Weekly Bible Study--Open this if you're ready to study

[HeChangedMyName]

Is anyone interested in a weekly Bible Study. I get one in my email every week. It gives a breakdown so that you can work on a particular scripture selection for the week with different discussion questions each day. Here is the study from yesterday

[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]LESSON 8[/FONT]​

[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]The Intensity of His[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]
Walk[/FONT]

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[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]Read for This Week's Study:[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif][/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]Matt. 4:4[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]; [/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]Luke 2:40[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]; [/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]6:12[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]; [/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]John 4:34[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]; [/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]John 17[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]; [/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]1 John 2:6[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif].[/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]Memory Text:[/FONT]​

[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]“He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.” ([/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]1 John 2:6[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif], KJV).[/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]Many Christians are peace-loving people. We feel elated when the church or its members get positive press, when everybody thinks we are good. But how might we react if we woke up one day to find huge headlines in the media branding us as losers, disrupters, or insurrectionists? Would our sense of assurance and confidence in God be strong enough to sustain us? We admire Jesus after the fact; but do we have any idea what it meant for Him to be vilified and demonized by the highest civic and ecclesiastical powers of His day? [/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]In the end we see Him manhandled by Roman soldiers: "They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him. And they began to call out to him, 'Hail, king of the Jews!' Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spit on him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to him. . . . Then they led him out to crucify him" ([/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]Mark 15:17-20[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif], NIV). [/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]What prepares a person to endure such physical and psychological abuse without cracking? How does a person remain steadfast and calm when the whole world turns against them—with not a shred of visible human support in sight? For Jesus, the answer lay in His communion with God, in the intensity of His walk with Him—which forms the subject of this week's lesson. [/FONT]http://ssnet.org/qrtrly/eng/08b/sforms/studyform08.html#sabc1

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[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]Memory Text:[/FONT]​

[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]“He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.” ([/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]1 John 2:6[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif], KJV). [/FONT]

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[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]SUNDAY[/FONT]​

[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]May 18, 2008[/FONT]​

[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]The Early Years [/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]([/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]Luke 2:40[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]) [/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]As we have stressed already, we know very little about Christ's early years. We hear about His birth and very early years, including the visit to the temple at age twelve (see [/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]Luke 2[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]). But that is all, until His baptism by John at the start of His public ministry, when He was "about thirty" (NIV; see [/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]Luke 3:21-23[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]). [/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]Nevertheless, it is possible to look at His life, as we know it, and draw certain reasonable conclusions in respect to the spiritual foundation that gave it support. If we assume from our own experience that the stability and strength we see in Jesus during His public ministry did not materialize overnight, nor arise from shallowness and superficiality, then we are bound to conclude, again from our own experience, that they sprang from an intense walk with God. [/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]Read [/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]again the story of Jesus at the temple ([/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]Luke 2:39-52[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]). What things are found there that help us understand the spiritual foundation upon which the young Jesus grew? Also, what role did His parents play in His growth? [/FONT]http://ssnet.org/qrtrly/eng/08b/sforms/studyform08.html#sunq1

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[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]Incredibly, these passages (apart from the birth narratives) are all we have on the first thirty years of Jesus' life. Furthermore, biblical scholars estimate that the vast majority of the Gospel materials center on the final week of Jesus' life, making them (as has often been said) "Passion narratives," not biographies, as such. They were produced, evidently, for the well-defined purpose of shining the spotlight on the two critical events of the Christian faith: the mystery of Jesus' birth (the Incarnation) and the significance of His death and resurrection. Between these two events we see His unselfish life of service and sacrifice. And we correctly may assume that the focus and dedication we see in His public ministry represent the flowering of a relationship with God that was consistent, deeply personal, and intense.

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[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]What principles can we take from this story that we, in our own context, can apply to ourselves and our own spiritual life? [/FONT]http://ssnet.org/qrtrly/eng/08b/sforms/studyform08.html#sunc1
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[Chrissy811]

I am willing to do this, how is it going to be done?

 

[tanyshar]

I want to do this, count me in.

 

[MsSharee06]

I'm interested count me in

 

[MsDeeDee82]

Im in too !

 

[Country gal]

I'm interested. It will be my first bible study class.

 

[HeChangedMyName]

Great. So, any thoughts on the lesson so far? Also, here is the next couple of days to give you all something to think about

[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]May 20, 2008[/FONT]​

[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]In His Life of Prayer [/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]([/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]Luke 6:12[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]) [/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]Jesus lived for prayer. His public ministry began with an extended period of special prayer and communion (as we saw yesterday); and the record indicates that He returned from the experience supercharged with living power (see [/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]Luke 4:14[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]). It would have been unnatural for Him to go a single moment without lifting up his soul to God, without experiencing that living connection between Himself and Heaven. And what we find is that although His was a life of continuous communion with His Father, before every major event or development He took time for special supplication. [/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]How[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]do the following passages demonstrate Jesus' reliance upon God for guidance, direction, and strength during moments of high importance, stress, or danger? In each case, note the special event in question: [/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]Matt. 14:23[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif] (compare [/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]vss. 24-33[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]) [/FONT]


[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]Luke 6:12[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif] (compare [/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]vss. 13-16[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]) [/FONT]


[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]John 17[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif] (compare [/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]18:1-3[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]) [/FONT]


[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]Mark 1:35[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif] seems to be describing not just one instance, but rather a pattern, when it speaks about Jesus rising "a long while before daylight"(NKJV) and going out to "a solitary place"(NKJV) for prayer. He began each day with God. But times of special need increased the tempo. [/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]Luke 6:12[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif] informs us that Jesus spent the entire night in prayer on a mountainside immediately preceding the selection of the twelve disciples, apparently from among a larger group of followers (see [/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]Luke 6:13[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]). [/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]Before His jaw-dropping walk on the lake, He had taken time out for a period of intense communication with His Father. And during the Passion Week, as He faced the Cross, Jesus offered an intense supplicatory prayer, for His immediate disciples and for His people to the end of time. [/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]Take another look at Jesus' great prayer in [/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]John 17[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]. What elements of a deeply personal walk with God do you find there? What events drive you to your knees? What has been your experience with the power of prayer to sustain you? How might you better improve your prayer life? [/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]May 21, 2008[/FONT]​

[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]Intensity for Mission [/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]([/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]John 4:34[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]) [/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]For American poet Robert Frost, the woods were "lovely, dark and deep. . . . But I have promises to keep and miles to go before I sleep." [/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]Jesus lived with the constant awareness of the darkness in the woods around him, always deep, but never lovely. Like the poet, He constantly was aware of having miles to go before He slept, so much to do in so little time. "I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day," He said, "the night is coming when no one can work" ([/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]John 9:4[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif], NKJV). We see this mission intensity in His encounter with the woman of Samaria. Suddenly, in the presence of this needy soul, He forgets all hunger and all thirst, totally consumed with the mission at hand. [/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]Meanwhile, the woman, entering into the excitement of the encounter, abandons her water jar and rushes to the village to spread the news of the most focused character she has ever met. The disciples return to find Jesus silent and pensive, praying for the success of this brand-new contact. [/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]When [/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]they told Jesus to eat, what did He answer them? ([/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]John 4:32-34[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]). How should we understand those words? What message can we take from them for ourselves? [/FONT]



[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]What [/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]do the following passages say about the intensity of Jesus' passion for His mission? [/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]John 9:1-12[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif], [/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]35-39[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]; [/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]12:27-36[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]. [/FONT]


[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]Jesus' sentiments in that last passage are pregnant with meaning. They came following a request by certain visiting Greeks to meet Him ([/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]John 12:20-22[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]), a request that opened up before Him the possibility of personally taking the message of the kingdom beyond His native Palestine to the far corners of the earth. But He knew that to do so would run counter to the most vital aspect of His total mission, to give His life as a ransom for the nations. Hence, He follows with those powerful words about a kernel of wheat falling into the ground ([/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]vs. 24[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]), [/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]symbolic not just of His own sacrifice but of the principle that all who follow Him must have a full commitment to the will of God, regardless of whatever the personal cost might be. [/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]What has been your own personal experience with what it costs to follow Jesus? Why is the cost cheap enough, no matter how expensive it turns out to be? [/FONT]​

 

[Evolving78]

i'm in. do we report back next week or the end of the week? are we going to be discussing what we got out of it? or is this for personal study? i started the bible challenge, but got off track. I'm still in the OT so this will help

 

[HeChangedMyName]

I was hoping we could discuss it and answer the questions here in the thread that are listed on each day.

 

[MissMeWithThatIsh]

My mind wants to say no, because of demands, but my spirit says YES

 

[OhmyKimB]

My mind is saying no b/c I have a habit of slacking on things...but I do want to join

 

[shalom]

I'll give a yes. OP - Please give more details of how we can come together as a group.

 

[HeChangedMyName]

Shalom,

I don't know of how we could definitely get together. Does everyone ym? I do that as well as MSN and myspace. We could choose a time and get together like that or we could just post responses in this thread. Near the end of each week, I can post a link to the following week's study. I don't want to put anyone out of their way to do this. I would rather it be enjoyable, rather than a burden, especially for those who are stepping out on faith and doing it for the first time.

 

[HeChangedMyName]

Readagain the story of Jesus at the temple ([FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]Luke 2:39-52

http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?language=english&version=31&passage=Luke+2:39-52[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]). What things are found there that help us understand the spiritual foundation upon which the young Jesus grew? Also, what role did His parents play in His growth? [/FONT]

[/FONT]

I see his spiritual foundation being that he was aware that handling God's business and learning as much as he could was important. I also see that he was obedient because when Mary and Joseph came back for him, he went, willingly and subject to their wishes for him to come.

What principles can we take from this story that we, in our own context, can apply to ourselves and our own spiritual life?

For me, it shows me that there are times when I fall behind because I am wasting time, not because I am about doing what God wants me to do. Jesus got left behind because his focus was on God. Even when we fall behind, or when we get disciplined by people in authority, like Jesus did, we don't always comply and become obedient. Jesus understood that to defy his earthly parents would not have been in line with the characteristics of God's son. For me, obedience isn't a major issue, but I will slack a bit if someone is telling me to do something if I really don't want to do it. I need to check that.

Howdo the following passages demonstrate Jesus' reliance upon God for guidance, direction, and strength during moments of high importance, stress, or danger? In each case, note the special event in question:

[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]Matt. 14:23

http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?language=english&version=31&passage=Matt+4:23[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif] (compare [/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]vss. 24-33[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]) [/FONT]


[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]Luke 6:12[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif] (compare [/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]vss. 13-16[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]) [/FONT]


[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]John 17[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif] (compare [/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]18:1-3[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]) [/FONT]

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In Matthew, I think that it shows Jesus faith in God because when Peter began to sink, Jesus just reached down and got him, nowhere does the Bible say that Jesus lost faith and sank with him. We have a tendancy to waver in our faith when other faithless people begin to talk to us and question the possibilities of God and how he can make the impossible become possible.

Take another look at Jesus' great prayer in John 17. What elements of a deeply personal walk with God do you find there? What events drive you to your knees? What has been your experience with the power of prayer to sustain you? How might you better improve your prayer life?

Jesus continually gives glory to God and thanks God for the glory he has received. Jesus talks about how he is brining us(believers) before God. He is saying, look, I did what you sent me for and you were in me and now I am in them. He has an excitement like when you tell a child to complete a chore and they do it all by themselves, they feel so accomplished but all they can do is thank you for letting them do something on their own. This prayer is personal. It shows that you don't need any certain words to go before God, just so long as you pray in the name of Jesus. There is no certain prayer lingo that you need to become well versed at in order to speak to your heavenly father.

When they told Jesus to eat, what did He answer them? ([FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]John 4:32-34

http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?language=english&version=31&passage=John+4:32-34[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]). How should we understand those words? What message can we take from them for ourselves? [/FONT]

[/FONT]

Jesus was not focused on the natural bread of this world to fill his stomach. He was living in the fullness of God. I take that to mean that God is enough for us and nothing should distract us from our time with him Our thoughts ought to be so focused on him that we don't dare stop communing with him and allowing him to fill us up with his word just so that we can stop and eat. When God is ready for us to eat bread, he will let us know.

What has been your own personal experience with what it costs to follow Jesus? Why is the cost cheap enough, no matter how expensive it turns out to be?

I have learned that it costs fitting in with certain people and clicks. It costs a lot of my old social ways. But I am happy but the return has been so great. Now I am happy on my own, rather than before my walk with Jesus, I always felt a need to be with a crowd. Now the crowd consists of me, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is enough for me now to stay home on a Friday or Saturday night and talk to God. I am spending time with God, he is the one who has given me grace and only he can take that away. No one on this earth can save my soul, so no one is important enough for me to "need" to spend time or energy on in place of the time I am spending with God.

 

[yodie]

I'd love to join when we figure out how we'll get together on this.

Thanks OP for getting this started.

 

[tanyshar]

Yea I think we should set up some parameters on how we can come together and discuss, I believe that would help to keep all involved more focused

 

[HeChangedMyName]

I'm open to suggestions about how we can get together on this one.

 

[HeChangedMyName]

bump--where did everyone go?

 

[Evolving78]

i read everything and typed something on word, but my computer was acting up so i lost what i typed. i will retype it, but what i got from it as that Jesus relied on prayer and whenever he preached or met with the disciples, we went to the Father for guidance. I will come back later to go into detail.

 

[tanyshar]

Hey, I am going on vacation for a week so I have been busy preparing I have 3 kids and DH including myself to pack for and we are leaving tomorrow. Anyways I will be back home on June 2nd so I will check in at that time.

 

[HeChangedMyName]

Here is Lesson 9 for the week of May 24 - 30, 2008. The title of the lesson is "The Tenderness of His Love" The lesson is in a downloadable format or you can scroll down this message and find it there. Feel free to share this information with others.



LESSON 9
May 24 – 30, 2008




The Tenderness of His
Love


Read for This Week's Study:

Matt. 5:44-48; 19:13, 14; 23:37; Luke 10:38-42; John 8:2-11; Acts 6:7.


Memory Text:


"But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd" (Matthew 9:36).



Matthew 9:35 tells how Jesus went through many areas of Palestine "preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness" (NIV). In our cynical age, when people suspect that every effort to help them is tinged with some hidden agenda, the motive behind Jesus' ministry comes as a breath of fresh air: genuine love, described as "compassion" (vs. 36). He was moved for the people; His heart went out to them. We see this same general concern in Mark 8:1-3, where Jesus is concerned about the people fainting on their way home. "They have . . . been with Me three days," He reminds His disciples, "and have nothing to eat. If I send them home hungry, they will collapse on the way, because some of them have come a long distance" (vss. 2, 3 NIV).

It is a remarkably tender concern, and says a lot about Jesus. He knew His audience. He empathized with their needs. He felt their pain. Nor does He ask us to be exactly what He was or do exactly what He did. For although He had Himself gone through 40 days of fasting, yet He was concerned about the health and safety of folks who had experienced just three days eating next to nothing (though perhaps not totally without food).

This is the kind of loving compassion we want to trace in this week's lessons, in the lives of individuals and that of the nation of Israel as a whole.

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SUNDAY
May 25, 2008




For the Woman Caught in Adultery (John 8:2-11)



Review the story of the woman caught in adultery. How did Jesus treat her? What can we learn from this story?




What tender compassion and love on Jesus' part! He handled the situation in such a way that forever afterward the woman's accusers would be eager to leave her alone, since they never could be sure what she had read about their private lives on the pavement that morning.

In what ways was Jesus ministering even to the hypocrites who brought this woman to Him in order to try to snare Him?



If you read the story carefully, you can see the compassion of Jesus even for those who were so evil in their intentions. If only their hearts would have been as open to the wooing of Christ as was that unfortunate woman's.



How would the typical church congregation handle a situation like this? How do we balance adherence to high moral standards with compassion for those who fall?


MONDAY
May 26, 2008

For the Children (Matt. 19:13, 14)



Children have borne the brunt of suffering over the centuries. Helpless and dependent, they often have been caught in the crossfire of war and conflict, public riots and family feuds. It was children, infant males in particular, who bore the brunt of the first hideous "solution of the Jewish problem" under the ancient pharaohs of Egypt (Exod. 1:15, 16). And it was infant males who again were decimated in Herod's slaughter of the innocents (Matt. 2:16), leading Matthew to recall another time of indiscriminate slaughter of children at the start of the Babylonian captivity (Matt. 2:17, 18; compare Jer. 31:15). Learning about Herod's slaughter, perhaps on His mother's knees, how keenly Jesus must have remembered it, knowing that these innocent little ones had died, in a sense, because of Him. (He had come to die for them; but before He was old enough even to conceive of His mission, they had died because of Him.)



How do the following passages capture Jesus' tender love and concern for infants and children? What messages are being given to us in these accounts that go beyond how we should treat children? (Matt. 18:2-6, 19:13-15).


Those children who sat on Jesus' lap that day, and to whom His hand had been outstretched in blessing, what might their future have been? What memories did they take from that day, those old enough to remember? Did some of them later accept Jesus as Messiah? And how must they have felt to know that that loving Person who had put His hands on them in blessing was now in the highest heavens ministering in their behalf? What depth of assurance that must have brought them! Politicians kiss babies for their parents' votes; but Jesus loved the children for their own sake. "Let the little children come to me," He scolded His protective disciples, "and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these" (Matt. 19:14, NIV).



What children, if any, are within your own sphere of influence? How do you respond to them? Think carefully about how you treat them. What steps can you take to make sure your influence is as positive as possible?




TUESDAY
May 27, 2008




For the Lazarus Family (John 11:5)



We do not know a great deal about the Lazarus family of Bethany. The Gospels provide us with little about them. But it seems clear that they were three unmarried adult siblings keeping house together. Probably not your typical Jewish family, but that is where Jesus chose to go whenever He came to town. John informs us that "Jesus loved Martha and her sister (Mary) and (their brother) Lazarus" (John 11:5, NIV).



Study the incident recorded in Luke 10:38-42. How do you see Jesus' handling of Martha? How, even here, do we see the loving compassion of Jesus being manifest?



Martha's request eminently seems justified. After all, the meal lay at the center of Eastern hospitality, and preparing it had to count for something. Perhaps too poor to afford servants, Martha in the kitchen needed help. In light of all this, Jesus' response to her comes across as uncharacteristically uncaring.

Perhaps the key to understanding it is to consider the wider dimension of Jesus' mission. For Jesus, nothing was ordinary, as His own parents discovered during the incident at the temple (Luke 2:48, 49). For Jesus, destiny hung upon every minute of His time with us; and in that context, kitchen work did not count, regardless of its importance.

Still, we misunderstand Jesus if we think He was unsympathetic to Martha. Quite the opposite is the case. The Gospels do not provide us with video clips of the incidents they report. We cannot see the face of Jesus as He responded to Martha. We cannot hear the pathos in His voice. Using our imagination, however; informed by what we know of Jesus elsewhere in the Gospels, we may picture Him rising from His place as He addresses Martha, affectionately calling her name twice. "Martha, Martha," He says, making His way to the kitchen, Mary following, "there's something infinitely more important than entertaining, and Mary has found it" (Luke 10:41, 42, paraphrase).



In what ways might you be in the position of Martha, so busy with the cares of this world that you forget what is really important? Most important, how can you tell if your priorities are not right?

 

[HeChangedMyName]

WEDNESDAY
May 28, 2008




For His Enemies (Matt. 5:44)



One of Jesus' most famous sayings was found in Matthew 5:44-48. Review the verses. What is the essence of this important message to all who would follow Jesus?



In a real sense, one could say that Christ's whole life, and death, was a manifestation of this principle, that of loving your enemies, that of doing good even to those who do not do you good.

After the fall of Adam and Eve, the whole world became, in a sense, enemy territory, a race of fallen and rebellious beings living in opposition to God. What, though, did God do to this enemy planet? Did He send an army of angels down to sweep it away in its iniquity? No, instead, He sent Jesus, His Son, who came in order to save the world, not to condemn it.

What overt examples can you find in the Gospels that show the love of Jesus, even for His enemies? Which ones stand out the most in your mind?




How about, for example, when He healed the ear of the servant when Peter cut it off (Luke 22:50, 51)? Or how about the time He revealed to Judas His foreknowledge of what Judas was going to do, giving the hardened disciple another opportunity to turn away from his sin (Matt. 26:25)?

Of course, the greatest example has to be His prayer to the Father as He was being crucified: "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34). In many ways that is the ultimate example of love for those who do not deserve it; though they did not know what they were doing, they had no excuse. During His time here, Jesus gave ample opportunity, to both Jews and Romans, to know who He was, or at least to know enough to know that Jesus did not deserve what He was getting. Despite that, Jesus showed His compassion for them anyway.



It is one thing to say you are supposed to love your enemies; it is another to know how to do it. What is the key to manifesting this attribute in your own life? How willing are you to make the changes needed in order to be able to love your enemies?






THURSDAY
May 29, 2008




For Israel (Matt. 23:37)



"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!" (Matt. 23:37).

How is the character of Jesus revealed in the above text? What does it tell us about God's love for His people? What does it tell us about the limits of what love can do? At the same time, before you start pointing fingers at anyone, ask yourself: How might those words be applied directly to me?



If God shared the same emotions as humans, then the story of His relationship with Israel would amount to four thousand years of almost continuous disappointment and frustration. To be sure, there were high points, times when the nation brought God joy, but those times were rare and comparatively brief. Eventually, His phenomenal patience running out, God gave the nation a period of 490 years (Dan. 9:24) that would reach to the coming of Messiah. Jesus was that Messiah; and what we see in Him, from start to finish, was an attitude of compassion, a love at once tough and tender.

How does Matthew 23:25-35 exemplify the toughness of Jesus love?




What we are watching here is the phenomenon of Divine patience nearing its end. Yet, however severely provoked, and however protracted the provocation, tenderness breaks through the outer crust of Jesus' toughness. He would not have spoken those harsh words were there not hope that some of these people eventually would see the error of their ways.



Read Acts 6:7. Notice who was also "obedient to the faith." Might some of them have been among those Jesus rebuked earlier? What is the message to us here about being quick to judge or condemn?






FRIDAY
May 30, 2008




Further Study / Discussion Questions:



Dwell on this idea of loving your enemies. What does that mean, in a practical sense? How is this love to be manifested? Is there a time when it would be impossible to love your enemies? If so, what might that situation be?



What is the situation of the children in your local church? How much attention is paid to their needs? What could you as a church be doing better in that regard?



In what ways is it easy to confuse love with cheap grace? That is, what danger is there of allowing people to get away with things that they should not be doing, all because we want to reveal to them love? When is love sometimes best manifested by strict, moral accountability? How can we strike the right balance? If you are going to err, which side is it best to err on?



What parallels can you find between the Jewish nation (during the time it was a theocracy) and the church today? What lessons should we learn from their example? Are we learning them?