Irmela

4. How did the lawyer justify his actions? How do you think the priest and Levite in this story justified their actions? The lawyer justifies his actions in that he knows he would help someone who is close to him, even maybe go as far as a fellow-Jew (maybe not quite, depending on that person's standing ... what if it was a beggar, or known prostitute, or leper). Everything depended on his definition of a neighbour. The priest and Levite both worked at the temple and by helping someone like this and he die on their hands, they would be defiled and not be allowed to complete their service as set out for them. So not doing anything to him they felt was ok.... Like that they would still qualify to complete their duties as laid out to them.

3. Have you ever heard a Christian try to justify a less-than-Christian attitude or action? Why do we constantly try to justify our actions? What motivates justifying ourselves? Yes, we do make excuses to try to cover up actions done or not done. Especially when looking back on that happening. The excuses etc are then made so one doesn't feel or look so bad or un-Christianlike about it. We do try to justify ourselves because we do want to walk in Christ's footsteps (I do anyway). Sometimes my actions fall far short. I think this is what motivates the justifying of the actions. Trying to make the whole happening not look so bad.

2. How is it possible to be able to correctly recite the greatest commandments in the Bible (10:27-28), and still not have them "installed" in your life? Head knowledge is easy to have, it is using that head knowledge and putting it into practice that "installs" it into ones life. Knowledge can also be interpreting something in a certain way. Not necessarily the same way as everyone else. For example loving your neighbour as yourself, could be taken as your fellow-students, those in your community, your race, your class and not go beyond that, (the lawyer was taking it as fellow-upperclass-Jews ... not the outcasts of society) That was why it was not installed in his heart. Only for a certain group. Jesus clarified the meaning of neighbour with this parable, in no uncertain terms

1. If you were to select three themes that this passage discusses, what would they be? What is the chief theme? Showing MERCY ... It goes beyond just loving, it is caring having mercy, in fact truly going the second mile. "Love your neighbour as yourself" . Theme of JUSTICE by caring for a 'neighbour' ... going far beyond just the one we know or are familiar with. It is a stranger. Not just a stranger, a hurt one, could even be that danger is still lurking in the vicinity. Even beyond just that also on top of it all overlapping the racial issue. So put bluntly we find that a neighbour can be one of a different race or a hurt person (where you might have to go out of your way to help him back on his feet). (You have to be prepared to sacrifice time and money). Here we would say the theme is "Do to OTHERS as you would have them do to you". Showing justice by not just being kind to your own but to a hurt total stranger, who could under normal circumstances be termed an enemy. Third theme would be FAITHFULNESS. The Samaritan did not just drop him off. He cared for him as best he could and left him in good hands, promising to return and pay whatever was outstanding. The chief theme would be MERCY as it envelopes the other two as what was done was truly Loving the neighbour as himself.

6. What are we disciples supposed to learn from this passage? State what are the main lessons for us? We learn that we are privileged: to be children of God, to be disciples, to have truth revealed to us which enables us to get to know God, that joy, real joy, inspired by the Holy Spirit cannot be contained but it erupts in praise (and it is ok to do so).

5. What do you think God looks for in a person he chooses to reveal himself to? Complete surrender. Openness and readiness to learn from Him. Obedience Humility

4. Why do you think God doesn't allow just anyone to know him intimately? Why does this kind of knowledge require deliberate revelation by the Spirit? I understand that not everyone comes to Him with an open heart. This is required for God to reveal Himself. An intellectual aptitude can be an obstacle in God's work in us. It is required that the Holy Spirit be given free reign in our hearts and minds, that we can listen to the Father and learn from Him. He does answer to prayer. (He is not a puppet)

3. Why do you think God takes delight in revealing himself to spiritual novices instead of sophisticated scholars? Sophisticated scholars often already have a full answer to the sought out query or a part answer and it is very hard for them to look into a situation openly without a preconceived idea of the answer. Spiritual novices go into a situation, empty-handed as it were and allow God to fill their hands, hearts, minds etc with His ways of doing something. He is able to use them easier as they are more pliable in His hands. What God reveals to them they accept without 20000 questions about it. They seem to sooner just go ahead and do, than first puzzle it all out. They sooner accept "God is in control".

2. There is a qualitative difference between joy that springs from the Holy Spirit, and normal human joy, as good as that is. How would you describe this difference? Normal human joy depends on circumstances, and ones disposition, whereas joy in the Holy Spirit is there in spite of adverse circumstances. It is an unstoppable joy. It floods oneself in an unexplainable way. It is just WOW. JOY UNSPEAKABLE AND FULL OF GLORY

1. What was it that prompted Jesus to be filled with joy in 10:21? The disciples whom Jesus had sent out into the towns and villages He was soon to visit, (after having given them authority to heal the sick and cast out demons, and declare to them that the Kingdom of God is near) had returned full of joy. This was obviously also contagious so He could rejoice with them. He could just see far beyond what they saw, viz., that the demons responded and were driven out, He saw the start of the breaking up of satan's work (the start of the fall of satan) and He saw that their names were written up in Heaven. They would be with Him for all eternity.

5. (10:20) Why should we rejoice that our names are written in heaven? What does that mean? Why are we often tempted to rejoice over much lesser things? If our names are written in the Lambs Book of Life, that means we are with Christ for all eternity. We rejoice over miracles because they are tangible and for now. But Salvation is the greatest miracle of all. FOR ALL ETERNITY

4. (10:19b) What does Jesus' declaration, "Nothing shall by any means hurt you," include? What does it mean here? Is it to be interpreted physically or spiritually, literally or figuratively? It means that regardless of the outcome of the warfare. Be it the physical body that dies, spiritually we will have LIFE. We will not be cut off from God. In the instance where Jesus had sent out the 70, He had said He was sending them out as sheep among wolves, but they would literally and spiritually be safe.

3. (10:19a) What does the "authority to trample on snakes and scorpions" entail? What does it lack? It entails the authority to destroy the work of the devil in the life of an individual or the power the devil has on an individual. This cannot be done without Christ's authority. It does also not mean that literally you will trample on snakes and scorpions, nothing will ever happen to you. The law of nature still abides. Miracles are known to happen though.

2. (10:18) Why did the disciples' report of their power of demons prompt Jesus to recall the Fall of Satan from Heaven? The thing that seems to have made a big impact on the disciples was the fact that the demons responded to the authority given to them, i. e. the disciples, viz., to cast them out. Jesus then responds by acknowledging that satan had been cast out of heaven. Thus demonic activity was prevelant here on earth (It was like a rock had been hurled into a hornets nest) and by casting them out of their prey, they were real mad. This is what Jesus had come to do, destroy satan's work.

1. (10:17) If the demons were subject to the Seventy's command in Jesus' name, should they be subject to our command today? Why or why not? What did the Seventy have that we don't? What do we have that the Seventy didn't? We too have been granted authority. If it is done in the name of Jesus, I do not see why they should not. Jesus sent the 70 (72) ahead of Him to prepare the places for He was coming there after them. Jesus has given us the Holy Spirit. We too are given the authority to cast out demons and to perform miracles in His Name.

They were exposed to much persecution, famine, hardships, being ostracized, prison, violent death. Depending on where you live, Christians too are persecuted in a similar way. Families are ripped apart, imprisonment, persecution etc is also faced by many. We are assured here that nevermind what we experience, it cannot stop Christ's love to reach us. Even amidst that difficult time Christ is there and will not leave us. When we are through all the persecution and pass over the vale of death we overwhelmingly have conquered whatever the enemy has put in our path and are with Christ forever more. WATCH AND PRAY

If God be for us, who can indeed be against us. No opponent is stronger than God. No devil, no evil forces, no other enemy, nothing. And He has chosen me on His side. The Father did not spare His Son, but gave Him to pay the penalty for me. It does not end there. There is more. Will He not also with Him freely and graciously give us all [other] things. This is an inheritance. So we know He sees us as sons and daughters together with Christ as the first-born Son.

In a family, the children have similar identity traits or similar looks. Each one is very unique yet something usually qualifies them as siblings. Family likenesses are sometimes also seen in two or three generations down the line. In verse 29 we read about sharing Christ's likeness, being molded into His image. So if we look in a mirror which reflects character we should see the family resemblance as we are now also sons and daughters of the living God, just as Christ is the Son. He is the firstborn of many brethren. (It's scary and wow at the same time ) The picture of the Potter and the clay. Molding us into Christ's image. Like getting a new DNA. So ultimately for the finished design or pattern (purpose) to be reached we need to draw nigh to God. Read His Word. Practice His Word. Pray. Live like Jesus did. Use Him as our Pattern. (i guess that answers about all the questions in a roundabout way)

(Romans 8:28) What is the actual promise contained in verse 28? For me the promise is that GOD IS THERE AT WORK, using all circumstances /all things, putting them together and ultimately working them that it will be for our good. What does this promise mean? Put it in your own words. It means that no matter what, we are never alone. God is there at work using the bad and the not so good, the good and the very good things and somehow intertwining them all and ultimately at the very end it will be seen to have worked for our good. (eg. Joseph's life, Moses' lifestyle or experience, Paul's background, the fisherman Peter, ... so we can go on. What they knew or had experienced helped them in the work destined for them) What are the two qualifications to the recipients of this promise? To love God and to have been called and responded positively to the call to live according to His design and purpose. How does verse 28 give you hope? This verse has been a verse I have clung to for the past almost 50yrs. When our family was killed and family life as I was accustomed to was gone forever I clung to this promise that somehow GOD could take the experience of that happening and use it for good in some way. That was the hope I clung to. That it was not for nothing. God could use that experience we went through and allows us to be of help to others experiencing a bad patch in their lives.

We will be renewed. His glory will be in us. We will be revealed as sons and daughters of God (fellow heirs with Christ Jesus) Creation will be renewed and remade. It will be a New Heaven and a New Earth. Creatures will be living together in peace and harmony as in Eden. We will reclaim our physical bodies, which will henceforth no longer experience death or decay. Our bodies will be as Christ's resurrected body. If we do not change we would not be able to live in this glory .

I imagine a person who has lost hope lives without purpose in life. Just keeps going on because he is breathing. Possibly be depressed, frustrated, suicidal, distructive, manipulative and very tiring to be around. The opposite would be true of a person with an expectation of a better future. He would be vibrant, full of joy, confident, productive, brimming with life. It would be easy to be around such a person. Our hope reaches beyond time. We will be with the LORD forever. We will be set free from the bondage to decay and corruption. We should be motivated to live for the Lord even now and not grovel in misery and sin. Also we should be willing to share this hope with others

(Romans 8:26-27) How does the Holy Spirit act as a Helper or Mediator or Intercessor in verses 26-27? The Holy Spirit sees our heart. Sees our yearnings. Sees what we cannot put into words. Sees that we don't know how to pray and He does it for us. He pleads on our behalf. Above all, He does so in harmony with God's will. So all three Helper/Mediator and Intercessor are woven into One. What similarities do you see between the Holy Spirit's ministry here with Jesus' teaching of the Spirit's ministry as Counselor/Comforter/Paraclete in John 14:16 and 15:26)? It is the same. Why do you think we tend to take the Holy Spirit for granted or fail to understand His ministry to and through us? I guess because we are human and our tendency is to want to use our senses sooner than the still inner voice in our hearts. We tend to be fearful of letting go. Think wé can do it. Letting go is like free-falling and knowing His Everlasting Arms are holding us, nothing else.

Romans 8:17-22) In what ways was suffering Jesus' lot in life? Isaiah 53 spells out in a nutshell how He was "received" in this world. This is what He came for, so that He could eventually liberate the world and man from the chains of death and decay. Why do we suffer? Because of sin. Why does all creation seem to be suffering? It suffers because it was in the clasp of sin. What will signal the end of that downward cycle of suffering, decay, and death? Christ's return and revealing of the sons and daughters of God. Is there anything good to look forward to in this present life? Yes, because Christ has come and paid the price of sin and death. Mankind has been set free. We can look forward to eternal life with God our Father.

1. Why are the disciples sent to both the receptive and the unreceptive? Why are they to say to each, "The kingdom of God is near you"? All are given a chance to choose. The time is not unlimited. We need to decide soon. You don't know when it will be too late. 2. Is it possible for disciples to be agents of salvation and healing, without at the same time being possible agents of judgment? It all works hand-in-hand. Very often having received salvation, then the healing process begins to manifest or is complete. Jesus brought hope to the hopeless. Very often that oppression brings sickness. Oppression is lifted, sickness is lifted. We will all be judged at the closing of the ages. The ultimate result of the judgment can be changed if salvation is accepted. We are encouraged to bring the Word in favourable or unfavorable times. 3. Are people already under God's judgment, or only become so if they reject Jesus' message? Man was created by God and He declared His work to be good. Then man of his own decision, (disobeyed) fell into sin. Rom 3:23 reminds us that all have sinned. Thus we are all under God's judgment. 4. Why is it so terrifying and sobering to think that someone might reject Jesus because of the inconsistencies they see in our lives? Will our inconsistencies give them an excuse on the Day of Judgment? No one is perfect. If we have failed we are to confess our failures and turn about that a change is noticed and not go back to that sin. Ultimately everyone must make his own decision to accept or reject Christ's message. No excuse is acceptable. 5. What is Jesus' chief message: judgment or salvation? What qualities do you think Jesus should look for in his "Press Secretary" or spokesperson? The msg of judgment and salvation go hand-in-hand. If the msg of salvation is not accepted it is Christ that is rejected and ultimately God. By rejecting God, judgment is called down upon them. If the msg of salvation is accepted the result is eternal life for that one. Jesus is possibly looking for total submission, for obedience, willingness to surrender to Him wholeheartedly. He enables us in the midst of all to STAND.

6. What kind of "wages" does God offer harvesters today for their labor? (10:7) If this is meant here on earth, I guess it is that we are to expect to get sustenance as is needed day by day. One day in heaven it will be a different story. That is when we will receive our reward. We are not to expect extravaganza par excellence now.