grace

I believe I began an evangelical outreach, but did not follow through. I do not believe God wanted me to stop. Given the leading of the Holy Spirit , I would renew my obedience.

The study of 2Peter and Jude has been a welcome addition to my daily growth. I look forward to it every day. It calls for a greater understanding of just what the passage of scripture is saying to me. We need the warning to be aware of false doctrine and teachers who twist the truth of God. I can't wait to receive the lessons on Abraham. It has enriched my life by keeping me in the Word of God and making me very much aware of the evil of our day, and to be on guard for myself and others in the body of Christ. It might be improved by bringing about correction to individuals who miss the point in scripture in giving their answers to the questions.

That God is guarding me from falling is absolutely essential. For it is not of my own strenght that I am running this race, but of Him who called me into His kingdom. God continually admonishes and cautions us about the pitfalls and dangers that we will encounter along the way, and instructs us to be vigilant, sober and watchful as we seek to walk in the Lord. As to God's joy over me, all I understand is that the angels rejoiced over me when I repented and gave my heart to the Lord. I believe that the marriage supper of the Lamb is what the ULTIMATE JOY will be for the Lord. God has already presented me to Himself, "Blameless" when I accepted the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, for there is now,therefore, NO CONDEMNATION to those that are in Christ Jesus. That work was accomplished before the foundation of the world, when God knew that man would fall, and He knew the sacrifice that would have to be made to bring man back into a relationship with Him through the atonement.

I believe that to keep myself in God's love means to have a daily walk with the Lord in bible reading , prayer , fellowshipping with other christians and to be open to the leading of the Holy Spirit, ready to obey.Also , to live in such a way that God's love can bless me while I wait for the gift of eternal life. To strenghten my love relationship with God, I continue daily to look to God for direction for my life and that of my family. I encourage other believers and try to strenghten them in the Lord. I am seeking God to bring me to a more mature level in my spiritual walk, for before I can instruct others, I must see to it that I am walking circumspectly. I believe that probably the more I could do is simply take God AT HIS WORD and trust Him to direct my life and meet my needs.

God holds us responsible to build up our own christian faith, firstly, because we have entered into a covenant with God; therefore, there is God's part and there is our part. Secondly, God and us comprise a family; He is our father and we are his adopted children. As children , we want to please our Abba Father, and obedience is one way of doing that. Thirdly, we are instructed as children of God to "Grow in Grace" and in the knowledge of Our Lord and Saviour , Jesus Christ. On a regular basis, we continue in bible study, fellowship, prayer and service in the body of Christ, and witness at every opportunity.Also I am requested that the Lord would help me to exercise the gifts in me that may be dormant and unproductive at this time. To be further "built up", I am calling on God for His strenght to walk more circumspectly, to be more obedient, to flee from all forms of temptation, to call upon Him in Spirit and in truth and mostly to trust Him when it does not seem that He is anywhere near my spiritual struggles.

Although, all are special, the one that touches me at this time , is that I have been CALLED . I was a personal work of the Holy Spirit-God is the suitor. When I consider the numbers that will be lost, I wonder why or what is it about me that God would show His love toward me. God chose me before the foundation of the world that I would come into His presence. It's special for many reasons, but especially to see that I have been called aside to be pure and holy , separated from the depravity of this world to be prepared for the New Jerusalem.

The effect that Christ's return should have on me with regard to His return and coming judgement is to find me in His service as if He is coming tomorrow and to be found as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. Underemphasis of the return of Christ and His judgement can result in a christian becoming passive and uncommitted to his responsibilites as a fruitful branch in the service of Jesus Christ. Such a christian would have little or no oil in his lamp when the bridgroom comes suddenly.

Our culture resists the ideas of sin and repentance, mainly because of PRIDE. It is not within man to humble himself and admit that He has fallen short of God's standards. Culture stresses the idea that man can be his own god; he doesn't need any God telling him what to do to bring about correction in his life. Without repentance, it is impossible to be saved. Since this is obvious , I wonder why this question is asked. '''Repentance means going in a new direction with one's life, and an unrepentant sinner will not respond to the act of repentance. God made it clear in the Word, "Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish". God said to repent, so why would we withhold ourselves from doing so.

According to Peter, Christ's coming has been delayed because it is not the will of God that any human being perish, but that every person should have the opportunity to repent and get right with God. However, there is no delay with God because His timetable is not our timetable. The delay(as per Peter) reveals to us the overwhelming patience and longsuffering of God in waiting upon souls to repent, having sent his witnesses into this dark world by the direction of the Holy Spirit.God speaks about "OTHER SHEEP " that He has that are not yet in the fold. "

It is important to understand the meaning of the word"Perish" because it pertains to those who CHOOSE not to follow the Lord, and speaks of a place of separation from a Holy God, where the smoke of their torment continues forever. These truths are underemphasized today, because its a way of avoiding dealing with the most serious issue of the human life-where one will spend eternity. People are more interested in seeking the approval of their fellowman , instead of God. That affects us because it makes it more difficult for us to reach them with the gospel and have them see the truth about their lives We must continue to take a stand on the issues of judgement that God has clearly pointed out in the scriptures and the consequences of ignoring this judgement.

Reminders are important to christians because they are places where we learned something special from God's word which helped "ground" us in God's word. As Peter expressed in todays lesson, he said, "Iput you in remembrance". When we stray , I believe we, every once in a while have to go back to the basics that encouraged and strenghtened our faith. I remind myself of God's promises , by reviewing scripture passages that I have memorized and by a daily reading of the Word. I remind others by letting them know what the Word of God says when I try to witness to them .

I believe that churches have stopped talking about open sin because it feels the pressures from those who hold a " politically correct " position. Even within the local body, there are those who are more concerned with pleasing their fellow man than taking a bold stand for God. Let's face it-taking a stand for righteousness turns off a lot of people ,even some within the body who do not want to be corrected. I also think pastors have become discouraged

A disgraceful sin can enslave a person,because it takes away from the the nature of God with which we were intended to reflect. And it brings us into bondage and disrupts our walk with the Lord. The way out of these sins is to deal with the matter,IMMEDIATELY, before it gets a grip on us and enslaves us. This ,of course, is to come immediately into prayer with God seeking His forgiveness and strenght to overcome this temptation. We can love the sinner , yet hate the sin, when we realize that God is not willing that any should perish. Jesus died for all regardless of the depth of their sin nature and we are to love the unlovely for we know that while we were yet His enemies , Christ died for us. We can steer clear of a judgemental attitude against those who commit sin, by realizing that we too were once lost and now are found. Only God knows the potential of the one who we look down on.

Sexual sin denies Christ when it is used contrary to the way that God intended us to use it. Furthermore, it is not contained within the bonds of marriage . My Canadian governments officials have totally denied Christ by putting their stamp of approval on same sex marriages. We have become complacent about sexual sin in our culture because society and the business of becoming ."Political Correct" have taken first place in our government , along with making sure that the voice of God is NOT heard among our political representatives.

Q.1. We must contend for the faith because it is a gift that God has given to His own peculiar people. We contend so that false teachers will not undermine the faith. we must stand against falsehoods and errors and also we must contend for the faith for our children, who carry on after us. Q.2. If we don't contend with false teachers , then we are in danger of becoming apostate in our beliefs and becoming passive in our proclamation of the gospel. Q.3. The danger inherent in challenging them is that we cannot become CONTENTIOUS and lose the gift of love which God has bestowed on us, thus leaving a bitter taste in the lives of people. Q.4. We can keep a correct balance by focusing on the salvation that Christ as provided instead of being led astray by false doctrine, and we must gently correct those who are in error.

When God breathed scripture, He breathed or gave life to His Word causing it to be active to the believer to equip us for the ministry God has called us too. Through His Word we are able to hear His voice and follow His plan for our lives. God's Spirit is important for us to understand scripture because Jesus said "Without Me , ye can do NOTHING'". We are TOTALLY dependant upon the Holy Spirit to know God's will, to help us pray and to give us strenght in our daily walk with the Lord.

A person is speaking and God is speaking too happens because the spirit of God is within that person and God will speak through any person who has a heart for God and a desire to put God first in his life. I believe the apostle, Paul in writing to the churches, often said that the Lord was speaking through him , not the wisdom of man , but of God. The image of a ship being moved by the wind is a good analogy, because in Him, WE LIVE AND MOVE AND HAVE OUR BEING. As the scripture says, "Without me , you can do nothing."

The prophets of old prophezied of the Saviour's coming. Abraham made reference to Jesus as seeing HIS day . Isiah spoke of Him as one who would bear our iniquities and be chastised so that we might know true peace. These prophecies gave hope to those who had a heart for God. To our benefit we now reap the salvation that they never experienced in their human life. Darkness can represent a state of ignorance among many who do not choose the way of the Lord, as one who stumbles in the night. Light is walking in holiness, righteousness and reflecting the very nature of God in our day to day lives.

Today's culture avoids taking about death for several reasons- I believe there is a fear of death especially among unbelievers (a subject they are unable to deal with). Also, their love is for this HERE AND NOW WORLD WE LIVE in ,is their only hope, as well as not wanting God to disturb their way of life. To describe our body as a tent is motivating, because it confirms our short stay on this earth (to which we do not belong). Then the scripture talks about our glorified body-like unto the Lord Jesus. Then REVELATION 21 tells us of the body we will have with no more pain,no more sorrow , no more death, for the former things are passed away. Praise God. Our death as a departure is appropriate as the book of Romans talks about the whole creation groaning and travailing in pain waiting for the adoption, to wit the redemption of our bodies.

A christian character should be evidenced in the life of every believer as an indicator of the work of the Holy Spirit (2cor.5:17). We are reflectors of the character of the Lord Jesus Christ and ambassadors for Christ with a message to a lost and dying world. To a fruitless, barren "believer", I would show him eph. 2:8-10 where it is made clear that we are the workmanship of God to do good works through the grace of God given us and to explain more clearly, that God works through every believer to carry out His purposes and plans for His kingdom. God speaks through us, loves through us, works through us etc. to carry out His work.

I think that member(Sunnilbernard) has answered that question properly,as to Agape Love. This is really the love that only God can express ,even though as we grow in Jesus , we can show a God-like love, but we are still operating in the flesh, and having the same contention with sin, as expressed by Paul, who struggled with doing the right thing (Rom.8). Avoiding church is NEVER the answer. This will let a matter go unresolved between the two parties. God instructs us to pray for those who have offended us. It's to be remembered that we are all vital to the Body of Christ no matter how we see each other in the body. God has placed that member in the body AS IT HAS PLEASED HIM.

A discipilined devotional life is important to me because it is the only way that I can maintain an intimate relationship with Jesus and not get sidetracked by secular things. Also, a devotional life acts as a barrier against the fiery darts of the enemy, who would seek to confuse me with his thoughts. When I forget my devotional time, I become very aware that my day is lacking an important ingredient in my spiritual life (an empty feeling). The christian disciplines that open my spirit to God's Spirit is an immediate confession of sin to God and asking His help to get me back on track, to admit to God that in my own strenght, I can do nothing.

The virtue most easy to move into for me is brotherly kindness as it is my desire to see others grow in the Lord and to have times of sharing with them The virtue most difficult is probably patience, as there are times when I don't see the will of God in me or the direction I am looking for, as well as times of struggle to maintain my christian character(an ongoing battle.).

Strong desires can corrupt our lives, because these desires are of the flesh and only deal with what pleases our sinful nature . A strong desire for God is good but we have to know the will of God and the leading of God for our lives and to know the nature of God that we may reflect the character of God in our lives. God's promises and evil desires are a odds with one another as the flesh lusteth against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh,and these are contrary one from another. This is a constant warfare as we continue to walk in Christ. God's promises build our faith, for His promises are yes and amen, and they strenghten us to keep on fighting the good fight of faith,laying hold of eternal life , whereunto I am called. Evil desires erode our faith, although , they may give pleasure for a season, will utimately be to our spiritual ruin, for the Word says , that if any man love this world , the love of the father is not in him.

To be personally called means that God knew before the foundation of the world, and that He knew I would respond to His call on my life. I feel special when I consider that I have been called out of darkness , that I might walk in the light, when so many will walk the broad way by choice. There are times when I read His Word, and I get a revelation, it brings a joy to my heart. When I see the moral decay in the world, and know that I am not a part of it, it brings a feeling of gratitude to my God. Being aware of His moral excellence makes me want to walk in holiness.