JanMary

Q4. (1 John 3:22) We know that God doesn't "owe" us anything. So what is the relationship between obedience and answered prayer? Obedience removes the need for correction and the consequences which may hinder or delay answered prayer. Obedience pleases God, and opens the way to answered prayer. When a child is rebellious, the focus is on correction and discipline, and rewards/blessings are withheld until compliance returns. Disobedience results in a guilty conscience which hinders our ability to pray with confidence and faith, and since God responds to faith, we've created our own consequence in our inability to pray in the way which pleases God. Do we "earn" God's favor through obedience? We already have God's favor, His unconditional love, and He will never forsake us, nor withdraw His love from us. He has promised as our Father to meet all of our needs in Christ Jesus, but as our loving Father, He also trains, corrects and desires to develop His Godly character in us. ( "As many as I love I rebuke and chasten." Rev. 3:19) Perhaps this applies to desires of the heart, "wants" and unexpected blessings, such as we desire to reward our kids with when they are obedient, and which we withhold during their "time out" consequence. It sounds like that is what John is saying.....when we are obedient, favor flows and our prayers are answered unhindered. 1 Peter 3:7 supports this: "Married men should live considerately with your wives, honoring the woman as physically the weaker, realizing you are joint heirs of the grace of God, in order that your prayers may not be hindered and cut off (otherwise you cannot pray effectively)."

Q3. (1 John 3:16-18) What does it mean to "lay down your life for your brothers"? Jesus is the ultimate example...a sinless, perfect life sacrificed to save sinners from hell. My family has received this kind of sacrifial love from the body of Christ....when we would have been homeless after the loss of our business then our home, many friends helped us move, one couple stored our furniture, took us into their home, and later, a couple, who were baby Christians invited us into their home via a phone call before they'd met us, then housed us and our dog for a year and a half. Others provided for car repairs, money, theater tickets, lunches out, dinners out, scholarships to retreats, a Christian Doctor who provided medical care pro bono, a dentist who provided dental care pro bono,and on and on, too many to mention here, but all gifts of love. It means sacrificing in order to meet the needs of those who are suffering or unable to meet their own needs. The most visible is those in our precious military who are willing to lay down their lives for our freedom....and though many don't actually die, they lay down their own freedom to be with their families and to live their lives, in order to serve us in extreme danger and inhospitable places....amazing love! What are some concrete examples of this kind of love in action within the Christian community? Our church just rented a large warehouse near the church, to be used as an outreach center for the community. It is stocked with commercial freezers filled with meat, refrigerators with milk, vegetables, fruit, etc. There are diapers, baby supplies, mostly new clothing, school supplies for those who have need for those things in these tough times. If you are in a large congregation, how can you get to know other members so you'll be able to lay down your life for them -- and they for you? Get involved in small groups to get to know and love one another, to pray for each other, to serve in whatever way is needed.

Q2. (1 John 3:15) How can anger turn into hatred in our hearts? Unconfessed, undealt with anger can simmer into resentment, then harden into bitterness and rage, and boil over into hatred. In what ways do anger and hatred relate to murder? Anger and hatred are the seeds which can produce the fruit of murder.....we can "murder" someone in our heart/mind, without physically committing the act. John said anyone who hates his brother in Christ is at heart a murderer. How can we get rid of stored-up anger in our hearts so that we may love those who have offended us? My experience with this and what God taught me to do is this: In a vicious attack by a "Christian" employer, who falsely accused our daughter of committing check fraud, and who ran to the pastor of the church we were attending and to all of the church leaders with the lie. One of the deacons went to the bank and repeated the accusation, the checking account was seized, leaving our daughter without funds or access to her account. At the time, our daughter was unemployed, having resigned prior to the accusation because she'd seen a pattern of lying , and noticed some strange financial maneuvers which were unethical. She resigned without giving a reason. She had also just been diagnosed with a lump in her breast, her car had caught on fire in a parking lot and was destroyed, then the replacement car was stolen...on and on it went, with one attack after another. I'd grown up in a violent home with a raging Father and was terrified of anger, so I repressed any feelings of anger. At most I admitted to "being a little annoyed". After becoming a Christian, I received some poor teaching, that "all anger is sin"....which fit into my dysfunctional background further enabling me to stay in denial about being angry and to feel self righteous about it. At first when this accusation came and was spread around the church and business community, I was confident that it would be resolved in a timely way and she would be vindicated. The accuser was on the drama team, and was able to cry on command, and for an entire year, this situation dragged on, as power hungry, immature and unspiritual "deacons" interviewed, dawdled, etc. At one point the accuser confessed that she'd "made a mistake in accusing" our daughter, but when faced with the consequences, she recanted her confession in another tearful display, and nothing was done! Our daughter was left to deal with the bank on her own, we left the church, and at this point I was overcome with hatred and the awareness that I was thankful we didn't own a gun! For the first time in my life I understood how someone could feel so enraged and victimized that one could actually pull the trigger. It scared the snot out of me, and I had to learn how to deal with this new emotion of anger, which had simmered into rage and hatred. I quickly got into Christian counseling to deal with all of this.... (one year later, the accuser attacked the employee who'd replaced our daughter, with the same accusation, and the truth finally came out that the "Christian" employer was a drug addict who was embezzling money until discrepancies were discovered, then she would blame her employee. Her husband divorced her, she lost custody of her child, was disgraced at the church, but never apologized to our daughter for the year of heartbreak and trauma she'd caused her and our family, who were seen as pariahs, and shunned, nor did the church apologize to our daughter for their inept and biased treatment. (The accuser was well known and on staff there, while we were unknown newcomers.) The money seized was never restored to her either.) In counseling I learned to recognize when I'm angry, and to journal about the anger and what is causing the emotion, rather than nuking the person "in the hot seat"....then to give God the anger, and to forgive the individual(s) I'm angry with. When able to do in love, to go to the offender to talk about the situation and to seek reconciliation (Reconciliation isn't possible if the offender is unrepentant or unsafe, as in the case of an abuser...in such cases forgiveness is enough.)This isn't a quick process in some cases, but it is effective. Anger is a God given emotion meant to alert us to abuse, injustice, old emotional wounds which need to be healed and forgiven, etc. and to take some kind of positive action. Anger only becomes sin when it is left to simmer into hatred. Undealt with, it can cause sickness and mental issues in the one who harbors the anger. In this situation I kept journaling and dealing with all of the tentacles of anger this produced, until I was able to pray FOR those involved, rather than ABOUT them. It took several years to get free of all of the emotional pain and to be able to completely release it. The Lord also used this to dig down into my past abuses and injustices to heal them as well. God is the AWESOME healer of body, soul and spirit!!!

Q1. (1 John 3:12-15) Why did Cain resent Abel? Why did Cain kill Abel? Cain resented and killed Abel because he was jealous of him. Abel may have had a special place in Adam and Eve's heart because he was righteous, to start the seed of resentment growing. We tend to hate the object of favor, rather than the one who extends favor, as in the case of Joseph's brothers. They despised Joseph, rather than their father Jacob who adored and favored Joseph, and wanted to kill or destroy Joseph...to get rid of him. Anger and jealousy seethed into bitterness and hatred until Cain murdered Abel. Satan's first attempt to destroy the righteous lineage of Messiah Jesus. It seems clear to me that God had shown them what He wanted in the way of a sacrifice, since they knew to offer sacrifices to Him. (The first sacrifice was shedding the blood of the animal God killed to cover Adam and Eve's nakedness/ sin of disobedience in the Garden of Eden). Adam and Eve surely understood why God "covered their sin" and kicked them out of the Garden. It seems reasonable that they told the children about the blood sacrifice which replaced the work of their hands...the leaves they sewed together to hide behind. Abel followed suit and sacrificed "the first born of his flock and the fat portions." In my opinion this shows prior knowledge of how to sacrifice since this pattern is laid down from then on in the Old Testament. Cain rebelled and chose to give something he had grown ("leaves sewn together"...the work of his own hands "or the sweat of his brow") from the ground which had been cursed after the fall of Adam and Eve.( Genesis 3:17 ) God accepted Abel's sacrifice, and Cain was resentful that "God respected and had regard for Abel and for his offering." How does the story of Cain and Abel illustrate Jesus' explanation of why the world hates us? The world hates righteousness because it sees it's own evil in the reflection of God's glory, has no desire to change it's ways, so hates and wants to destroy that which brings conviction of sin and unrighteousness. Cain, as in the unrighteous today want to "work their way to approval" through good works, (sewing their version of fig leaves together) which have nothing to do with "being right with God", through His Son Jesus' sacrifice and death on the cross. Nearly all cults and non Christian religions depend upon works of the flesh to reach or appease God. This was shown when Sarah Palin was suddenly in the political spotlight, holding her Down's Syndrome baby. Women who claimed to be for "women's rights" attacked her like a pack of wolves, finally revealing that by "rights" they meant the "right to kill the unborn". Her presence with her "less than perfect" baby, convicted them of their evil, unrighteous motives and promotion of the slaughter of millions of unborn babies.

Q5. (1 John 3:3-10) How does John's teaching on sin and righteousness in this passage relate to combating the false teachers? The false teachers were teaching incorrectly about sin, minimizing its' importance. John is clarifying that habitual sin is lawlessness and of the devil, and that true children of God who abide in Him and in obedience to Him, no longer deliberately, knowingly, and habitually commit and practice sin. John contrasts the difference between the righteous in Christ, and those who practice evil and lawlessness as a way of life. What did they seem to be teaching about sin and righteous living? They seemed to be teaching the error of Gnosticism, which as a philosophy of religion holds that matter is evil and spirit is good. (footnotes, Amplified Bible) It sounds like that led to the teaching that since the body is evil, the way to overcome sin is through knowledge, therefore eliminating the need for the Cross and Jesus' blood to cleanse us from our sin. Interesting that all cults practice some form of denying the Cross as the way to Salvation and Eternal life, either through knowledge of their special books, doing the "works" the particular cults require, atoning for sin through ones own efforts, etc. The same old lies of the devil to lead people to hell. One cult teaches that hell doesn't exist...only 3 levels of Heaven, the highest level achieved through following all the tenets of the cult.

Q4. (1 John 3:6, 9) How does the presence of God's seed in us keep us from habitual lawlessness and sin? The Holy spirit is like an internal monitor, warning, admonishing, recalling God's Word to our remembrance, giving the way of escape (if we CHOOSE it), bringing former consequences of previous sin to our mind, always gently, never arbitrary, so the free will is still ours to decide to sin or not. How does the Holy Spirit sanctify us and make us like Jesus? The Holy Spirit purifies us by the Truth of God's Word. (John 17:17) The Holy Spirit consecrates us to be Obedient to Jesus Christ, in freeing us from fears, agitating passions, and moral conflicts, by His Grace. (1 Pet.1:2) In other words, the Holy Spirit leads us away from sin and toward the development of Jesus' character in us. He is our ever present Helper and Shepherd.

Q3. (1 John 3:4) How does lawlessness show up in a person's attitude and actions? It shows up as rebellion, arrogance, disregard for the laws of the land, determination to do, say or get what is desired regardless of the cost or consequences, defiance of authority, willfulness, control, manipulation, stubbornness, lack of love, impatience, ego. In what sense is an attitude of lawlessness the cause of sin in our lives? This attitude of lawlessness results in our disregard for and violation of God's law. It's when my will crosses the will of God, and I fail to nail my will to the cross.

Q2. (1 John 2:28; 3:2-3) In what way does our expectation of Christ's Second Coming motivate us to purify ourselves from sin? I want to be found serving Him, living a holy life free from willful sin or rebellion. To live any other way, even carelessly seems to take lightly the price He paid for me on the cross so that I am forgiven and will spend eternity with Him. Come quickly Lord Jesus, I long to see your beautiful face! How does purifying ourselves from sin relate to God's grace? My part of purifying myself is to take a searching and fearless moral inventory of my day, then to confess my sins and repent of them. Grace is God's part, which is extending to me the forgiveness I don't deserve, but which He freely gives because I am in Christ and am His child.

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Q2.

Q1. (1 John 2:29-3:2) In what sense are we "children of God"? Through a miracle of rebirth, we have been born again and grafted into God's family. We are His children in every sense, including being His heirs, and joint heirs with Jesus, sharing His inheritance with Him...only we must share His suffering if we are to share His glory. (Rom. 8:17) What does the Holy Spirit have to do with this "new birth"? The Holy Spirit draws us to Him and then when we decide to "choose to be chosen" (Rom. 8:30), He comes in to dwell in our hearts. "We have received the Spirit of adoption, the Spirit of producing sonship in the bliss of which we cry Abba Father!" (Rom. 8:15) We are those whom He foreknew and loved beforehand, and destined from the beginning to be molded into the image of His Son and share inwardly His likeness. (Rom.8:29) How does the new birth change us? We were doomed to eternity in hell as a result of inheriting a fallen nature and our resulting sins. From the moment of Salvation we went from death to life eternal with the Lord. His Spirit within us leads us (Rom.8:14), testifies with our own spirit assuring us that we are children of God. (Rom.8:16), and begins the journey of conforming us into the image of Jesus Christ. His spirit intercedes and pleads before God in behalf of the saints according to and in harmony with God's will, as He comes to our aid and bears us up in our weakness since we don't know how to pray as we ought. (In other words, He interprets our imperfect prayers to the Father with unspeakable yearnings and groanings too deep for utterance. Rom. 8:26,27) Since we are His children, we can now say with confidence "if God is for us, who can be against us?" (Rom. 8:31), and as His children, "We are more than conquerors through Him Who loved us, and am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things impending, and threatening nor things to come, nor powers, not height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord! (Rom.8:37-39) Hallelujah!!!

Q5. (1 John 2:26-27) If we have the Holy Spirit, why do we need teachers in the church? Teachers equip and train us for ministry, though we are not to rely on them for our "feeding" but rather to enrich and expand on what we read and study in our Bible reading. We are to listen with ears to hear, and yet with wisdom...checking as the Bereans in Acts 17:11 did, "receiving the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true." How does the role of the anointing differ from the Holy Spirit's spiritual gift of teaching? John speaks of the anointing we as believers all received at salvation (the unction to function), but not all believers have the gift of teaching. The gifts of the Spirit are distributed as He wills, to fit us into the body. "We are parts of one another mutually dependent on one another, having gifts that differ according to the grace given us." (Rom.12:5) The anointing helps us to apply the teaching of others in our lives as He conforms us into the image of Christ, and to then be able to go out and minister to others.

Q4. (1 John 2:24-28) What does it mean to abide/remain/continue in Jesus? To abide is to live in Him constantly without disconnecting or taking "vacations" from Him. In June the Lord showed me this in a "parable" on my patio, when I saw a dragonfly which I thought must be dead, it's whole body weight hanging from a flower by his "tongue" (do they have tongues???). It didn't flinch or move when I walked by nor later when I touched it to see if it was dead. It seemed so odd, that I couldn't stop looking and thinking about it. I asked the Lord, are you speaking to me in this this? I heard in my spirit "Feed on me, rest in me, abide in me". Later that day He confirmed those words in Scripture. Several hours later the dragonfly flew away, when I'd gotten the understanding from the illustration of how total dependence on and abiding in Him looks. Give an example of what a Christian might be doing who is "abiding" in Jesus. Trusting, relying, seeking Jesus throughout the day. I'm a visual learner. Another example the Lord showed me was when I looked at a rumpled pair of rubber gloves I use when I clean. They are useless unless my hand is filling them and using them for my purpose. When I'm abiding in Jesus, which is my desire, I'm filled by Him, trusting Him to move and work through me, and make my life alive and useful in His service. Mother Theresa said words to that effect "God is the author. I'm just a pencil in His Hand." That's how I want to live!! Boldly radical and sold out completely for Christ! For in Him we live, and move, and have our being." Acts 17:28 What are symptoms in a Christian who is not "abiding" in Jesus? A life lived for self, in the flesh, but with a veneer of religion to dress it up and make it look good.

Q3. (1 John 2:20, 27) In what ways is the Holy Spirit an internal Guide for us? In what ways does He teach us? In what ways does he point us to Jesus' teaching? Before we come to faith, the Holy Spirit is the "hound of Heaven" who draws us to the Savior. When He comes to live in us, He teaches, reminds, exhorts and guides us into all truth...the truth of God's Word. As we read the Word, He gives us understanding of what it means. He gives us personal revelation of how to apply it to daily situations we face. He gives Ramah words, which may be prophetic or personal promises for us as individuals to claim. And since He never leaves us He's always available. He leads us into worship.....I was really downcast last night when I went to sleep after a day of bad news...when I woke up this morning, worship songs were going through my mind, and I started the day in worship as He led me and the heaviness lifted and was soon gone. His role is to conform us into the image of Jesus, so He is always at work to that end. If we're passive He leads us to be bold when needed, if cowardly and fearful like Gideon, He gives us courage to do what the Lord desires. When tempted to sin, He pierces our conscience to seek the way of escape He provides, and if we fail to do that and sin anyway, He convicts us of the sin in order to lead us to repentance and to seek forgiveness. When grieving, He comforts us. When in bondage, He leads us to deliverance. What an awesome triune God loves us!!!!

Q2. (1 John 2:20-21) What is the "anointing" that John is talking about? The Amplified adds: "You hold a sacred appointment from, you have been given an unction from" the Holy One.... I believe John is referring to our Salvation and the Seal of the Holy Spirit on believers....."the unction to function" in the Holy Spirit, is a fun way to look at that verse. In what way is anointing connected to the Holy Spirit in the Bible? Olive oil which has been pressed from crushing olives, (symbolic of Jesus body being broken) was used to keep the lamp burning in the temple. Scented olive oil was poured over the heads of temple priests when they were sanctified and consecrated for service. The items in the temple were anointed with oil, setting them apart for Holy service. Oil was mixed with the grain offerings, symbolic of offering our lives as a living sacrifice to God...it was used as anointing for healing. It represents the Holy Spirit in many of His functions in and to and through the lives of God's children. Joel 2:28 says that in the last days: "And afterward I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions., even upon the menservants and upon the maidservants in those days will I pour out My Spirit." That covers everyone...but not all choose to receive. Has every Christian received this anointing? What do you think? Yes, the Word of God says we have....John was writing to believers and used the collective term "you"....the Church would be a different place if we "got it" that we are all anointed, gifted, are a part of the whole with a place to minister and serve in the Body of Christ. When we abdicate, the body is incomplete and lacking these individuals service. Too many churches still believe the Pastor and a select few are anointed to do all of the work of service and ministry and even evangelism.

Q1. (1 John 2:18) What is this antichrist that John expects to come? The world wide dictator who is empowered by Satan who makes war against Christians, and who will declare himself to be God and demand worship from unbelievers. He will enter the Holy of Holies in the temple which will be rebuilt and sacrifice a pig in order to desecrate the temple. What is the difference between the antichrist and antichrists in the church John is writing to? Because Satan is among us and he is at war with God, he has been involved since the beginning trying to destroy. First working through Cain to kill the Messianic seed (Abel), killed Hebrew children at Goshen trying to kill the seed, was at work in the Jewish leaders who nailed Jesus the Messiah to the cross (though each of us died with Him that day), has been at work in individuals and leaders in the Church since that day, trying to pervert the Gospel, deny it's power to save, heal and deliver, destroy Pastors in order to destroy the flock they lead, promote the lie that Jesus is never coming back, was at work in the witches who came to infiltrate our congregation "to destroy the ministry". (When Pastor discerned who they were and asked them to leave and not come back, one returned to tell him they were a coven assigned to tear down this church by infiltrating all areas, and she asked for forgiveness, and told him part of their initiation was into lesbian relationships within the group. She thanked him for exposing them, and said she left the group.) In what ways do we see the spirit of antichrist at work in our day? We see persecution and martyrdom of Christians, situations like I mentioned above, deceivers who get on television and radio calling themselves Christians, but who preach a false gospel, or rather than preaching about sin and repentance and the cleansing Blood of Jesus, instead preach on how to get rich. One such pastor asked to preach at a large church but part of his deal was that in order to come he required $40,000.00 to pay for his private Jet's fuel. (He was denied and exposed) One self proclaimed "messiah" took out a full page ad in the paper we subscribed to years ago, saying "I have come"...Cults of all kinds abound, denying the Lordship of Jesus Christ, and offering "salvation" through works of the flesh. Until recent years, children were considered a gift from God, but the antichrist spirit has endeavored to slaughter nearly 60 million of these precious lives on the altar of Baal....or Planned Parenthood, etc. We've killed an entire generation of God's babies. Jack Black, an actor/comedian recently asked the audience at an awards t.v. show to join him as he prayed to Satan. In Ca. we voted down gay marriage, but liberal judges are fighting to subvert the "will of the People and the laws of the land" in order to further tear down God's plan for marriage between a man and a woman. Political correctness, rampant immorality and the double standard and corruption in Washington are destroying that which our nation's fore Fathers shed their blood to give birth to( the Constitution), calling it now "a living document, subject to the whims of the current administration. I believe this is the set up for the true anti Christ world ruler who will appear after the stage is set completely for his arrival... people in complete bondage to the government rather than in dependence upon the loving, eternal, one true God and Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Q4. (1 John 2:15-17) What kinds of sins are covered by the three examples of worldliness that John gives? Worldliness is coveting things that belong to others, or that we want for impure reasons. Craving physical relationship outside of marriage, sexually explicit television, books, or magazines which feed the impure desires of the flesh. Things accomplished in the flesh which glorify Myself, rather than giving glory to God for empowering and gifting me to accomplish those things. To use, misuse or do things contrary to the will of God. Why are these sometimes so difficult for us to discern in ourselves? Because many of these things in balance are not usually harmful or sinful, but when craved and lusted after and become our focus, they result in sin. For instance food is necessary to survive, but gluttony is sinful. Clothing is necessary, but shopping to excess for emotional reasons is greed. When pleasure is our main focus, we are hedonists. Physical intimacy was created for pleasure and procreation, but out of the context of marriage it is fornication or adultery. Jesus said "I came that you might have life and that more abundantly", so we are to enjoy life but to use what He gives us within the guidelines of scripture, and to feed on, and find our life in Him. . Why is worldliness so harmful to our future? Our home is in Heaven for eternity, and to focus unduly on the things of the world, stunts our spiritual growth, and draws us away from following the Lord. We are to be storing up treasures in Heaven, not those things which are temporary and benefit no one but ourselves. We are to be content...not always craving more and more and more, because the flesh is never satisfied.

Q3. (1 John 2:15-16) What is "the world" in verses 15-16? The "fallen" world and it's people; that which operates apart from God's Word and opposses God and His children. The **** of the eyes, the **** of the flesh and the pride of life. What kind of love of "the world" keeps us from loving the Father? 'The love which craves to satisfy the sin nature with the "pleasures of this world'. The love of ME, more than HIM.

Q2. (1 John 2:12-14) John encourages "children," "young men," and "fathers." Why do you think he takes time to encourage them? I think John is reminding them that they/we are all works in progress. That once we are in Christ, He takes His time to develop us spiritually and to heal us emotionally, so that His work in us will remain and bear fruit for eternity. He had undoubtedly seen some "shooting star" Christians, who appear, rise up based on their charisma and gifting, but who fizzle and fail in the end because there is no solid foundation. He was subtly pointing out the different age groups, maturity levels, responsibility levels, and to not compare with one another, but rather "Let Christ have His way in each, so that "at that day" each would be complete in Him...be like Him. John was their elder "brother" and had experienced the hardship and trials of living for Christ in a hostile world. He was letting them know "they could make it" if they continued to walk closely and depend wholly upon the Lord. In what ways does he encourage them? He beautifully points them to Christ as the only model for life, then line by line reminds them of who they/we are in Christ, and how the enemy targets believers to discourage, oppose and defeat. He reminds them that they are forgiven, that they know the Father who loves them unconditionally, that Jesus is the victory in dealing with the enemy and that abiding in Him brings that victory. He stresses the importance of God's Word, and abiding in it and letting it abide in the heart.

Q1. (1 John 2:7-11) How does hate and unforgiveness blind us spiritually? There have been a couple of wounds so deep that they nearly destroyed my sanity, and other family members. For a season I despised the ones who lied and betrayed. In this state, I was consumed with wanting them to hurt as much as they'd hurt me, and my family. I forgave them in words, but my mind was constantly chewing on the details, the "why's?', the unfairness, the pain. For a time, this hurt became my focus, and I was blinded to God's love, what His purpose might be in permitting these offenses to take place, my own sin in hating these people, who were "Christians". I just couldn't move on and let it go, until God began the healing process and I saw that there was a gift in the wounds...this led me to go through a long season of emotional and spiritual healing, as it brought up deep wounds from the past that I'd "buried" when as a child I had no ability to process or cope, so I "forgot". When those repressed wounds were opened, the "pus" drained, I grieved the pain and losses, forgave the offenders, and in time forgave the current offenders, even thanking God for allowing these to happen so that He could get down into my heart and heal the past which though repressed, still affected current behavior and decisions due to the bondage created. If we have been darkened by hurt and hate, how do we come into the light? It sounds trite to say "just forgive"...Sometimes with deep hurts there is a process in reaching full forgiveness which is freely given. Those wounds required me to first become willing to forgive...then to ask God to help me forgive. He is faithful! I learned valuable life lessons back then, such as if I'm willing, God will come in and help me complete the work of forgiveness, and in the process heal past wounds. Those needed to be forgiven too, but first had to be "remembered" through this process. I learned that it's possible to forgive, but that the emotions of anger, betrayal, and grief also needed to be healed in order to completely release the offenders before I could pray FOR them, rather than ABOUT them. This process brought all of it out of the darkness in my soul, where like hidden boils the old wounds silently festered, into God's light where He cleansed me, helped me to forgive and eventually feel compassion for them because hurting people, hurt people. He set me free from my past and is in the process of setting me free daily from residual bondage created years ago from the abuse, neglect, violence, etc. He's such an AWESOME Father!!! I love Him because He first loved me...His love healed me, and in the process, as I yield to Him, flows through me.

Q5. (1 John 2:3-6) How can we be serious about obeying Christ without become legalistic and judgmental, with a self-righteous attitude like the Pharisees had? For me it is about motive. Because I love Him I want to obey and please Him. Before I fell in love with Him, my motive was to stay out of trouble for fear of harsh punishment which included fear of Him rejecting me. How do love and legalism differ? Love walks in freedom and light without fear ("the perfect law of liberty") While I remember the darkness I walked in, I accept that I am a flawed work in progress...but the work is God's not mine, so "at that day' I will be like Him. I'm free to live in grace and follow Him without fear of "stepping on a crack"...so to speak. When I do unintentionally sin, I run to Him for cleansing and forgiveness and restored fellowship. Love and grace flow into and through the life of one who is secure in His love. Legalism is based in fear, uncertainty and the law ("of sin and death") and the effort to prove how much you don't need Jesus' sacrifice, because you're so awesome on your own! The result is self righteousness..."see how many rules I follow?...and look at you! You don't observe half of what I do!" This leads to judging others and depression when you can't measure up to YOUR rules. The law was given to show us that we are sinners, and that it's impossible for us to follow perfectly. How can we be serious about obedience and make love our center? For me it began with being disobedient, then discovering how much God loves, forgives, and cherishes me. When I really KNEW how much I was loved, I began to love Him back, and that produced the desire to obey Him.

Q4. (1 John 2:1-2) What assurance does John give us if we do sin? The assurance of complete forgiveness, freedom from guilt and alienation and restored relationship with our Father. (Justified: Just as if I'd never sinned) How does this comfort us? The knowledge that my "crime" has been atoned for...that I don't have to pay (couldn't anyway), by beating myself up, or hiding from God. Not only am I cleansed and forgiven, God will not punish me, or give me the silent treatment. He has cast all my sins into the depths of the sea. (Micah 7:19, Psalm 103:12), and as Corrie Ten Boom used to say, "then He puts out a no fishing sign". IT IS FINISHED! How does it make us want to avoid sin? I want the unbroken relationship. I love the Lord and don't want to offend, hurt, or sin against Him. I love the light and hate the darkness I once walked in. I know He loves and delights in me and there is nothing I can ever do to change that, but I want Him to smile. There are consequences to sin, and having experienced some, I want to avoid them. (Chuck Smith said once "sin is like hammering a nail in a board. When we are forgiven, the nail is removed completely, but a "scar" remains." For me, those "scars" are the consequences.)

Q3. (1 John 1:9) How would you define "confession"? Saying honestly to God: "YOU are right and I am wrong"... in other words, acknowledging my sin, that I have fallen short of His Glory. For me it involves repentance...the desire to not repeat the behavior, or sinful thoughts. Why is confessing our sins so important? Unconfessed sin creates a barrier or distance in my relationship with God. It leaves me feeling guilty and wanting to hide, as Adam did when he sinned. What happens to us if we stop confessing our sins? I would say at that point I would be walking in darkness, living the lie that I no longer need the Lord or His cleansing blood. That would mean I've moved into total deception and denial of my true condition. What are the promises given to us if we do confess our sins? He promises to cleanse me from all sin and unrighteousness...that includes the guilt. I've had to learn the difference between true guilt from conviction of the Holy Spirit, and false guilt from Satan...I used to feel guilty for just being tempted to sin! He's a relentlessly clever devil. How is forgiveness of sins different from cleansing? Forgiveness restores the relationship with God, cleansing washes away the guilt from the offense against God and man. (or even self, in the case of self destructive behavior which injures or destroys His temple in which we both live!)

Q2. (1 John 1:5-7) What is the result when a Christian walks in darkness, that is, continues willfully to do what he or she knows to be wrong? The result is that our fellowship with God and other believers is broken, because we are fellowshipping with the devil in his shroud of darkness and the lies with which he blinds. This also results in a "seared" conscience and inability to "see" and "hear" truth which will set us free. Instead of God being our stronghold against the devil, we are held captive in the stronghold of darkness and sin. How does this involve self-deception? To walk in darkness and deny that we are sinners, is to call God a liar, deny the power of and need for the cleansing blood of Christ, and to participate with the Prince of darkness who is the father of lies. I love Jeremiah's explanation for self deception. "The heart is deceitful above all things, and it is exceedingly perverse and corrupt and severely, mortally sick! Who can know it, perceive, understand, be acquainted with his own heart and mind?" Jer.17:9 Like David, I've learned this, to ask God to search and know my heart...we have the Holy Spirit to convict us...if we'll yield to His correction. What is the result, according to verse 7, when we walk in the light? Thank God, He understands and sees our hearts, and will restore us to the Light when we turn to Him and confess our sins! In a cleansed state of heart and mind, fellowship with God and with other believers is restored, and the Lord is once again our stronghold. How do we get back into the light if we sin? Confession and repentance of our sins, and He is faithful to cleanse us from sin and all unrighteousness.