JanMary

1) To be brought to glory, means that He went before us as the Captain of our salvation, to secure eternal life for each believer....His is the Power, and the Glory...and we will live in the glory in Heaven, because we will be free from our fallen flesh, and living in our glorified bodies....we will be like Him. 2) It was necessary for Him to be crucified on the cross, and to fulfill the many prophecies perfectly. He was sinless and perfect and yet had to suffer to satisfy the debt for our forgiveness. The amplified version says,even Jesus learned obedience through the things that He suffered....It was in walking out the shame, disgrace, separation from His Father for the first time, the physical agony, emotional wrenching, the taunting from unbelievers who delighted in seeing Him suffer....in all of that and more, He was obedient unto death, without ever faltering on even one tiny point....and in that He became perfect in obedience or remained the perfect, spotless lamb of God. 3) The implication for our lives, is to look unto Him, who has gone before us in suffering, and to recognize that for the flesh, suffering may be discipline, chastening, or whatever reason God allows it to come, it is always for our good and for His glory.....He is glorified in our suffering if we remember that He suffered before us in every way and knows first hand what we are going through, and goes through it with us. I remember as a young believer, having lost everything during a recession, angrily telling Jesus: You don't understand....we're HOMELESS!" He gently said, "I do..foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man had no place to lay His head". That was the first time I really understood that He was homeless. Then later, I said :"The sheriff came to see whether we had vacated the house...I feel like a criminal" (Implying, He didn't understand that either.) He said "I was crucified between 2 thieves, and died a criminals death". oh. On and on it went and there was nothing He had not experienced Himself....as He said, "The servant is not above the master"..."in this world you will have trouble"

1) Jesus died as a substitute for every one, so that those who are In christ as believers when they die, do not die the second death of eternal damnation. He is the sacrificial lamb. 2) It's totally God's grace...a free gift. It has nothing to do with anything anyone does...we can't earn it. 3) The implication is that I am forgiven, washed clean by the blood of Jesus through His death and resurrection, and my sins are remembered no more...they are in the "deepest part of the ocean"...and He has put out a no fishing sign, (as Corrie Ten boom liked to remind us) Through His death on the cross, He bought and paid for my eternal life with Him in Heaven.

1) He suffered rejection, persecution, temptation, homelessness, shame, physical agony, separation for the first time from His Father when He hung on the cross, and the guilt of the sins of the world on His sinless body. He was insulted when spat upon; great thirst; He was misunderstood; slandered, scorned and ridiculed, taunted...He suffered death alone, so we wouldn't have to suffer the second death. 2)Many of those things, but we will not ever be separated from Him again, and we have been relieved of the fear of death, because He is always with us. 3) Yes, it does. Heb. 5:8 says "Although He was s Son, He learned (active, special) obedience through what He suffered." For us suffering can make us stronger, and can be a form of discipline, and a means of His developing perserverance in our character. Patience is gained through suffering long waiting periods. 4)If we shrink from a pain free life, We're not really living, not following in His footsteps, because He said "The servant is not above his master"....we will suffer many of the things He suffered just by being in this world and following after Him.

1)The Holy Spirit has witnessed to my spirit that I'm a child of God...born again, as it says in Romans 8:16 Also by my changed life...I've been brought out of darkness into light, from death to life, with new desires, a renewed mind. He's given me gifts to minister to the Body of Christ and the gift of evangelism to share His love with those who don't yet know Him and haven't yet experienced His love. 2)Signs and Wonders are evident today, and I believe they do help establish the truth of Christ's ministry...signs and wonders follow the preaching of the gospel. Physical healing of my injured back and a diagnosis of cancer, which was found to be benign, followed my salvation experience. And actually, the miracle I experienced of the birth of our first baby, nearly 9 lbs. with no pain and who was born in less than an hour with no labor, prepared my heart to recieve Christ when I did hear the gospel later on. 3)From the entire Bible...All scripture is God breathed, and "what was written in former days was written for our instruction, that by our steadfast and patient endurance and the encouragement drawn from the Scriptures we might hold fast to and cherish hope"..Rom 15:4

1)We are always vulnerable to drifting if we're not diligently holding onto God, to His Word, and applying it actively to our lives....The next big shock, disappointment, or crisis, may leave us open to doubt, and "drift". 2)We resist "drift" through focus on our Lord. Snow drifts when it is blown about by the wind, as does sand. The winds of adversity can blow us off course unless we are anchored in the Word of God and His love....living for Him, by His Holy Spirit. 3)He described the seed, or Word of God, falling on hard ground..or thorny soil where weeds choke it out: The heart hardened to God and His Word...(crisis and disappointments may cause hardness of heart, unless washed by the blood of Jesus through intimacy with Him...bringing the hurts and wounds to Him for healing. Holding onto the cares of this life instead of casting them on Him who cares for us can bury us in heaviness and despair, leading to gradual drift and believing Satan's lies)...seed on hard ground has no root to give it life, and it dies, or birds snatch the seed away and devour it. (Satan's job here on earth to keep God's children from growing and achieving destiny.)

1)He is Son, Heir, lawful owner of all things, co.creator of the worlds, reaches of space, and the ages of time. He's the sole expression the the glory of God (the Light Being, the out.raying or radiance of the divine)and the perfect imprint and very image of God's nature. In other words, He is God! 2)His role is, according to verse 3 "upholding and maintaining and guiding and propelling the universe by His mighty word of power, (even to ) offering Himself as God's sacrifice on our behalf, accomplishing the cleansing of our sins, and ridding us of guilt....then He sat down at the right hand of the divine Majesty on high.

I believe that the author is using "Son" as the literal physical progeny of His Father God, rather than metaphorically, as he goes on to say in V.2, "Whom He appointed Heir and lawful Owner of all things, also BY and THROUGH WHOM He created the worlds, space and the ages of time, arranging them in order. In V.1,The prophets were given a portion of the Truth as were forefathers of the faith in many separate revelations, and who spoke the words they were given, but now the Son, WHO IS Truth, and who created the prophets and forefathers, is God's voice to the nations. There will be no question but that He is speaking His Father's Words, for the Son, is the Word.(I John 1:1)

Hi all, I'm so happy to begin this study of Hebrews with each of you, and look forward to learning from you and growing with you. This is my second study with Pastor Ralph, and was blessed and encouraged by the study on the Beatitudes we just completed. I'm married and have two grown children; all of us live in the Bay Area, in Northern California. I'm at home a lot, as I'm writing a book about the Lord's provision, miracles of healing, and His sustaining power, during catastrophic losses which began in 1990, and our long wilderness journey, as we wait for Him to take us into the promises He has given. Holding His Hand, JanMary

1) Yes, he does. That verse says "You are my friends if you continue to do the things I command you." Friends implies obeying out of Love for our master and Friend. 2)Yes and No.....No, if the disobedience is for a lifetime...I would say in that case, it may not be a true Christian. But I know of some who due to major abuse and trauma in early life, BELIEVE IN JESUS, and attend church but seem to be paralyzed when it comes to action. When hard things come, they don't BELIEVE JESUS, due to the betrayal and untrustworthiness of "trusted "ones who deceived them. As they grow in maturity, and begin to trust the Lord, and to know they are loved, they surrender to His will an inch at a time...(much like during the war when the Marines would land on a beach, they radioed back to the ship and said "The Marines have landed, the island is secure", though they only occupied a toe hold. Then the long grueling battle began for them to take the ground, yard by yard.) For these badly wounded ones, obedience can be a slow and hard fought battle. 3) They are 2 different things....Salvation is a totally free gift of God's Grace. Paul is talking about that free gift which we do nothing to earn. Jesus' command to obey His Word, refers to our born again walk with Him after we've received His gracious gift.

1) I call it denial, or the rose colored glasses syndrome....or magical thinking....I did that for years about my life...too painful and too much shame, to look inside, so I did a lot of pretending things were different than they really were. That dysfunctional thinking can carry into the spiritual life as well...I think psychologists call it a "disconnect" between what life really is, and the way we pretend life is. It's a survival skill, but thank God He is the Healer in every area of life and wants us to live beyond just surviving..to abundant life in Him. That can only be experienced when we live in TRUTH, and His truth sets us free. (It can still creep in though at times if I'm not mindful.... during a recent sermon on "Breaking the spirit of Pride", I thought, yes, my husband is bound by the spirit of pride", and didn't once look inside to examine my heart. This morning a devotion arrived on that subject, and I was immediately convicted of my own pridefulness. Thank you Jesus, for cutting through the denial once again.) 2)A false prophet who "ministered" at a church we attended years ago, preached the gospel, and many were saved, including our son. (It was not known he was a false prophet until a book he had written was vetted years later, and most of it was lies. He was an assoc. pastor at a huge church in L.A. at the time.) There were people healed at his services....so I would say, like Jesus said to His disciples, "Leave them alone, if they're not against us they are for us."....God will allow them to "minister", but it's HIS FRUIT and GRACE, not any thing to do with the false prophet....but on the other hand that is also true whenever a true believer ministers...it's always God's work of grace that brings salvation, healing, deliverance, etc., not the individual who ministers. There is a scripture that says: "All things serve God".. that would include even Satan who opposes God, Who can turn his oppostion into furthering the Kingdom of God.

1) False prophecies, actions and attitudes that don't conform to those of a true Christian leader, such as greed, power mongering, spititual, emotional, sexual abuse, exalting him/herself above Christ. One that affected me, was a deacon with a lying spirit, which led to a false accusation, and when confronted, had no remorse. I guess the list could go on and on. One I see in someT.V evangelists, is manipulation to get wealth..."I know there are at least 10 of you the Lord is saying to give $1,000.00 in the next 10 minutes!!!".....another one I've seen exposed is pastors/leaders, charging money for those who get into a prayer line...nonsense! Also, twisting the Word of God, as well as over emphasis on a single doctrine, to the exclusion of the rest of scripture, such as Prosperity, and then ignoring sin, and service, and grace, and salvation, etc.

1)The golden rule as a summary for the law and the prophets, is dealing with our horizontal relationships. 2)the summary Jesus indicated in Mt. 22, is dealing with our vertical relationship with God first, as well as our "neighbor" or human relationships. 3)They are the same in that we're commanded to love both God and man. God, with all of our heart, soul and mind, and to love our "neighbors" as we love ourselves. The law teaches us "how to get along" with God and man, and in doing so, we fulfill the law (of love) 4)They are different, in that the golden rule only deals with how we treat others, but the implied message throughout what we have been studying, is that it is impossible to live out the beatitudes, apart from the love of God (or the river of living water) flowing from us.

1)They teach that He's a perfect and generous Father, whose motive is always Love. God IS love. 2)His characteristic response from His heart of love, is one of giving...of rewarding those who seek Him, with, "good and advantageous things". 3)A cynic says, God wound up the world and started it and we're on our own...anything that we get is of our own doing.....or He gives to favorites and not to others.....or you can't depend on Him, I prayed and nothing happened, so He must not care, or must not be listening...etc. 4)Without a clear understanding of Him, it would be easy to become cynical or diappointed, or to feel unloved by God, especially when answers are delayed for long periods of time. A closed door to a person with a positive understanding of God causes a faith response to persevere in prayer until a door opens...to one with cynical understanding, the same closed door, seems like rejection or abandonment, and a reason to give up and stop praying.

oops, sorry...don't know how to eliminate this screen...don't know what I did wrong.

1)I believe the lesson Jesus is teaching us is to pray, and to keep on praying, never giving up until the answer comes, when He decides the timing is perfect. 2)These parables are an illustration of His teaching in Matthew 7:7-8....that when we ask, we are to persist in asking and we will receive; if we continue to seek we will receive what we are seeking, and if we knock, the door on which we have persisted in knocking will be opened to us. During long years of walking with the Lord, He has used delays to change my character, to crucify my flesh, to test my motives and my mettle, and has purified my desire for what I asked for in the first place.... He has also been working in the lives of my family and those around me, as He prepares all of us for His answers and His timing.

1)The commonality in Ask, seek, knock is that they are all action verbs...implying persistence and perseverence. They are also a "command", and are the key to answered prayer. 2)Yes, the difference is in the level of intensity of the verbs. Like 3 stair steps of progression, and are just the opposite of passivity...which has been my nature. 3)Yes, to "Ask", is a prayer of petition, with expectation of an answer, trusting His timing, and if delayed, He tells us to keep on asking. To "Seek" is to search with serious effort...implying "Don't give up!' To "Knock" implies closed doors. The command is to keep on knocking until God opens to us the door He has in mind. 4) I believe He's telling us that there will be some delays, some longer than others, requiring patience and persistence on our part, and in the waiting and continuous seeking and knocking, we will get to know Him more personally as we draw near to Him, as well as giving Him opportunity to develop our character. I have to say this is true in my own life...I've been asking, seeking, knocking for 30 years for one prayer that is in His will. For others, I've continued for 20 years. I'm still knocking, expecting answers, and in the waiting time He has been developing patience and perseverence...qualities that only develop through long endurance and hardship....(qualities I asked for as a new Christian, that at the time I asked, I thought He would "wave a magic wand" and Suddenly they'd be a part of my character.) Several times I've nearly given up, and He has come in and reaffirmed that He will answer in His perfect time....so I wait on, expecting answers, maybe today, or this week, or next.

1)In Jesus' day, dogs were scavengers who ate "road Kill". Jews referred to Gentiles as "dogs", meaning unclean outsiders...Pigs were unclean, and were only raised by "dogs", or Gentiles, and were forbidden for consumption in the Jewish law. In other words, both were to be avoided, as unclean. 2)Holy food and pearls were highly valued, clean, desirable..too precious to be wasted on dogs & pigs. 3)They turned away from those who became abusive, and were disinterested, rejecting the gospel outright. 4)They continued to witness to those whom they discerned were "hungry for Holy food", showed interest and were receptive to the gospel.

1) The humor is in how well Jesus knows human nature...He's lovingly saying "You can't see the forest for the trees...or, you're blind to your own sin, but magnify others sins and shortcomings." It's funny because it's so true! Rather than condemning us, He used hyperbole to let us in on the humor and the absurdity of doing this. (Judging or condemning other believers...he says "your brother's eye"...) 2)I think He's telling us here to "tend to our own knitting" as my grandmother used to say...We're not called to be "fruit inspectors" in other believers lives...that's His job. I think He's reminding me of how blurry my vision gets when I have even a speck in my eye, so how can I possibly see clearly to analyze another's life with a whole board blinding me? It's the old saying in different words "When I point my finger at another, there are 3 pointing back at me.." Our nature is to loudly condemn in another, what we are doing ourselves. 3)The speck represents another's sin, flaws, shortcomings. The Plank represents my own sin, flaws, shortcomings, which in some cases, I would prefer not to see, or am in denial about, but is glaring and needs to be attended to. He's restating the reasons we are not to judge! 4)He said to first get the plank of timber out of your own eye, then you will see clearly to take the particle out of your brother's eye. The blind can't lead the blind, in other words, which is why He called the Pharisees, Blind Guides. Before I got into 12-step recovery for codependency, I was a consumate "fixer"...always focused on others & trying to solve others problems...I learned later on that I was in denial about what was broken in my life due to the painful memories I'd repressed, and I was really trying to "fix" my own mess through trying to solve others problems. It wasn't until those things were acknowledged and healed in my own life, that I saw I have no ability to "fix" others. Each one has to do their own "work". All I can offer is encouragement and support and prayer. Sin in another's life is not my business, unless I'm called by the Lord to speak lovingly and humbly into that life, and I need to be very clear that He's called me.

1) Our fate is reaping what we have sown, no more no less. As a new believer, I thought this was strictly between God and I. WRONG! I experienced this reaping what I'd sown after judging "sinners" harshly, while further down the road, I was judged by others to the same degree as I had judged early on. OUCH!!! (What goes around comes around) 2)Judging and being judged in return, is the negative. The positive is that the measure with which I confer benefits on others, will be reaped in my own life. Another positive, is that God gives me a choice of what to sow and reap....."weeds or flowers". 3)What should I measure out? "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you".....I want to receive, love, forgiveness, acceptance, the benefit of the doubt, goodness, grace, mercy, kindness, coming along side, encouragement, understanding, living in peace, patience, joy .....so those are the things I want to measure or sow in abundance, and I will reap them abundantly in my own life..... It's the seed principle...If I want to reap corn, I plant corn seeds....If I want to reap kindness, I plant kindness, and so on....good seed.

1)Yes, sadly, I have...I came to Christ out of desperation, but didn't recognize fully that I was a sinner, and out of my self loathing and insecurity, I judged others whom I thought should be walking a perfect line, as I was pretending to do. I looked good on the outside, but inside was "a can of worms". Thank you Jesus for healing, clarity, truth in the inward parts, and cleansing for my sin, and for showing me "living Holy" isn't perfectionism. 2)I can't speak to others attitudes, but mine was out of self righteousness and pride. Denial of my own sinfulness and need of the cleansing blood of Jesus, caused me to look down on others critically...with a smug "I would never do that, or behave that way!" attitude. Fortunately, the Lord showed me in His loving, gentle way, that I am a sinner, "among the best of them", and now look with compassion on others. Years later, others judged me and I felt the cruel sting, but could say nothing....It was payback time, just as His Word says...I was judged in the same way I had judged...reaped what I had sown, just as His Word says. I learned first hand when others didn't understand my circumstances that Judging is "putting oneself in the place of God". He alone knows about each life, and I don't. 3)Projection, or putting my "stuff" on others, or looking at others through the lens of my "stuff", caused me to criticize those in the spotlight, with the harshness I subconsciously thought I deserved....and had been told through my childhood that I did deserve. 4)First of all we show love because they are family..brothers and sisters. Next, we are to be "Jesus with skin on" as we walk through this life, and to treat others as He treats us and as we want to be treated and cared for. We are called to lift one another up when we fall. I weep when I remember the tenderness He showed me when He revealed my sin to me....such love I have never felt. I try to be that for others & to remember that He loves each one of us that way no matter what we've done. Christianity is the only "religion" where we shoot our wounded.....(someone has said). I put down my "gun" years ago, and try to carry "salve" and "healing balm" with me now, realizing that I may be the next one who needs it.

1) Yes, I think there is...I'm certain Jesus laughed and smiled and has a great sense of humor....because I see it in His creation...I'm created in His image and He's given me a sense of humor...I look at some of the animals He made and laugh thinking of the fun He had when He made them....and me, with my quirks. One day as a too serious new believer, I'd been wondering if God ever laughs. I'd grown weary of being the only Christian in our neighborhood and I asked Him to send Christians to live in the house for sale across the street. A dear young couple moved in, and pie in hand I went to introduce myself and welcome them to the neighborhood. She said Hi! I'm Lani Christian! Her next few sentences let me know she wasn't who I'd prayed for.....When I went home I said "Lord, that isn't funny", and I swear I heard Him chuckle! But later I had the privilege of leading both of them to the Lord...then I saw the humor in His answer and I laughed out loud! ( changed her first name) 2) The joke seems to be in the image of the day "worrying"....Kind of like a plaque I used to see in the bathroom at a friend's....."Today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday and all is well"...as I child I couldn't get my brain around that light hearted "phrasing" of what Jesus was saying in this verse, because I had no concept of time....I lived in the moment. Then I grew up and tried to live in the past and the future! 3)The command is: Do not worry or be anxious about tomorrow... He's saying that the only time I can really live is today...this moment. Even God can't change yesterday, so It's silly for me to try to live there. (other than to make amends to others if I've wronged them, and to ask forgiveness from the Lord or others, and to learn from my mistakes.) And since I'm not promised tomorrow, it's a waste of time to fret about what I may not be here to enjoy. In 12- step I've learned to work toward "living one day at a time, one moment at a time", since that's what I'm given.

1)His command is to "Seek (aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and then alll these things taken together will be given you besides." 2)Ps. 27:8 says "Seek My Face (not my hand...implied), inquire for and require My presence as your vital need." He's saying, I believe, that as I first take care of His business while I work to earn a living, or serve in whatever He's leading me to do, then He will take care of me and my daily needs. 3)I love YWAM's phrase for stating this promise:"Where God leads, He feeds". Another way of saying it is: "What God ordains, He maintains." The implied result is, I can trust and be at peace emotionally, resting in His Promise to sustain my life.

1)I think Jesus was saying that daily needs are universal, inescapable, issues for all mankind, and that pagans or unbelievers strive and stress over providing for themselves, because they don't know the SOURCE of all provision. They live in a "parallel universe", cut off from knowledge of Him, the Burden Bearer, so they worry, believing the burden lies entirely upon them. 2)Believers KNOW the Creator, Jehovah-Jireh, (The Lord Will Provide), so He's telling us that our lives should be different from unbelievers; lived in the heritage He's promised us....Righteousness, peace and joy. He's calling us to live our days in trust, free from the angst over where those things will come from. Yes, we work and plan, but then cast our cares upon Him, as He's told us to do, since He knows that we need them. (He's not forgetful and absent minded like we are.) He reminds us elsewhere, He's Jehova-raah : The Lord my Shepherd, and Jehovah-shalom : The Lord is Peace. 3)It sets me free! I can spend my day seeking His face, NOT HIS HAND. I knew my parents role was to provide for me, so I spent my days playing and being a child, always confident that there would be food for my next meal, and something in my closet to wear. He tells me that since He knows I need these things, and He's my loving Father, I can count on Him to supply them, while pursuing the things which are important to Him. My emotions can be at rest.

1) Jesus repeated it several times...it has been said that when He repeats something more than once, we are to "Listen UP!"....everything He said is important, but repetition let's us know that He's giving a strong warning or admonition, since He knows our weaknesses......one of which is a tendency to worry & fret. 2) The Holy Spirit showed me that I was in sin when I constantly fretted about how our needs would be met. I heard a Bible teacher say during the time which I wrote about yesterday, in Q.1, that "Fear, is faith in Satan"....that was like a punch in the gut for me, because it was true. I was in unbelief about what God said in His Word, about taking care of me, and I was believing Satan's taunts about God's inability or unwillingness to provide.....The devil IS A LIAR. I eventually overcame the tendency to worry, by quoting God's Word out loud in answer to the devil's taunts. 3)Yes, they are the exact opposites....trust is believing what God says....worry is unbelief in what God says....or believing Satan's lies. Actually,the Holy Spirit showed me that my continual worry was tantamount to calling God a liar. That's where faith comes in....when we're tested and IT LOOKS LIKE GOD ISN'T GOING TO COME THROUGH. He usually waits until the eleventh hour to see if we'll believe. I was vulnerable to the enemy's lies, because I had a preconceived idea of how I wanted the needs to be met...to earn it in a paycheck. When our ability to earn a living was removed for a season, we had to learn to LET GO & LET GOD provide in any way HE CHOSE....many of which were His way of bringing humility into our lives. He also showed me that I'm not an island....we're all interdependent upon one another, and if tuned into Him, can be used to meet one another's needs as He leads.