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1. What does the Scripture tell us about this man? What do we know about him from his words, his manner, and his actions? (Feel free to include parallels from Matthew and Mark in your profile of the man.) We read that he is a ruler, probably a synagogue leader because of his interest in spiritual matters; a young man, probably about in his mid-30’s; and a man of great wealth. He must have been a person well respected in the community. On meeting Jesus, he bends down on his knees showing reverence, humility and sincerity. He errs by carelessly addressing Jesus as the “Good” teacher. He comes to Jesus to find out how he can inherit eternal life. The fact that he believes in life after death tells us that he was not a Sadducee; more likely siding with the Pharisees’ beliefs on eternal life, probably a Sanhedrin. He obviously was not aware of the fact that righteous acts are like filthy rags to God (Isa 64:6), since he asks “What must I do?” believing that eternal life is earned by doing good deeds. He tells Jesus he has kept all the commandments that Jesus mentioned, since he was a boy. But he still has his doubts about where he will be spending eternity - so he must feel that there is something he is lacking or missing. Jesus tells him that if he wants to inherit eternal life, he has to sell everything he has, and give it to the poor. Once he has done this, he is to follow Jesus. Mark tells us: “At this the man's face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth” (Mark 10:22). Initially he was so enthusiastic, but now he departed sorrowful and aggrieved, thinking that this requirement is too much and not fair.

Q4. (Acts 8:26-29). Notice how Philip learns what to do - from an angel (verse 26) and from the Spirit (verse 29). Can God speak to us today by His Spirit, or was this just for the first century? God can and does speak to us today. I think it’s more of an inner voice, and/or a prompting. Personally, I’ve found that this occurs when we are in close fellowship with our Lord Jesus. Also, God speaks to us through His Word (2 Tim 3:16), and God's Word never fails to achieve its aims (Isa 55:11). Often it may seem like God is not talking to us, that He isn’t answering our prayers, and even worse, we may begin thinking that He does not understand the urgency of our situation. Thinking like this is wrong as it implies that God is not in control. We have to learn to wait on God, and this is not easy. Especially in our fast-moving world today. It’s not always because we are not receptive. It can be because God is using this time to teach us something. We sometimes need this time to reflect on the fact that God is the only true source of wisdom and goodness which He will make available to His children. So, it is most important and profitable to wait for His guidance – not to be too hasty! That is when we make our biggest mistakes. Instead of being impatient we should be making good use of this waiting time to discover what God is trying to tell us. In the meantime, in seeking God’s will, we should be sure that our plan is in harmony with God’s Word. We are to remain patient and wait until we hear a word from God about His will and His ways.

Q3. (Acts 8:9-25) What is at the root of Simon Magus's sin? Why is using money to buy spiritual influence, power, and salvation so deeply offensive to God? How is it opposite to God's way? Where do you see this sin in the modern church? The root of Simon’s sin is that he wants to have supernatural powers to promote himself, and thus to be able to generate more income. He knows his sorcery and so-called magic is all a fraud and recognises the true heavenly power of the Holy Spirit. For him, this Holy Spirit is a power that can be subjected to his will. Simon offends God by placing the Holy Spirit on the same level as his magic arts. Because he wants to buy the Spirit of God, he demonstrates that he has no knowledge of spiritual matters. He fails to see that the apostles possess heavenly power to glorify God. The spiritual influence, power, and salvation that we receive once we repent and put our trust in Jesus Christ is a free gift. This is God’s way. It cannot be bought even by all the money in the world. The thought alone is blasphemy. God who created everything owns everything. Why would He want to sell it to some fraudster? Believers who receive spiritual benefits are not charged and do not pay for them, because Jesus said, “Freely you have received, freely give” (Mat 10:8). He grants us free gifts so that we may bring Him glory by building up others. The gift of the Holy Spirit is given as a free deposit when we are born again. Simony is the word for the sin of buying or selling church offices or privileges, because it is done in the same spirit as this Simon. This is the attempt to turn the spiritual into the commercial. This happened when there were two, and later three, rival popes, each with his own following. This sin is practiced today; but more commonly people simply think that blessing follows money instead of money following blessing. I know a preacher who is promoted and financed to preach miracle healings. All the advertising posters, his transport are paid for him, and after the meetings the takings are divided.

Q2. (Acts 8:4-17) What convinced the Samaritans to believe in Jesus? In your opinion, why didn't the Holy Spirit fall on them at the time of their baptism? Why did Peter and John have to come first? Philip was one of those forced to flee persecution, ending in Samaria. Here he drew great crowds as a result of his preaching the gospel. He convinced the Samaritans through the preaching of Christ, with the evidence of divine miracles, that as a result they came to believe in Christ. And this combination of salvation and healing brought great joy to the city. There was several hundred years of separation between the Jews and the Samaritans. They hated each other, and the Jews looked upon them as pagans. For them to accept these Samaritans as brothers and sisters in Christ, they needed confirmation that the Holy Spirit had come upon them; in a similar way they had experienced at Pentecost. If not, the result could be a split in the early church. They needed the apostles who were present at Pentecost to investigate what had happened in Samaria. There was therefore a delay in the Holy Spirit coming upon them. When Peter and John arrived, they laid hands on them, empowering them, filling them with the Holy Spirit, and they were welcomed into the kingdom of God. God binds Jewish Christians and Samaritan Christians together in one church, breaking down the wall of separation, and abolishing the animosity that existed between these two groups. Now both Jew and Samaritan are one in Christ. We see a similar occurrence with the Gentiles in 10:44-48. Peter and John would report back to the church in Jerusalem that the Samaritans were fully accepted into the church, as would the Gentiles be later on.

Q1. (Acts 8:1, 4; 11:19) What enables us to give thanks in all circumstances? What was the short-term effect of Saul's persecution? What was the longer-term effect? We are to give thanks in all circumstances because we know God is working all things together for good to those who love Him! (Rom 8:28). This is one of my favourite verses. If we think ALL THINGS – no less – cooperate for good! When we suffer heartbreak, tragedy, disappointment, frustration, and bereavement, it may not always seem so. But then, not only prosperity is included but so also adversity; not only joy and happiness but also suffering and sadness (Rom 8:18; 35-37). We may wonder what good can come out of it, but we need to realise that whatever God permits to come into our lives is designed to conform us to the image of His Son (Rom 8:29). Any intended evil against us, is overruled by God (Gen 50:20; Neh 4:15). Included in all things are not only what we as believers go through, but also anything outside the sphere of personal experience. Our lives are not controlled by impersonal forces such as chance, luck, or fate, but by our wonderful, personal Lord, who is “too loving to be unkind and too wise to err.” The short-term effect was that believers were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria preaching the Word wherever they went. It was also carried to Phoenicia, including the ports of Tyre and Sidon (modern Lebanon), Cyprus, and Cyrene. The long-term effect was that it spread in ever-widening circles to the ends of the earth. God had planned for Israel to be the light of the world (Isa 49:6). Through Israel came Jesus, the light of the nations (Luk 2:32). This light would spread out and enlighten the Gentiles and the world (13:47).

Q4. (Acts 7:52) In what senses is Jesus "the Righteous One"? How should His righteousness challenge our sinfulness? In 1 John 2:1-2, why is the Righteous One our Advocate before the Father? How does Jesus deal with the great gap caused by our unrighteousness? Jesus “the Righteous One” is the only whose life was sinless, perfectly just and righteous; “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23). We long for fair treatment from others, and hate it when people base their judgment of us on appearance, false evidence, or hearsay. Yet we are quick to judge others using these standards. Jesus always judges with righteousness, challenging our sinfulness. Only as He governs our hearts can we learn to be fair in our treatment of others as we expect them to be toward us. Jesus Christ is our Advocate, our defender, the best defence attorney we can ever imagine having, pleading our case before the Father. A human defence attorney argues for the innocence of his client. But our Advocate, Jesus Christ, admits our guilt - and then enters His plea on our behalf, as the one who has made an atoning sacrifice for our sinful guilt. This is the attorney who has paid for our sins by the sacrifice of Himself. By dying for us, He freed us from the guilt of our sins and restored us to God by providing the required ransom. God can show mercy to us because Christ has satisfied the claims of justice. The gap between Jesus’ righteousness and our unrighteousness is so vast, and deserves only God’s wrath. The only one that could intercede for us is Christ who died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring us to God (1 Pet 3:18). It is because His sinless life was laid down for us as the means by which our forgiveness was obtained, that He can righteously plead His sacrifice before the righteous Father, on behalf of us, the unrighteous.

Q3. (Acts 7:51) Stephen accuses the Jewish leaders of stubbornness, hard-heartedness, and resistance to God. Have you ever noticed these tendencies in your own heart? What must you do if you see such things in yourself? Yes – guilty, sometimes, a rebellious and disobedient attitude to the will of God, mixed with pride, self-importance, self-centredness, and much more. By the grace of our Lord, I’ve been given a Helper (John 14:26) who I trust to remind me of God’s will when I stray from it. The Holy Spirit sets Himself against my desires of the flesh, and leads me into a life of righteousness. Thankfully with time, the works of the flesh become less obvious, and I begin to see more evidence of the fruit of the Spirit in my life (Gal 5:16-23). I know we have been commanded to “be filled with the Spirit” (Eph 5:18), which means we must submit ourselves daily to the Spirit’s control/leading, and drawing constantly on His power. This involves our desire to hear, the readiness to obey God’s Word, and the sensitivity to discern between our feelings and His promptings. Then the words of Christ will be in our mind, the love of Christ will be behind our actions, and the power of Christ will help us control our selfish desires, our stubbornness, our hard-heartedness, and our resistance to God.

Q2. (Acts 6:3, ? What list of qualities do you see in Stephen when you combine the apostles' list of qualifications (verse 3) with the description of Stephen's character (verse 8)? Why is a ministry that combines the Word with miracles so powerful? Of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom – indicating that he was both spiritually minded and practically minded. Which is a hard combination to find. These qualifications focused on Stephen’s character as well. The apostles were far more concerned with the internal quality of the men than their outward appearance or image. He is a man full of grace and power who did great wonders and signs among the people. Luke probably links Stephen’s work of mercy, healing, teaching, and preaching to that of the apostles. Because we read in (4:33) that the apostles continued to proclaim Jesus' resurrection “with great power,” and that they experienced “much grace” (Act 4:33). God, then, blesses Stephen's work to the same degree as He has blessed the deeds of the apostles. Jesus and the apostles often combined their message with signs and wonders and various miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit, confirming that their message as being from God (Heb 2:3-4). I read that in the book of Acts, miracles and gifts of the Spirit often authenticated the Good News wherever it was preached (Act 9:31-42; Act 14:1-20).

Q1. (Acts 6:1-2) What is the root problem in the Jerusalem church that shows up in food distribution? How could such a root problem slow growth and erode spiritual life? How do the apostles deal with it? Is there a root problem in your congregation that leaders need to deal with that threatens the health of the church? Why do leaders sometimes avoid dealing with church problems? A problem arose when the Greek-speaking Christians complained that their widows were being unfairly treated. The complaint concerned the welfare of the widows, whose cause God had promised in the OT to defend (Deu 10:18). It is assumed that they could not provide for themselves, and the church had accepted the responsibility, and a distribution of food and clothing was made to them. But there were two groups in the Jerusalem church, the Hebrew-speaking Christians and the Greek-speaking Christians. The Greek-speaking widows being overlooked, was not a deliberate oversight, more probably as a result of poor administration or supervision. The apostles realised that the root problem was that this social administration was threatening to occupy all their time and so inhibit them from the work which Christ had entrusted to them, namely praying, preaching and teaching. This root problem could easily slow growth and erode spiritual life. The apostles would be preoccupied with organising this distribution of food and clothing, which though essential, was not their calling. This would result in them neglecting their God-given responsibilities to pray and to preach, and so leave the church without any defence against false doctrine. To correct the situation, the apostles put seven respected Greek-speaking men in charge of the food distribution program. This solved the problem and allowed the apostles to keep their focus on teaching and preaching the Good News about Jesus. I’m not aware of any root problem in my church. I realise that no church has ever been or will ever be perfect. I feel that when leaders neglect their responsibilities to pray and teach the Word of God, and focus more on the numbers attending the services and the finances of the church, the church becomes an easy target for Satan. This is how Satan uses distraction to get the church to fail.

7. In what way does Jesus' teaching here offer hope to us who read it today? That nothing we have or do can gain us entry into God’s Kingdom. We are not justified by our own achievements and good works. Rather, we have to come before our Lord humbly, admitting that we are a sinner in need of mercy and grace. We have to have the mindset of a child/of a tax collector (18:13), and come to Jesus, freely, openly, and humbly. Knowing He will never refuse us, but welcome us. This reminds of the hymn we sing, “Nothing in my hand I bring, Simply to Thy cross I cling (Rock of Ages). We come in faith, repent with a heartfelt sorrow for sin, and walk in obedience to Christ. Coming to Jesus means to accept His goodness on our behalf, confess our need, and commit our life to His tender guidance.

6. Children have lots of endearing (and not so endearing) characteristics. Which characteristics of children is Jesus pointing to in this context that He wants would-be disciples to emulate? Besides welcoming and inviting children to come to Him, Jesus also identifies qualities or characteristics that He wants us, His disciples, to emulate. In Matt 18:2-3, Jesus teaches us that we must change and become like little children to enter the kingdom of heaven. That is, we must abandon thoughts of personal greatness and take the lowly position of a little child. And in the next verse (18:4), the Lord said that the greatest in the kingdom of heaven is the one who humbles himself like a little child. Identifying oneself with the lowliest among God’s children. In Mark 10:15, Jesus states, “Anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it”. Children come with expectation and excitement, realising that they are not sufficient in themselves, and are dependent on others. It is with these same attitudes that Jesus expects adults to have for them to enter into the kingdom. We need to change our attitude of self-sufficiency and recognise our need for the sovereign God; of self-righteousness and humble ourselves before the Holy God; of our sceptical toughness and soften before the loving God. The same way that children do not feel powerful, or righteous, or independent on their own.

5. What point is Jesus making by inviting the children to come freely? How does Jesus follow up on His action? They respond immediately with no pretence at all. What you see is what you get. They come freely, openly, humbly, in simple faith, and completely dependent upon Jesus. And Jesus welcomes them with open arms. Just like the tax collector in the previous parable who came with no merit in himself.

4. Why did Jesus interrupt His teaching to call all the children in the crowd to Him at this point? In what sense is this a "teachable moment"? (18:16) It was to teach His disciples, and us, an important lesson about the Kingdom of God. To be a member of God’s Kingdom demands humble trust in God – the same humble trust found in children. When Jesus, referring to children, says, “the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these”, He stresses not only how valuable they are in the Kingdom, but also their innocence, humility and openness to the things of God. The same selfless trust and total dependence shown to their earthly parents is shown towards their Heavenly Father.

3. Why did the disciples rebuke the parents? What was the disciples' view of the children's importance? How did they see their actions as serving Jesus' interests? (18:15b) The disciples saw this as an annoyance and an intrusion into Jesus’ busy schedule and didn’t want Him to be bothered by little children. Especially since children were viewed as unimportant in Jewish custom in those days. So, they rebuked the parents. They thought He had much more important matters to attend to than blessing children. They could perhaps have done this because they were conscious that the Lord was in need of rest. Since He was followed by large crowds this would have been very exhausting for the Lord. This could have been solely an act of pride on behalf of the disciples, thinking that they and their Master were too important to be bothered by such insignificant things as small infants. But Jesus graciously showed them the contrast between the openness of the children against the stubbornness of the religious leaders.

2. Why would parents want to bring their babies and little children to Jesus? (18:15a) Mothers customary brought their infants/children to a rabbi for a blessing. It was for this reason that mothers crowded around Jesus with their children, wanting Him to place His hands on them, in order that they might receive a blessing from God.

1. What is the point of the parable that precedes the incident of Jesus and the Little Children? Why is that important to the interpretation of this passage? (18:9-14) The preceding parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector teaches us the importance of humility before God. And this passage reinforces this by teaching us that the humility of a little child is necessary for entrance unto the kingdom of God. Young children would come with expectation and excitement. And we know that they cannot function on their own, being totally depend on others. This is the attitude, of faith and trust, that we are to have if we want to spend eternity with our Lord.

5. In what way (if any) does looking down on a sinner constitute a sin? Does forgiveness from this sin require humbling? What kind of humbling is appropriate? If Jesus were in the confessional speaking to you about this, what penance should He prescribe for your sin? In Matthew 3:5 Jesus says: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”, meaning that we must admit that we have nothing to offer God, and that we come to Him as empty, impoverished, despised, bankrupt, desperate beggars. We must recognise our sinful condition and acknowledge our own helplessness and reliance on God’s mercy. Looking down on a sinner, when we ourselves are a sinner, perhaps even a greater sinner, is the height of hypocrisy and a dreadful sin. The only right way to approach God is as a humble unworthy sinner pleading for mercy. That is the only way any of us can come to God, because that is what we all are - unworthy sinners who deserve His judgment. If we plead for mercy on the basis of Jesus Christ who shed His blood to pay the penalty we deserve, God will declare, “Not guilty!”. And perhaps say “Go, sin no more”. Wow, what a gift! To be made instantly righteous without any works, without any merit, without any worthiness, religious achievement, spiritual accomplishment or ritual. No time lapse, no penance, no works, no ceremony, no sacrament, no meritorious activity whatsoever, nothing to do, instant declaration of justification on the spot, permanent. This is the only righteousness that God will accept, a perfect righteousness not earned, and given as a gift to those who put their trust in Him.

4. Extra Credit. In what way can the forgiveness of gross sin feel like a threat to the righteous person? How can the righteous person avoid feeling threatened? Should Christians consider themselves righteous persons? Is this consistent with humility? The self-righteous person will feel betrayed/disappointed. He has worked so hard to attain his level of righteousness, and if all is forgiven, then all his hard work was for nothing. To avoid feeling threatened he must realise that all his good deeds are like filthy rags to God. There is nothing he can do to earn forgiveness of sin. Should Christians consider themselves righteous? Psalm 143:2 tells us that in God’s sight there is no living person righteous. So, no way can he consider himself righteous. He can only come to God acknowledging his sin and accept Christ as his Saviour from sin, then God imputes His own righteousness to him. This is consistent with humility, for he comes as a broken-hearted, self-confessed sinner, humble, unworthy, trusting only in God’s atonement.

3. What did the Pharisee's prayer consist of? What does that tell us about him? (18:11-12) What did the tax collector's prayer consist of? What do his prayer and his body language tell us about him? (18:13). He prayed that he was a moral man unlike other men. As Jesus said (18:11) he was praying about himself, and his prayer would have of consisted of praising himself for being honest, of treating people fairly, of being just in all his dealings with people, of being faithful in marriage, and of being a decent person by not being greedy or self-centred. His prayer mentions God only once, but “I” four times! This tells me that he was praying to himself, not to God, and to be heard by others. He was only going through the motions of prayer, boasting of his own moral and religious achievements. There was no asking for forgiveness of sin (believing he has nothing to confess), and there’s not a word of praise or thanksgiving to God. The tax collector on the other hand, humbled himself, and approached God’s throne of grace, acknowledging that he is an unworthy sinner pleading for mercy, and hoping to find grace in his time of need (Heb 4:16). He humbled himself before God, and came as he was, an unworthy sinner, with no merit in himself. We see this in his body language: he wouldn’t even come as far into the temple as the proud Pharisee did, he stood at some distance, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, and he beat his breast, showing his true sorrow for what he had done.

2. In what ways do twenty-first century Christians look down on others? Who are the people we look down on? How does this grieve Jesus' heart? How does it injure the cause of Jesus' church? We don’t treat them like we normally would another, we look down upon them, we neglect them, and consider them inferior to us. The main ones are the poor, the down and out, the beggars, the nobodies. Money talks. I’ve seen this so often even in our churches. As soon as they hear you are wealthy they welcome, even the pastor goes out of his way to greet you. On par with money, is status, and power. If you don’t have it you are classified as a nobody. The different religions (not on the same level of holiness) and races are also looked down upon, as we see them as inferior to ours. This grieves Jesus’ heart as there is only one standard for comparison and that is God Himself, since we all fall short of His glory (Romans 3:23). This attitude harms the church in that there is no outreaching to the local community. The church might as well be a tennis club. Once we start thinking we are better than others, we are probably trusting in our own good works, not in the grace of God.

1. What makes us confident in our own righteousness? (18:9) Have you ever known anyone like this? Been this way yourself? What causes it? What are the symptoms? We look upon ourselves as being an upright person who lives a good clean life, and who will never intentionally hurt anyone. We go to church nearly every Sunday, and more. We serve on various church committees, we have certain leadership roles, and we have our own weekly Bible study group at home. All this gives us the confidence in our own righteousness and allows us to boast of our own religious achievements. We look down upon others in our community and pride ourselves on being better than them. Yes, unfortunately we very often come across these self-righteous Christians in church. Outwardly they seem to live a righteous life, but inwardly they trust self rather than God. Have I been this way? Yes, I’m ashamed to say. This has happened on occasion when I get an inflated opinion of who I am – instead of remembering that I’m a sinner saved by grace! Symptoms – we look down upon others instead of comparing ourselves with God’s perfect standard and realising how sinful we really are, and how desperately we need a Saviour. Also, pride, self-centeredness, stupidity, ignorance, trust in our own good deeds/works, not realising our own sinful state, and not realising our total dependence on our Lord. Only His death on the cross is able to cleanse us and make us acceptable to God.

7. What is this parable saying to you personally? What disciple-lesson are you taking away from this? I find comfort in the fact that unlike the unjust judge, we have a righteous Heavenly Father, who having chosen us out of the world to be heirs of His Kingdom, will never neglect His children. My anchor is Romans 8:28: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose”. This is not a pipe dream, but a glorious certainty. I know, definitely know, that God works in all things, everything, for my good – not just isolated incidents. This does not mean that all that happens to me is good, but all things that happen will help me to conform to the image of my Lord Jesus Christ. How do I know for certain? Because it is a declared purpose of God, and heaven and earth shall pass away, but not one syllable of His Word will fail. I have learnt that it’s ok for me to persevere in prayer, and that I can approach God with confidence to receive mercy and find grace in my time of need (Heb 4:16). I can continually and persistently pray, and if I pray according to His will I know He hears me, and if I know He hears me, He will give me a definite answer (1 John 15:4-5).

6. Do YOU think Jesus will find faith on the earth when He returns? Why or why not? Yes, most definitely, but it will be very scarce. Jesus will find faith on earth when He returns, not because we are so faithful, but because He, our Lord Jesus, is faithful to keep those whom the Father has given Him. We might be inclined to think that with the way the world is going, deteriorating daily faster and faster, that all faith will disintegrate into unbelief, because people have stopped praying and, in the midst of adversity, have given up hope. John 10:28-29 teaches us that believers can expect to suffer on earth, but nothing can harm our souls or take away our eternal life with God. No one is able to snatch a believer out of Christ's hand. Not only is the believer in the hand of Christ; he is in the Father's hand as well (John 10:29). The elect will believe and will be saved, but sadly the majority will be unbelievers and they will die in their sins under God’s wrath (John 3:36). His elect will persist in faith out of gratitude to our Lord Jesus who died for us.

5. How can we believe in swift justice from God when He hasn't brought it yet? We can believe in swift justice from God, because firstly, we must remember that God is timeless; He is not controlled by time. After all, time is determined by the relation of the sun to the earth, and God is not limited by this relationship. In 2 Pet 3:8 we read, “With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.” So, it is possible for Him to expand a day into a millennium, or compress a millennium into a day – either spreading or concentrating His activities. Secondly, God has promised that there will be judgment for the ungodly, and if there seems to be a delay, it is not because He is unfaithful to His promise. No, it is because He is patient and does not want any to perish. Rather He wants that all should come to repentance (2 Pet 3:9). He therefore purposely extends the time of grace giving all the opportunity to be saved. However, Jesus will come suddenly and unexpectedly. “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare (2 Peter 3:10). Come Lord Jesus, Come!

4. What kinds of things can happen that cause us to lose hope, and lose any heart to pray consistent and believing prayers? How can we get out of these "pits"? God is not like the unjust judge, He is our loving Heavenly Father, who hears each one of our prayers, is concerned about our needs, generous with His blessings, and always ready to answer when we come to Him. He answers prayer for His glory and for our good. We are sometimes impatient, we want answers now, and if it is not forthcoming we lose hope, thinking God has deserted us. At the very start of the parable Jesus tells us that we should always pray and not give up (18:1). It’s all about persistent prayer in times of trouble, even when it seems as if our prayers go no higher than the ceiling. To get out of our depths of despair we must remember that God’s delays are not delays of inactivity but of preparation. God is always answering prayer working all things together for good to those who love Him, to those who are called according to His purpose (Rom 8:28). It might not seem like it, especially when we are suffering heartbreak, tragedy, disappointment, frustration, and bereavement. And we wonder what good can come out of it. As the elect, we should remember that whatever God allows to come into our lives is designed to conform us to the image of His Son (Rom 8:29). Our lives are not controlled by impersonal forces such as chance, luck, or fate, but by our wonderful, personal Lord.