24) Do people need to be Christians to be joined as one flesh? Is this making into "one flesh" accomplished by a religious ceremony or by natural law? Of those who have entered into a first marriage, what percentage do you think have been "joined together" by God, according to Jesus' statement in Matthew 19:6?
Genesis 2:24 makes it clear that a man will leave his Fathe and Mother and be joined to her to become one flesh. It does not mention anything about religious ceremonies or natural laws. All those who have met in the first marriage will have been joined together because this is the declaration of God.
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According to Jesus's teaching in Mathhew Chapter 5:31-32 the only reason that can lead to Divorce is unfaithfulness or adultery. In this case therefore, Jesus seems to agree with Rabbi Shammai, who interpreted Deutoronomy 24:1-4 as refering to unchastity. This passage in Deutoronomy refers to divorve if a wife is discovered to have something indecent about her that was not known before marriage.
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Q5. (Matthew 5:27-30) The spirit of our age is very accepting and approving of lus+ According to Jesus' words, how seriously are we to take lus+? How does agape love help us combat lus+?
We are to take **** very seriously because God regards it as a very serious sin just like the actual act of adultery itself. Jesus said if you look at a woman/man lustfully you commit adultery with her/him in your your heart. So it is a HEART issue and it is serious.
Agape love is love that takes people for who they are and not what they are. A woman who is a Christian becomes a sister because of the relationship we have in the Lord. It is not conditional and therefore does not look at the beauty of the body.
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Q4. (Matthew 5:28) Sex is very closely tied to our core sense of person. This means that as we are healed in our view towards sex, it goes a long way toward making us whole inside. How would you counsel a brother who shared with you that he had trouble with pornogr*phy? How can you protect yourself against temptation over the Internet? At the beach or poolside? With your TV?
I would concentrate my counselling on prayer. Jesus is a liberator and he washes our hearts whiter than snow. Iwould remind him that *********** should be treated like any sin and can just as well be washed away by constatnt prayer.
The internet has come as one of the greates developments in communication. It can bring information right at our desk. The challenge we have is accessing the right information. The principle is never to even glance at inappropriate information lest you get hooked to it. This is true with ***********. NEVER START!
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Q2. God purposely created us with a good and natural sexual desire. How do we distinguish between that God-given sexual desire and forbidden lus+?
The sexual desire God created us with was meant to be shared in marriage. **** is of the Devil because the Devil wants to pervert everything nice that God ceated.
Q2. Parables of Persistence
in 12. Asking in Faith (7:7-12)
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The issue at the centre of the parable of the Friend at Midnight and the Window and the Unjust Judge is that of persistence in all our efforts Both of them get their results at the end. This relates to the command "knock and the door shall be opened unto you" and " Ask and it shall be given unto you" as found in Matthew 7:7-8.