JabezMom

Rebellion is thinking that I know better than God how to run my life and make decisions. I turn my nose up at Him and His wisdom and so things on my own. It is a rejection of His authority over me, and a total and complete disrespect for who He is and what He has already done in my life. Even Lucifer thought he knew better than God and rebellion was birthed in his heart. Rebellion is as bad as witchcraft and the occult because it (a rebellious heart) believes Satan's lies that there is a better way to get our needs met than relying on God. It is TOTALLY arrogant with a know-it-all attitude. If I find rebellion in my heart, which I have in the past... well, what actually happened was that I listened to a friend of mine and I began to put God first every day. I now get up at 5 a.m. and have 30-45 minutes of devotional time. I am studying two consecutive Bible studies (not including this one... which makes three!) and I am loving the time I have with the Lord. I pray for others, I pray that the Holy Spirit will fill me and I pray for ears to hear Him and eyes to see Him, and a heart to love and obey, and opportunities to share Him with others. The Lord has blessed my time. We are in challenging circumstances as a SP family, but the Lord has given me peace and has altered my job situation to give me more time to study and fellowship with other Christians. I cannot say how valuable it is to put the Lord first every day. I do believe that by doing this, the Holy Spirit WILL keep me humble and NOT rebellious. Having been there, I do NOT want to be there again. As for what happens if we do nothing... I think our heart will become hardened if I were to do nothing about my personal rebellion. The Lord's interventions in my life will fall onto deaf ears and hardened soil and I will no longer BE ABLE to respond to Him, which is a very dangerous situation to be in. JabezMom

Q2. (2:6) In your own words, what does it mean that Christ didn't cling to his equality with God? How specifically does this passage teach that Jesus is divine? In some way, He had to submit to the divine will of God, which was to offer His life a ransom for those who would believe. He did not grasp, or hold on to, his equality with God - He let it go for a while. He became one of us - humbled in all ways as we are in these mortal bodies. "... in the form of" means that Jesus is a part of God or 'of the same nature' as God. "Equality" means similar, equal or like in kind. Jesus is part of God, the same nature as God and like God in every way. In any case, He is part of God and we are not. He is divine and we are not. He could have held onto His equality with God but chose not to. This is implied in v. 6. He did not grasp onto His equality with God, but could have. He had a higher purpose that would be achieved by letting go of His equality with God.

Q1. (2:1-4). To achieve unity in your congregation, why is humility necessary? Can you give an example of how lack of humility caused a division in your church? What are you doing to bring unity in your church? Because God asks me to submit to those who are in authority over me. I put myself under my Pastor's authority because all sheep need a Shepherd and Jesus asks us to "not forget the assembling together" of the Saints. I have a duty and a need to go to church to hear the Word, to learn from those who are learned more than I am, and to fellowship with other believers for the purpose of encouragement - both for me and that I might encourage others, too. I have never been in a church that divided but I have been in a church where some leaders lost humility and contentment. They left because more money could be made doing real estate than serving in the church. I don't have a leadership role in the church, so I submit to my SS teacher's teaching and to the Pastor's teaching. I don't bring disunity; therefore, I help to keep the unity.

JanMary, I forgot to mention that... about taking the sting out of death. I am glad you mentioned it. I have been sorrowing for the people who lost their lives on the Air France flight over the Atlantic and wondered if they suffered terribly and if they were ushered into Heaven, too. Only God knows HOW we will be ushered into Heaven, but I guess if it has to be something terrible like a plane crash, ... is it possible that even WE Christians could have 'peace' in the midst of crashing... at least the peace of knowing that this horror will last only a milisecond in time and that we will soon be with Christ? I hope we would remember our faith and remember the promises of Christ at such a time. Do you think YOU would? I can only HOPE that I would - strong as my faith is. I still pray for those people and hope they made it to Heaven and I think of their families.

Q4. (1:23) What do Philippians 1:23 and 2 Corinthians 5:6-8 teach about the state of Christians immediately after death? How does this comfort you? How does this energize you? When we leave these bodies, we are immediately at home with the Lord in Heaven. It is a great comfort to me, a relief that I will finally be home, that I HAVE a real home - finally. It gives me purpose in this life, a reason for all that I do, and a motivation to do what is of lasting value. I want to go to Heaven having been a faithful steward over what God gave me - my children, my work, etc...

We are afraid that we might be persecuted like some saints of old and saints of today in diverse places. We can't imagine living a life like Paul, living through similar challenges as he endured. The last temptation Jesus faced is the ONE temptation we face constantly: "Come down from the cross, and save yourself!" The Bible tells us not to be ashamed of Jesus Christ, and to not be ashamed of the cross, yet we are, even among our own family and co-workers. In practice, we are ashamed though. We are to lose our life by losing our need to defend, justify, and advance ourselves; exalting ourselves, promoteing ourselves, saving ourselves, pampering ourselves, satisfying ourselves, indulging ourselves, and prefering ourselves (fr. Rylism devotional, June 11 - ESword). In losing our life, we are, in fact, finding our true life. We find freedom from the effects of our sin nature, a freedom to choose what is right, we find peace in Christ, purpose in our life, joy in knowing we have something to look forward to now, the assurance of never being alone no matter what, etc... and the grace from Christ who understands our frailities and forgives us. I try to witness for Christ, yet feel that I don't do enough to make a real difference. Yet, I forget that I am raising children for Him and still witness of His work in my life to my unsaved older children. I look for opportunities that He gives me and pray for boldness to loose my tongue and never be ashamed of Him. I believe that boldness in witnessing comes with maturity in the faith and the experiencing of life with Christ.

My ability to rejoice is dependent upon my faith that God is in control and that He knows what is the best for me, that He is allowing these circumstances in my life to teach and grow me - in other words, He is right in the middle of my life, in the middle of my really difficult circumstances. I have to believe that in God and in Christ, I will overcome in the end; I have to believe in all the promises that God made to me through His Word. I have to believe that He is a loving Father who wants to see me become more like Him and only He knows the best way for this to happen. I have to believe that even in the midst of these circumstances, even though I can't see it, Christ will be exalted through my life while I remain in this body whether I live or die. I have to believe that the prayers of others really does make a difference in my life.

A. I am more credible when I am undergoing personal struggles, etc., because it is while in these situations when I can show the most faith and be a demonstration of faith to others. I can identify with others' struggles and give them an example of strength and faith to follow and exemplify - hopefully. Without these trials, I would not be so compassionate of others' struggles and losses. This also makes me more dependent upon God, which also is an example to others. Like Paul said in v. 14, others may have less fear if they can see how I handle pressing circumstances, stress, and enormous struggles without losing faith and perspective. B. Paul's witness was powerful to others because he suffered so much and yet he kept the faith, he kept his dependence on God and the promises of the Lord and he kept his proper perspective - God's perspective. C. I am now struggling to overcome my financial struggles which effect our whole lives. This is my weak area - knowing how to accumulate money (feeling worthy of it?) and what to do with it to keep it coming in sufficiently to support the children. I think I will also always struggle with "normalcy" or how I might define that for myself; appearing 'normal' to others in light of my upbringing and so forth. Confidence, when it comes with some degree of success... I believe will help in all areas of my life. I am not financially successful and so don't have the trials of too much money and what to do with it, but I am working toward financial independence and preparing for the tests that come with having money and honoring God with it. Because of my unique or individual challenges, I can identify with those who struggle to make ends meet, single parenting, and those with unholy backgrounds and families of origin. "... that could enhance your testimony if you handled it right?" Well, if I can learn to answer ONLY WHAT IS ASKED without volunteering information, this would help. I seem to have some pathetic need to defend myself or seek understanding without really realizing that no one cares - unless they get to know me and care to ask more about me. When they do, then I can answer their specific questions thus surprising them with my strong testimonial of the Lord's work in my life.

A) Paul asks God to givee the Christians discernment SO THAT they may "approve the things that are excellent" (NASB); so that they may be "sincere and blameless until the day of Christ; having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God" (NASB). In other words, "That your love may abound ... - Love to God; love to one another; love to absent Christians; love to the world... We cannot wish and pray for a better thing for our Christian friends, than that they may abound in love" (Barnes). In knowledge - in an intelligent apprehension of the things of God. And in all judgment - discernment and discrimination; based on knowledge. When believers have discernment, they can better know the love and guidance of God; they can love more because they understand both God's ways and the human condition. They have an intelligent understanding of the things of God and the effects of the sin nature upon man. They can be more effectively used of God for God's purposes among men. Selfishness is like putting the "I" in "sIn" - in other words, selfishness implies that I come first, not God, nor other believers. How can I discern anything of God if I am standing in both His way and in my own way, blocking my ability to see and understand. I must first put myself out of the way and then I will see clearly the things of God. There are many good things in our lives but they can become "the tyranny of the urgent" also. We must make an effort to prioritize the best things so that we continue to put God first. Othewise we become more like Martha and less and less like Mary. We get so busy with good things that we forget about things like prayer and Bible study, fellowship with other believers and communing with God in quiet. These things are very important to our spiritual health and to our Christian walk and effectiveness.

Paul expects God to finish the work He began in the believers (then and now). The work, whatever that means to each individual believer - it is for Every believer to become like Christ - this work to become like Christ and the work that is unique for each believer will be carried to completion and this work will continue in the lives of believers until Jesus Christ comes back to reign on earth, at which time the same kind of work that He is doing now will no longer be necessary. "WHY" does Paul expect God to do this is because God never does anything halfway. He wants us to be like Christ, pure and holy and blameless and sin-free. God told us to be perfect even as He is perfect [in labor, growth, mental and moral character - Strong's] (Matthew 5:48). But that word "perfect" means "complete." God wants to complete in us what we cannot complete with our sin nature as part of us. We need our sin nature eradicated AND we need to transform into being holy and blameless like Christ. This is a process that God will see to completion because He is perfect. He also cannot have in His kingdom of Heaven anyone who is NOT perfect (blameless and holy). The basis of Paul's confidence is that God is a God of mercy and grace, withholding what we deserve and giving us what we don't deserve. God is the only One True God and does what He says He will do. Plus the fact that He loves us so much that He wants the very best for us and this is to be like His son. It is on the basis of faith that we know that God will complete His work in us. As we hunger and thirst for Him, He also draws us to Himself and in this, we become more like Him - more complete as His children.

Philippians 1:1 - "servant" (similar to "slave") is someone owned by the Master. However, a servant in the O.T. "must enjoy religious privileges with the master's household" - from Naves Topical. Also, to be a servant of Christ is to be made free in the Lord but also a "slave" of Christ. Enslaved but free (1 Cor. 7:21-22). In Romans chapter 6, Paul says that we are made free from sin but have become servants to God, basicially servants of holiness (v.22). Jesus said in John 8:32 that the truth shall make us free and the truth is that we have freedom from the bondage of sin in Christ Jesus while we are also free to choose and to practice righteousness in all of its manifestations as listed in Galations 5:22ff. "Saint" means "sacred, physically pure, morally blameless, ceremonially consecrated; most holy" (Strong's). We are made saint by the Lord who bought us. We would not be saints otherwise. Therefore, since He bought us and made us saints, we are also His slaves to freedom through the redemption price He paid for us. These words are basically saying the same thing about our relationship to God and Jesus. We are first bought, then given the status of saints, made holy and blameless; we, therefore, not only owe our lives to Christ for what He did, we WANT to remain blameless in Him and so become His slaves from the heart, willingly out of eternal gratitude for His sacrifice to make us blameless and pure.

We are partnering in the work that the recipients of our gifts are doing. We may or may not see the fruits of our labors and theirs, but we can know that we are planting seeds that will bear fruit at some time and we will reap eternal rewards later. In the meantime, we are benefactors in the blessings that come from giving and helping to spread the gospel. We can also offer prayer and intercession, pleading with God to bless and multiply the efforts of the ones who are on the front lines, in a manner of speaking. We can offer thanks for the work being done and for the privilege of prayer on behalf of the workers in the field. We are equally as important as the ones who are doing the hands-on work. They need our prayers AND our funds to keep the work going. We can also find creative ways to contribute. We can write supportive and encouraging letters to those who serve, we can send items that would be helpful to them. We can take their spiritual growth lessons, as they share them with us, and pass these along to others. We are truly partners with them in the work they do and must not take financial contributions or prayer, especially prayer, lightly but realize that to be effective we must have the attitude that we are soldiers in a war, battling with our fellow soldiers in the field.

Sorry for this duplication. I am still learning how to post and the best way to post my answers. Thanks for understanding. I understand "servant" to be someone who is owned by the Master. However, as servant in the O.T. "must enjoy religious privileges with the master's household" - from E-Sword Bible Study and Nave's research. Also, to be a servant of Christ is to be made free in the Lord but also a "slave" of Christ. Enslaved but free (1 Corinthians 7:21-22). In Romans chapter 6, Paul says that we are made free from sin but have become servants to God, basically servants of holiness (v. 22). Jesus said in John 8:32 that the truth shall make us free and the truth is that we have a freedom from the bondage of sin in Jesus while we are also free to choose and to practice righteousness in all of it's manifestations as listed in Galations 5:22ff.

Dear Jabez: I chose Jabez mom for a couple of reasons. First, I also want what Jabez asked for and hope God will grant those things for me. Also, Jabez' mother bore him in pain - that is what Jabez means. I have had so much pain in my life, not just with childbirth itself, but with raising my children alone - THAT kind of pain, that I thought: "I am a mother who struggles with the pain of carrying the full weight of supporting these children AND I am asking God for the same things Jabez asked for." The ONLY thing that has kept my perspective is keeping my nose in the Scriptures and my faith rooted in God. I hope this explains your question. Why did you choose "Jabez" for your name? I hope you find these studies as fulfilling as I think I will. I just started. JabezMom / Catherine