dantanc

Local congregations lose their "first love", when the focus moves away from absolute adoration, awe and worship to the Father, Saviour, and the Holy Spirit . We do not love our Lord, not because He heals us, not because he restores us financially, familywise but just because He is, what He is, a caring, loving, zealous, Saviour. As has expounded in the Scriptures, love is all that works miracles in the churches. And love does not stop in the church and its activities. Some church members when they see other members at the Mall, grocery store, just look thruogh them and do not even care to recognise them. We should be thirsting and looking for an opportunity to spread the love with which we are encompassed. When love overtakes the congregation, everything will be set right.

What an encouragement,what a reassurance to note that the King of Kings is in constant and protective watch of his Church, for which He has made the greatest sacifice evermade. More so, when the early church is going through so many persecutions, right from its birth. It is so marvelous to note, how the Holy Spirit has guided them in those days. All glory, honor and praise be to our Lord and savior Jesus Christ, for ever and ever. Amen!!

Jesus came down to earth to identify with the humanity and fulfil the God's plan of salvation for the fallen mankind. And when His bride, the church is going through so many trails and tribulations, it so much reassuring to see the Savior in his true form as the King of Kings and son of God. in all his glory and power, that He is able to do what He has promised.

From the information that I have, there is presently persecution of Christians in India, Indonesia, muslim countries. In those places, we have, Christian financed,organised orphanages, schools, hospitals and other humanitarian efforts. In those countries contact with modern civilization was through Christianity only, to start with. However we have the faith and hope through the promises in the Revelation and elsewhere in the God's word. I Peter 4:16 "However , if you suffer as Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name"

Just let us remind ourselves : John 1:1 " In the beginning was Word, and the Word was with God, and Word was God. He was with God in the beginning." John 1:14 "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from Father, full of grace and truth."

Gone are the days when the world viewed faithful christians with awe and respect. Satan has wokeup and is working hard to deceive christians and bring them to disrespect in the world. While there are many christians standing firm in their faith, withstanding persecution, with help of promised Holy Spirit, some are falling away and compromising with the world. Jesus Christ is the faithful witness to our testimony, before Father God and will plead for our eternal salavtion with Him DANIEL

Gideon received the greatest assurance any man can get from God" I will be with you", in the face of humanly impossible assignment. New Testament of the Lord's word is full of promises for us that our Lord is never going to forsake us and that we need not be afraid of men of this world. Heb 13:5-6. Babara the first member to answer, has adequately reminded us almost all the promises/assurances God has given us in the New Testament. I pray to God to be with me all the while to strenghen me and enable me to overcome the adversary of this world and live worthy of Christ, my Saviour. Daniel

God surprised Gideon by calling him " a mighty man of valor". Inspite of Lords's assurance, Gideon still expresses his own assement that he is but a weakling. But God's wisdom is beyond our compehension- we can only think like human beings. We must have complete faith in Lord's plans and allow HIM to do HIS will in our lives. We must pray, to be sensitve to soft nudgings of the Holy Spirit Daniel

Hello all of you. I must be the oldest member of our study group. I thank God for giving me this oppotunity. I am enjoying the study very much. Daniel

This chapter startswith "Again the Israelites did evil in the sight of the Lord....."-- thay is why God has delivered them into the hands of the Medianites,who have totally ravaged Israelites and their produce and cattle--leaving them utterly poor and helpless. And then when they cried to the Lord for help, Lord specically says through his prophet " You have worshipped other gods.. and did not listen to me". The second of the commanments of God. I also often trespass this commandment by not setting my priorities correcly in the sight of the Lord. I compromise may a time with this world. But I again seek Lord help and strength to be able to over come such. Phil 1:6 "... He who has begun good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ".

Hello,dear brothers, I am new to this study, and I already experience that this is going to be of great help for me to grow in the WORD. Gideon was taught from his childhood the Omnipotence of the God, they believe in and worship. Also the stories how God has delivered his people from various difficult circumstances. He has also witnessed how his father has built an altar for Baal. This must have further confused Gideon and he must have thought that their God has left them. However when the angel told him that the Lord is with Gideon, he expressed his bewilderment, that how can all those things happen to them? However Gideons assessment is wrong, because God's plans and timings are in god's hands only. We His children should be willing to submit to His plans as and when revealed to us. We can only pray and ask God to reveal His soverign will and dovetail our plans into it and not have our own programs and then ask to bless them. One thing He has assured us is that He will never forsake us. dantanc