Elwood C O'Dell

The star of Bethlehem, whatever form it took, was a way in which God was able to convey to these men, the Magi, that the great event of the birth of a king had taken place. These men appeared to be students of the skies and this unusual event challenged them to seek an answer to that which they believed. Some of their drive could well have come from the various prophetic teachings that they had heard over the years.

From time to time all of these responses are a part of my life. A lot of it depends on the surrounding circumstances of the moment in which I find myself and that upon which my mind and heart are centered. When things get a little

The angels speak of Christ as

In all the surrounding circumstances regarding the birth of Christ, God was making the statement that Christ came as the savior for all mankind, even those of the lowest or lowliest of all situations. Shepherds were at or near the bottom of humanity

First of all, pleasure is not always a sign of whether or not you are in God

The naming of these rulers sets a time reference as to when Christ came and also validates the fact of His existence on earth.

I feel that Joseph

It appears that it was Matthew who saw the virgin conception that Isaiah spoke about, and the name Immanuel, God with us, as having a fuller meaning in Christ.

The name of Jesus was given to indicate his mission. He was to save, keep from harm, preserve, rescue mankind from eternal death as The Messiah. I feel the angel gave the name to both Mary and Joseph so that they would personally know that it was God

Mary

Jesus would have learned people skills as a carpenter. He would learn how to deal with people and what it would take meet their expectations. He would have learned a skill that would help provide for him in the future. As a son of a carpenter he would learn how to deal with the various situations that come up through life

Mary, as a virgin, was truly blessed by God father in his selection of her to bear His only son. She is the earthly mother of God when He came in human form. Yet, perhaps, we sometimes hesitate to exalt her as

Mary

Jesus Christ was both very God and very man. He, as God, took upon Himself the form of man and chose to dwell among us. He is God in the flesh. The virgin conception is the very core upon which the Christian message rests. God became flesh in order to redeem a lost humanity. This is also why Christ could say to Philip, he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; (John 14:9). If you want to know God, then know Christ.

It appears that Zechariah doubted if what God said was going to happen would be possible due to his and Elizabeth

Mary

Greetings, The name is "Woody" and I am on the far side of "50+++"...a retired pastor...living in Central Florida. It's great to meet each one and we are looking forward to reading your comments.

Q2. (Psalm 118) What does "the stone the builders rejected" (verses 22-23) have to do with the Messiah? What do verses 25-27 have to do with the Messiah? It speaks of the rejection of Christ by those of His day as the chief

For me the predominant emotion in this psalm is thanksgiving or thankfulness given through praise Emotionally this psalm thrills my inner most being as it reminds me of his goodness, righteousness, love and faithfulness. In a way it gives me

How does one achieve a "broken and contrite heart"? What are the earmarks of this condition? A broken and contrite heart comes when, through the convicting power of the Holy Spirit, when we honestly face up to the fact that we have sinned and done evil in His sight. When we truly come to grips with the fact that we have hurt God and are willing to honestly admit such before him with no conditions or strings attached. How does this differ from "being sorry" for a sin?

Q3. (Psalm 51:10-12) How is it possible to have a "pure heart" after great sin? It is possible because God desires for us to have a

Q2. (Psalm 51:3-6) When David says, "Against you only I have sinned" (4a) is he minimizing his sin against Bathsheba and Uriah? What does he mean by this? No. David is recognizing that even though he sinned against Bathsheba and Uriah, his greatest sin was against the Lord for David had rebelled against God. When he mentions his sinfulness from before birth is he excusing himself or blaming Original Sin? What does he mean by this? No. He is acknowledging the awfulness of his sin and confirming that he is sinful through and through. He is acknowledging that sin is a part of his inner nature before he is transformed by the grace of God.]

Q1. (Psalm 32:2-5) How does self-deceit operate with sin to enslave us? Deceit causes us not to be honest about what God is dealing with us about. It causes us to not want to admit to the truth concerning our sin. Deceit causes one to try and cover up their sin. This enslaves us by not allowing us to live truthfully for we are perpetuating a fraud. How does confession enable us to get free from sin? Confession requires that we face up to our sin, acknowledge it, and not try to cover it over or hide from it. True confession, would have to include a Godly sorrow for the sin, repentance, a turning from the sin. True confession causes us to have to be brutally honest before God in the confrontation regarding sin in our lives. Why do we sometimes resist the truth about ourselves? Our pride can stand in the way of being willing to acknowledge the truth about ourselves. Many times we don

Q4. (Psalm 22) What similarities do you see between the words of Psalm 22 and the events of Jesus' crucifixion? He was scorned, mocked, despised, rejected, ridiculed by the rulers and people of his day, his soul was heavy with sorrow, he was thirsty, crucified and the people argued over his garment. Do you think Jesus understood Psalm 22 as referring to himself? Yes. Even though he was in human form he still referred in his teachings to his betrayal and crucifixion in such scriptures as: Mat 17:22-23 And while they abode in Galilee, Jesus said unto them, The Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of men: And they shall kill him, and the third day he shall be raised again. And they were exceeding sorry. Mat 20:18-19 Behold, we go up to Jerusalem: and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death, And shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him: and the third day he shall rise again. Mat 26:2 Ye know that after two days is the feast of the passover, and the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified. Why do you think the Spirit inspired David to pen these words? To help us see the continuity of God

Q3. (Psalm 22:1) Why do you think Jesus spoke the words of Psalm 22:1? I think we see some of the humanity of Jesus as He spoke these words. Perhaps in his humanity He sensed a separation from the Father at this point as he alone, would become the supreme sacrificial lamb, who would bear the sin of the world. What was he seeking to express? What was he feeling? How did God answer his plea? Perhaps he was seeking to express the depth of his anguish that he felt. Yet at this point God chose to remain silent. Yet, it was shortly after Christ spoke that he died, the temple veil was torn in two, there was an earthquake, graves opened up, saints arose and the centurion was prompted to note that