Lorianne

God's Part is to protect us and keep us safe. Our part is to have faith and trust Him

Q2. (1:2) Why do forgiveness (sprinkling) and obedience come together as a package? Why is it deceptive to think you can have one without the other? Extra credit: If true faith requires obedience, how can we say that we are saved by grace rather than works? (Ephesians 2:8-10) Forgiveness and obedience come together as a package because God will alway forgive us when we ask, but unless we are repentent and obedient to turn away from the issue we are asking forgiveness of we will be in a cycle of repeating this issue over and over again. Grace is given when we don't deserve it but we are not to abuse it. When we are obedient it puts action behind our faith and others can see Christ working in us.

I think a Christian who is more concern with his present homeland then his Heavenly one is probably more into his own selfish desires. They think about what is in it for them. They are more inward focused and think about material things and how people think about them. A person that has their focus on their Heavenly home is more focused on the things God wants from them. I have done this in my career. I see someone that I feel is less qualified get a promotion and I get jealous. I had to pray hard to get through this one and finally came to the point of realizing that if I was suppose to get that promtion I would have got it. That Gods timing is perfect and he knows my needs, wants and desires. When I started praying for my co-workers and asking God to use me I started feeling much better about work again. To get our spirituasl priorities straight we need to turn our focus on God, his will, his word and his desires. WHen we focus on serving God everything else will fall into place.

Hi, My name is Lori and this is my first post. I live in Arizona and just started this study. I love reading Gods word and really want to go deeper in my understanding. The pursuit of happiness stems from outside influences where as joy comes from our internal relationship and knowledge of Jesus. The genuine article of joy will be present in all circumstances because those that know their God can trust the verse Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him,[a] who have been called according to his purpose. So even during trials and heartache we can trust that God knows what he is doing and he sees the big picture of our lives. If we seek his will in all things and follow where he leads we can trust that even the painful things in our lives can become true blessings.