Jen

Q1. (John 11:16) What does verse 16 teach us about Thomas’s character? About his faith? Thomas wasn't in it just for the good. He was willing to suffer and die for his Lord. As should we be. God Bless! Jen Numbers 6:24-26

Q2. (John 10:10) What would an “abundant life” look like if you were a sheep with a really good shepherd? In what ways is the Christian life to be an “abundant” life? How does this abundance relate to persecutions and hardships that come to us as Christians. Can the life of a unbeliever be more “abundant,” free, and fun? Contentment and being loved and cared about and for. In this world we will have hardships and persecution however we can be content that our Lord allows this and will work all out for our good and that He knows about it. If we trust in Him we will not worry. There are things that nonbelievers can do that we might not do however the Bible says no good thing will He withhold from us. So if it is good for us He will not withhold it. God Bless! Jen Numbers 6:24-26

Q1. (John 10:3-4) What does it mean that Jesus’ sheep “know his voice”? How can you discern his voice from your own thoughts and the expectations of others? The same as we recognize the voices of people close to us the same we recognize the voice of our Savior. We learn to recognize it more as we send more time in His Word and in prayer. God Bless! Jen Numbers 6:24-26

Q4. (John 9:39-41) Were the Pharisees responsible for their hard hearts and spiritual blindness? According to 2 Corinthians 4:4, what causes spiritual blindness? Was Pharaoh responsible for his hardness of heart? (see Exodus 8:15, 32; 9:34; 10:3; 13:15; 1 Samuel 6:6). Yes they were responsible for their hard hearts and spiritual blindness. It is the same with everything, reading writing and arithmetic. If we refuse to listen and learn we will grow up dull, limited, the same as a baby. Some people cannot be taught because they will not be taught. 'No one can going to tell me what to do.' Including the pharaohs and the pharisees of then and today. God Bless! Jen Numbers 6:24-26

Q3. (John 9:35-38) Why did Jesus go looking for the man he had healed? What was the healed man's level of openness? His level of faith? His knowledge? What did he need at this point? What people do you know who are so ready that they just need some guidance in how to believe in Jesus? Jesus knew what had transpired and knew that the man was ready for the next step to put his trust and faith in Jesus the Messiah. He was ready and eager. When you have met the Lord you don't leave the same way. His faith was strengthened and his thinking was clear. He was ready to confess faith in Jesus, Son of God, to be saved for all eternity. God bless! Jen Numbers 6:24-26

Q2. (John 9:6). Why do you think Jesus healed in different ways? Laying on of hands, command, mud on eyes, fingers in ears, etc.? How much do you think was at his Father’s direction (5:19, 30; 12:49). Why is it important to seek God’s guidance in how we should minister to a person? ​Why did Jesus heal in different ways? I don't know except that doing it in different ways caught people unawares and it then involved trust, faith. Also there was going to be no boasting because the methods Jesus used were rather down to earth, mud, fingers in ears, rather humbling to those who want to boast. Once God touched me and I awoke spiritually, there was no drama except to me which I can take to my Lord and worship Him for finding me, for touching my heart. So I think about how the blind man must have felt when Jesus touched his eyes, when he looked back and remembered the touch. So it is with all of us. No pat formula. Everything Jesus did was at the Father's direction and everything we do should be at the Father's direction for His glory. God Bless Jen Numbers 6:24-26

Q1. (John 9:1-3) Is sin always the cause of sickness or affliction? What are some of the good results that come out of the sicknesses and afflictions of godly people? Since the original sin ruined our perfect world and since the original sin we have all been born with a sin nature, in that sense yes sin is always the cause of sickness or affliction. However in this story I don't believe it was any specific sin anyone did but rather something God allowed for His own purpose. Some of the good results of afflictions and sickness: God's name is glorified, His power is shown to an unbelieving world, we learn to walk with Him in everything in life, our faith is strengthened and deepened, we can be testimony as people watch us walk through the dark valleys with confidence in the One who brings us through, we learn to want His will and not ours, we mature and are saved from what we might become. God Bless! Jen Numbers 6:24-26

Q6. (John 8:58) What does Jesus’ statement, “Before Abraham was, I am,” tell us about Jesus? How does this statement relate to John 1:1-5? Both tell us that Jesus is timeless, eternal God, Jehovah, I AM, the Word. He has no beginning and no end. This earth shall pass away but He will never pass away. He does not grow old and feeble. He is eternally the same. We can ever surely trust in Him because He will not change, His Word endures forever. God Bless! Jen Numbers 6:24-26

Q4. (John 8:34-36) How does sinning enslave a person? What is necessary to set a person free from bondage to sin? What part does Jesus' "truth" (8:32) have in this? How does the "Son" set people free? If you find yourself trapped by habitual sin, how can you get free? Have you ever noticed one little lie leads to a bigger and than a bigger one until it is found out. That is slavery to sin. We have to continue in it or admit that we have sinned. We need to have sinful thought processes brought into the light so we see how dreadful it is and are repulsed by those things and because we have the conviction of the Holy Spirit in us we want to change those things. Our pride is a barrier to change so it must be made very clear how wrong our sin is. Jesus is so good to us. We can come to the Father through His atoning death on the cross for us and confess those sins and future ones and receive forgiveness and cleansing until we are whiter that the new snow which now lies outside. God Bless! Jen Numbers 6:24-26

Q5. (John 8:44) What does this verse teach us about the devil's character? What does this tell us about people who don't always tell the truth? If Jesus is "the Truth" (14:6), what is an habitual liar? The devil is a liar and a murderer. He knows the truth and cannot bear it. He flees from the truth to his abode of darkness. ​People who don't always tell the truth. That is a hard one. Some I know grew up learning to lie to protect themselves or because they were never corrected. This can continue on and only the Holy Spirit can convict that person that it is not of God. Some are not believers and others for whom it is a habit who profess the Lord need to repent of it and walk in the truth. God Bless! Jen Numbers 6:24-26

Q3. (John 8:31-32) What is the mark of a "real" disciple? What does it mean to "continue" in Jesus' word? What truth sets us free? When this is quoted in a secular content, how does its meaning differ from its context here in John's Gospel? A real disciple wants to spend much time with the master, in HIs Word or in prayer with Him. That is to continue in Jesus' word. All truth will set us free however it is what we are set free from that makes a difference. Worldly truth sets us free from the lies concocted by men about worldly issues i.e. deflate gate. Spiritual truth sets us free from the untruths about God and Jesus His Son. When we accept this truth we are set free from the penalty of our sin. We know we will live with Jesus forever in His Kingdom of light and that kingdom starts here and now for us in our hearts and the light of His Word. Doesn't His Word bring light into your life and don't words spring out at you as you see things in a new light. It is so very marvelous and joyous to get together with someone of like mind. I have one person like that. Otherwise I consider where I live to be in such darkness of thinking. God Bless Jen Numbers 6:24-26

Q2. (John 8:21-24) What does it mean to "die in your sins"? What is the consequence of this? How is it possible for Jesus' enemies to be speaking with the Savior from sin without receiving forgiveness from him? They are so close, but so far! Do you know anyone like this? To die in your sins is to die without the blood of Christ to cover for you, to atone for your sins. It means eternal separation from Christ who is our life. It means eternity in darkness, surrounded by the pain so loved in life. It is incomprehensible that those who waked the earth with Christ did not seek Him for He is light and love, except that we tend towards that which is familiar and are blind to the truth. I know a couple people. God bless Jen Numbers 6:24:26

Q1. (John 8:12) In what sense is Jesus the Light of the World? What is Jesus’ promise concerning light for his followers? Exactly what does that mean for the way you live? The sun is physical light and Jesus is spiritual light. Light shows the way, exposes deeds of darkness, lets us see each other, the beauty or ugliness around us. His promise is that those who follow Him shall not walk in darkness, stumbling around and not knowing where they are going but shall have His light so we may walk in His light. For me I want to walk worthy of the Lord, to walk in His light, I want to read His Word, meditate on it and pray at all times. God Bless Jen Numbers 6:24-26

Q4. (John 8:10-11) Why didn't Jesus condemn the lady? Was she guilty, do you think? Instead of condemnation, what did Jesus tell her to do? Why is repentance necessary for salvation? What happens to the gospel when we don't emphasize repentance? There were no witnesses. Yes i think she was quilty as was the man who of course was not held to the same standard as the woman. He told her to go and sin no more. If we are not genuinely sorry for our sin we will keep on sinning. There has to be heartfelt sorrow to make us want to change. If there is no sorrow for our sin I don't know that there is a gospel that can save us. If we once sorrowed and thought well of the gospel and became saved and then became cold to the need for personal repentance then we have greatly distained the price that Christ paid on the cross because of the gravity of our sin. God Bless! Jen Numbers 6:24-26

Q3. (John 8:3-8) Why do you think Jesus wrote on the ground? Was the content of his writing important to the story? What effect did this have on the situation? I have often thought about this. Maybe we will find out someday from Him. There could be many reasons. One to bide time to to give everyone time to think about what is going on. We are so quick to find fault with others (we who have so much sin ourselves), maybe a moment of sadness in Jesus as he views our hard unrepentant hearts, our hateful dark hearts. Maybe to show the accusers he is bored with them, maybe time to give them more room to hang themselves which they did quite easily. Since we don't know a jot of His thoughts maybe something we haven't even considered, never even entered our small, measly, biased, sin darkened thought train. God Bless! Jen Numbers 6:24-26

Q2. (John 8:3-8) Why did Jesus insist on unbiased, righteous witnesses casting the first stone? Why is verse 7 so often misused? Does Jesus require sinlessness of those called on to judge? What does he require? How does this compare with Jesus' teaching in Matthew 7:1-5? There is no justice in bias. Only favoritism and wanting your way to be said right regardless of the truth. Deut. 17:7 said the witnesses must cast the first stone. The witnesses are to be unbiased so should be ready to carry out the sentence. This puts the weight on the witnesses to be telling the truth or they will be quilty of murder and maybe not on this earth will it be found out but they will one day stand before a just and holy God and answer for their hypocrisy. I believe it takes a humble man to act fairly in this because he knows he himself is a sinner. It seems to me this answer on Jesus part puts the words in Matthew 7:1-5 into action. God Bless! Jen Numbers 6:24-26

1. (John 8:3-6) What was the trap Jesus' enemies tried to spring on him with the woman taken in adultery? What might be the consequence if he upheld stoning her? What might be the consequence if he said not to stone her? They wanted to catch Him in an inconsistency with the law. They wanted an excuse to pick a quarrel to have an excuse to accuse Him. He would be accused of condoning sin ( not enforcing the law of Moses) or enforcing the law of Moses and going against His own teaching to have mercy. God bless! Jen Numbers 6:24-26

4. (John 7:37-39) In Jesus' teaching on streams of living water from within, whom does he invite to drink? What does he promise to believers? How is this fulfilled at Pentecost rather than immediately after Jesus spoke it? To what degree has this been fulfilled in your life? 1. To all who are thirsty, who are weary and heavy burdened. 2. He promises for those who believe in Him will flow streams of living water. 3. By the filling of those who believed with the Holy Spirit which is the living water referred to. 4. When I accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior the Holy Spirit came to dwell in me. Thank you Jesus! God Bless! Jen Numbers 6:24-26

Q3. (John 7:17) Can we truly know God’s will if we’re not really willing to obey the truth we know? Why not? Why would we want to know God's will if we do not obey what we do know. Is it to pick and choose the parts we want? Then it cannot be God's will. His will is to love Him above all else and to obey. If we do love Him we will obey Him. God starts us with the foundation which is Christ and to do small things and leads us onto bigger and harder things. Through out our faith is tried and tested, as we grow into deeper knowledge of Him. To know His will is to obey what He puts before us. In Philippians 3:10 Paul says I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings, becoming like Him in His death. This is knowing Him and not just about Him. God Bless! Jen Philippians 3:12, 15, 16

Q2. (John 7:15-17) How were rabbis trained in Jesus’ day? How was Jesus trained? How were his disciples trained? What is the value of formal theological training? What is the value of learning to hear and obey the voice of the Spirit? The rabbis in Jesus day were trained by a famous rabbi. Jesus was God and basically,y came to the earth already trained. He was and is and will forever be God, all-knowing. His disciples were trained by Himself (Jesus). A good seminary school is invaluable to train a disciple in the Word to walk himself in the Way or to mentor and pastor his flock. We need the Holy Spirit! Without the Holy Spirit we are left to our own devices and those will ever surely lead us astray so we need to learn to hear His voice and to walk in His way. God Bless! Jen Numbers 6:24-26

Q1. (John 7:1-5) Why did Jesus stay in Galilee and avoid Jerusalem? What is the balance between taking precautions to protect yourself and trusting yourself into God's care? Jesus knew the Jews wanted to kill him. It was not fear, He came to die for us, but prudence, it would be in God's time and God's way. His brothers wanted him to go to Jerusalem for various selfish reasons. Again Jesus wasn't looking for attention and glory from men. He wanted to do the Father's will and that would bring the Father glory and the Father would glorify the Son in the right time. I can see some of todays politicians, CEO's, small town mayors, whatever, filled with their own importance and wanting to be recognized while putting on their cloak of false humility. They always give themselves away. It is not wrong to avoid situations that will bring unnecessary suffering and death. If that comes through no means of our putting ourself, out of our own wrong judgement, into the situation we are to pray for strength and the holy Spirit to be with us and that our situation might bring glory to God. We are to stand fast in the faith at all times. God Bless! Jen Romans 15:13

It reminds me of what Peter said in John 6:68 Lord, to who shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know you are the Holy One of God. God Bless! Jen Numbers 6:24-26

Q5. (John 6:53-59) What is “eating the Bread of Life” a metaphor of? What is “eating Jesus’ flesh and drinking his blood” a metaphor of? How are these metaphors similar to each other? Why do you think Jesus used such a vivid and repugnant metaphor? I find putting thoughts into words to be difficult. I understand inside however to put into words is no easy thing. I liken the eating the Bread of Life to when we are born physically and eagerly take nourishment offered to us. In the same way when we are born spiritually we feed on the Word (Jesus) as spiritual nourishment. The more we feed on this health food the stronger we grow. If we only feed on the television junk then it is like eating junk food. It harms us and we do not have spiritual growth. The same with the blood, it is the life force in us and Christ shed His blood for us so that we might have His life. Therefore as we meditate on what He did for us on the cross or take communion in memory of what He did for us we sustain His life in us. We become more like Him. He used images in the words bread and blood that we could relate to. We need bread to eat and the shedding of blood has never been anything but graphic and yet we needed His blood shed for us, as we watched blood shed from animals to provide food for us, so His blood provided life for us. The carnal have a hard time with these images , however to the spiritually minded they are life itself. God Bless! Jen Numbers 6:24-26

Q3. (John 6:37, 44, 65) What is the significance of Jesus’ teaching that only the ones the Father “draws” to him can come to him? In what way does this sound like predestination? How does the Holy Spirit prepare people to put their faith in Christ? Only God can awaken us spiritually. We are born spiritually dead and need the Father to draw us. I think the predestination thought comes into play because God knows ahead who will respond to His wooing, however the invitation is for all who will come. As I look back I can see God's hand quiding me in decisions I or others have made. Even when I didn't really know about the Holy Spirit He was at work and still is, in my life making me into the person I am. I just didn't know it was the Holy Spirit. I have to say I was very dull, wanting to know that there is God and that He knew and cared about me but very hard of hearing if you will. So truly God is at work in us before we are even aware of Him in the sense that He is a personal God who cares for each of us on a personal level, guiding us, directing us, loving us, discipling us. Thank you Lord for not leaving me as I was. For finding me and preparing my hard heart to receive you. The work was yours and I am merely a trophy of your grace. God Bless! Jen Numbers 6:24-26

Q4. (John 6:35-51) What does the metaphor of “eating the Bread of Life” mean in practical terms? To extend the same metaphor, what do you think might be the difference between nibbling the Bread of Life rather than actually making a meal of it? Eating of the bread of Life means believing that in Christ's atoning death on the cross means eternal life for those who do believe. To nibble on the Bread of Llife means to not eat much. You may be saved however you will not grow like someone who immerses themselves in the Word and prayer. God Bless Jen Numbers 6:24-26 Like This Quote