bschae42

Q1. (11:32) Have you ever begun something in response to God's urging and then stopped? Did God want you to stop? Is it time now to renew your obedience and begin again? (Don't take this question lightly. Sometimes circumstances prevent us from doing what we once felt God wanted us to do. However, he is able to redirect you into his will for you now. Seek him diligently to learn his will.) A few years ago during lent I decided to get up each morning and rather than give up something for the 40 days I would say a rosary each morning. I was very dilligent and continued the practice long after lent was finished. Then earlier this year I went on a vacation and since then I have only said my rosary a few times. For some reason I am having trouble commiting to this practice again. I know that God did not want me to stop. Like most things in life once you break the cycle it is sometimes hard to get started again. Well, it is now time for me to start again and hopefully talking about it here will give me the push that I need.

Q5. What has this study on 2 Peter and Jude meant to you? How has it enriched your life? How could it be improved? I am very glad that I took part in the study. It gave me a great deal to think about. The bible is filled with so many lessons and this study introduced me to a few of them that I had never read before. I look forward to the next study.

(Jude 20a) Why does God make you responsible to "build up" your own Christian faith? What are you doing on a regular basis to obey this command? What should you begin to do that will help you be built up better? Who else should be responsible but us for our own faith? I attend bible studies that are held in my church twice a year and I have taken part in this on-line study. I also belong to a small prayer group that meets weekly between the bible studies, and I spend an hour a week in our adoration chapel for silent prayer. Being a Catholic I have the opportunity to attend mass daily. I need to do that more often.

What effect should a belief in Christ's return and coming judgment have on your life? What effect does an underemphasis on Christ's return have on a Christian's life? Believing that Christ will return and that we will be judged as to how we lived our lives should in plain language keep us on our toes. Since no one knows when this might happen we have to be ready to face God and be able to answer for our life and our sins. If we are not reminded of this, as Christians, we can become lax and not be ready when the time comes. We need to live our lives as if today might be our last day. We need to be at peace and in good standing with God at all times.

Q4. (2 Peter 3:9) Why does our culture resist the ideas of sin and repentance? Can there be salvation without repentance? Can you think of a time in your own life when repentance was difficult for you? Why was it difficult? Sadly we live in a society where anything goes. The excuse given is "get with it this is 2004." Well, what was a sin in the 40's, 50's ,60's and so on is still a sin today. We are just more accepting of it today. It seems like character and morales are way down on the list of what is important in our daily lives. I do not beleive that there can be salvation without repentance. We need to ask God for forgiveness of our sins if we are to reach the gates of heaven. He will forgive us anything, but we must ask and really mean what we are saying. We need to do this on a daily basis since no one knows when their last day will be.

Q4. (2 Peter 2:20-22) If open sin is so spiritually dangerous, why have we churches stopped talking about it so much? I believe that our churches have stopped talking about open sin first because they do not want to scare anyone away. In many cases they tell the congregation what they think that they want to hear. From my experience, when you finally get a priest that speaks out and talks about unpopular subjects he is silenced or sent to another parish. We cannot upset the parishioners because we need their money. They need to keep the pews filled. It is a sad situation. One that I don't see changing anytime soon.

Q2. (2 Peter 3:7-13). Why is it important for us to understand what it means to "perish"? Why are these truths underemphasized in our day? What effect does that have on us? How can we get an understanding of judgment into proper balance in our churches and teaching? We need to be afraid of something. We cannot always believe that everthing will be all right. We will all die one day and it could be tomorrow and we need to understand that. We need to be ready. Everyone is so afraid of offending someone else these days so we have to be so careful of what is taught in our schools and churches. Children and adults alike are not being told the whole truth. Because of this so many Christians will not be ready for judgement day and that is sad.

Q1. (2 Peter 3:1-2) Why are reminders so important for Christians? How do you remind yourself of God's promises? How do you remind others? Reminders are important because as Christians we tend to forget what our ultimate goal in life is. And that is to please God in our everyday life and to ready ourselves for our day of judgement. I remind myself of God's promises by reading the bible and discussing what I have read with a prayer group that I belong to. I remind others by pointing out what God has done for them so far and hope that they will be ready when their time comes.

Q2. (2 Peter 1:19). In what ways do the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments act for you as "a light shining in a dark place"? What does the darkness represent? What does the light represent? Reading the scriptures has given me hope. The world we live in is slowly becoming a dark place Knowing what is in store for me once I leave this world is my shinning light.

Q1. (2 Peter 1:13-15) Why does our culture avoid talking about death? How is describing your earthly body as a "tent" freeing and motivating? What is the significance of Peter referring to his death as a "departure" or "exodus"? I think that we avoid talking about death for the same reasons that some of us do not go to the doctor when we feel there is something wrong with us. If we do not hear bad news it will not affect us. If we do not mention death we will live on forever. To believe that after death we will not have our earthy body would seem freeing especially to a person that had been sick and whose body had been racked with pain or disease.

Q2. (2 Peter 1:6) Why is a disciplined devotional life important to you? What happens when you forget or don't have time? What Christian disciplines do you employ to help you open your spirit to God's Spirit? A disciplined devotional life is important to me because talking to God on a daily basis gives me a feeling of contentment and brings me closer to God. When I stray away from daily prayer I sometimes feel lost and lonely.

All four of these virtures are difficult and on any given day I have trouble with one or all of them. I think that moral goodness has been the easiest for me. I have always tried to be a good person. Sure I have failed at times, but I do keep on working at it. As far as knowledge of the scripture goes I have been working on that for the past few years. I still have a long way to go. Self-control works some times, but I often fail and perseverance is also a tough one. I am not the most patient person at times. I will keep on working and hope that some day I can give myself a passing grade.

Strong desires can erode our faith when the desires play to big of a part in our lives. We become weak and the devil is right there waiting for us to fail. A strong desire to please God can build our faith. We must not loose sight of where we are headed. If we vear off the path we do not want to go to far. If we listen God will lead the way.

I am overwhelmed by God's glory and presence in my everyday life. I know he is there and watching and I want to please him. I want to show kindness and love to others because I know that is what he wants me to do and what I should do. He is my conscience. Knowing he is always there makes me a better person. He shows himself to me in so many ways almost daily. I also know that he forgives me when I do not live up to the standards he has set for me.

I feel that if we want it to be our faith can be equal to St. Peter's. Is mine? I don't think so. Not yet anyway. Although I believe I am not yet at that wonderful place where I can totally trust everything to God. Through prayer and scripture study I am getting closer to when I can fully trust in the wonderful gift of faith that I was given.