Jewell

Maybe jealousy. No, she is not righteous in her request. Probably, although I'm sure with just cause :-). And yes, although it was utimately a choice I made.

First their laughter was one of derision, now it is a laughter of joy. God's sense of humor includes trust and faithfulness.

A belief in Christ's return and coming judgment should arise in me the desire to live a holy and godly life, with total commitment to Christ. An underemphasis on Christ's return creates circumstances where those things that I should value most are put in second place.

We always want to place blame on anyone but ourselves. We're often not willing to admit fault and step up to the consequences. There cannot be salvation without repentance, because repentance means that we are admitting fault (or sin) and asking forgiveness. Repentence is difficult when we use rationalization to justify our actions (it wasn't really a sin because....).

Because he desires that all come to repentance, that none be lost. It teaches us that he is a loving and patient God.

It's important that we understand what "perish" means because we have a choice to make. This is underemphasized today because people don't want to believe it. To have balance in our understanding of judgment, we need to know and understand what the choices are and what the consequences of those choices are.

Reminders are important because we tend to focus on what is before us even when it is not Christ like. We need to be reminded of what we should be focusing on. We remind ourselves and others by reading His word and sharing it through fellowship with other Christians.

Sin has power over us because we are weak and the devil preys on that. To deal with it, we must take up the cross daily. We "die to sin" by building up a relationship with God, making the commitment to put Him first in our lives, and bearing the cross daily to follow Him so that we are "living for righteousness".

the significance is that it makes it personal - it's between He and I.

His sinlessness is important in understanding that he died for me, for us. If he had sinned, it could be conceived that he died for his own sin. I think Jesus suffered spiritually, being burdened with the sins of man. He could stand this only because of His great love for us..

"because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps"

The word of God is living and active. The word penetrates like a sharp sword. We need to continually expose ourselves to the Word of God so that we are familiar with it and do not tend to go astray.

Promise of "rest" - eternity with Christ, home in his mansion of many rooms. We must make every effort to enter that rest because it is our commitment to Christ that gets us there. Willful sinning does not show our commitment.

Without faith, we are no longer partners with Christ. With faith, we share eternity with Him. Sin tricks us by gradually hardening our hearts. We become desensitized over time and what once we knew was bad, isn't so bad, then it's okay, then it's desired. With Christian fellowship we are reminders for each other - we become accountable to each other.

We must hold on to Christ to be part of his house. If we don't hold on, we will waiver in our faith.

They turned to incest because they saw no other choice. They lived within the values of their past - in the environment which they had grown up in. Lot lost his faith when he lost his "things". He is self absorbed, self pitying, wishing for the past instead of stepping up to make the future.

Curiosity maybe. Or a desire to bid farewell. Or maybe a desire to hang on to a little of the past through a last look. Letting go of the past is difficult. Especially the mistakes. Jesus tells us to let go of the past and live in the present.

It's often easier to stay in a negative situation than to go out into the unknown.

It is possible to be loving and compassionate toward practicing homosexuals and condemn the sin at the same time - it's just hard to do. We must treat this sin as any sin, rejecting the sin and not the person. The church should speak up against homosexuality in the same manner it speaks up against any other sin. (and if it's not speaking up against other sins, shame on the church)

Complacency. Nothing's a big deal any more. Don't rock the boat. Choose your battles. Everyone's looking for a way to avoid disruption. Whether it be for money or popularity or something else, it's easier to avoid than speak up.

Flagrant, defiant sin can enslave a person because that sin becomes the person's master. Avoidance is a way out, major changes in one's life, life style, and friends. The path is through Jesus Christ. I worked with a lady years ago who had lived in a homosexual relationship. She had turned her heart to God and changed her life style and her friends. Every day at lunch time she read her bible. She was walking the path to freedom from that sin. I pray that she has been successful. She was a very nice person. Yes, you can love the sinner and hate the sin. It's hard not to judge. You want to "fix" them, help them feel what you feel, know what you know, have the relationship with Christ that you have. But each of us must walk our own path. We can share our thoughts, lovingly, but need to give them the space to take their own steps.

Any sin denies Christ. We become complacent when we are bombarded with it so often that we become desensitized....the more we're exposed, the less impact on us. You can't avoid it - there is open sexuality in grocery store magazines at the check out counters, on TV shows and commercials, and you can't even avoid it walking down the street. I believe that's what Jude is referring to....we have to bring ourselves back (in our minds) to purity so that it shocks us as it once did.

In support of Jesus. Not challenging implies agreement. It also allows others to believe a falsehood without knowing better. Challenging can become an argument. We must challenge with love and humility.

Christ's example is what I work on to follow - to be more like Jesus. I wear a cross necklace to remind me of what Christ has done for me, to remind me of the type of person I want to be, and to make it easier to be that type of person. If I am going to honor God, then it's got to start in my behavior and if I'm really serious about wanting to be a new person and set that example, it's harder to do wrong when I wear that reminder. But in the end, the person I really am is the one that shows when no one is watching.

It affects us in that we don't join in, we don't condone, and we don't remain silent. Part of the responsibility of being "conscious of God" is to speak up when asked to go against God or our conscience. We must not be a complainer - that only incites repulsion. Instead we must set an example in the way we live (and work).