RonS

Q4. (Ephesians 4:7-10) Who gives spiritual gifts? Can our "natural" talents be related to our "spiritual" gifts? How? What is the difference between a natural God-given talent and a spiritual gift? We were created by God. He designed us do be the way he wanted us, to do a job for him. Ever person was designed that way. To do that job for God we must first except him as our Lord and savior. Then the Holy Spirit come to live in our heart. If we don't except Jesus as our Lord we then us our natural talent for worldy things. After excepting Jesus we then need to spend time with the Father. We then must spend time with God. "Prayer" Read about the great men of God you will see that they all had committed prayer lives. When we spend time with the Lord he will show us what we were created to do for him. Then the Holy Spirit will give us spiritual gifts to do the work he created us to do.

Q3. (Ephesians 4:3) How much energy must we expend on Christian unity? What is "the bond of peace"? How do we strike at peace when we are intent on argument and dissension? Christian unity? How can there be church unity when many people are only there to see what they can get for themselves. True Christians do not have problems with unity, read Acts. Ture Christians look at Jesus not at each other. If you are look to Jesus you do not see the faults of others. Strive for holyness and unity will be no problem. Jonathan Edwards was quoted as saying that during the great revival 75% of the people in his church were going to go to hell. We are not called to have unity with nonchristians

Q2. (Ephesians 4:2) Why are patience and humility so important to preserving unity? Love is not possible with out patience and humility. Mt 22:38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." How are we to be both "gentle" and to "fight the good fight of faith"? Be like Jesus he love everyone and he showed his love by how he cared for the people. But he also had harsh words for the hard hearted sinners. MT 23:33 You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?

The "calling" we are to strive to uphold is two fold. 1. Math22: 36 "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" 37 Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 2. To live our lives to be Christ like. In the flesh we can not do either of these, but with the power of the Holy Spirit living with in us we are able. This is so important because the only Jesus most unsaved people will see is the Christ that shines through our lives.

Q1. (Ephesians 3:16-17) Do the concepts of (a) strengthened by the Spirit in the inner person, and ( Christ dwelling in our hearts say the same thing, or are they separate and distinct ideas? What do you think? I think the Spirit can be in the inner man after he eccepts Christ as his savior. But this is just the start of the Christian life. Mt7:14 But the gateway to life is small, and the road is narrow, and only a few ever find it. I think recieving the Spirit is the gateway to life in verse Mt 7:14. After you get through the gateway you then must walk the narrow road. I don't think a person can walk this road in the flesh. It can only be done with the total death of the flesh so it is not I but Christ. If we don't do what Paul says "take up your cross daily and fallow Christ" we will never be able to walk the narrow road. The cross kills the flesh, so if the flesh is dead then Christ can dwell in our heart and we can then walk the narrow road. So do you want to be a defeated Christian or do you want to be a Paul type Christian. I lived for years as the first type now I have started to understand about killing the flesh. The flesh dyes hard it is a battle daily. But O what freedom in Christ is there and what joy.

Faith Believing passionately in a God you can not see, while at the same time fighting relentlessly against the sinful human nature that manifests itself in your life everyday Quotation: Like the eye which sees everything in front of it and never sees itself, faith is occupied with the Object upon which it rests and pays no attention to itself at all. While we are looking at God, we do not see ourselves--blessed riddance. The man who has struggled to purify himself and has had nothing but repeated failures will experience real relief when he stops tinkering with his soul and looks away to the perfect One. ... A. W. Tozer (1897-1963), The Pursuit of God [1948]

Saved I don/t think the term saved is not modern. It is what has happened to the message in our churches that is the problem. 200 years ago 80% of the messages were about hell or heaven. During that time people knew what they were saved from (hell) and what they were saved into (heaven). Today with messages all being about love and prosperity, people are not afraid of going to hell. I just took notice that there was little use of the word helll in the posts. If you read Sinners in the hand of a argry God by Jonathan Edwards you will see what I am talking about

Grace Grace God's Grace Three years ago we helped start a christian high school The name is Grace Prep. We use a 40 points of grace to operate by. https://graceprep.com/gracepoints.html If you use grace to operate by it is messy. Why because not two kids recieve the same punishment. It is all based on the atitude of the person. Forgiveness is give freely if the person has a repentant spirit. Grace is costly it cost Jeus his life. Repentance better be heart felt and life changing. It is hard to under stand because why would some one, I don't know, lay down there life, to give me something I don't desirve. Thank you Jesus

What is scary about predestination? Well it means that we are not in control. We humans want to be in control. It may mean that our prayers for people to be saved have no effect. What is comforting? The all knowing God is in control, and all thing will be done for the good of the Kingdom. Why does Paul bring up predestination? I am not sure but just maybe he wants us to look at life differently. What if everthing that happens is recorded, like on a old 16mm file strip. Everything from eternity past to eternity furture. We just get to see time through a viewer that is for the very second that it is happening. God see it all, what happened, yesterday the same as what will happen tomarrow. Dose that mean what we do don"t matter. I don't think so. Matthew 7:14 small is the gate and narrow is the path that leads to life(eternial) We must find that narrow gate and be saved and then we must walk the narrow path with great care and with our eye on Jesus( the perfector of our faith). For if the path is narrow and we could fall off. When you fall off and don't ask Jesus for help to get back on (repent of your sin) you destination is hell.

(Ephesians 1:4) What does it mean to be "holy"? To be holy is to be perfect in deed and thought. Only God is holy. We are to strive to be holy, but the bible says that are best deads are nothing but filthy rags to God. God can not tolerate any thing that is no holy in his presents. In what sense can you stand "blameless" before God? We can not stand before God because we are not holy or blameless. You say What!!! Yes only in Christ can we stand before a holy God. When we are in Christ and we stand before God he only sees Christ, we become invisable.

How does Paul's teaching on the One Loaf affect our relationships and love for those of other Christian denominations and traditions? All people that believe in the Christ of the bible are of one body. There are really only two commandments in the bible 1 Love your God 2 Love your neighbor How does blanket judgmentalism towards the faith of other Christian groups sometimes seem to excuse us from Jesus' command to love one another? Just because people are in a religious system that is not of Christ does not give us the right to not love them. We do not need to approve of the there faith to love the person.

Mark 11:25 Forgive if you have anything against anyone and Matthew 5:23-24. be reconciled to your brother and then come What must we personally do to achieve unity to prepare ourselves to partake of the Lord's Supper righteously? Forgive and reconcile If we want Christ to forgive us we must forgive others. If we don,t forgive other Christ will not forgive us. If we are not forgiven we can not enter the kingdon of the Father.

What does the "cup of blessing" teach us about our focus at the Lord's Supper? The cup is a repersentation of Christ's blood. How could it be about us? We are nothing, Christ is the all in all, the Lord of Lords, The king of King. Why do we try to make everything about us? We are to be only empty vessels to be filled by Christ so when other people see us they only see the Christ in us. Who is to be blessed when the "cup of blessing" is lifted heavenward? Our Lord and savior Jesus Christ.

According to these verses, what was the purpose of Jesus giving himself in sacrifice? God is holy and cannot have any thing in His presents that is not holy. We are sinner and unholy so we must be transformed or we can never be in the presents of God. When we go to the cross with Christ and die and are resurrected with Christ we become a new creation. When God looks at this new creation all He sees is Christ and we then can be in fellowship with the Father

Q4. How does Jesus' voluntarily laying down his life for you encourage you? Jesus voluntarily took the beating and had his beard pulled out and the crown of thorns jammed on his head. Then he went to the cross. This is almost impossible to believe if I think about in human terms. The King of Kings and Lord Of Lord had the power to blow every person of the face of the earth if he so chose. "Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?" (Matthew 26:53). Yet he humbled himself to the point of letting people he created do this to him. He did this so we could be in fellowship with him in heaven. What humility and what love How does it speak to your value and worth as a person? How could he love a sinner like me that much? What does it inspire you to do? I just want to submit and obey and try to become a little more like Him every day.