Grow~Deeper

These parables show us that God is mercy, he forgive us when even sin against him. His heart for his children is for them to be with Him to enjoy all he has, although He gives them the freedom to choose. It reminds me of when God tells the children of Israel, "I present before you life and death but please choose life". The older son was obedient to and served his father. He may not have fulfilled his service with love and joy based on his response, "you have never killed the fatted calf for me". But He still did obey all his father's instruction. Older son is very obedience. The older son failed to see the father’s heart. We, as disciples should see that our Father's heart is for all His children to be saved. Therefore, we in turn should seek that which was lost and rejoice, knowing full well that it is because of His rich mercy that we ourselves find a place in His House. Regardless of how we disagreeable we find a brother or sister because of their choices, our main heart's posture should always be one of mercy towards them even as God is merciful to all who repent.

These parables show us that God is mercy, he forgive us when even sin against him. His heart for his children is for them to be with Him to enjoy all he has, although He gives them the freedom to choose. It reminds me of when God tells the children of Israel, "I present before you life and death but please choose life". The older son was obedient to and served his father. He may not have fulfilled his service with love and joy based on his response, "you have never killed the fatted calf for me". But He still did obey all his father's instruction. Older son is very obedience. The older son failed to see the father’s heart. We, as disciples should see that our Father's heart is for all His children to be saved. Therefore, we in turn should seek that which was lost and rejoice, knowing full well that it is because of His rich mercy that we ourselves find a place in His House. Regardless of how we disagreeable we find a brother or sister because of their choices, our main heart's posture should always be one of mercy towards them even as God is merciful to all who repent.

These parables show us that God is mercy, he forgive us when even sin against him. His heart for his children is for them to be with Him to enjoy all he has, although He gives them the freedom to choose. It reminds me of when God tells the children of Israel, "I present before you life and death but please choose life". The older son was obedient to and served his father. He may not have fulfilled his service with love and joy based on his response, "you have never killed the fatted calf for me". But He still did obey all his father's instruction. Older son is very obedience. The older son failed to see the father’s heart. We, as disciples should see that our Father's heart is for all His children to be saved. Therefore, we in turn should seek that which was lost and rejoice, knowing full well that it is because of His rich mercy that we ourselves find a place in His House. Regardless of how we disagreeable we find a brother or sister because of their choices, our main heart's posture should always be one of mercy towards them even as God is merciful to all who repent.

Justice - The king show justice. Grace - ’The king was gracious enough to forgive the servant of a huge amount of money. Our God is merciful. Greed & Unmerciful - The unmerciful servant received grace from the king but he has no grace to his fellow servant and demand him to pay what his fellow servant owe him.

1. What do we learn about Zechariah and Elizabeth in 1:5-7? What kind of people are they? What is Zechariah's job? We learn that Zachariah was a priest that belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; Elizabeth his wife was a descendant of Aaron, both were upright in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commandments and regulations blamelessly. They had no children because his wife was barren; and both pass child barren age. 2. Why do you think it happened that the "lot" fell upon Zechariah to be the officiating priest for offering incense on this particular day? What does the offering of incense represent? 2.1. The angel of the Lord was able to deliver his message. The offering of the incense was a great honour only allowed one in a priest’s lifetime. 2.2. The incense represented the prayers of the people. 3.1. Which are most important to you ? V16 & 17 - “He will turn many of the sons of Israel back [from sin] to [love and serve] the Lord their God. It is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, TO TURN THE HEARTS OF THE FATHERS BACK TO THE CHILDREN, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous [which is to seek and submit to the will of God]—in order to make ready a people [perfectly] prepared [spiritually and morally] for the Lord.”” 4.1.Zechariah doubted the angel’s word that he would have a son. He felt that because of both his and his wife’s old age it was humanly impossible to have a child.

1. Since Jesus was already the Son of God, why did he have to "grow" in understanding and wisdom? (2:40, 52) Jesus need to grow in wisdom and understanding because even though he was 100% divine and 100% human. He need to learn through just like us. He was not born with complete knowledge of God and the universe.

2. How do you evaluate Jesus' carelessness in not going home with his parents when they left Jerusalem? (2:43-44) Was Jesus at fault or they? What is the difference between an error in judgment and sin, if any? I don’t think Jesus is at fault, is also part of the parent responsibility to ensure the child is with them. Sometime, we as parent also take things for granted thinking the child could be with the relatives. As we read in v40 “ And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him.” This verse summaries 12 years of Jesus’ life, his childhood. Jesus’ growth was not one dimensional. He grew strong. He was healthy and active and he was was also filled with wisdom. He grew in knowledge and understanding through education. Jesus was totally abosrb and entrapped in the teaching at the Temple.

Why do you think the message of Jesus' birth comes to shepherds, of all people? (2:8) What point is God making? The shepherds were in the field in the company of the not-so-bright sheep. They had no power or influence. Why would God choose to first share His good news with the lowest members of society? The shepherds held the capacity to be amazed and humbled that God would choose them to bear His news. He knew they would be willing to share this exciting event with everyone they knew, unlike the religious leaders of the day, who put so much value in rules, regulations, and their interpretations of Scripture that they might miss the message. The shepherds were not afraid of what other people thought when they shared the news of Christ’s birth. They didn’t overthink the situation and talk themselves out of telling their fellow man about the miraculous event. They were exuberant and overjoyed at having seen their Savior.

7. Zechariah doubted & Mary believed (v38 - I am the Lord’s servant - May it be to me as your have said.

Q2. (1 John 1:5-7) What is the result when a Christian walks in darkness, that is, continues willfully to do what he or she knows to be wrong? How does this involve self-deception? What is the result, according to verse 7, when we walk in the light? How do we get back into the light if we sin? When we continue to walk in darkness, we lost our fellowship with God. We are living in darkness ad not in truth. Sin separate us from God. We are deceiving ourselves. If we say we have fellowship with Christ and continue to sin, we are liars (1 John 2:4). Jesus is light and we obey his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. If we claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did. Walking in step with Christ leads us to be cleansed from sin and unrighteousness. Walking in the light, we have fellowship with the Lord Jesus and fellow believers. We are members of God’s family and by walking in the light not only have fellowship with one another’s, but the blood of Jesus Christ also continually cleans us us from all sins.

What sources does Luke use as he prepares his Gospel? (1:2) - Luke use eyewitness and minister of the word (that is, of the teaching of Christ’s ministry) concerning salvation through faith in Christ. What does it mean to be a "servant of the word"? (1:2) What does such a servant do? How does such a servant act? What is the "word" he serves? Above all question : The task of a ser­vant of the word is ba­sed on the mis­si­on com­mand gi­ven by Je­sus. Those who be­lie­ved in Je­sus were gi­ven the task of brin­ging the gos­pel to all parts of the world. The cong­re­ga­ti­on cal­ls ser­vants of the word from among its mem­bers. It is their task to pre­ach the word of God on the ba­sis of the Bib­le. It must truly expound and apply the text of Scripture, declaring the Word of God to the people of God with admonishment, then trusting the Holy Spirit to apply that Word.

Day 4 Meditation (Revelation 5:1-8; 6:1). What does it say about you that Jesus, the Most Worthy One, died for you. How does he value your worth? How casual should you be before the Lamb who is Most Worthy? What is the appropriate relationship with him? In what ways has he humbled himself to reveal himself to you? Jesus sacrifice himself on the cross to wash away my sin. Jesus wants us to be obedience to His Word and draw close to Him. We are to give Honor and praise to the Lord for all He is and all He has done, Praise Him and give thanks Jesus reveal himself through His word And humble Himself to earth.

How do humility and victory go together? A. God wants us to humble ourselves: to give us His grace. God cannot violate His own laws that He has bound Himself. If we don’t get grace from God, we cannot live in victory. How do the Lion and the Lamb fit together? A.The Lion and the Lamb both refer to Jesus Christ. He first Coming, He was the Lamb. At His Second Coming, He will be the Lion. How did Jesus humble himself? A. Jesus humbled Himself by coming to earth as the perfect sacrifice; making Himself nothing by taking on the very nature of a servant. Matthew 20:28 - Jesus came not be served but to serve others. Why is it necessary to humble ourselves before God will exalt us? A. We have to humble ourselves before God will exalt us and ask for forgiveness. Humility is in fact, one of the most powerful and important attributes of growth. Being humble helps to build trust and facilitates learning, which are key aspects of leadership and personal development.

Q. Why is everyone around the throne worshipping? Why are they chanting and singing? A. The One who sits on the throne is worthy to be honoured. He is the Creator of Heaven and Earth Q. Why do you think that we get bored with worship after a few minutes? A. We started to get bored because we are not focusing Who God is and we relay on our strength and get distracted by our own gadget. Q. What does that indicate about our hearts? A.We are not totally surrendered to the Lord. Q. What can we do to change this? A. Fully surrendered to the Lord .

Why does God sometimes not talk to us? One of the main reasons we feel like God is not talking to us is because we do not know his voice because we do not know his word. Hearing the voice of God personally is directly related to knowing the word of God generally. Is it always because we aren't receptive? No What should we do when we don't hear anything from God? It’s time to examine our life. Ask ourself is there any unconfessed sin in our life that may be blocking us from hearing God’s voice? The Bible tells us, “If I had not confessed the sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened” (Psalm 66:18). Doing this requires us to look deep into our own hearts and lives. Begin by asking ourself: Do I have bad motives? Is there anything or anyone that I love more than God? As these things come to light and we become more aware of what’s separating us from God, ask Him for His forgiveness. The act of repentance pleases God and restores our fellowship with Him.