Katy

Q2.Both sentences are prayers of faith and worship. A declaration of our faith and belief in God. They are important to faith because we must believe in God before we can get to know Him, to love Him and then to worship and adore Him. We cannot pray to a God we don’t know, or a God that we are unsure if He can answer our prayers.

Q1. Hezekiah brings the letter he has received from his enemy who wants him to surrender Jerusalem into his hands, into the temple and spreads it out before the Lord. He reads it to the Lord and commits the whole situation to God because Hezekiah knows that the battle belongs to God and Hezekiah trust God although he is under pressure from all sides. The underlying principle is that we must allow God to be God and to fight His battles. That doesn’t mean we do nothing we do all we can and then commit the situation to the Lord and trust Him to bring about a resolution. He has promised that He will never leave us or forsake us. We can apply this principle in our own lives by praying about the situation and putting it into God’s hands . We can lay it all out before God just as Hezekiah did. We must then leave it in God’s capable hands and not try and solve the situation ourselves. This is insulting to God. It is the same as saying that we can do better and that we don’t trust God. When we don’t apply the principle we flounder all over the place and make bad mistakes.

Q6.These verses would have given great hope and expectation to the first readers because God was giving them an insight into what was to come. Likewise it gives us present day readers great hope and excitement for the future, when this world with all its evil and injustice will pass away and Our Saviour will rule over us. It will be a land of abundance, with no more suffering or pain, evil or injustice. Everything will be set right. No one who is evil will be there. Everything will be perfection. Isaiah uses figurative language to get his message across to his readers. He wants them to read and understand what is in store for those who follow Jesus and those who don’t! The highway of holiness describes the narrow road we are on to journey towards heaven. Many decide to go on the broad road and not walk or follow God. Only those who are committed to God may be on this highway. Those of us who have committed our lives to God are redeemed or ransomed. This means that we have been bought back out of our slavery (to sin), by the precious blood of Christ. Only Jesus who was sinless could redeem us , by dying a horrible cruel death on a cross. By doing this Jesus paid the price for our forgiveness, and so we are redeemed or ransomed from eternal death, and punishment.

Q5.Ethical living shows that we love God and obey His command to love God wholeheartedly and our neighbours as ourselves. By obeying , pleasing and living and working for God we are automatically living an Ethical Life. The corruption of taking bribes is sin and we are being disobedient to God. This is not ethical living. Unfortunately if we start sinning whether by taking bribes or anything else, it can lead to a slow downward trajectory which takes us away from living as God wants us to, and away from living ethically because we are only thinking about ourselves and forgetting that we have a responsibility to God and ourselves to look out for others and help those who need help along life’s journey. This is particularly wrong in government, because it affects people who are depending on the people they have elected to represent their needs to Government.

Q3. The Lord loves us so much that He died on the cross for us, and even when we sin against Him, He longs to be gracious and compassionate towards us. He is always compassionate and full of justice towards us. God’s lovely character is made clear to us through His word and we see it in action in the compassionate and loving way He deals with us. We need to be in communication with Him constantly and wait in eager expectation of what He will do for us. This passage clearly shows up His love, graciousness, patience and justice. We prevent His grace by sinning, not putting Him first in our lives, not praying and studying his word. I have experienced God’s guidance on many occasions. I sometimes don’t realise until afterwards that it was God’s prompting that helped me, or held me back from doing or saying something that would not have been helpful at the time. Constant communication with God, a humble admission daily of needing His help and guidance. Also an attentive mind and heart to know when God is telling us to walk or not to walk in a certain direction.

Q2.Unfortunately yes, more than once. We need to be constantly examining ourselves for pride, lack of Bible study, making excuses not to go to prayer meetings, and possibly slipping into sin. If our Christian life is full of rituals, but little or no time spent in personal praise, adoration and conversation with the Lord in our private space. Then we are in trouble. We need to come to God in repentance and humility and ask His help to re establish our personal relationship with Him. Then we need to put aside private time to spend meditating on Him and His word. A religion that is based on man made rules is just ritual, it does not bring praise and adoration to God. This is because there is no love , or relationship present. It is merely carrying out rituals, which mean nothing to God. In fact it is offensive to Him. Now there rules and commandments laid down by God . These we keep and obey because we love God and wish to honour Him.

Q1.I think Satan helps us justify things and he deceives us into thinking we know best. We are a sinful people and we want things our way so we justify our action and deceive ourselves into thinking that what we are doing is acceptable, of course satan is delighted with us. We stumble over Christ because we think we can manage very well on our own. We want to honour ourselves and not God. Many people just don’t see the need for God. Some just are too lazy and don’t realise the importance of God and what they are missing and that their complacency will have consequences. We can help people by forming relationships with them and sharing the love of Jesus with them. We must share the message of the gospel and then leave the Spirit to do his work. We must pray that the Spirit will reveal Jesus to them. In Isaiah 28v21 the language is difficult to understand but it is a warning that God will bring about terror and destruction on those who have not honoured Him.

Q1. This world will be devastated by God because of sin and rebellion against God’s laws and against God Himself. Humans feel threatened by this kind of prophecy because, in their own minds they are good and don’t deserve punishment. This kind of prophecy is important for Christian’s because it makes us understand that what is written in Scripture is true and will come about and we must not become complacent about our lives and our walk with God unless we also want to be punished by God. Many people are living and loving the world without any thought about what is going to happen in the future. Scripture tells us very clearly that we must not love the world or anything in it. We are ‘set apart’ to serve our Master and Saviour. Everything in this world that is sinful does not come from God and it will pass away. If we faithfully follow God and obey Him we will live forever.

Q3.The Israelites were depending on their own efforts to prepare the city to fend off attackers. They had even dug a channel from the Gishon into the center of the city so they would have water if they were under siege. Not one of them turned to God and asked for His help, protection and power to work for them. They totally ignored the Divine One who had built the city and loved it. They should have made preparations against the Assyrian army but at the same time they should have taken time on their own and together to pray to God for help and direction. It seems the Shebna was not a good and honest steward to his master the king. While everyone was busy making defences in the city, Sheena was busy building himself a great tomb. He may have used money belonging to the coffers of the king for this purpose. Unfortunately I have to say that at times I have been selfish and lazy towards my Saviour and my King. 🤦🏼‍♀️

Q1. The leader was very proud and arrogant. He thought he was above God and showed utter disregard for God,, his people and everything. He only cared about himself and his position of power. He tried to put himself above God, but we see that he had a heavy fall from his self elevation and was rendered powerless by God. There is Luke18v10 which describes Satan falling from heaven like lightning but this doesn’t mean that this king is Satan. Both Satan and the king had similar traits, they thought they were better than God, and God punished them both. Satan fell from heaven, the king in the text , fell from his high political office. Nobody can attribute to themselves the power of God and not be punished there is only one true God. No one can equal Him in any way. I am sure I have, I am a sinner saved by grace and have sinned many times and in many ways. When I read Scripture and read about God’s love for me and mankind, and how we keep turning hot and cold, I am ashamed and humbled. God has done so much for us , how can we be anything but humble before Him. Thank you Lord Jesus for dying on the cross for us all.

Q2. If we walk with God and obey Him, we are on the right path, and we will not fall. If we resist God and follow our own ways , we may be fine for a while but we are heading into darkness and we will stumble and fall. The more we resist and turn away the more we will fall. God will give opportunities to turn to Him but it is up to the individual whether they turn in repentance or follow their own corrupt ways. People want to be in charge of their own lives, thinking they can do things better. They do not realise or understand fully the Holiness of God, and how vital it is for us to obey Him daily. They don’t take seriously the fact that their eternity is at stake. But God is faithful He will give opportunity for repentance, because He created us and loves us and longs to be in relationship with each of us.

Q1. Isaiah’s words from God were to trust God, and He would not be invaded by Syria and Israel. Ahaz chose to ignore God’s advise and seek help and protection from Assyria. This was a decision which tells us that Ahaz was not walking closely with God. He had no idea of God’s power or what it meant to trust Him. The two kings he feared were mere mortals and he chose to go to another mortal man from protection rather than the living, all powerful God! However his choice gives temporary protection but eventually the king of Assyria attacks Judea and destroys it. We can often be like Ahaz and not trust God, and think we can do it on our own. We forget that the power of God which raised Jesus from the dead is available to us, if we just asked God. It can be difficult to obey God if He asks us to do something which takes us out of our comfort zone. Again it shows a lack of trust in God. We may not want to do the thing in question but we have to ask for help and know that His power is made perfect in our weakness.

Q6. These verses tell us that God understands fully just how sinfulness and heedless many are. Despite hearing the gospel message they turn away and ignore it. The next time they hear the gospel, they react the same way and this goes on and on. Their heart’s become harder and harder. Isaiah is not given an impossible task. There are always some people who come to faith in God. Also with God nothing is impossible! Isaiah’s prophecy makes things worse because every time the people hear the gospel the harder and harder their hearts become against the gospel message. Matthew 13v1 -23. Is the parable of the sower. In this parable the farmer goes out to sow his seed. The seed falls in different types off ground and many seeds die but some fall on fertile ground and it flourishes and produces a good crop. This is a parable about the gospel, which when heard by people can be ignored or worldly troubles come and people who started well fall away. Worries , persecution and deceitfulness of wealth choke the gospel and no fruit appears. But some seed falls on good soil, this is someone who hears the word and understands and accepts God. There is frustration in preaching in this parable because most seeds die, and few come to fruitfulness. There is always hope because God’s word does not return void. There will always be people who accept Jesus as Saviour. Not as many people accept Jesus as we would like to see but there are always those who are seeking the truth.

Q5.Isaiah’s reaction is to exclaim “I am undone”! He realised He was in the presence of the One and only Holy God. He was also very aware of his sinfulness in the presence of a sinless Holy God. God sent a Seraphim to Isaiah with a burning coal. The seraphim touched Isaiah’s lips with the coal and cleansed Isaiah from all his sin. God needed someone to go and fulfill His mission. He asked the question “Whom shall I send, And who will go for us?” Isaiah replied “Here I am. Send me! He was told exactly what he was to say to the people. When God prompts me to do something, I do try to do it. Often I am not sure if He is telling me to do something. At this stage of life I am looking after my ageing husband, but try to combine this with works for the Lord, outside the home as well as at home.

Q4. God was making it clear to Isaiah and to us, just how Holy, powerful and glorious He is. Often we can read about Holiness, or Glory but not truly understand it. In these verses Isaiah experiences these things in his vision, this gives him a greater understanding and so he can deliver God’s message to the Israelites with more conviction and more personal understanding of the greatness and awesomeness of God. The vision reveals God’s majesty by the splendour and majesty of the setting. The throne is placed high up overlooking everyone and everything. God is surrounded by seraphim who continually chant about God’s Holiness. At the sound of their voices the doorposts shook and the room was filled with smoke.

Q3. The vineyard owner worked hard to do everything right to prepare his place for a good crop of grapes. He made sure also that it had protection by growing a hedge around it , and he had a wall built around it also. He also built a watchtower and a wine press. Everything was ready to grow a good crop. He could do nothing more. However the fruit turned out to be bad, not as expected at all. In his disappointment the owner decided to break down the wall, and allow it to grow into a wasteland full of briers and thorns. These verses tell us about God’s attitude towards The Israelites, how He has chosen them and set them apart to Himself. He has done everything He could do for them, and yet they reject Him and disobey Him and totally turn away from him. So now God is taking His blessings away and leaving them to their own devices.

Q2. What great words of hope to us all.God is going to establish His temple in Jerusalem, it will be seen by many people. The nations will flock to it. People will be eager to be taught about God and want to walk in His path. God Himself will be Judge and will listen and settle disputes. The people will take their weapons of war and fashion them into farm implements because there won’t be anymore wars. Everyone, whether Jew or Gentile will be the same, all united in loving and obeying Our God. There will be great Spiritual hunger and there will be peace across the world. Praise God as we look forward to this great time to come.

Q1. The Israelites, God’s own people have walked away from their relationship with Him. They have decided or evolved into doing there own thing and not looking to God and His ways. They are committing sin because they are not walking with the Spirit. When Christian’s today do not act as though they are Children of God, they loose their way. They backslide and start to sin. They are not interested in keeping God’s laws. In verses 15 - 17 we are told the Israelites are guilty of their hands being full of blood, they are doing evil deeds, not doing what is right, in particular they are not looking after the oppressed, the fatherless, and the widows in their area. The Israelites are being unreasonable because, despite their suffering they still decide to persist in turning their backs on God and not obeying Him. God is prepared and willing to take them back and forgive them if they would just turn to Him and sincerely repent of their wrong doing. Their God is offering them forgiveness of sin “ Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be like wool.”v18. He is offering them all the good things that only He can provide for them. Eventually if they persevere they will spend eternity in His presence.

Q 22. It would certainly appear that Solomon was a womaniser who lusted after women. It must have been a lonely existence, not taking time to really share his life with one wife in a meaningful way. He must have spent a lot of time thinking about woman and pursuing them, but not really giving himself time to get to know her before he was looking for the next wife. Each woman in his life must have felt insecure and used! The competition between all the women must have been enormous! Solomon can’t have had time to treat any of these women properly. All the time must have been spent on thinking about his next conquest. I don’t really know how a womaniser treats his children, but I imagine his mind is so preoccupied with women that he has little if any time for his children. He doesn’t care about their moral upbringing, and he is certainly a bad role model when it comes to teaching them how to treat women! In Genesis 2v24 we are told”That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.” God intended marriage of one man with one woman for life. As Christian’s this is what we must do, because God’s laws never change.

Q21. Paul tells us that if we have wealth we are not to be arrogant! We must not flaunt our wealth before others. We must not depend on our wealth rather than on God. God will provide us with everything we need, and He wants us to enjoy the good things He gives us if we follow Him and depend on Him rather than on our wealth. God wants us to do good with our wealth, by helping those who are less well off than ourselves, in this way we will be laying up treasure in Heaven for the future. Wealth can have strange effects on people! The more they gather the more secure they become and sometimes their relationship with God becomes less importance. They become proud and arrogant. Feeling that they have achieved the pinnacle of life!

Q20. When Jesus was on earth He spent His ministry helping people. Most of these people were poor and in need. Today we as Christian’s are God’s hands and feet. We must emulate His actions and give to the poor. This giving may be to people who are poor financially or it may be poor spiritually. It is directed in Scripture to help the poor by leaving some grain behind for the poor to glean.Leviticus 23 v22. Proverbs has many verses about giving to the poor, and helping them Proverbs 19v17, 22v9, 22v16. Everything we have comes from God , therefore we should be generous in giving some back. We are sometimes reluctant to give to people we meet on the street because we are not sure how genuine their need is. They may have an addiction which we could be helping to feed if we give them money. In this case it is wiser to offer to buy them a sandwich or something else and a cup of tea/ coffee. Then if they accept to go and buy it for them. I think the best way of giving to those in need is by giving on a regular basis to a Christian Organisation who are involved and helping those in need. Another way is to get involved in helping in a Charity shop which supports a children charity or other charities which help people. Another way is to get involved in a food bank or a homeless feeding station.

Q19. Wisdom that comes from Heaven is first of all pure; then peace loving, considerate, submissive , full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. If we harbor bitter envy and selfish ambitions in our hearts these do not come from heaven but are earthly, unspiritual, and demonic. These are the differences between Godly wisdom and earthly wisdom. Jesus is the fount of all wisdom and knowledge, that is Godly wisdom and knowledge. This is the wisdom and knowledge that we need to be striving to learn and use in our lives. Jesus has it all , is the fount of all , so to gain this wisdom and knowledge we must go to Him and ask for wisdom as James tells us to do. We need to pray, study the word and pay attention to other maybe older Godly men and women who can teach us a lot by us listening and observing how they live their lives.

Q. 18. The temple was built by Solomon to glorify God. Solomon then built a bigger structure for himself, this was the palace. For the protection and security of his people Solomon captured and fortified the towns around Jerusalem or towns that would be adjacent to a way leading to Jerusalem. He had also built the wall around Jerusalem. The towns he fortified included Grezer, Hazor, Megiddo, Hamath Zobah, Beth Horon, Baalath, and Tamar.

Q15. God calls Solomon to a life of uprightness, with integrity of heart and obedience. This lifestyle calls for a total commitment to God and His ways every day of our lives. Our eyes must be focused on God and not worldly matters.Unfortunately we all have a sinful nature, despite us being saved by grace and we can easily slip back into old bad habits very easily if we are not totally dedicated to the ways of God. People around us can make life difficult for us by provoking us and ridiculing us for our beliefs. Work and family commitments can pull us off course if we are not on our guard. Satan will use whatever tactics he can to lead us away from God, as Scripture tells us he is like a roaring lion seeking out vulnerable people that he can devour, The opposite of integrity of heart is Simone who is slip shod in their approach to things in life and they will be the same towards the things of God. Eg. Constantly late for church, meetings, work. Lacks discipline when it comes to having a quiet time, easily distracted, misses quiet time often. Half heated about jobs to be done at home or in church.

Q14. The cloud represented God’s glory. When the cloud was there it meant that God’s presence was with them. Although we don’t physically see the cloud in our day, we do know that when we make the decision to follow Jesus we are filled with the Holy Spirit , who stays with us always. He gives us power, the same power that was at work when Jesus rose from the dead. He also leads us and guides us, counsels us and comforts in time of trouble. He is slowly changing us so that we are becoming more and more like Jesus. We are temples of the Holy Spirit, because He lives in us all the time. We must nurture our relationship with the Holy Spirit so we are aware of His prompting and guiding us in life. We do this by daily reading the Scriptures, taking time to study, in prayer and in fellowship with likeminded believers.