December 4, 2022 – From Chaos - Peace

From Chaos - Peace

Isaiah 11:1-10 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
    from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
² The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—
    the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
    the Spirit of counsel and of might,
    the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—
³ and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.

He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,
    or decide by what he hears with his ears;
⁴ but with righteousness he will judge the needy,
    with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.
He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth;
    with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.
⁵ Righteousness will be his belt
    and faithfulness the sash around his waist.

⁶ The wolf will live with the lamb,
    the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling together;
    and a little child will lead them.
⁷ The cow will feed with the bear,
    their young will lie down together,
    and the lion will eat straw like the ox.
⁸ The infant will play near the cobra’s den,
    and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest.
⁹ They will neither harm nor destroy
    on all my holy mountain,
for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord
    as the waters cover the sea.

¹⁰ In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious. 

What will the Branch bear (verse 1)?

Who will rest on the Branch (verse 2)?

What will the Branch delight in (verse 3)?

In your opinion, what is the difference between judging “by what he sees with his eyes” and judging “with righteousness” (verses 3 and 4)?

How will the wicked be slayed (verse 4)?

What will live with the lamb (verse 6)?

Who will eat straw (verse 7)?

What will the young child do (verse 8)?

Why will “they neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain” (verse 9)?

Who will “stand as a banner for the peoples” (verse 10)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage reveal about the source of peace?

Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ Endow the king with your justice, O God,
    the royal son with your righteousness.
² May he judge your people in righteousness,
    your afflicted ones with justice.

³ May the mountains bring prosperity to the people,
    the hills the fruit of righteousness.
⁴ May he defend the afflicted among the people
    and save the children of the needy;
    may he crush the oppressor.
⁵ May he endure as long as the sun,
    as long as the moon, through all generations.
⁶ May he be like rain falling on a mown field,
    like showers watering the earth.
⁷ In his days may the righteous flourish
    and prosperity abound till the moon is no more.

¹⁸ Praise be to the Lord God, the God of Israel,
    who alone does marvelous deeds.
¹⁹ Praise be to his glorious name forever;
    may the whole earth be filled with his glory.
Amen and Amen.

What does the Psalmist pray for the king to be endowed with (verse 1)?

How does the Psalmist pray that the people will be judged (verse 2)?

What does the Psalmist pray that the hill will bring to the people (verse 3)?

Who does the Psalmist pray that the king will save (verse 4)?

How long does the Psalmist pray that the king will endure (verse 5)?

In your opinion, what does it mean that the king may “be like rain falling on a mown field” (verse 6)?

Who does the Psalmist pray will flourish (verse 7)?

Who “alone does marvelous deeds” (verse 18)?

What does the Psalmist pray will be filled with the king’s glory (verse 19)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage reveal about the source of peace?

In your opinion, how is the prayer of the Psalmist in Psalms 72:1-7, 18-19 a fitting prayer for the shoot that comes up from the stump of Jesse in Isaiah 11:1-10?

Romans 15:4-13 – New International Version (NIV)

⁴ For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.

⁵ May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, ⁶ so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁷ Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. ⁸ For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the Jews on behalf of God’s truth, so that the promises made to the patriarchs might be confirmed ⁹ and, moreover, that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written:

“Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles;
    I will sing the praises of your name.”

¹⁰ Again, it says,

“Rejoice, you Gentiles, with his people.”

¹¹ And again,

“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles;
    let all the peoples extol him.”

¹² And again, Isaiah says,

“The Root of Jesse will spring up,
    one who will arise to rule over the nations;
    in him the Gentiles will hope.”

¹³ May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

What do “the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide” help Christians have (verse 4)?

What can “the God who gives endurance and encouragement” also give us “toward each other” (verse 5)?

Who should Christians with “one mind and one voice” glorify (verse 6)?

How should Christians accept other Christians (verse 7)?

Why has Christ “become a servant of the Jews on behalf of God’s truth” (verse 8)?

What is the other reason that Christ has “become a servant of the Jews on behalf of God’s truth” (verse 9)?

Who might “glorify God for his mercy” (verse 9)?

Who are the Gentiles to rejoice with (verse 10)?

What are “all the peoples” to do (verse 11)?

Who says “the Root of Jesse will spring up, one who will arise to rule over the nations; in him the Gentiles will hope” (verse 12)?

What does Paul pray for Christians to be filled with “so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (verse 13)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage reveal about the source of peace?

In your opinion, which prophesies of peace found in Isaiah 11:1-10 are shown by Paul to have been fulfilled by Jesus in Romans 15:4-13?  What prophesies remain to be fulfilled?

In your opinion, how is the prayer of the Psalmist in Psalms 72:1-7, 18-19 appropriate for Jesus as He is proclaimed by Paul in Romans 15:4-13?

Matthew 3:1-12 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea ² and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” ³ This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah:

“A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
    make straight paths for him.’”

⁴ John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. ⁵ People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. ⁶ Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.

⁷ But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? ⁸ Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. ⁹ And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. ¹⁰ The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

¹¹ “I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹² His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

Where did John the Baptist preach (verse 1)?

What did he say (verse 2)?

What message does Matthew say Isaiah predicted John the Baptist would have (verse 3)?

How was John distinctive (verse 4)?

Where did people come from to see him (verse 5)?

What did people do before they were baptized by John (verse 6)?

Who did John call a “brood of vipers” (verse 7)?

What did John tell them to produce (verse 8)?

In your opinion, why did John tell them not to say to themselves “we have Abraham as our father” (verse 9)?

What trees will be “cut down and thrown into the fire” (verse 10)?

How would the One who comes after John baptize (verse 11)?

Where will the One with the winnowing fork gather the wheat in to (verse 12)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage reveal about the source of peace?

In your opinion, why is the prayer for a king who judges with righteousness in Isaiah 11:1-10 significant for the One that John the Baptist said was coming after him in Matthew 3:1-12?

In your opinion, how are the prayers and praises of Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19 especially appropriate for the One that John the Baptist said was coming after him in Matthew 3:1-12? 

In your opinion, how does the baptism for repentance followed by the baptism of the Holy Spirit and fire that John the Baptist talks about in Matthew 3:1-12 prepare us for the transformation of “attitude of mind toward each other” and filling “with all joy and peace as you trust in him” that Paul prays for in Romans 15:4-13?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Isaiah, Psalms, Romans, and Matthew teach us about how the world will be transformed and filled with peace?

In your opinion, how do the passages help us have peace in the world that we live in now?

 

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

November 27, 2022 – Hope in the Last Days

Hope in the Last Days

Isaiah 2:1-5 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ This is what Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem:

² In the last days

the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established
    as the highest of the mountains;
it will be exalted above the hills,
    and all nations will stream to it.

³ Many peoples will come and say,

“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
    to the temple of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us his ways,
    so that we may walk in his paths.”
The law will go out from Zion,
    the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
⁴ He will judge between the nations
    and will settle disputes for many peoples.
They will beat their swords into plowshares
    and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not take up sword against nation,
    nor will they train for war anymore.

⁵ Come, descendants of Jacob,
    let us walk in the light of the Lord.

Who was given this prophecy of Judah and Jerusalem (verse 1)?

When will it happen (verse 2)?

What will be established “as the highest of the mountains . . . and all nations will stream to it” (verse 2)?

Who will say “come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the temple of the God of Jacob” (verse 3)?

What will go out from Jerusalem (verse 3)?

What will happen to swords (verse 4)?

In your opinion, why will they not “train for war anymore” (verse 4)?

What are the “descendants of Jacob” invited to do (verse 5)?

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

In your opinion, how does this passage help us to have hope in the midst of our challenges?

Psalm 122 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ I rejoiced with those who said to me,
    “Let us go to the house of the Lord.”
² Our feet are standing
    in your gates, Jerusalem.

³ Jerusalem is built like a city
    that is closely compacted together.
⁴ That is where the tribes go up—
    the tribes of the Lord—
to praise the name of the Lord
    according to the statute given to Israel.
⁵ There stand the thrones for judgment,
    the thrones of the house of David.

⁶ Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
    “May those who love you be secure.
⁷ May there be peace within your walls
    and security within your citadels.”
⁸ For the sake of my family and friends,
    I will say, “Peace be within you.”
⁹ For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,
    I will seek your prosperity.

Who does the Psalmist rejoice with (verse 1)?

Where are the Psalmist’s feet (verse 2)?

In your opinion, what does it mean that “Jerusalem is built like a city that is closely compacted together” (verse 3)?

Why do the “tribes of the Lord” go up to Jerusalem (verse 4)?

What are the thrones for (verse 5)?

What does the Psalmist pray for (verse 6)?

In your opinion, why does the prayer ask for “peace within your walls and security within your citadels” (verse 7)?

What will the Psalmist say “for the sake of my family and friends” (verse 8)?

What is the Psalmist seeking “for the sake of the house of the Lord our God” (verse 9)?

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

In your opinion, how does this passage help us to have hope in the midst of our challenges?

In your opinion, how is the temple “in the last days” that Isaiah 2:1-5 tells us about different from the temple that the Psalmist sings of in Psalms 122?

Romans 13:11-14 – New International Version (NIV)

¹¹ And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. ¹² The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. ¹³ Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. ¹⁴ Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.

In your opinion, why does Paul insert the words “understanding the present time” in his instruction of what to do (verse 11)?

What hour has come (verse 11)?

What is “nearer now than when we first believed” (verse 11)?

How far along is the night (verse 12)?

What are we to put on after we “put aside the deeds of darkness” (verse 12)?

How are we to behave (verse 13)?

What behaviors are we to avoid (verse 13)?

How are we to be clothed (verse 14)?

What thoughts are we to avoid (verse 14)?

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

In your opinion, how does this passage help us to have hope in the midst of our challenges?

In your opinion, how close are the “last days” of Isaiah 2:1-5 to the day that Paul says in Romans 13:11-14 “is almost here”?

In your opinion, why might Psalm 122, which rejoices in going to the “house of the Lord” and prays for peace, be an appropriate song for those who are living where Romans 13:11-14 says “the night is nearly over; the day is almost here”?

Matthew 24:36-44 – New International Version (NIV)

³⁶ “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. ³⁷ As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. ³⁸ For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; ³⁹ and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. ⁴⁰ Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. ⁴¹ Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.

⁴² “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. ⁴³ But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. ⁴⁴ So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

What does no one “not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” know (verse 36)?

What will be like it was “in the days of Noah” (verse 37)?

How were people behaving “up to the day that Noah entered the ark” (verse 38)?

How will it “be at the coming of the Son of Man” (verse 39)?

What will happen to the two men in the field (verse 40)?

What will happen to the two women “grinding with a hand mill” (verse 41)?

Why are we to “keep watch” (verse 42)?

What are we to understand (verse 43)?

When will the Son of Man come (verse 44)?

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

In your opinion, how does this passage help us to have hope in the midst of our challenges?

In your opinion, where, in time, will the temple prophesied in Isaiah 2:1-5 fit in relation to the hour that Jesus tells us to be ready for in Matthew 24:36-44?

In your opinion, are the prayers for peace that are modeled in Psalm 122 appropriate to pray as we obey Jesus’s command in Matthew 22:36-44 to “keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come”?  Why or why not? 

In your opinion, how do the instructions in Romans 13:11-14 help us understand what we need to do to be ready for “the Son of Man” to come even if we don’t know when that will be?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Isaiah, Psalms, Romans, and Matthew teach us about how we should view our proximity to the “hour” when the Son of Man will return?

In your opinion, how, in the midst of the eating and drinking and carousing we live in, can we find hope?

 

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

November 20, 2022 – John’s Writings – Choices and Consequences

Choices and Consequences

Ezekiel 25:1-7 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ The word of the Lord came to me: ² “Son of man, set your face against the Ammonites and prophesy against them. ³ Say to them, ‘Hear the word of the Sovereign Lord. This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because you said “Aha!” over my sanctuary when it was desecrated and over the land of Israel when it was laid waste and over the people of Judah when they went into exile, ⁴ therefore I am going to give you to the people of the East as a possession. They will set up their camps and pitch their tents among you; they will eat your fruit and drink your milk. ⁵ I will turn Rabbah into a pasture for camels and Ammon into a resting place for sheep. Then you will know that I am the Lord. ⁶ For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because you have clapped your hands and stamped your feet, rejoicing with all the malice of your heart against the land of Israel, ⁷ therefore I will stretch out my hand against you and give you as plunder to the nations. I will wipe you out from among the nations and exterminate you from the countries. I will destroy you, and you will know that I am the Lord.’”

What does the Lord tell Ezekiel to do to the Ammonites (verses 1 and 2)?

Whose word is he to tell them to “hear” (verse 3)?

What three things had the Ammonites said “Aha” about (verse 4)?

            1)

            2)

            3)

Who were the Ammonites to be given to (verse 4)?

When will the Ammonites know that “I am the Lord” (verse 5)?

What was in the Ammonites hearts “against the land of Israel” (verse 6)?

What will happen to the Ammonites (verse 7)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage show us about the consequences of choosing God or choosing the world?

John 7:1-9 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ After this, Jesus went around in Galilee. He did not want to go about in Judea because the Jewish leaders there were looking for a way to kill him. ² But when the Jewish Festival of Tabernacles was near, ³ Jesus’ brothers said to him, “Leave Galilee and go to Judea, so that your disciples there may see the works you do. ⁴ No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.” ⁵ For even his own brothers did not believe in him.

⁶ Therefore Jesus told them, “My time is not yet here; for you any time will do. ⁷ The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that its works are evil. ⁸ You go to the festival. I am not going up to this festival, because my time has not yet fully come.” ⁹ After he had said this, he stayed in Galilee.

Where did Jesus move around (verse 1)?

Why did He not want to “go about” in Judea (verse 1)?

What festival was near (verse 2)?

Who told Jesus to “leave Galilee and go up to Judea, so that your disciples there may see the works you do” (verse 3)?

How did they say that a person who wants to be a “public figure” should not act (verse 4)?

What did they think Jesus should show the world (verse 4)?

Who did not believe in Jesus (verse 5)?

In your opinion, what did Jesus mean by “my time is not yet here; for you any time will do” (verse 6)?

Why does the world hate Jesus (verse 7)?

What does Jesus say “has not yet fully come” (verse 8)?

Where did Jesus stay (verse 9)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage show us about the consequences of choosing God or choosing the world?

In your opinion, how do Jesus comments about the world hating Him in John 7:1-9 help us understand the reason the Ammonites (relatives of the Israelites) celebrated the punishment that the Lord was bringing on Israel in Ezekiel 25:1-7?

1 John 2:28-3:10 – New International Version (NIV)

²⁸ And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming.

²⁹ If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him.

3 ¹See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. ² Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. ³ All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.

⁴ Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. ⁵ But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. ⁶ No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.

⁷ Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. ⁸ The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. ⁹ No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God. ¹⁰ This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister.

What does John say the “dear children” must do to have confidence before Christ when He comes (verse 28)?

What does everyone who does what is right have in common (verse 29)?

How are we called “children of God” (verse 1)?

Why does the world not know the “children of God” (verse 1)?

What has not “yet been made known” (verse 2)?

Who purifies themselves (verse 3)?

What is sin (verse 4)?

Why did Jesus appear (verse 5)?

How are those who live in Jesus transformed (verse 6)?

In your opinion, why does John issue the warning “do not let anyone lead you astray” (verse 7)?

Who is in the one who does what is sinful of (verse 8)?

What remains in the one “who is born of God” (verse 9)?

Who is the one “who does not love their brother and sister” of (verse 10)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage show us about the consequences of choosing God or choosing the world?

In your opinion, what does the division of people into those who are children of God and those who are of the devil in 1 John 2:28-3:10 help us understand about the people of Ammon in Ezekiel 25:1-7?

In your opinion, how is the contrast between the world’s hatred of Jesus in John 7:1-9 and the love of the Father for His children in 1 John 2:28-3:10 enable us to better understand who we are as siblings of Christ in the eyes of the world?  In the family of God?

Revelation 9:13-21 – New International Version (NIV)

¹³ The sixth angel sounded his trumpet, and I heard a voice coming from the four horns of the golden altar that is before God. ¹⁴ It said to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.” ¹⁵ And the four angels who had been kept ready for this very hour and day and month and year were released to kill a third of mankind. ¹⁶ The number of the mounted troops was twice ten thousand times ten thousand. I heard their number.

¹⁷ The horses and riders I saw in my vision looked like this: Their breastplates were fiery red, dark blue, and yellow as sulfur. The heads of the horses resembled the heads of lions, and out of their mouths came fire, smoke and sulfur. ¹⁸ A third of mankind was killed by the three plagues of fire, smoke and sulfur that came out of their mouths. ¹⁹ The power of the horses was in their mouths and in their tails; for their tails were like snakes, having heads with which they inflict injury.

²⁰ The rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshiping demons, and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood—idols that cannot see or hear or walk. ²¹ Nor did they repent of their murders, their magic arts, their sexual immorality or their thefts.

Where did the voice come from when the sixth angel sounded his trumpet (verse 13)?

Who did the voice want released (verse 14)?

In your opinion, what does it mean that they “had been kept ready for this very hour and day and month and year” (verse 15)?

What were they to do (verse 15)?

How did John know the number of the mounted troops (verse 16)?

In your words, how would you describe the horses and riders (verse 17)?

What killed “a third of mankind” (verse 18)?

Where was the power of the horses (verse 19)?

What did the “rest of mankind who were not killed by the plagues still” not do (verses 20 and 21)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage show us about the consequences of choosing God or choosing the world?

In your opinion, how is the punishment of Ammon prophesied in Ezekiel 25:1-7 and the prophecy of the events that occur after the sixth angel blows his trumpet in Revelation 9:13.21 similar?

In John 7:1-9 Jesus said that the world hates Him because He testifies that “its works are evil”; in your opinion are the sounding of the trumpet and horrors that follow in Revelation 9:13-21 a part of this testimony of Jesus? 

In your opinion, how do the acts of the people in Revelation 9:13-21 demonstrate which of the choices that John outlines in 1 John 2:28-3:10 they have chosen?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Ezekiel, John, 1 John and Revelation teach us how Christians fit in to the choose God versus choose the world equation?  (This can be a more complicated answer than a quick reading of the question will prompt)?

In your opinion, how can the Christian family, which is hated by the world, invite people who have chosen the world to choose Jesus?

 

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)