Nancy D.

Q2. (Hebrews 13:5-6) How can we recognize greed in ourselves? What will be the signs? What is the antidote for greed in our lives? What would be the earmarks of a greed-free life? If not money, what should be the basis of our security for the future? What promises do you find in verses 5 and 6? I guess greed in myself is a type of hoarding of "stuff" that I might need some day? But I do not really WANT more, so much as feeling a need to Not need more...for I have plenty... I am not sure I am greedy for I really LOVE to have something to give away to others and I do without compunction...and I appreciate being able to GIVE to the Lord and others, of whatever I have. Money is not security in itself at all, and the stock market proves that all the time. The Word of God that promises us He will not leave us, nor forget us, and will KEEP us and help, forgive and provide for us is our REAL SECURITY. His love is my most special security for with his love he cannot help but take care of me. It seems to me the verse that says, "contentment is great gain" speaks to my heart most of all, for I am content and thankful for all He is to me and will be too. He is faithful, constant, and everlasting and He does NOT CHANGE...I can count on Him. ....just as all of His people could count on him and always will be able to....God is Sovereign

My Father loves me, and He knows I NEED self discipline to be able to overcome my sinful nature...I am a mother and know discipline is for my own good.....so I am thankful when He holds me back... It is all for the creating of Spiritual fruit in my life, so my life will glorify His name and Him....and also to make it possible for me to be a Light in the Darkness of the world, so others can see Him in me. I totally believe THAT ALL THINGS WILL WORK TOGETHER FOR MY GOOD...for I love him and am called according to his purposes.

Spiritual warfare is exhausting to me because my physical and mental resources are low and the only strength I have is in Christ. It is not easy always to resist the devil or my own selfishness, and satan always knows how to hit me below the belt. MY strengh to over come is when I get close to Him and His Word and speak it to the devil and also to myself to reassure my own self what is true and what is not true...for the Liar always says something to deceive me. casting down the imaginations of my mind and heart is one way I get control of myself and turn away from the Liar. I have to truly lean on Jesus and trust Him and His Word to me to overcome sin and temptation etc. Yes I have been worn down and given up to a degree at times, and it is a grievious feeling and condition to be in alone. Thank the Lord He is always with me, and protects me from myself most of the time...when I am vulnerable especially.. I thank God for the Holy Spirit who warns, guides, and comforts me as I draw near to HIM>..

Salvation comes to us through Jesus Christ' sacrifice for our sins, by the Grace of God our Father....not our works at all.. To commit sin habitually without regard to the Word of God, is sin on top of sin. A true believer will not do this, but a young believer will need time to over come the sins in his life....I am relieved to know that the Word also says, our Father will finish the good work He has begun in me...which to me means He will KEEP me from my own weakness or sins for the process of Sanctification is lengthy...not an overnight action. I feel repentance helps us to overcome, and if our hearts are sincere and we are truly making an effort to overcome our bad habits...He will enable us to over come them. Failures will happen, but God is patient and he is also loving and understanding...I guess the sin of unbelief is one that is difficult for us sometimes, for we are not always sure of what God is saying to us....and we can err in our understanding of our own hearts....for they are deceitful too....

Fear of God is healthy when it is associated with awe and reverence for who and what He stands for in all the world. It is unhealthy if it is with the attitude of being afraid of Him and His power to punish you or allow something in your life that you are afraid of. If your obedience is not out of love, but fear...it may be unhealthy. Perfect Love overcomes fear and since God is HOly and is LoVE I think our relationship in unity of LoVE is what makes our fear ...reverence and with deep love....and we relate with HIM with respect .

The rule to do unto others as you would have them do unto you helps us put ourselves in others's shoes and to treat them as you would like to be treated. I am weakest when it comes to feeling I have been rejected as that is how I was treated as a child...and then I have trouble believing the other person REALLY WANTS to relate with me openly with love. But I nearly always treat others with as much love as I have to offer anyone a the moment.

Q3. (Hebrews 6:4-6) What is apostasy? Why is it impossible from a practical standpoint to restore apostates to Christian faith and practice? What point was Jesus making in his Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23)? What is Jesus' point of the Parable of the Tares or Weeds (Matthew 13:24-30)? Apostasy is to turn away from the Lord after you have stood in His presence and heard Him speak and have been exposed to His truth in unbelief. The heart is hardened to the truth if it turns away from it, and cannot repent for it does not believe the Truth. Jesus was speaking of the different types of souls where the Word has been planted, and the different reasons there was no fruit bearing visual due to the lack of nurishment for growth except for the one illustraion of "good soil" where the fruits flourished in different degrees and amounts....due to their abilities to see, hear and understand and receive His word.

Q3. (Hebrews 4:16) Why should we approach the "throne of grace" with boldness and confidence? What are the promises contained in this verse? On what basis is God able to offer us unrestrained mercy and grace for our sins while still retaining his justice as judge? Our privilege is given us as we are our Father's adopted children and Jesus ' inheritance is also ours....so as we are given this status through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we can approach the throne of grace just as He did. The promises are that our Father will be merciful in His grace to forgive us for our sins. All of this grace is given to us because Jesus Christ paid the debt needed to erase our sins from His Father's eyes....instead of judgment for them. Jesus saves us from all punishment, so the Father does not have to judge or punish us for them and can judge us justly...the debt is paid in full....Praise God.

This verse is complicated to me, and I do hope to have a better understanding of it eventually. But to me at this point in my understanding, I believe no true believer who is following Jesus will apostasize to the point of death....meaning that the Holy Spirit within each believer will convict them of their sin unto repentance, even if it takes years for them to repent....because my Father has said that NO MAN can remove one of His children from His hand. So I am counting on His faithfulness and Love and Word to KEEP ME SAFE from even myself, and others who would spoil my faith. I love Him and appreciate His deep protective love for me, and am counting on His continuing to do so. For those who have head knowledge of Jesus and "think" they are Christians for whatever reasons, and are associated with Christians (so they have sort of tasted of His spirit) and then fall away into other beliefs or turn away from Jesus, I just pray that I will not be the cause of anyone's disillusionment to turn away from our church. I have known so called Christians who are so unattractive in their witness that I felt like leaving the church myself...but did not, cause I realize there are also baby believers without wisdom, without deep love, who are still just crying for milk like a baby would and not responding to anyone but themselves. So judgment is impossible, except by the fruit of our lives, and I do so pray for fruits of His Spirit to be evident in my life in other's eyes, for His Glory and honor.

If we are to grow into maturity, we must KNOW the Word of God, Walk in His Spirit, and Obey what He wants us to do. Discernment between good and evil is needed and He gives us as we need and ask and use His gifts of His Spirit. I think we are to be motivated by LOVE for Him as we follow Him and produce more of the fruits of His Spirit in our hearts.

Q5. (Hebrews 5:9) In verse 9, what does "made perfect" refer to, since it obviously isn't talking about Jesus' moral growth and perfection? (Hint: The word teleioō means "bring something to its goal or accomplishment Jesus' ministry and purpose for being on earth as a man to experience suffering as we do, and becoming a perfect obedient example for us to follow, was just the fulfillment of His goal to accomplish for us the gift of Salvation from our sins, so our Father would accept us and forgive us of our sins. His goal was accomplished and His work was "finished"...in perfection.

Q3. (Hebrews 4:16) Why should we approach the "throne of grace" with boldness and confidence? What are the promises contained in this verse? On what basis is God able to offer us unrestrained mercy and grace for our sins while still retaining his justice as judge? It is upon the authority of the Word of God that gives us the privilege to come boldly to His throne of Grace....so we are given this gift and freedom because of Jesus and His sharing His inheritance with us. The promises herein are of His Grace, Mercy and Forgiveness unto us just when we need it, knowing HIs Grace is always available as we need it and come to His throne in the assurance we have this "right" as His children. It is only through the blood of Jesus Christ covering our sins that makes it possible for God to offer us His mercy and grace, for in His eyes our sins are no longer visible and He is able to be just in His judgment due to His own gift of life and forgiveness, to us through Jesus's death and resurrection.

Q1. (Hebrews 4:14) What is so important about "holding fast to our confession." What is our confession or profession of faith? Why is maintaining this confession so vital? ( Romans 10 : 9-10 ) That if you confess with your mouth, " Jesus is Lord, " and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved . For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved Jesus Christ is our great High Priest in heaven, the Son of God, our Savior, and finally our Lord. This is our confession of our faith, and as long as we believe and confess this to others, and keep it alive in our hearts and minds, we are safe in His arms, and are saved. If we do not hold fast to our faith, we will regress in it, and fail in our lives.