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What new insights did you learn from a careful review of the Scripture readings cited in this lesson?
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Many times I read Romans 8: 28-29 but it’s now that I realize that God has already chosen us from the beginning and He had decided that we should become like His son (Jesus). Therefore, It is already God’s plan to choose us and to transform us in the likeness of Jesus – in attitudes, in characteristics, in action.
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It’s always important to remember that God wanted, and still wants, to have a relationship with us. Even in the fall of man story, when Adam and Eve are expelled from the Garden of Eden, it’s done in a loving way, so that they weren’t stuck in eternal sin after eating from the Tree of Life. God always gives us the free will to do things, leaving opportunity after opportunity to come back to Him. Ultimately, whilst the Bible sounds like a set of rules to restrict and constrain, it’s actually one of great love between a Creator and His creation. He doesn’t want us to be robots, but He DOES want us to make our own decision to come back into His out-stretched arms. Eternity in Heaven with our Lord and Saviour is given to us, as believers. Let’s not overlook how important that is – God doesn’t dangle a carrot and take it away. He’s never-changing, unshakeable, and an all-loving Father.
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For the last 10 years I have been studying the Bible. In the last 4.5 years I have been teaching Sunday School (grades 3-7), leading a Ladies bible study and teaching a Junior Youth Group (grades 4-7) with my husband. I wouldn’t say that there was any new insight but a lot of solidifying of the basic truths. That God has done all of this because He loves us and wants to have a relationship with us.
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Isaiah 64:4 “We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment” caught my attention because it is an Old Testament statement similar in tone and message to Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”
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Looking to “Spiritual Living in a Secular Culture,” I was most impacted in considering how I respond when under pressure. The desire toward self-preservation is strong, and so, a typical response is focused on my own protection and preservation. As Daniel demonstrates over and over again, the focus must be on ho God will be glorified in difficult circumstances. A solid focus on aligning myself with God’s will and communicating my submission to Him in all instances is the great lesson of Daniel when it comes to a sound spiritual life.