iam4-1god

Q1. Why does the New Testament condemn Esau for selling his birthright? (Hebrews 12:16-17) What did selling the birthright represent? What does this transaction say about Esau's character and values? What does it reveal bout Jacob's character and values? We have two different schools of thought here. One wanted the here and now. The other wanted a future. The first one was willing to do whatever it took to get what he wanted right now. He did not want to wait. Nothing else mattered to him! "I'll die if I don't eat, anyway!" The other one was looking out for the future. He wanted to secure that which would make his life much better in the distance. Here and now did not matter. He wanted the best life that he could get, and that was what the blessing offered. He was willing to do whatever it took to get that secure future. Even if it meant praying on a weak brother!

Q4. (3 John 9-10) What character flaws does Diotrephes exhibit? Can a person be a strong pastoral leader without developing these traits? If you have tendencies in yourself towards pride and a controlling spirit, how can you fight against them? We all have character flaws to some degree. Sometimes I am selfish, sometimes I am overbearing-you get the drift. I have to fight the erge to be controlling every day. But only the Spirit within me can and does remind me that without Christ, I am nothing, and I can do nothing. I praise God that He is alive in me, and that He is leading me and teaching me! Gloray!

Q3. (3 John 5-8) What are the reasons given in these verses for supporting Christian workers in their ministry? What reward comes with becoming a "co-worker," by assisting Christian workers? How effective can Christian workers be without those who support them? Jesus is the vine, and we are the branches. Every branch that does not produce fruit is cut off and thrown into the fire. Everything we do for the Lord counts-from the smallest thing to the largest thing. We all need support of some kind. And being that we are all brothers and sisters in Christ, we should give to each other what we can. Whether it's a cup of java, or a twenty-dollar bill. I can't make it without you, and you can't make it without me! We are just a small part of a very big family! Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy!

Q2. (2 John 10-11) Why does the Apostle John tell his readers to refuse hospitality to the false teachers? What would refusing hospitality mean for a congregation (as opposed to an individual)? What is the border between tolerance and stupidity, when it comes to false teachers? Do the divisions of denominationalism find justification in this verse? Why or why not? 1. If you invite them into your home, you might as well tell them that what they believe is right, and you encourage them to believe the lie. 2. The congregation is standing together as to what they believe, and that is a beautiful thing! 3. There is no border-study and know what the Word says. I don't agree with everything I hear, but it isn't rocket science-Be Like The Bereans! 4. If we start with the Lord Jesus Christ and His birth, death, and resurrection, and study together the Word, the other "little stuff" will work out. God has a way of bringing people together when everything says "it ain't gonna happen."

Q1. (2 John 9) What is the danger of "running ahead" of Christ's teachings to "deeper truths"? What is the danger of "running ahead" of Christ's guidance for our lives? What does it mean to "abide" or "continue" in Christ and his teachings? Why is this so important? 1. Running ahead of Christ's teachings opens us up to false doctrine. 2. This is when we lean not unto His understanding, but our own, and that is a big mistake! 3. This means that we should seek out God's advice for our lives, in every area! 4. Whenever we try to answer our own questions, and solve our own problems, we get into trouble, and we fail. That is the honest truth. In and of ourselves, we can do nothing. Bottom line!

Q4. (1 John 5:21) Why does John exhort his "children" to "keep yourselves from idols"? What idols distract us from the true God? What idols compete with God for attention in your life? Idols can and do distract us from learning more about God and His perpose for us. An idol is anything or anyone that will keep us away from God. Anything that we spend more time on than we do studying or praying or fellowshiping is concidered an idol. Some idols that come to mind: Television Any sport Significant other Food I say food, because sometimes I can be studying, and all of a sudden I get the urge to get a snack, and then I get distracted. After that, I loose track and don't go back to my study.

Q3. (1 John 5:14-15) What are the two conditions to answered prayer in 1 John? (See also 3:22) How do we determine God's will so that we can pray boldly, confidently? How often will our prayers be answered when our main motive is to achieve our will? Obedience and God's will. Search the Word, and find God's will in there. Never!

Q2. (1 John 5:11-12) What is the difference between saying "this life is in the Christian Church" and "this life is in his Son"? What should we be doing differently so that we teach a faith relationship rather than a religion? What is the difference between "faith" and "faith in Jesus"? Everyone believes in "something"! Some believe in a movie star, some believe in a sports figure-you get the point. But the one that believes in Christ is just a totally different person! And, we can take the experiences that we've had through our belief in Christ, and share them with other people. And, because we are eye witnesses, no one can deny. Oh, they might say that they don't believe, but deep inside, they are wondering if maybe we know what we are talking about.

Q1. (1 John 5:4-5) How does a defeatist mentality differ from a belief that in Christ we have overcome the world? What part does faith have in this overcoming? What part does unbelief have in a defeatist mentality? Anyone who does not believe in Jesus overcoming the world operates in an attitude of self-sustainment. They only can depend on themselves and/or their significant other. They believe only in their own ability-their own power. A child of God, on the other hand, knows that God is in control of everything, and we can depend on Him to keep His word! Gloray! I know for a fact that God loves me, and He is watching out for me! I am going through some tough times right now-everyone is. But I know that God will give me what I need to survive in this life, until He sees fit to take me home. I don't need to worry. And, if I am worried, all I have to do is talk to Him and tell Him how I feel, and He will ease my mind and my heart! He's so good to me!

Q4. (1 John 4:11-18) What kind of fear should we have towards God? What kind of fear is extinguished by his love perfected in us? What kind of attitude should we have towards future judgment? We should respect, honor, and just be in awe of God. He is all of it, and we are His! Gloray! We have nothing to be afraid of, because we are His, and we are not subject to the White Throne Judgement. We will go to the Bema Seat! Gloray! We're goin' to the good place! Those who do not want God's free gift are the ones who should be afraid. We know what waits for them, which should drive us to tell them the truth, and gently persuade them to accept the free gift of God's love. Time is running out.

Q3. (1 John 4:7-8) Why is the statement, "God is love," so important? What does it say about God's nature? How does love being the essence of God's nature affect us? If we were created in God's image of love, but fell, what does this say about the road to healing in our lives? Why does love demand a willingness to forgive? For me, Tis statement "God is love" means that, when He deals with me, He will always deal with me with love. If He has to punish, admonish, whatever-it will be with love. I think God even loves those that have to be dealt with severely. It hurts Him to have to punish His children. Kind of like us humans-I spanked my son when he was four one time, and I was the one crying! I think God is like that. Forgiveness is part of the plan for us. God forgave us even before we accepted the salvation that He offered through His Son. And, He wants us to be like Jesus, who came to offer forgiveness. So, we must forgive, no matter what. We must offer the same things that Jesus provides for us. That is only right. Why should we receive it if we can't give it?

Q2. (1 John 4:4) What in us is greater than false prophets and even Satan? In what sense have we overcome them? In what way will we overcome them in the future? How should this truth affect fear in our lives? We have the Spirit of God dwelling in us. The word says that. And, because the Spirit dwells in us, we have up close and personal leadership. We have a top-of-the-line, ultimate best, there is no other teacher, teacher. And, we have the word of God. So, we have all we need to know the truth, and to withstand attacks, and false teachings. And, we know that, in the end, God will be victorious, and we will be with Him, and it will be-well, there are no words to describe that. Knowing all this, we want to be faithful to pray and confess any sin, cause we all sin. We want to make sure that we study the word for ourselves, since we have the Teacher of all teachers in us. And, we should never think that we are all of it-Jesus is all of it! And we are His! So we should be reverent, and careful not to rush to judgement. Compare everything to what the word of God says. Never take anyone's word for scripture-that is very dangerous!

Q1. (1 John 4:1-3) Why is believing that Jesus was God in the flesh so important? Why doesn't Satan want us to believe that? What are the implications of the fact that Jesus could live out his divine life in a human body like ours? What significance does it bring to the crucifixion and to the resurrection? What is the significance for your Christian life? The bottom line here is this-the word of God is true. The word says that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And He is God. Jesus came in the flesh, born of a virgin. I am not going to argue with God! Either you believe or you don't. God can do anything He wants to. He is all-powerful! He sent His Son to live in flesh, because He wanted a pure sacrifice for you and me. This sacrifice went through the same things that we go through. He knows how we feel. God wanted things done a certain way, because He is God, and He rules, people! He is all of it, and we are here because He wants us to be! Gloray! I know that my Savior lives, and He intercedes FOR me. I can not make it through the day-any day-if I thought for one minute that God was not in control! There are just too many bad people in certain areas that should not be there. There are too many people that have a good life, and they don't even know that they are not in control of it-it was given to them. They are ungrateful. But I know that my God reins, and I am in His right hand, and there is no condemnation, because Jesus came and lived in complete obedience to His Father. Gloray! I mean, we are all blessed, and that is because God loves us, and sent His Son to die for us! Praise His Holy Name! It just doesn't get any better than that! If you're going through a hard time right now, don't worry! God is in control!

Q5. (1 John 3:3-10) How does John's teaching on sin and righteousness in this passage relate to combating the false teachers? What did they seem to be teaching about sin and righteous living? Some teach that we shouldn't worry about sin-it doesn't matter. We don't have to confess anything, because we are alright. This just isn't true! Righteous living is paramount in receiving the promise. God's word plainly states that we cannot enter the kingdom if we sin. So, we can know the truth and receive the promise because we study our Bible and we can lead others to the truth. Also, we can get forgiveness when we do fail, and we will fail. God is good! Children of God are so blessed!!!

Q4. (1 John 3:6, 9) How does the presence of God's seed in us keep us from habitual lawlessness and sin? How does the Holy Spirit sanctify us and make us like Jesus? I know that Jesus is in me-I know that He sees and hears everything I do. This causes me to want to be aware of what is going on around me. I know that I fail, but I know that He hears my confession, and He forgives me. The Holy Spirit convicts me of sin, and teaches me the right way to go. He shows me the error of my way. This, in turn, brings sanctification. It is wonderful to know that God is pruning us and trimming us! It reminds me of my Dad's garden. Every summer, my parents would put out a garden full of vegee's. These vegees would have to be watered and weeded every week. It was hard work, but we knew that when the harvest came, we would have Mom's delicious vegee soup, and other good things to eat all winter! It's the same with the Holy Spirit! We are His garden, and He is watering and weeding us, until the harvest. Then, we will be harvested, and taken to Heaven to be with Him forever! I can hardly wait!

Q3. (1 John 3:4) How does lawlessness show up in a person's attitude and actions? In what sense is an attitude of lawlessness the cause of sin in our lives? When we think we can do something ourselves-we don't need help, or when we don't respond well to instruction. Sometimes when we are told that we need to improve at work, or that we didn't do something right, and we get angry. All these things, and more will fester, and cause resentment, and cause the need for revenge, or some other sin to rise up and overtake us, if we don't watch ourselves. Confess and repent-that is the key!

Q2. (1 John 2:28; 3:2-3) In what way does our expectation of Christ's Second Coming motivate us to purify ourselves from sin? How does purifying ourselves from sin relate to God's grace? Sin cannot enter the new kingdom. We know that Jesus will return for us, and so we must stand firm! We want to be ready at all times, because we don't know when He will come. And, because we love the Lord, and He has the very hairs on our head numbered, and He will take care of us, we should be ever committed to obedience and trust in the Lord. God's grace will see us through to the end. We don't need to rely on man so fill our needs-we can't even do it ourselves! God gives us all things to enjoy! We are His offspring!!! Gloray!

Q1. (1 John 2:29-3:2) In what sense are we "children of God"? What does the Holy Spirit have to do with this "new birth"? How does the new birth change us? Through the Holy Spirit coming to abide in us, we have been changed. God cannot be in the presence of sin, so He has to change us in order to dwell in us. He does this by changing us-cleaning out the dross and putting in new stuff. That is the new birth-it is spiritual, and yet it changes everything about us. We become aware of our sins, and we want to do the right thing. And, when we are tempted to do the wrong thing, the Holy Spirit rises up on the inside and lets us know that we have been bought with a price, and we should act accordingly.

Q4. (1 John 3:22) We know that God doesn't "owe" us anything. So what is the relationship between obedience and answered prayer? Do we "earn" God's favor through obedience? I know that when my children behave and obey, then I am more likely to give them what they want, then I am when they are disobedient. My children are grown now, but I still remember a time when they came only to me to ask for things, because I was more lenient then their dad was. He wasn't mean-he just had higher standards than I did. God is our Heavenly Father! As such, He expects a higher standard of living for us, and from us. That is why I know that when I mess up, I can go to my Heavenly Father, and ask Him to forgive me, and He will! Ain't this cool?! Just like Mom and Dad used to do! Only better! Gloray to God!

Q3. (1 John 3:16-18) What does it mean to "lay down your life for your brothers"? What are some concrete examples of this kind of love in action within the Christian community? If you are in a large congregation, how can you get to know other members so you'll be able to lay down your life for them -- and they for you? Laying down you life for your friend means that you are willing to share what you have with those who don't have as much. Some churches do food and clothes drives (none I know, unfortunately) and then distribute as needed in the congregation. Others have community food and clothing drives, so that the needy can come and get things for the family. We can invite people to supper, or have some sort of dinner at church and get together that way. Getting to know each other better is very important for the congregation-cliques are not good! Jesus wants to see love-love for all!

Q2. (1 John 3:15) How can anger turn into hatred in our hearts? In what ways do anger and hatred relate to murder? How can we get rid of stored-up anger in our hearts so that we may love those who have offended us? If we allow anger to sit and stew in our hearts, and don't try to resolve it and confess it, then it will turn to hatred. Then, when it turns to hatred, it is seen as murder in God's eyes. In order to rid our hearts of this anger, we need to confess to God and sak Him to heal us, and allow us to move away from the anger we feel. Sometimes we can go to the one that offended us, and sometimes we can't-God knows! We can count on God to help us do the right thing, and get past our emotions. Gloray!

Q1. (1 John 3:12-15) Why did Cain resent Abel? Why did Cain kill Abel? How does the story of Cain and Abel illustrate Jesus' explanation of why the world hates us? Cain resented Abel because Cain's heart for God was not pure-he just went through the motions. So, when they brought their offerings to God, He knew that Cain was not giving out of respect and love-he was giving because he felt he had to. Abel, on the other hand, really loved God, and gave with a willing heart and mind-therefore, his offering was accepted by God, and God was pleased. This caused Cain to be angry and jealous of Abel. And that, in turn, caused Cain to kill his brother! Because Abel was pleasing in God's sight, and Cain was not, this caused Cain to see the unrighteousness in his own life. This is why the world hates us so much! We are a constant reminder that the world is not right in God's eyes, and so they want to get rid of us-avoid us.

Q5. (1 John 3:3-10) How does John's teaching on sin and righteousness in this passage relate to combating the false teachers? What did they seem to be teaching about sin and righteous living? Some teach that there is no sin. We can do whatever, and there are no consequences. No punishment. But, we know that there is no sin in Jesus, and we must be like Him. Jesus can not be in the presence of sin, and therefore, if we have sin in our lives, then we are separated from Him. When we fail, we must confess right away, and ask the Spirit to help us not go there again.

Q4. (1 John 3:6, 9) How does the presence of God's seed in us keep us from habitual lawlessness and sin? How does the Holy Spirit sanctify us and make us like Jesus? This is so cool! God's Spirit does our fighting for us! When a sin is before us, it is the Spirit that fights with our flesh, and compels us to do the right thing! Hello! I got it, finally! Anyway, the Spirit will let us know when we are about to make a mistake, and He tells us when and why we sould repent. He keeps us on the striaght and narrow. We are constantly moving toward being made like Jesus! I gotta go shout! Bye!

Q3. (1 John 3:4) How does lawlessness show up in a person's attitude and actions? In what sense is an attitude of lawlessness the cause of sin in our lives? Some people have said that they will do what they want, and then repent later. Others have said that they will be in good company when they go to hell. They flaunt their unbelief at God and others, and they think that's cool. I have been guilty of this in the past. No fear. When we have no fear, then we don't feel guilty about the nasty things that we do. We think we have a life-time to "get right with God". How sad! Only when I started studying the word of God, and learned the truth, was I set free to desire the right kind of living, and desire to be with the Lord when I pass from this life. My family says I'm brain-washed, but I know that I'm heart-washed! Gloray!