Thursday, September 30, 2010

From the men's bible study, Sept. 29




Lamentations 1:1-6. The beginning of the lament over the destruction of Jerusalem and the exile of thousands of the leading citizens of Judah. "Her foes have become her masters because the Lord has made her suffer for the multitude of her transgressions."
-Lamentations contains songs or poems helping to bring healing to a people whose city, Jerusalem, was utterly destroyed as if hundreds of bombs had exploded inside it. The five poems in Lamentations sought to help the people cope with the pain of what had happened. Just as we have hymns, other acts of worship, 9/11 memorials, and even crying at funerals in order to get the grief out, so these laments served as a kind of catharsis or cleansing

2 Timothy 1:1-14. Paul's greeting and opening exhortation in the second letter: Remember who you are, rekindle the gift in you, don't be afraid. There is no shame in suffering when it comes from trusting the Lord.

Luke 17:5-10. Jesus teaches on faith and authority. The disciples ask for more faith; Jesus says they need a different kind. They appear to want power; Jesus tells them to act as slaves.

-But the required faith is faith in God -- not faith in self or money or weapons or raw power or people. The power behind the faith that Jesus mentions here is God's power, and it is faith in God that allows us to appropriate that power.

-Matthew's version, the more familiar one, speaks of moving a mountain instead of uprooting a tree. In Luke's version, Jesus speaks of uprooting a mulberry tree -- and planting it in the sea. The point is that faith, even in small quantities, has great power. The person of faith taps into God's power, which makes all things possible -- even moving trees (difficult) and causing them to grow in saltwater (impossible). It is not our faith that works these wonders, but the God who stands behind our faith.
Submitted by Dick Nelson

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