May 21, 2017 – Genesis and John (Gospel and Revelation) – Favor and Repentance

Favor and Repentance

Genesis 39:1-6a, 20-23 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there.

² The Lord was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. ³ When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did, ⁴ Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned. ⁵ From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the Lord blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the Lord was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field. ⁶ So Potiphar left everything he had in Joseph’s care; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate.

²⁰ Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined.

But while Joseph was there in the prison, ²¹ the Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. ²² So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. ²³ The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.

Who bought Joseph (verse 1)?

Why did Joseph prosper (verse 2)?

What did Joseph’s master see (verse 3)?

In your opinion, why was Joseph entrusted with everything (verse 4)?

When was Potiphar’s household blessed (verse 5)?

What did Potiphar concern himself with (verse 6)?

Where was Joseph (verse 20)?

Who was with Joseph in prison (verse 21)?

In your opinion, why was Joseph put in charge of all those held in prison (verse 22)?

What did the Lord give Joseph (verse 23)?

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

John 6:1-13 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), ² and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the signs he had performed by healing the sick. ³ Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. ⁴ The Jewish Passover Festival was near.

⁵ When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” ⁶ He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.

⁷ Philip answered him, “It would take more than half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!”

⁸ Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, ⁹ “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”

¹⁰ Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). ¹¹ Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.

¹² When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” ¹³ So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.

Where did Jesus cross to (verse 1)?

Why did a great crowd follow Jesus (verse 2)?

Who did Jesus sit with (verse 3)?

What was near (verse 4)?

Who did Jesus ask “where shall we buy bread for these people to eat” (verse 5)?

Why did Jesus ask the question (verse 6)?

How much would it take to purchase enough bread “for each one to have a bite” (verse 7)?

In your opinion, why did Andrew point out that there was a boy who had “five small barley loaves and two small fish” when he knew that would not go far among so many (verses 8 and 9)?

What did Jesus want the people to do (verse 10)?

What did Jesus do before he distributed the bread and the fish (verse 11)?

In your opinion, why was there extra after people got done eating (verses 11 & 12)?

How much extra was there (verse 13)?

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

In your opinion, what is similar between Joseph in Potiphar’s house and the prison in Genesis 39:1-6a & 20-23 and Jesus as He feeds the 5,000 in John 6:1-13?

Galatians 6:7-10 - New International Version (NIV)

⁷ Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. ⁸ Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. ⁹ Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. ¹⁰ Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

What does a man reap (verse 7)?

Who will reap destruction (verse 8)?

Who will reap eternal life (verse 8)?

Why should we not “become weary in doing good” (verse 9)?

When should we “do good to all people” (verse 10)?

Who should we especially concentrate on doing good to (verse 10)?

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

In your opinion, how does Andrew in bringing Jesus the boy with the “five small barley loaves and two small fish” in John 6:1-13 help us understand Paul who said we should help others “as we have opportunity” in Galatians 6:7-10?

In your opinion, how does Paul in Galatians 6:7-10 help us understand about why Joseph had success in Potiphar’s house and in the prison in Genesis 39:1-6a & 20-23?

Revelation 3:1-6 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ “To the angel of the church in Sardis write:

These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. ² Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God. ³ Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.

⁴ Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. ⁵ The one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels. ⁶ Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

What does the One who “holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars” know about the church in Sardis (verse 1)?

Why is the church in Sardis to strengthen “what remains and is about to die” (verse 2)?

How is the church in Sardis to treat what they have heard and received (verse 3)?

Who will come if the church in Sardis does not wake up (verse 3)?

In your opinion, what does it mean that a few people in Sardis have “not soiled their clothes” (verse 4)?

Why will the ones who have not “soiled their clothes” be dressed in white and walk with Jesus (verse 4)?

Who else will be dressed in white (verse 5)?

In your opinion, what does Jesus mean when He says “I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life” (verse 5)?

What are people with ears to do (verse 6)?

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

In your opinion, how would you use Paul’s statement from Galatians 6:7-10 that “a man reaps what he sows” to help in understanding Jesus message to the church in Sardis from Revelation 3:1-6?

In your opinion, how does Jesus giving thanks for the little that Andrew and the boy brought Him in John 6:1-13 help us to understand how to begin to “strengthen what remains” as commanded by Jesus in Revelation 3:1-6?

In your opinion, how does the Lord being present with and blessing Joseph as he is a slave in Potiphar’s house and as a prisoner in Genesis 39:1-6a & 20-23  help us begin understand how the Christians in Sardis or Christians today can walk with Jesus and be victorious in spite of difficult circumstances?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Genesis, John, Galatians and Revelation teach us about where God is when we are in difficult circumstances today?

In your opinion, how can these passages help us be victorious wherever we find ourselves?                        

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

May 14, 2017 – Genesis and John (Gospel and Revelation) – Persecution and Victory

Persecution and Victory

Genesis 37:14-28 – New International Version (NIV)

¹⁴ So he said to him, “Go and see if all is well with your brothers and with the flocks, and bring word back to me.” Then he sent him off from the Valley of Hebron.

When Joseph arrived at Shechem, ¹⁵ a man found him wandering around in the fields and asked him, “What are you looking for?”

¹⁶ He replied, “I’m looking for my brothers. Can you tell me where they are grazing their flocks?”

¹⁷ “They have moved on from here,” the man answered. “I heard them say, ‘Let’s go to Dothan.’”

So Joseph went after his brothers and found them near Dothan. ¹⁸ But they saw him in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him.

¹⁹ “Here comes that dreamer!” they said to each other. ²⁰ “Come now, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we’ll see what comes of his dreams.”

²¹ When Reuben heard this, he tried to rescue him from their hands. “Let’s not take his life,” he said. ²² “Don’t shed any blood. Throw him into this cistern here in the wilderness, but don’t lay a hand on him.” Reuben said this to rescue him from them and take him back to his father.

²³ So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe—the ornate robe he was wearing— ²⁴ and they took him and threw him into the cistern. The cistern was empty; there was no water in it.

²⁵ As they sat down to eat their meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were loaded with spices, balm and myrrh, and they were on their way to take them down to Egypt.

²⁶ Judah said to his brothers, “What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? ²⁷ Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; after all, he is our brother, our own flesh and blood.” His brothers agreed.

²⁸ So when the Midianite merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern 

and sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt.

What did Jacob ask Joseph to do (verse 14)?

Where was Joseph when the man ask him “what are you looking for” (verse 15)?

Who was Joseph looking for (verse 16)?

Where did Joseph find his brothers (verse 17)?

In your opinion, why did Joseph’s brothers plot to kill him (verse 18)?

What did they call Joseph (verse 19)?

How did they plan to get away with killing Joseph (verse 20)?

Who tried to rescue Joseph (verse 21)?

Why did Reuben say not to shed any blood (verse 22)?

In your opinion, why did they strip off the ornate robe that Joseph was wearing (verse 23)?

Where did they throw Joseph (verse 24)?

Who did they see coming from Gilead (verse 25)?

Who spoke up and suggested that the brothers could gain if the sold their brother (verses 26 and 27)?

How much did they sell Joseph for (verse 28)?

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

John 18:1-13 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ When he had finished praying, Jesus left with his disciples and crossed the Kidron Valley. On the other side there was a garden, and he and his disciples went into it.

² Now Judas, who betrayed him, knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples. ³ So Judas came to the garden, guiding a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and the Pharisees. They were carrying torches, lanterns and weapons.

⁴ Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, “Who is it you want?”

⁵ “Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied.

“I am he,” Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.) ⁶ When Jesus said, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground.

⁷ Again he asked them, “Who is it you want?”

“Jesus of Nazareth,” they said.

⁸ Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he. If you are looking for me, then let these men go.” ⁹ This happened so that the words he had spoken would be fulfilled: “I have not lost one of those you gave me.”

¹⁰ Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his right ear. (The servant’s name was Malchus.)

¹¹ Jesus commanded Peter, “Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?”

¹² Then the detachment of soldiers with its commander and the Jewish officials arrested Jesus. They bound him ¹³ and brought him first to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year.

When did Jesus and the disciples cross the Kidron Valley (verse 1)?

How did Judas know the place (verse 2)?

Who did Judas guide into the garden (verse 3)?

What did Jesus know about what was going to happen (verse 4)?

Where was Judas when Jesus said “I am he” (verse 5)?

How did the people respond when Jesus said “I am he” (verse 6)?

What did Jesus request (verse 8)?

Why did “this” happen (verse 9)?

In your opinion, why did Simon Peter strike the servant of the high priest (verse 10)?

What command did Jesus give to Peter (verse 11)?

Who arrested Jesus (verse 12)?

Where did they take Jesus (verse 13)?

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

In your opinion, what is similar between the brothers who put Joseph into the cistern in Genesis 37:14-28 and Judas, who guided the detachment of soldiers and the officials to Jesus in John 18:1-13?

Romans 8:31-39 - New International Version (NIV)

³¹ What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? ³² He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? ³³ Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. ³⁴ Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. ³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? ³⁶ As it is written:

“For your sake we face death all day long;
    we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹ neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

In your opinion, “if God is for us” can anyone be against us (verse 31)?

What did God give up for us (verse 32)?

Who justifies (verse 33)?

Who condemns (verse 34)?

Where is Christ Jesus (verse 34)?

What is Christ Jesus doing (verse 34)?

In your opinion, can “trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword” actually separate us from the love of Christ (verse 35)?

What is it written that we will face “all day long” (verse 36)?

How are we “more than conquerors” (verse 37)?

What does Paul think that “neither death nor live, neither angel nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation” will be un able to do (verses 38 and 39)?

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

In your opinion, what does Romans 8:31-39 help us understand about why Jesus, in John 18:1-13, repeatedly ask “who is it you want” and commanded Peter to put away his sword?

In your opinion, how would Joseph, when he was being led off by the Ishmaelites in Genesis 37:14-28, have answered Paul’s question in Romans 8:31-39 “if God is for us, who can be against us” and how would he have answered the question years later when his brothers came to him for food?

Revelation 2:8-11 – New International Version (NIV)

⁸ “To the angel of the church in Smyrna write:

These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again. ⁹ I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich! I know about the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. ¹⁰ Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown.

¹¹ Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death.

How did Jesus describe Himself (verse 8)?

In your opinion, how can Jesus know “your afflictions and your poverty” and still say that the Christians of Smyrna are rich (verse 9)?

What are the Christians in Smyrna not to be afraid of (verse 10)?

Who will put some of the Christians in Smyrna into prison (verse 10)?

How long are the Christians in Smyrna to “be faithful” (verse 10)?

What will Jesus give the ones who remain faithful (verse 10)?

Who will not be hurt “at all by the second death” (verse 11)?

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

In your opinion, how does Jesus in Revelation 2:8-11 answer the question that Paul asks in Romans 8:31-39, “if God is for us, who could be against us”?

In your opinion, how does the promise of Jesus “be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown” to the Christians of Smyrna in Revelation 2:8-11 help support the statement “I have not lost one of those you gave me” that John attributes to Jesus in John 18:1-13?

In your opinion, how would Jesus’ statement in Revelation 2:8-11 to the Christians of Smyrna “Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer.  I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days” also have been appropriate for Joseph prior to what happens to him in Genesis 37:14-28?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Genesis, John, Romans and Revelation help us understand about persecution?

In your opinion, how can these passages help us overcome the fear of suffering?                                         

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

April 30, 2017 – Genesis and John (Gospel and Revelation) – Names and New Names

Names and New Names

Genesis 32:22-31 – New International Version (NIV)

²² That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two female servants and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. ²³ After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions. ²⁴ So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. ²⁵ When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. ²⁶ Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.”

But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”

²⁷ The man asked him, “What is your name?”

“Jacob,” he answered.

²⁸ Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.”

²⁹ Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.”

But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed him there.

³⁰ So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.”

³¹ The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip.

Where did Jacob’s two wives, two female servants and eleven sons go (verse 22)?

What did Jacob do with his possessions (verse 23)?

When did Jacob stop wrestling with “a man” (verse 24)?

Why was Jacob’s hip wrenched (verse 25)?

In your opinion, why did Jacob want the man to bless him (verse 26)?

What did the man ask Jacob (verse 27)?

Why did the man change Jacob’s name to Israel (verse 28)?

What did Jacob want to know (verse 29)?

Why did Jacob call the place Peniel (verse 30)?

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

John 19:6-16 - New International Version (NIV)

⁶ As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!”

But Pilate answered, “You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him.”

⁷ The Jewish leaders insisted, “We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God.”

⁸ When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, ⁹ and he went back inside the palace. “Where do you come from?” he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer. ¹⁰ “Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?”

¹¹ Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.”

¹² From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jewish leaders kept shouting, “If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar.”

¹³ When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge’s seat at a place known as the Stone Pavement (which in Aramaic is Gabbatha). ¹⁴ It was the day of Preparation of the Passover; it was about noon.

“Here is your king,” Pilate said to the Jews.

¹⁵ But they shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!”

“Shall I crucify your king?” Pilate asked.

“We have no king but Caesar,” the chief priests answered.

¹⁶ Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified.

How did Pilate reply to the chief priests shout “Crucify! Crucify!” (verse 6)?

Why did the Jewish leaders say that Jesus must die (verse 7)?

In your opinion, why did Pilate become afraid (verse 8)?

How did Jesus respond to Pilate’s question (verse 9)?

What power did Pilate claim (verse 10)?

Who is guilty of “a greater sin” (verse 11)?

What did Pilate try to do (verse 12)?

Where did Pilate sit (verse 13)?

What did Pilate tell the Jews (verse 14)?

How did the Jews respond to Pilate’s question “Shall I crucify your king” (verse 15)?

What did Pilate do (verse 16)?

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

In your opinion, what can we learn from the different reactions of Jacob, who ask to be blessed after he had wrestled with God all night in Genesis 32:22-31, and of the chief priests, who after watching and confronting Jesus for three years said “we have no king but Caesar” in John 19:6-16?

Romans 8:18-28 - New International Version (NIV)

¹⁸ I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. ¹⁹ For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. ²⁰ For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope ²¹ that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.

²² We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. ²³ Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. ²⁴ For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? ²⁵ But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

²⁶ In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. ²⁷ And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.

²⁸ And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

What is not worth comparing “with the glory that will be revealed in us” (verse 18)?

What does the creation wait in eager expectation for (verse 19)?

In your opinion, who subjected the creation to frustration (verse 20)?

Who has freedom and glory (verse 21)?

How is the groaning of the creation described (verse 22)?

What are “we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit” eagerly waiting for (verse 23)?

In your opinion, who hopes for what they already have (verse 24)?

How do we wait for what we do not yet have if we have hope (verse 25)?

Who helps us (verse 26)?

How does the Spirit intercede for us (verse 26)?

How does the Spirit intercede for God’s people (verse 27)?

In what things does God work for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose (verse 28)?

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

In your opinion, how is Paul’s statement in Romans 8:18-28 that “we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him” demonstrated by the anger of the chief priests shown in their words in John 19:6-16?

In your opinion, how is God struggling with Jacob in Genesis 32:22-31 similar to the Holy Spirit interceding for the children of God in their prayers as described by Paul in Romans 8:18-28?

Revelation 2:12-17 – New International Version (NIV)

¹² “To the angel of the church in Pergamum write:

These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword. ¹³ I know where you live—where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, not even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city—where Satan lives.

¹⁴ Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: There are some among you who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin so that they ate food sacrificed to idols and committed sexual immorality. ¹⁵ Likewise, you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. ¹⁶ Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.

¹⁷ Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it.

Who is sending words to the “angel of the church in Pergamum” (verse 12)?

Where does the church of Pergamum live (verse 13)?

What did the church of Pergamum not do “in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city” (verse 13)?

Who “taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin so that they ate food sacrificed to idols and committed sexual immorality” (verse 14)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to “hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans” (verse 15)?

What is the church of Pergamum to do (verse 16)?

How will Jesus come and fight with “them” (verse 16)?

Who will receive some of the hidden manna and a white stone with a new name on it (verse 17)?

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

In your opinion, how could the teaching of Paul in Romans 8:18-28 that “in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” have helped the members of the church of Pergamum to refuse to renounce their faith in Jesus in the time when Antipas was put to death in Revelation 2:12-17?

In your opinion, how is the choice of the chief priests in John 19:6-16 who stated that they “have no king but Caesar” and the choice of those who hold to the teaching of Balaam and to the teaching of the Nicolaitans in Revelation 2:12-17 similar?

In your opinion, what does the renaming of Jacob in Genesis 32:22-31 help us to understand about the significance of the victorious Christian in Revelation 2:12-17 receiving a “white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it”?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Genesis, John, Romans and Revelation help us to understand how victory is found in wrestling God, when God wins?

In your opinion, how can these passages help us to remain true to Christ in our struggles?                           

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)