Greta

Jesus is the head of the universal church, i.e. of every believer in the world. He is the Head that gives us guidance and we are His Body, firmly attached to Him. Just as the brain cells in the head sends messages to every part of the physical body, so Jesus is in charge of every believer in His body. We are His representatives here on earth and we are to be a true reflection of Him. He gives us the Holy Spirit and changes us from glory to glory. As a body we should work together in unity and love of one another, our priority being to love Christ and obey Him in all things. Love from Greta

Jesus created all these powers and they were all created for Him, to serve Him. They are all subject to His supreme authority and must answer to Him. We should not fear these powers and governments, but we are told in the bible that we must pray for our governments and all in authority. Love Greta

I think that 'firstborn of all creation' means that Jesus is supreme over all creation. Jesus is Not a created being, He is the Creator. He was here before the world began and brought everything into being. Without Him, nothing would have been created, and He also holds everything together. Love from Greta

Definitely not a holograph! I believe that Jesus is the visible image of the invisible God. He is both all devine and all human. He is God in human form so that he can know first hand and experience the same difficulties that we do, and help us to overcome them. When He says, "I and the Father are One". - I believe Him. Love Greta

The 'Kingdom of his beloved Son' is characterized as a Kingdom of Light and is inhabited by the saints, who are redeemed and foregiven. In the Greek, the idea of redemption means to be 'bought back', that is made free by the payment of a ransome. Christ redeemed us when he died upon the cross in our place. When we confess our sins, God is gracious to forgive us because payment has been made in full by his Son Jesus, who died that we might live. Praise Him. Love from Greta

God has Rescued us, Redeemed us and Forgiven us our sins for he has Brought us into the Kingdom and Qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. God did this for us sinners. We were Qualified through God's grace and not by any good in ourselves, or by anything we have done to deserve his forgiveness and love. We were also rescued by God's grace. We couldn't help ourselves, we could just call out like a wounded lamb until God came and set us free. Love from Greta

Paul uses the terms 'darkness' and light to show that before we were born again, we were in our sins, unforgiven and actually did live in darkness. When we confessed our sins to God, we were foregiven, and now live in the light. We need to be reminded where we came from so we do not become complacent. The inheritance of the saints in light is to have redemption and foregiveness of sin and to live with Jesus. We are rescued from the dominion of darkness and brought into the kingdom of light. Love from Greta

The elements of Paul's prayer for the Colossian believers is that they have knowlege of God's will; spiritual wisdom and understanding; live to please God; bear good fruit by doing good works; grow in relationship to God; be strengthened by God's power; have great endurance and patience and be thankful and joyful. All are important, but I think the most important is to know God's will and to grow closer to him day by day. If we grow closer to him and know his will, then all the others will be added to us. Love from Greta

In verses 5 and 6, Paul glorifies the gospel by speaking of the Love and Faith that spring from the Hope that is stored in Heaven. He speaks of the Fruit that is growing in believers all over the world. I think Paul reminds the Colossians that the Gospel is influencing the world so that they will know that they are part of something Big. In our day, I think a church that became embarrassed or unimpressed with the gospel message would stop being a church and degenerate into a club. Love from Greta

God shepherded Jacob all the days of his life and even in times of fear, God had everything ordered and kept him safe. God has been my shepheard even long before I knew Him, He was guiding me. Sometimes I am out on the hillside or have fallen in a ditch, bleating like a lost sheep, but my Saviour always finds me and brings me home on His shoulders. My desire is to always be close to His side and obey with joy His every word. Thank you Pastor Ralph for guiding us through this study, and thank you to everyone who has shared their thoughts in the forum. God bless you all. Love from Greta.

We think that a blessing is about all good things. A happy secure life is our idea of a blessed life. When we bless someone, we wish them well. The effects of crisis on our faith change us depending on which way we receive it. They will help us grow in faith when we turn to God for help and obey Him, thus learning from the crisis. They can destroy our faith if we turn against God and don't learn from the crisis. Love from Greta

Jacob crosses his hands so that the right hand rests on Ephraim who is God's chosen one, and with his left hand he gives a different blessing to Manasseh. These blessings are prophesies and must be given to the right brother. Joseph tries to stop Jacob because he thinks his father has mistaken which boy is which. I think they are really God's blessings, and God used Jacob to speak them out. It was God's responsibility and decision as to which brother received the first-born blessing. Love from Greta

Life on earth is like a pilgrimage because we continue to go one step further all the way until we reach our home, which is heaven. No permanent home for us here on earth, for if we try to settle down here, we tend to get too comfortable and fail to keep on moving foreward. I am not sure how we would retain a "journeying spirit" in our faith, but I think it might be by staying very close to God so we hear every word He says to us, and by obeying Him and letting Him do the leading forward. Love from Greta

If I had been Jacob, the words that would have quieted my fears would be, "I am God, the God of your father. Don't be afraid to go to Egypt for I will go there with you and will surely bring you back again". Jacob was a young man when God first promised to be with him always. A lot has happened in the meantime and Jacob no longer walked closely with God as depression and despair had seperated them. Jacob was 130 years old when he arrived in Egypt. I am 70, and am always glad to hear important words spoken again, for I don't always remember either. Faith and God's Words go hand in hand, and for those who keep tight hold of both, there is a life with God full of faith and assurance. But sometimes life gets in the way, disapointments, depression, doubt and stress - and then - 'after Jacob's spirit was revived, he heard God's voice and promises again, and was restored and reassured'. I seem to be hearing that Jacob had to make the first move by believing that Joseph was still alive, and starting to come out of his depression, and THEN God spoke to him at Beersheba. Love from Greta

I think their age makes a big difference. Jacob is old and most of his life is behind him and the people he loved most in the world were taken from him. On top of all this, the guilt that he lived with most of his life weighed him down, making him open to depression. Joseph is young, possibly the same age when he was sold into slavery as his father was when he first left home. As far as we know, Joseph hadn't done anything very bad so was not pressed down with guilt. He also knew that his father and brothers were all alive. He had dreadful things done to him but he didn't retaliate. Joseph had a more positive attitude than his father and he kept very close to God at all times. Joseph stood up to fear and called upon God, but Jacob hid from fear and often took the easy way out even though he also called upon God. Perhaps Joseph responded better to fear because he had the insight to see that everything was part of God's plan. Even the bad things that happened, helped to bring God's overall plan into being. God gave Joseph insight so he was not bitter towards his brothers by showing Joseph that it was for God's purpose that he was brought to Egypt and not because of his brothers' tretchery. Their tretchery was the means by which he came, BUT, he would have come some other way to fulfill God's purpose to keep the remnant of His people alive. Love from Greta

Jacob seems to be thinking only of himself. One of his sons is in an Egyption prison and his youngest son is being asked to accompany his brothers to Egypt. Jacob doesn't think of their feelings and discomfort, but only of how it will affect himself, saying how much he will suffer. I think Jacob would be diagnosed with a deep, severe and chronic depression and also with paranoia. He has been mantally and spiritually paralyzed first by Joseph's death coming on top of other bereavements, then the fear of loosing Benjamin too - it has all put him over the top and he is no longer thinking straight. I think Jacob changed his mind about going again to secure grain when he realised they would all die of starvation if they did not go. I am so glad that he turned back to God at this point, for after praying and asking a blessing on his boys, God seems to have given him a 'release' and he is starting to function like a father again. Praise God. Love from Greta

When the brothers brought the blood stained robe to Jacob, they were showing their father that Joseph was dead, even though they didn't say so. There was no hope left for Jacob, that he might ever see Joseph again. Jacob is devestated, and what a shock he had to endure, he is a broken man. It was a life changing moment for Jacob and he was never the same again. I think that all of the heart went out of him and he felt he had nothing more to live for. His future behaviour shows Jacob clinging to Benjamin, Rachel's younger son, an unhealthy position for both father and son. Love from Greta

Reuban sinned by sleeping with his father's concubine Bilhah. It was a direct insult to his father and prevented him from receiving the first born inheritance. Reuban acts honourably later when he persuades his brothers not to kill Joseph. Love Greta

I think God appears to Jacob again in order to re-affirm what He has said before so that Jacob can be in no doubt that it is truly God he has heard from. It is a new chapter in Jacob's life and God is stating facts and renewing promises. The primary promises are that God will give Jacob many decendants, even including Kings. He also promises to give Jacon/Israel, the land called Canaan. Love from Greta

Jacob's household need spiritual renewal because they have sunk low and have masequered the men of a whole tribe. They were filled with revenge and hatred. It is important to get rid of foreign gods because they link us with the past and draw us away from God. Washing and putting on clean clothes represents cleansing and purifying oneself. It shows we want to begin a clean new life, especially as when, in the case of Jacob's household, the new life will begin in a new place. The foreign gods I need to throw away are playing computer games and overeating. Both are things I do excessively when I am stressed. The Lord is helping me to break these habits and turn to Him instead. I need to repent of taking offence and becoming upset too easily. I need to repent of holding back through fear instead of trusting more in God.

When the Israelites intermarried with the Canaanites, they were tempted away from the Lord and started worshipping falce Gods. I think that God commanded them not to inter marry because He knew what would happen. If the outcome (known only to God) had been that the Canaanites would change and worship Him, I wonder if He would have allowed the inter mariage? The command was for spiritual reasons. Christians are commanded to marry 'In the Lord' so they will not be unevenly yolked together with an unbeliever. So that they will not be drawn back into the 'world' and turn away from the Lord. Love from Greta

I think Jacob was silent with shock and needed to take it all in and come to terms with the news and also the request for marriage to take place. I wonder if Dinah would have been willing to marry Shechem, a Cananite? God had warned Jacob not to inter-marry with Cananites. Another Problem for Jacob. I think that Jacob should have prayed and received council from God, then when he told his sons, he would already have received wise council from God and would be able to lead and guide his sons into doing what was right, instead of letting them lead him. What was right about the son's reaction is that they were all grieved about their sister's abuse. What was wrong is that they took the matter into their own hands and became judge, jury and executioners. And Jacob Let It Happen. Once action had been taken, Jacob says (but too late), that it was the wrong action. The tribe of Israel is now a stench in the land to people, and God wanted them to be a blessing and a leading light - a good example. If they stay in Shecham, they face disgrace, contempt and then anihilation. I am wondering at this point, if God was telling them it was time to move on, for they were probably becoming rather comfortable in this place and might even have settled there for good. Love from Greta

The 'man' Jacob wrestled with was God and I believe the wrestling was both spiritual and physical. When wrestling (or struggling) with God in prayer, I have found that my body experiences real disturbances and sometimes feels rather battered. We so easily forget occasions, and so I think that Jacob's hip was permanently wounded so he would never forget his encounter and struggle with God. Strangely enough, I think the limp would be treasured by Jacob because it was given with love, along with a new name, Israel, and probably a new change in his character too. Love from Greta

Jacob is being 'real' with God as he prays. He is pouring out his heart and showing that he is following God. He has been obediant, but he is afraid as he prepares to meet Esau, and he confesses this fear to God. His faith shines through as he declares that he is depending on God to save him and his family from death, because he believes God's promice to be with him always, to prosper him and enlarge his family. Since Jacob left Canaan 20 years previously, he has become peaceful, spiritual, dependable and a hard worker. He is submitted to God and knows it is God's power and strength that will sustain him and his family. Love from Greta

I think that God reveals the Angel Army to Jacob as a sign that He is with Jacob to protect and guide him, as He had promiced He would be. I believe he calls the place Mahanaim (two camps) because the army of God and the tribe of Jacob are camping side by side. Love from Greta