July 14, 2019 – Learning from James – Little and Much

Little and Much


2 Kings 5:15-27 - New International Version (NIV)

¹⁵ Then Naaman and all his attendants went back to the man of God. He stood before him and said, “Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel. So please accept a gift from your servant.”

¹⁶ The prophet answered, “As surely as the Lord lives, whom I serve, I will not accept a thing.” And even though Naaman urged him, he refused.

¹⁷ “If you will not,” said Naaman, “please let me, your servant, be given as much earth as a pair of mules can carry, for your servant will never again make burnt offerings and sacrifices to any other god but the Lord. ¹⁸ But may the Lord forgive your servant for this one thing: When my master enters the temple of Rimmon to bow down and he is leaning on my arm and I have to bow there also—when I bow down in the temple of Rimmon, may the Lord forgive your servant for this.”

¹⁹ “Go in peace,” Elisha said.

After Naaman had traveled some distance, ²⁰ Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said to himself, “My master was too easy on Naaman, this Aramean, by not accepting from him what he brought. As surely as the Lord lives, I will run after him and get something from him.”

²¹ So Gehazi hurried after Naaman. When Naaman saw him running toward him, he got down from the chariot to meet him. “Is everything all right?” he asked.

²² “Everything is all right,” Gehazi answered. “My master sent me to say, ‘Two young men from the company of the prophets have just come to me from the hill country of Ephraim. Please give them a talent of silver and two sets of clothing.’”

²³ “By all means, take two talents,” said Naaman. He urged Gehazi to accept them, and then tied up the two talents of silver in two bags, with two sets of clothing. He gave them to two of his servants, and they carried them ahead of Gehazi. ²⁴ When Gehazi came to the hill, he took the things from the servants and put them away in the house. He sent the men away and they left.

²⁵ When he went in and stood before his master, Elisha asked him, “Where have you been, Gehazi?”

“Your servant didn’t go anywhere,” Gehazi answered.

²⁶ But Elisha said to him, “Was not my spirit with you when the man got down from his chariot to meet you? Is this the time to take money or to accept clothes—or olive groves and vineyards, or flocks and herds, or male and female slaves? ²⁷ Naaman’s leprosy will cling to you and to your descendants forever.” Then Gehazi went from Elisha’s presence and his skin was leprous—it had become as white as snow.

What did Naaman know (verse 15)?

In your opinion, why did Elisha say “as surely as the Lord lives, whom I serve, I will nat accept a thing” (verse 16)?

Who will Naaman “make burnt offerings and sacrifices” to (verse 17)?

What did Naaman want the Lord to forgive him for (verse 18)?

How did Elisha bless Naaman (verse 19)?

Who thought Elisha was “too easy on Naaman” (verse 20)?

In your opinion, why would Naaman ask “is everything all right” (verse 21)?

What lie did Gehazi tell to justify his request for “a talent of silver and two sets of clothing” (verse 22)?

Who carried the two talents of silver and two sets of clothing back for Gehazi (verse 23)?

When did Gehazi take the things he had been given (verse 24)?

How did Gehazi answer Elisha’s question “where have you been” (verse 25)?

In your opinion, why did Elisha add “olive groves and vineyards, or flocks and herds, or male and female slaves” to his question to Gehazi (verse 26)?

What will cling to Gehazi and his descendants forever (verse 27)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

Luke 16:1-13 - New International Version (NIV)                 

¹ Jesus told his disciples: “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. ² So he called him in and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.’

³ “The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m ashamed to beg— ⁴ I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.’

⁵ “So he called in each one of his master’s debtors. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’

⁶ “‘Nine hundred gallons of olive oil,’ he replied.

“The manager told him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred and fifty.’

⁷ “Then he asked the second, ‘And how much do you owe?’

“‘A thousand bushels of wheat,’ he replied.

“He told him, ‘Take your bill and make it eight hundred.’

⁸ “The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. ⁹ I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.

¹⁰ “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. ¹¹ So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? ¹² And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?

¹³ “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

What was the manager accused of doing (verse 1)?

Who ask for “an account of your management” (verse 2)?

What did the manager ask himself (verse 3)?

Where did the manager want people to welcome him (verse 4)?

Who did the manager call in (verse 5)?

What did the manager do (verses 6 and 7)?


How did the master react to what the dishonest manager did (verse 8)?


In your opinion, what does Jesus mean by saying “the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light” (verse 8)?


How should worldly wealth be used (verse 9)?


What can the person who can be trusted with little be trusted with (verse 10)?


In your opinion, what are the “true riches” that Jesus mentions (verse 11)?


Why can we only serve one master (verse 13)?


In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?


In your opinion, with the actions of Gehazi (2 Kings 5:15-27) and the dishonest manager (Luke 16:1-13) being so similar, why were the apparent outcomes very different?


Hebrews 1:1-4 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, ² but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. ³ The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. ⁴ So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.

Who spoke “through the prophets at many times and in various ways” (verse 1)?

Who is “heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe” (verse 2)?

In your opinion, what does Paul mean by “the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being” (verse 3)?

What did Jesus do after “he had provided purification for sins” (verse 4)?

Who did Jesus become superior to (verse 4)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, how is Naaman in 2 Kings 5:15-27 proof that Paul is right in Hebrews 1:1-4 when he says “God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways”?

In your opinion, how does Paul show in Hebrews 1:1-4 that Jesus is different from the negative example of the dishonest manager of Luke 16:1-13? 


James 5:1-6 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you. ² Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. ³ Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. ⁴ Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. ⁵ You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter.  ⁶ You have condemned and murdered the innocent one, who was not opposing you.

Who does James say should “weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you” (verse 1)?

What has rotted (verse 2)?


In your opinion, how will the corrosion of the gold and silver testify against the rich (verse 3)?


What cries out against the rich (verse 4)?


What have the rich fattened themselves for (verse 5)?


In your opinion, how could the rich have “condemned and murdered the innocent one” (verse 6)?


In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?


In your opinion, how does Naaman requesting “as much earth as a pair of mules may carry”, apparently for use in worshipping God, and Gehazi lying to obtain clothes and silver in 2 Kings 5:15-27 help us understand the contrast between the innocent and the rich in James 5:1-6?


In your opinion, as “people of the light” what should we learn from Jesus’ teaching about the dishonest manager in Luke 16:1-13 and James’ discussion about the corrosion of the rich people’s gold and silver in James 5:1-6?


In your opinion, how is Jesus, the “heir of all things” in Hebrews 1:1-4, who “provided purification for sins” an example for all those James 5:1-6 might consider “rich people” today?


In your opinion, what do these passages from 2 Kings, Luke, Hebrews and James teach us about the consequence of our choice between “God and money”?


In your opinion, how can we be trustworthy with our little (money, time and talents) so that we may be trusted with much by the Father today and for eternity?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

July 7, 2019 – Learning from James – Mist to Meaning

Mist to Meaning


Ecclesiastes 12:8-14 - New International Version (NIV)

⁸ “Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher.
    “Everything is meaningless!”

⁹ Not only was the Teacher wise, but he also imparted knowledge to the people. He pondered and searched out and set in order many proverbs. ¹⁰ The Teacher searched to find just the right words, and what he wrote was upright and true.

¹¹ The words of the wise are like goads, their collected sayings like firmly embedded nails—given by one shepherd. ¹² Be warned, my son, of anything in addition to them.

Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body.

¹³ Now all has been heard;
    here is the conclusion of the matter:
Fear God and keep his commandments,
    for this is the duty of all mankind.
¹⁴ For God will bring every deed into judgment,
    including every hidden thing,
    whether it is good or evil.

What was “Meaningless” (verse 8)?

Who “imparted knowledge to the people” (verse 9)?

What did the Teacher search for (verse 10)?

What are ”the words of the wise” like (verse 11)?

In your opinion, why should we be warned of “anything in addition to them” (verse 12)?

What is the “duty of all mankind” (verse 13)?

Who will “bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing” (verse 14)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

Mark 2:13-17 - New International Version (NIV)                

¹³ Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to him, and he began to teach them. ¹⁴ As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him.

¹⁵ While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. ¹⁶ When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

¹⁷ On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Who came to Jesus that “he began to teach” (verse 13)?

What did Jesus tell Levi son of Alphaeus (verse 14)?

What did Levi do (verse 14)?

Who was with Jesus at the dinner in Levi’s house (verse 15)?

In your opinion, were the teachers of the law eating with Jesus also (verse 16)?

What did the “teachers of the law who were Pharisees” ask the disciples (verse 16)?


How did Jesus answer the question (verse 17)?


In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?


In your opinion, who, in the events portrayed in Mark 2:13-17, do you think was being obedient to the instruction of the Teacher in Ecclesiastes 12:8-14 to “fear God and keep his commandments”?


Romans 14:1-13 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters. ² One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. ³ The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them. ⁴ Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand.

⁵ One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. ⁶ Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God; and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. ⁷ For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone. ⁸ If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. ⁹ For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.

¹⁰ You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. ¹¹ It is written:

“‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord,
‘every knee will bow before me;
    every tongue will acknowledge God.’”

¹² So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.

¹³ Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister.

How are we to “accept the one whose faith is weak” (verse 1)?

How must the “one who eats everything” not treat the “one who does not” (verses 2 and 3)?

What must the “one who does not eat everything” not do to “the one who does” (verses 2 and 3)?

Why will they stand (verse 4)?

In your opinion, why should the one who considers one day special and the one who considers all days alike both “be fully convinced in their own minds” (verses 5 and 6)?

What do none of us do for “ourselves alone” (verse 7)?

Who do we belong to “whether we live or die” (verse 8)?

Why did Christ die and return to life (verse 9)?

Where will we all stand (verse 10)?

What will every tongue do (verse 11)?

What will each give to God (verse 12)?

What should each of us make up our minds to not do (verse 13)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what is the difference between fearing God and keeping His commandments as instructed by Ecclesiastes 12:8-14 and eating meat to the Lord or abstaining from eating meat to the Lord as Paul discusses in Romans 14:1-13?

In your opinion, what part of Paul’s instruction in Romans 14:1-13 are the “teachers of the law who were Pharisees” in Mark 2:13-17 violating? 


James 4:11-17 – New International Version (NIV)

¹¹ Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. ¹² There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?

¹³ Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” ¹⁴ Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. ¹⁵ Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” ¹⁶ As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil. ¹⁷ If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.

What does someone who “speaks against a brother or sister or judges them” speak against (verse 11)?

How many can “save and destroy” (verse 12)?


In your opinion, why is it wrong to say “today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money” (verses 13 and 14)?


What should we say instead (verse 15)?


What kind of boasting is evil (verse 16)?


What is it if anyone “knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it” (verse 17)?


In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?


In your opinion, how is the Teacher in Ecclesiastes 12:8-14 saying that “everything is meaningless” but then saying that fearing God and keeping His commands is our duty similar to James saying that we “are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes” but then adding that we should say “if it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that” in James 4:11-17?  How are they different?


In your opinion, how can we who recognize our sinfulness be comforted by the fact that the one that James 4:11-17 says is the only “Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy” is the one who says in Mark 2:13-17 that ”I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners”?


In your opinion, how does Paul’s progression from condemning contempt or judging others to recognizing that “Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living” in Romans 14:1-13 and James’ shift from condemning judging and boasting to saying “if it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that” in James 4:11-17 give us examples of the transformation we should make in ourselves today?


In your opinion, what do these passages from Ecclesiastes, Mark, Romans and James teach us about the parts of our lives that are meaningless and how to move on from meaningless to belonging to the Lord whether we live or die?


In your opinion, how can we move from the mist to a life of meaning?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

June 23, 2019 – Learning from James – From Struggling to Rejoicing

-                        The

From Struggling to Rejoicing


Psalms 42:1-5 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ As the deer pants for streams of water,
    so my soul pants for you, my God.
² My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
    When can I go and meet with God?
³ My tears have been my food
    day and night,
while people say to me all day long,
    “Where is your God?”
⁴ These things I remember
    as I pour out my soul:
how I used to go to the house of God
    under the protection of the Mighty One
with shouts of joy and praise
    among the festive throng.

⁵ Why, my soul, are you downcast?
    Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
    for I will yet praise him,
    my Savior and my God.

How does the Psalmist yearn for God (verse 1)?

What part of the Psalmist “thirsts for God” (verse 2)?

In your opinion, why would people ask the Psalmist “where is your God” (verse 3)?

When did the Psalmist remember the protection of the Mighty One” and the joy of the throng (verse 4)?

How did the Psalmist propose to remedy the downcast soul (verse 5)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

Mark 14:32-42 - New International Version (NIV)              

³² They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” ³³ He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. ³⁴ “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” he said to them. “Stay here and keep watch.”

³⁵ Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. ³⁶ “Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”

³⁷ Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Simon,” he said to Peter, “are you asleep? Couldn’t you keep watch for one hour? ³⁸ Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

³⁹ Once more he went away and prayed the same thing. ⁴⁰ When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. They did not know what to say to him.

⁴¹ Returning the third time, he said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Enough! The hour has come. Look, the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. ⁴² Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”

Where did Jesus and his disciples go (verse 32)?

How did Jesus begin to feel (verse 33)?

What was overwhelming Jesus’ soul (verse 34)?

What did Jesus pray for (verse 35)?

In your opinion, why did could Jesus pray for the cup to be taken away, and also say “yet not what I will, but what you will” (verse 36)?

What were the disciples doing when Jesus returned (verse 37)?


How were the disciples to avoid temptation (verse 38)?


What did Jesus pray for the second time (verse 39)?


What had come when Jesus returned the third time from praying (verse 41)?


Who is the Son of Man delivered to (verse 41)?


Who was coming (verse 42)?


In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?


In your opinion, how are the Psalmist’s prayer path of panting for God, having tears as he poured out his soul, remembering going to the House of God, and then putting his hope in God in Psalms 42:1-5 and the prayer path of Jesus as He went into the Garden of Gethsemane with His soul overwhelmed and left with His request that the cup be taken from Him denied but still willing to go meet the betrayer similar?


Philippians 4:4-9 – New International Version (NIV)

⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! ⁵ Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. ⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

⁸ Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. ⁹ Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

When does Paul say to “rejoice in the Lord” (verse 4)?

Who is near (verse 5)?

What should we be anxious about (verse 6)?

How should we present our requests to God (verse 6)?

In your opinion, what does it mean that “the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (verse 7)?

What are we to do with “whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable” (verse 8)?

When will the peace of God be with us (verse 9)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, how is the transition of the Psalmist from tears to hope in God in Psalms 42:1-5 mirrored in Philippians 4:4-9?

In your opinion, how is Jesus’ prayer in Mark 4:32-42 an example to us of Paul’s instruction to “in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” in Philippians 4:4-9? 


James 4:1-10 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? ² You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. ³ When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

⁴ You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. ⁵ Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us? ⁶ But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:

“God opposes the proud
    but shows favor to the humble.”

⁷ Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. ⁸ Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. ⁹ Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. ¹⁰ Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

What do “desires that battle within” cause (verse 1)?

Why do Christians not have what they desire (verse 2)?


Why do Christians who ask not receive (verse 3)?


Who becomes an “enemy of God” (verse 4)?


What does God jealously long for (verse 5)?


In your opinion, why would God oppose the proud (verse 6)?


Who should we submit ourselves to (verse 7)?


Who should we resist (verse 7)?


When will God come near to us (verse 8)?


What should we change our joy to (verse 9)?


When will the Lord lift us up (verse 10)?


In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?


In your opinion, if our souls pant for God, like the soul of the Psalmist in Psalms 42:1-5, would we be coming near to God as James instructs in James 4:1-10?


In your opinion, what does Jesus’ prayer in Mark 14:32-42 teach us about how to avoid praying with wrong motives as warned in James 4:1-10?


In your opinion, how might the process of giving thanks for the things that we have been blessed with as we make our new requests, as Paul instructs in Philippians 4:4-9, help us overcome the desires that battle within us that James 4:1-10 warns us about?


In your opinion, what do these passages from Psalms, Mark, Philippians and James teach us about how to move from praying out of the desires that are within us to sincerely saying “not what I will, but what you will”?


In your opinion, how can we move from struggling to submit to rejoicing in the Lord?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)