Irmela

Q1. (John 14:15-17) What do you think is the best way to describe the Paraklētos that Jesus sends? In what sense is the Holy Spirit "another" Paraclete? Who was the initial Paraclete? In what way can the Holy Spirit replace Him? The Parakletos can be described as the "Comforter", "Counselor", "Advocate", "Helper", "Friend". My words would be as the One Who never leaves my side. Up to this point they had had Jesus living / abiding with them or at their side, one can say as the initial Paraclete. Because they would no longer see Jesus (the initial Paraclete) , Who would ascend to take up His place again, which He had willingly laid down to pay the price for our Salvation, viz., come to earth as a human being, and eventually be the perfect Sacrifice for the sins of the world, the Holy Spirit Whom the Father would send would then be another Paraclete. The Holy Spirit will replace Jesus as an interior presence, He will be within them, always with them, to guide and instruct them.

Q6. (John 14:13-14) What does it mean to pray "in Jesus' name"? What happens to prayers that are out of His will and purposes? Are there any practical limits to this promise of answered prayer? Thus, to pray in Jesus' name is to pray in accordance with His will and character. (Taken directly from the notes) To ask in His Name, in the Amplified puts it "to ask as His representatives". Just prior to Jesus having made that statement, He had said that greater things would be done by those who believed in Him as Saviour. So it could be deduced that it would be where Father is glorified. The promise He had made do not apply to those prayers which are out of His will and purposes. "If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you." (15:7) "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us -- whatever we ask -- we know that we have what we asked of Him." (1 John 5:14-15) From those verses the limits are that the requests are according to His will.

Q5. (John 14:8) What happens after Jesus’ “glorification” that enables believers to do greater things than Jesus? Is this promise limited to the apostles? Why are Christians today uncomfortable with this promise? The Holy Spirit is sent to empower believers to do great things. This promise is not limited to the apostles. Many have misused the giftings that have been promised and so it is an aspect that one is very careful of. I personally have experienced healings on different occasions. So I do know it still happens in our day and age.

Q4. (John 14:1b, 6-11) In what sense is trusting Jesus the same as trusting God? How accurately does Jesus portray God's actions and words? What does it mean that Jesus and the Father are one (John 10:30)? Firstly I would like to say that I completely accept the fact that The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit are ONE. I have no doubt about it at all. I have no qualms about accepting it either. To explain it is not so easy. The best is to say as the Scripture does and ask the Holy Spirit to do the explaining. Because Jesus (The Son) and God (The Father) are ONE, trusting Jesus is the same as trusting God. In the beginning was The Word, The Word was with God and the Word was God. This says clearly enough that God and the Word are one and the same. Jesus performed miracles as only God would. He spoke words to the natural elements and they obeyed. Jesus does not do or say anything without the Father. They are ONE.

Q3. (John 14:6d) Is it intolerant to believe that no one comes to God except through Jesus? How does Jesus' death and resurrection atone for the sins of the Old Testament saints? Why are some Christians uncomfortable with the statement that "No one comes to the Father but by Me"? The Scripture is quite clear about the fact that Jesus Christ is the only WAY to God. The O.T. saints believed in the coming of the Messiah. If some believe differently , they clearly want their belief to make a way into heaven but the Word clearly teaches us that works are not what will get us saved. It is completely and utterly a Gift. Only through Christ and only because He paid the price.

Q2. (John 14:6) In what sense is Jesus the Way to God? What does it mean to "follow Jesus"? In what sense is Jesus in himself God's Truth? What are the implications of this for us and our world? In what sense is Jesus God's Life? How does this affect us and those we speak to about Him? Paul tells us, "Through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit" (Ephesians 2:18). The writer of Hebrews speaks of "a new and living way" that gives us access into God's very presence (Hebrews 10:19-20). Jesus spoke of himself as "the gate" through which his sheep enter into salvation (John 10:9). To say that Jesus is "the Way" is to affirm that he is the path to God. The above excerpt is taken from the notes. To get to God we need to be cleansed from sin. The only way to be cleansed and set free from sin is through the Blood of Jesus Christ. So in this way we can see that He is the Way to God. To follow Jesus is to lay aside doing ones own thing and to live as He would have us live. Jesus is the Word, the Logos, the exact Expression of God himself, the One Who speaks the Words of God. God is Truth. Jesus says, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." (8:31-32) So we see Jesus is The Truth. We are to hold onto His Words, which are Truth, without Him there is no real truth. Remember satan is the father of lies. In him there is no truth. In John's Gospel the first chapter, John goes to great lengths explaining that Jesus is the Word of God Who was there in the beginning of creation. "Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of men." (1:3-4) Jesus brings eternal life. So from that we see that, He is the very source of life -- both physical life as Co-Creator, but eternal life as well. so we can say Jesus is The Life. So if we want Life we need to accept and follow Jesus Christ Who is the Life and we can offer this same Life to others who otherwise have no life and are facing a Christless eternity, viz., death.

Q1. (John 14:2) What is the "Father's House"? What does verse 2 tell us about what Jesus will do, and what is provided for us? How does that comfort us? The Father's House is God's heavenly dwelling. Jesus as the Bridegroom is preparing a place for us in His Father's House, which when it is ready, He will fetch us, so that we will dwell there together. We can be comforted by the fact that we will forever be together, never to be separated again.

Q6. (John 13:35) In what sense is love for one another an indicator to all of our status (or lack of status) as Jesus' disciples? Why do we sometimes avoid living in an intimate Christian community in favor of only a large-meeting expression of our faith? Why is it so difficult to love people in an intimate Christian community? How does your church or group measure up by the indicator of love for one another? How do you measure up? If we do not love one another, we cannot claim to love God, for God is love. When we live in close communities, we soon react more normal and cannot hide our flaws for a long period of time, the real me/you is soon reflected.

Q5. (John 13:34) Why is love exalted to the level of a command? How does love characterize Jesus' life? In what way does love fulfill the law and the prophets? Love is spoken of throughout the Word. In the Law given to Moses : Love is the theme. By obeying the Law, love is shown to God and your fellow-man. It is as stated in the notes, not a lifestyle suggestion, it is a lifestyle requirement. What Jesus showed in His life was love to the unlovely, love to the outcast, love to whoever He came in contact with. Eventually we see the extent of his love for us -- laying down his life for us -- this is to what the new standard is by which our love is measured. A high standard indeed. The Law and the prophets teach us how to live and ultimately if we live as we are taught there , the central theme of that way of life is LOVE.

Q4. (John 13:27-30) Judas gave into his temptation to greed by stealing from the mission's money bag. How does habitual sin tend to open us to greater influence from Satan in our lives? How did Judas eating Jesus' bread illustrate the magnitude of his betrayal? Habitual sin, as has been stated by others, starts with something small. The less you are caught out the more the sin is done and the greater the sin becomes, or the more daring. Eventually it becomes second nature, and one is quite callous about it. (Allow satan to grab the little finger and it is not long before he has the whole hand.) Judas still reflected before everyone that everything was fine. Up to this point his fellow disciples and Apostles had noticed nothing strange in his attitude or mannerism / behaviour. Jesus , who knew of the deception, did not treat him any different to anyone else. The bread that Jesus, Who Himself was the Bread of LIFE, offered him, he took it as though he was one with Jesus. This is what makes the betrayal so much more unreal. if he was antagonistic beforehand etc., it would have been easier to understand. Before we point a finger at Judas, at Peter or the disciples who fled the scene, or at anyone else for that matter, let us examine our motives in accepting friendship etc., or our accepting of fellowship. What is in our heart? Keep me true, Lord Jesus keep me true

Q3. (Luke 22:25-27) In the world, Great Men have others serve them and exalt them with great titles. How is the Kingdom of God to be different than that? How has Roman Catholic Pope Francis I set an example of humility before his flock? The greater ones are to be as the ones who serve. Titles are not to be things of importance. The way the person is, is what is important. it's the character that makes the man, not the title. From the excerpt of the notes above, Pope Francis 1, has shown himself to be a humble man. He has expected to be treated as a normal man not one of uppity class. Has humbly knelt before a crowd and asked for prayer. Showing that he too needs prayer to fulfill his daily tasks.

Q2. (John 13:14-15) Why do you think Jesus went to such an extent to break all social norms in washing his disciples feet? What value did he establish in his Kingdom by this dramatic act? How are we to live this out in the Christian community? Usually something very out of the ordinary is much easier remembered than a natural event. By performing this extremely menial task, Christ showed by example that humbleness proves to be much greater than pride. There is nothing wrong to be a servant, if that be my lot be the best one at my task. The washing of the feet is also a stunning example of pointing out the need of a regular cleansing necessary from the contamination of sin. Before sin gets a hold on me confess it and repent, turn away from it (be washed from its influence). Lord make me like You, Lord, I am willing, do what You must do. Make me a servant Make me like You

Q1. (John 13:10) Jesus seems to speak to Peter in symbolic language here. In what sense does a "full bath" represent baptism? If this is so, then what kind of needed cleansing does "footwashing" symbolize? After we have accepted Christ as our Lord and Saviour and accepted His cleansing of our sins, then having followed Him through waters of baptism, which would symbolize this cleansing. In a sense this would be the full bath referred to above. When we sin, this would then symbolize dust coming onto us, we need to come back to Jesus for cleansing, this would be by confessing the sin and symbolically, washing our feet and cleansing the dust off from them. The needed cleansing referred to would then be confessing and repenting from our sin.

Q5. (Joshua 24:15-27) What was Joshua's challenge to the Israelites? How does God seem to challenge you? What is He saying to you? What do you plan to do about it? Joshua challenged the people to choose whom they would serve. Draw closer and closer to Him. To become more and more like Him. To serve Him with all that I am and all that I have.

Q4. (Joshua 23:7) What was Jesus' example of "associating" with sinners? Who were the "buddies" with whom He spent most of his time? How can we balance our lives so we can enjoy friendship with non-Christians while not becoming like them? What is the strategic effect of having no friendship with non-Christians? Jesus did not shun the outcasts in society. In fact He even called Matthew, who was a tax-collector , to be His disciple. Matthew left that lifestyle behind. Another one who was shunned by society, was, Zacchaeus. Jesus went to Him and as a result his life was changed. He gave back what he had stolen, he righted what he had wronged. Jesus' lifestyle affected the sinner enough, to change his lifestyle. Mary Magdalene was a faithful follower of Christ. She too had been living a dubious life before being influenced by Christ. The demoniac who lived among the tombs, who went about naked, was found changed after meeting with Christ, he was found clothed and in his right mind. Much of Jesus' time was spent with His apostles and disciples and those who were following Him or who came out to hear Him, who were learning from Him, how to live etc. We need to make sure that wherever we are we always are dressed in the armour prepared for us. Always, no matter the place, remember Christ is right there beside you, never loose sight of this. If we do not mix with non-Christians, how will we ever reach them.

Q3. (Joshua 24:23) Why did the Israelites have to throw out their foreign gods? What was the effect of keeping these images in their houses? What "foreign gods" contaminate our homes, our lives? What would be involved in "throwing them out"? According to them, when they were asked to choose whom they would serve, they chose to serve God, Who had taken them out of slavery. For this reason they had to throw out their foreign gods, because if you choose to serve Yahweh, it is Him and Him alone you serve. The foreign gods will make you be like an adulterous wife, i.e., not be faithful to her husband. You will not be faithful to Yahweh. Keeping the images in their houses, made them fail in the purpose of being separate unto God. Anything that takes the place of God in our lives. It can be wealth, jobs, poverty, sex, our families, fashion, phones, friends, society, being in the spotlight, staying in hiding, etc. Throwing out whatever comes between us and our Elohim, will involve keeping our eyes focused on Him and Him alone, living for Him and being prepared to make decisions He would have you make and sticking to them, no matter what. I am in for this kind of lifestyle. I desire You and You alone, my King and my God.

Q2. (Joshua 23:11-13) How would you define "holiness"? What makes us holy? How should our holiness affect our lifestyles? Holiness is being separate unto God. Not to let ourselves be contaminated by loving and desiring the things of this world. Not to be overcome by it. We are made holy by no doing of ourselves, but by Christ having taken upon Himself our unrighteousness and placed His righteousness on us. So now it is as if the old "me" is dead and it is Christ that is alive. My lifestyle should now reflect Christ. When looking in the "mirror" it is Christ's reflection that we should see.

Q1. (Joshua 23-24) Why are we tempted to think that we have accomplished so much by our own strength? Why are we tempted to do nothing and expect God to do all the work? What is the balance? Which side of the balance have you been on personally? How about your church? I guess it is pride that makes us think we have accomplished something by our own strength, meanwhile we can do nothing alone. My prayer is that at all time I am willing to be His Hand extended, reaching out to the oppressed, etc. To be willing to be His Voice, speaking encouragements, warnings etc as is needed. Nothing that I have accomplished has been in my own strength. God uses people, nature etc., to accomplish His plans. I need to be ready and willing to be used of Him, to fulfill whatever purpose He has in mind.

Q4. (Joshua 15:17-19) What do we learn about Acsah's character from this passage? Name some examples of strong women of faith in the Bible. Name some strong women of faith you have known personally. Achsah was obedient to her father and submissive to her husband. She first asked Othniel's permission to go to her father and ask for a field. Boldly she then asked her father for what she needed for her possession to be of use to her. As she had desert land, she would need springs of water for it to be of use to her. Many come to mind and have been mentioned. Sarai, who followed Abram and had to be strong for all the others in their following who were with them, it was not just Abram and Sarai, but all their slaves and those families as well. I guess she failed when she gave Hagar to Abram to have a child with to whom she could then be a surrogate mother; Jochebed, who hid her baby and then later put him in a basket among the bulrushes, and Miriam who as a young maiden waited to see what would happen to her brother and then boldly asked if she could get a nurse for him (that must have taken some faith to do). Deborah, who judged Israel at the time of Barak; Hannah, mother of Samuel who in faith brought her son to the priest, to live in Shiloh Naomi who was prepared to walk back to Bethlehem alone Ruth, who left the familiar behind and trusted herself into the hands of the God of Naomi Esther, the orphan who followed Mordecai's instructions. Later she put her life at risk to save her nation. Jehosheba, wife of Jehoiada the priest, who took the infant son of Ahaziah, Joash, and hid him from Athaliah (the wicked queen). She sure had to have faith that God would help her in this undertaking, and so also the unnamed person looking after him. Mary, the mother of our Saviour. To go through with everything, knowing she would be shunned, misunderstood, and dispised in her society. Mary Magdalen and the other women who followed Jesus. Lydia, who assisted Paul and other believers. Timothy's mother and grandmother, Eunice and Lois. My own mother, knowing that my father had died, that her two youngest children had died and that her oldest son was in such a bad way that his death too seemed immanent, could still request songs to be sung at the funeral that attested to her faith. How Great Thou Art; Nothing Between Lord, Nothing Between. Yes, hard times did not make her lose her faith but sooner strengthened her and drew her closer to her Saviour. There are others.

Q3. (Joshua 15:15-17; Judges 3:9-11) What can we deduce about Othniel's character from Joshua 15:15-17? Why does Caleb offer his daughter in marriage? How does this narrow the selection of a son-in-law? What is the power behind Othniel's judgeship according to Judges 3:10? Caleb had driven out the giants from Hebron (Keriath- Arba), now remained Debir (Keriath-sepher). Instead of leading the men himself to take Debir , he offered it to the one who would be brave enough to take it and offered his daughter in marriage to the person also. The one to take it was Othniel, his nephew. WE can deduce from this that he was strong and brave and had faith in the God of Israel just as Caleb had. The land had been allotted to Caleb. If he wanted to keep the land in his descendants possession, he would have to offer his daughter to the person as a wife, else he would loose that part of his land. The person to gain the land would be someone that would be prepared to take his daughter as his wife. He would have to be of like faith as Caleb and would have to be prepared to live in the land allotted to Caleb's family. For this to be someone out of the family would thus be highly unlikely. Thus it narrowed it down to someone he knew. The Spirit of the Lord was upon Othniel and he judged Israel and they had 40 yrs of peace during his time of judgeship.

Q2. (Joshua 14:6-14) Why is Caleb boastful in verse 12? Is this a character flaw or a trait to be emulated? Why do you think he claimed the hill country of Hebron for his inheritance? How can a strong leader be truly humble? Why are strong leaders often tempted towards pride? I don't take him to be boastful. Caleb was chosen to represent the tribe of Judah, even though he was a Kenizzite, when 12 leaders of the people were chosen by Moses to spy out the land. Only he and Joshua encouraged the people that they would be able to conquer the land and take it for a possession. He saw God to be bigger than the giants and other difficulties the 10 spies saw. To him God was big enough when he was 40 yrs of age, just as even at that moment God was big enough now that Caleb was 85 yrs old. In Deut 1:36, Moses says that Caleb and his children will inherit the land upon which he has walked. Caleb had waited more than 40 yrs for his inheritance. He claimed exactly that portion which had put off the other spies, where the giants lived. The land that Caleb saw that God would indeed drive out the enemy from before him. This was the hill country of Hebron. A strong leader can be truly humble when he acknowledges his inability to tackle the leading alone and his leaning on God to help him. Often people place strong leaders on a pedestal and that is when the danger of pride comes in.

Q1. (Numbers 14:24; Joshua 14:8) What does it mean to follow the Lord "wholly" or "wholeheartedly"? How did Caleb and Joshua differ from the other spies? How does fear in leaders keep God's people from doing his will? Why was God angry with Israel for their unwillingness to enter the Promised Land? To follow the Lord wholly and wholeheartedly means to put ones trust in Him. Regardless of circumstances or what others are doing around us, to remain focused on following Him and doing His will. Caleb and Joshua were different in that they believed that God would see them through these problems that were facing them. He had proved to be faithful in meeting their needs in the wilderness, He sure would help them overcome whatever they would face in conquering the Land He had promised them. They saw God in the overall picture whereas the other spies saw the problems in the picture and forgot about God. Fear is contagious, especially if it is detected in leaders. Then instead of following God and being over-comers, they follow the leaders and give in to fear and doubt. God had proved over and over to the Israelites that He was there for them. The problems were ironed out as they came up. They were fed, the clothes did not grow old and wear thin, the sandals did not wear out. Their needs were met. Now they showed how little their trust actually was. They turned away from God.

Q6. (John 12:47-49) In what way can judging people get in the way of saving them? How did Jesus deal with this in his own ministry? What will it take for us to lose our stiffness and judgmental demeanor so that we might be able to be Jesus' agents of salvation? When we judge people we straight away put their back-up against us. They feel we think that we are better than they are. Jesus did not come to judge people this time round. He came to save them. He accepted people for who they were. He loved them and showed by example how to live the life He was taking about. He walked the talk. People could see the difference in His lifestyle to the way the pharisees lived. We too need to come to the point where we are mirror-images of Christ. Where Christ is seen in our lives, in our relationships. Where we do not judge but show mercy instead. Where we are prepared to serve, to be the least.

Q5. (John 12:42-43) When we are quiet about our relationship to God out of fear that people will criticize us, what does this say about our priorities? What does this say about whether we are true disciples? When Peter denied knowing Jesus in the High Priest's courtyard, what was the effect in his life? Our priorities are not right, we are more concerned to receive acknowledgement by man than to stand and maybe be persecuted for our beliefs. If this does in no ways affect us, i.e., we do not feel deep remorse about our negative stand, then there is a big question about whether we are true disciples. After Peter had denied knowing Jesus, he was devastated and went out into the night sobbing in sorrow, for what he had done.

Q4. (John 12:37-41) In what way does declaring truth to resistant people harden them further? How can a person (or a Pharisee) see a miracle and become even more determined to resist Jesus? How do you understand this paradox? Resistant persons have invariably determined in their hearts and minds that things are the way they have chosen to understand them to be and nothing that anyone will say and do will make them change their minds to accept the things to be different. It is as if a wall gets built around that decision and the more anyone speaks about it, the thicker the wall gets. They become deaf to anything said about it or become blind to see the reality of the situation. The miracles proved without a doubt that Jesus was not just an ordinary man.There was far more behind this whole scenario than met the eye. The Pharisees realized that by letting Jesus continue in this way, He would have an enormous following and they would loose control of the crowds and a following. They could not perform miracles like that. So they refused to believe what was happening in front of their very eyes, they made all kinds of excuses as to why it was happening. In this way they became more determined to resist Jesus. Isaiah has recorded in 6:9&10, that he was to tell the people and this is what would happen, they would keep on listening but not understand, keep on looking but not comprehend; the hearts of the people would be insensitive, their ears dull and their eyes dim. This is what happened in his time and was happening again. It still happens today. the more a person sees or hears, before he is ready to stop resisting, the harder it is to reach him. The only way is for God to soften their hearts and break down their resistance.