July 14, 2024 – Isaiah in the New Testament – Responding to God’s Yes

Responding to God’s Yes

Isaiah 61:1-6 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
    because the Lord has anointed me
    to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
    to proclaim freedom for the captives
    and release from darkness for the prisoners,
² to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor
    and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
³     and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
    instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
    instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
    instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
    a planting of the Lord
    for the display of his splendor.

⁴ They will rebuild the ancient ruins
    and restore the places long devastated;
they will renew the ruined cities
    that have been devastated for generations.
⁵ Strangers will shepherd your flocks;
    foreigners will work your fields and vineyards.
⁶ And you will be called priests of the Lord,
    you will be named ministers of our God.
You will feed on the wealth of nations,
    and in their riches you will boast.

Who was Isaiah anointed to “proclaim good news to” (verse 1)?

In your opinion, what is “the year of the Lord’s favor” (verse 2)?

What is the “oil of joy” to replace (verse 3)?

What will display the Lord’s splendor (verse 3)?

How long will the cities that are renewed have been devastated (verse 4)?

Who will “shepherd your flocks” (verse 5)?

What will “you” be called (verse 6)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about responding to God?

Luke 4:14-30 – New International Version (NIV)

¹⁴ Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. ¹⁵ He was teaching in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.

¹⁶ He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, ¹⁷ and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:

¹⁸ “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
    because he has anointed me
    to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
    and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
¹⁹     to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

²⁰ Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. ²¹ He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

²² All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked.

²³ Jesus said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to me: ‘Physician, heal yourself!’ And you will tell me, ‘Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.’”

²⁴ “Truly I tell you,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown. ²⁵ I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. ²⁶ Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. ²⁷ And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.”

²⁸ All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. ²⁹ They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him off the cliff. ³⁰ But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.

How did Jesus return “to Galilee” (verse 14)?

Where did Jesus teach (verse 15)?

What did Jesus do on the Sabbath (verse 16)?

What did Jesus read from (verse 17)?

What did Jesus say after He finished reading (verse 21)?

Why were the listeners amazed at the “gracious words that came from his lips” (verse 22)?

In your opinion, why would Jesus think the people would want Him to “do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum” (verse 23)?

Who did Jesus say is “not accepted in his hometown” (verse 24)?

Who was Elijah sent to “when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land” (verses 25 and 26)?

Who did Elisha cleanse from leprosy (verse 27)?

How did the people in the synagogue react to what Jesus said (verse 28)?

What did Jesus do when they tried to “throw him off the cliff” (verses 29 and 30)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about responding to God?

In your opinion, what can Isaiah 61:1-6 and Luke 4:14-30 teach us about who will favorably receive Jesus?

2 Corinthians 1:15-22 - New International Version (NIV)

¹⁵ Because I was confident of this, I wanted to visit you first so that you might benefit twice. ¹⁶ I wanted to visit you on my way to Macedonia and to come back to you from Macedonia, and then to have you send me on my way to Judea. ¹⁷ Was I fickle when I intended to do this? Or do I make my plans in a worldly manner so that in the same breath I say both “Yes, yes” and “No, no”?

¹⁸ But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not “Yes” and “No.” ¹⁹ For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us—by me and Silas and Timothy—was not “Yes” and “No,” but in him it has always been “Yes.” ²⁰ For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God. ²¹ Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, ²² set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

Why did Paul want to visit Corinth first (verse 15)?

When was Paul going to visit Corinth (verse 16)?

In your opinion, what do you think Paul mean by making “plans in a worldly manner so that in the same breath I say both “Yes, yes” and “No, no” (verse 17)?

What is not Paul’s message (verse 18)?

What has the message from Jesus Christ “always been” (verse 19)?

How is every promise of God a “Yes” (verse 20)?

Who makes us “stand firm in Christ” (verse 21)?

What has God set “on us” (verse 22)?

Where does God put “his Spirit” (verse 22)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about responding to God?

In your opinion, why should the fact that Paul in 2 Corinthians 1:15-22 did not visit as he intended, or that we have been hurt by people who have not followed through, not change our trust in God’s promise in Isaiah 61:1-6 to mend the hurting or free the captives?

In your opinion, how does Jesus claiming God’s anointing and Spirit for Himself in Luke 4:14-30 and Paul saying in 2 Corinthians 1:15-22 that God anoints us and puts His Spirit in our hearts help Christians have confidence in God’s “Yes” today? 

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 causes fights and quarrels” (verse 1)?

What do we do when we “cannot get” what we want (verse 2)?

Why don’t we have (verse 2)?

Why don’t we have when we ask (verse 3)?

What does the person who chooses to become “a friend of the world” become (verse 4)?

What does God “jealously” long for (verse 5)?

Who does God show favor to (verse 6)?

How will the devil respond if we submit to God and resist him (verse 7)?

What are the “double-minded” to do (verse 8)?

What should joy be changed 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, what does this passage teach us about responding to God?

In your opinion, how does the discussion in James 4:1-10 about who God shows favor to help us understand who will receive the blessings of Isaiah 61:1-6?

In your opinion, how does James 4:1-10 help us understand the reaction of those who took Jesus to the cliff to kill him in Luke 4:14-30?

In your opinion, how does 2 Corinthians 1:15-22 help us understand why those who have humbled themselves before God and have been lifted up as called to do in James 4:1-10 might still disappoint us?  How does it help us understand why we might disappoint ourselves?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Isaiah, Luke, 2 Corinthians and James teach us about how to win the battle within us?

In your opinion, how can we share God’s “Yes” today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

July 7, 2024 – Isaiah in the New Testament – Redeemed and Fruitful

Redeemed and Fruitful

Isaiah 59:15-60:2 - New International Version (NIV)

¹⁵ Truth is nowhere to be found,
    and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey.

The Lord looked and was displeased
    that there was no justice.
¹⁶ He saw that there was no one,
    he was appalled that there was no one to intervene;
so his own arm achieved salvation for him,
    and his own righteousness sustained him.
¹⁷ He put on righteousness as his breastplate,
    and the helmet of salvation on his head;
he put on the garments of vengeance
    and wrapped himself in zeal as in a cloak.
¹⁸ According to what they have done,
    so will he repay
wrath to his enemies
    and retribution to his foes;
    he will repay the islands their due.
¹⁹ From the west, people will fear the name of the Lord,
    and from the rising of the sun, they will revere his glory.
For he will come like a pent-up flood
    that the breath of the Lord drives along.

²⁰ “The Redeemer will come to Zion,
    to those in Jacob who repent of their sins,”
declares the Lord.

²¹ “As for me, this is my covenant with them,” says the Lord. “My Spirit, who is on you, will not depart from you, and my words that I have put in your mouth will always be on your lips, on the lips of your children and on the lips of their descendants—from this time on and forever,” says the Lord.

60 ¹ “Arise, shine, for your light has come,
    and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.
² See, darkness covers the earth
    and thick darkness is over the peoples,
but the Lord rises upon you
    and his glory appears over you.

Why was the Lord displeased with what He looked at (verse 15)?

 

Who could intervene (verse 16)?

What did the Lord put on as His breastplate (verse 17)?

Who will receive the Lord’s wrath (verse 18)?

How will the Lord come (verse 19)?

Who will the Redeemer come to “in Jacob” (verse 20)?

How long will the words that God’s Spirit put in “your mouth” be on the lips of the descendants of “your children” (verse 21)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about the source of salvation?

John 15:1-8 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. ² He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. ³ You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. ⁴ Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

⁵ “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶ If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. ⁷ If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. ⁸ This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

Who is “the gardener” (verse 1)?

What happens to branches that “bear fruit” (verse 2)?

Why are those listening to Jesus “clean” (verse 3)?

Where are the listeners to “remain” (verse 4)?

What is necessary to “bear fruit” (verse 4)?

How much can be accomplished “apart from” Jesus (verse 5)?

What are those who “do not remain in” like (verse 6)?

In your opinion, what does Jesus mean when He says “if you remain in me and my words remain in you” (verse 7)?

What is “to my Father’s glory” (verse 8)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about the source of salvation?

In your opinion, what message does John 15:1-8 have for people like those in Isaiah 59:15-60:2 who see the Redemer and “repent of their sins”?

Romans 11:17-32 - New International Version (NIV)

¹⁷ If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, ¹⁸ do not consider yourself to be superior to those other branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you. ¹⁹ You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.” ²⁰ Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but tremble. ²¹ For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either.

²² Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off. ²³ And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. ²⁴ After all, if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree!

²⁵ I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in, ²⁶ and in this way all Israel will be saved. As it is written:

“The deliverer will come from Zion;
    he will turn godlessness away from Jacob.
²⁷ And this is my covenant with them
    when I take away their sins.”

²⁸ As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies for your sake; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs, ²⁹ for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable. ³⁰ Just as you who were at one time disobedient to God have now received mercy as a result of their disobedience, ³¹ so they too have now become disobedient in order that they too may now receive mercy as a result of God’s mercy to you. ³² For God has bound everyone over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all.

In your opinion, who is the “wild olive shoot” that has been grafted in and shares the “nourishing sap from the olive root” (verse 17)?

Who does the root support (verse 18)?

Why were branches “broken off” (verse 20)?

Who will God not spare (verse 21)?

Who is God kind to (verse 22)?

What will happen if the branches that were broken off “do not persist in unbelief” (verse 23)?

How long has Israel “experienced a hardening in part” (verse 25)?

In your opinion, who is “all Israel” that God will turn “godlessness away” from (verse 26)?

Who is “loved on account of the patriarchs” (verse 28)?

What is “irrevocable” (verse 29)?

How does verse 32 help us understand verses 30 and 31?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about the source of salvation?

In your opinion, how is the message in Isaiah 59:15-60:2 to “Zion, to those in Jacob who repent of their sins” expanded by Paul in Romans 11:17-32?

In your opinion, how does Paul’s discussion in Romans 11:17-32 about being “grafted in” build on Jesus’s instruction in John 15:1-8 to “remain in”? 

Galatians 5:16-26 – New International Version (NIV)

¹⁶ So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. ¹⁷ For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. ¹⁸ But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

¹⁹ The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; ²⁰ idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions ²¹ and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. ²⁴ Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. ²⁵ Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. ²⁶ Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

When will people “not gratify the desires of the flesh” (verse 16)?

What does the flesh desire (verse 17)?

What does the Spirit desire (verse 17)?

What are Christians “not to do” (verse 17)?

When are people “not under the law” (verse 18)?

What are obvious (verse 19)?

Who “will not inherit the kingdom of God” (verse 21)?

What is “love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (verses 22 and 23)?

Who has “crucified the flesh with its passions and desires” (verse 24)?

What should we do “since we live by the Spirit” (verse 25)?

Who should we not provoke and envy (verse 26)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about the source of salvation?

In your opinion, how does Isaiah 59:15-60:2 help us understand what has to happen for the person in Galatians 5:16-25 who walks in the flesh to be transformed into one who walks in the Spirit?

In your opinion, how does Galatians 5:16-25 take the conflict of Romans 11:17-32 between the elect and their enemies and show that it is a conflict within each individual?

In your opinion, how does Galatians 5:16-25 help us understand what Jesus means by “if you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you” in John 15:1-8?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Isaiah, John, Romans and Galatians teach us about what comes after repentance?

In your opinion, what fruit do we bear to bring glory to the Father today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

June 30, 2024 – Isaiah in the New Testament – Taking the Redemption Stand

Taking the Redemption Stand

Isaiah 59:15-21 - New International Version (NIV)

¹⁵ Truth is nowhere to be found,
    and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey.

The Lord looked and was displeased
    that there was no justice.
¹⁶ He saw that there was no one,
    he was appalled that there was no one to intervene;
so his own arm achieved salvation for him,
    and his own righteousness sustained him.
¹⁷ He put on righteousness as his breastplate,
    and the helmet of salvation on his head;
he put on the garments of vengeance
    and wrapped himself in zeal as in a cloak.
¹⁸ According to what they have done,
    so will he repay
wrath to his enemies
    and retribution to his foes;
    he will repay the islands their due.
¹⁹ From the west, people will fear the name of the Lord,
    and from the rising of the sun, they will revere his glory.
For he will come like a pent-up flood
    that the breath of the Lord drives along.

²⁰ “The Redeemer will come to Zion,
    to those in Jacob who repent of their sins,”
declares the Lord.

²¹ “As for me, this is my covenant with them,” says the Lord. “My Spirit, who is on you, will not depart from you, and my words that I have put in your mouth will always be on your lips, on the lips of your children and on the lips of their descendants—from this time on and forever,” says the Lord.

Who “becomes a prey” (verse 15)?

 

Why was the Lord appalled (verse 16)?

What “achieved salvation for him” (verse 16)?

What did He put on His head (verse 17)?

How will “he repay” (verse 18)?

Where will they “revere his glory” (verse 19)?

Who will come to Zion (verse 20)?

What is the Lord’s covenant with them (verse 21)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach about redemption?

Luke 21:25-36 – New International Version (NIV)

²⁵ “There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. ²⁶ People will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. ²⁷ At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. ²⁸ When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

²⁹ He told them this parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees. ³⁰ When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near. ³¹ Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near.

³² “Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. ³³ Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

³⁴ “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap. ³⁵ For it will come on all those who live on the face of the whole earth. ³⁶ Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.”

Where will there be signs (verse 25)?

Why will people “faint from terror” (verse 26)?

How will “the Son of Man” come (verse 27)?

What should believers do “when these things begin to take place” (verse 28)?

How could those listening to Jesus “know that summer is near” (verses 29 and 30)?

How will readers “know that the kingdom of God is near” (verse 31)?

What “will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened” (verse 32)?

What will last longer than “heaven and earth” (verse 33)?

Why should we be careful that our hearts aren’t “weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life” (verse 34)?

Who will “that day” come on (verses 34 and 35)?

What does Jesus instruct us to pray for (verse 36)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach about redemption?

In your opinion, what does Isaiah 59:15-21 reveal about the two reasons for the Son of Man to come in Luke 21:25-36?

Ephesians 6:10-18 - New International Version (NIV)

¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. ¹³ Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. ¹⁴ Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵ and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷ Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

¹⁸ And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

How should we “be strong” (verse 10)?

Why should we “put on the full armor of God” (verse 11)?

Who do we struggle against (verse 12)?

When do we need to have the “full armor of God” on (verse 13)?

What should be “buckled around your waist” (verse 14)?

How is the breastplate described (verse 14)?

What should be on our feet (verse 15)?

How does the “shield of faith” protect us (verse 16)?

How is the helmet described (verse 17)?

What is the “sword of the Spirit” (verse 17)?

When should we pray (verse 18)?

How should we be while we “always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people” (verse 18)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach about redemption?

In your opinion, why does the one who puts on the armor in Isaiah 59:15-21 bring wrath to enemies, but the one who puts on the armor of Ephesians 6:10-18 stands and prays?

In your opinion, how is the “stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near” in Luke 21:27-36 related to the “put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand” in Ephesians 6:10-18? 

Revelation 22:10-17 – New International Version (NIV)

¹⁰ Then he told me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this scroll, because the time is near. ¹¹ Let the one who does wrong continue to do wrong; let the vile person continue to be vile; let the one who does right continue to do right; and let the holy person continue to be holy.”

¹² “Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. ¹³ I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.

¹⁴ “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. ¹⁵ Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

¹⁶ “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.”

¹⁷ The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.

Why was John not to “seal up the words of the prophecy of this scroll” (verse 10)?

What is the “one who does wrong” to do (verse 11)?

Who is to “continue to be holy” (verse 11)?

What is with Jesus (verse 12)?

In your opinion, what does Jesus mean when He says “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End” (verse 13)?

How are “those who wash their robes” blessed (verse 14)?

Who is outside (verse 15)?

Who “sent my angel to give you this testimony” (verse 16)?

Who can “take the free gift of the water of life” (verse 17)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach about redemption?

In your opinion, how does the statement in Isaiah 59:15-21 “so his own arm achieved salvation for him” find its completion in Revelation 22:10-17?

In your opinion, how does Revelation 22:10-17 help us understand what Jesus meant when He said “When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near” in Luke 21:27-36?

In your opinion, how does Revelation 22:10-17 show fulfillment of the instruction in Ephesians 6:10-17 to “be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power”?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Isaiah, Luke, Ephesians and Revelation teach us about when and how to “stand”?

In your opinion, how can we participate in the salvation that the Lord offers today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)