Judged Faithful

Thursday, December 31, 2015
1 Timothy 1:12-17 KJV 

12 And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry; 13 Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did [it] ignorantly in unbelief. 14 And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. 15 This [is] a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. 16 Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting. 17 Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, [be] honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) Who was counted faithful to be a minister, why shouldn't he have, and why did he? (v.12-13)
2) How was the grace and love of the Lord extended to the apostle? (v.14)
3) Why did Christ Jesus come into the world and why was His mercy extended to the apostle, as well as to all who would believe in Him? (v.15-17)

APPLICATION QUESTIONS
4) For what do you praise our God and King?

LIFE LESSONS
5) Our great God is worthy of honor and glory because of the mercy He has shown us through the Gift of His Son, Christ Jesus.

Lord of the Sabbath

Wednesday, October 14, 2015
Matthew 12:1-8 KJV

1 At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat. 2 But when the Pharisees saw [it], they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day. 3 But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him; 4 How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests? 5 Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless? 6 But I say unto you, That in this place is [one] greater than the temple. 7 But if ye had known what [this] meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless. 8 For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.

OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) What did Jesus and His disciples do on the Sabbath day? (v.1)
2) How did the religious leaders respond to what they did? (v.2)
3) What was Jesus' response to the Pharisees? (v.3-8)

APPLICATION QUESTIONS
4) What does the statement, "I will have mercy and not sacrifice" mean to you?
5) How do you demonstrate your beliefs in the mercy of God your own life?
6) Are you "resting" in Jesus, or are you performing your way into eternal life?

LIFE LESSONS
7) The Lord expects His people to worship Him by extending His mercy, rather than His judgment, to others.
8) Jesus is our Sabbath because He is the One whom we may "rest" in from the trials and difficulties of this life. 
9) Performance oriented religion always leads to spiritual exhaustion, fatigue and burn-out.
10) To "rest" is to cease from one's own striving to allow the Lord to be God in our lives.

The Lord Waits to be Gracious

Saturday, August 22, 1988
Isa 30:18-26 NIV

18 Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him! 19 People of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you. 20 Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. 21 Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it." 22 Then you will desecrate your idols overlaid with silver and your images covered with gold; you will throw them away like a menstrual cloth and say to them, "Away with you!" 23 He will also send you rain for the seed you sow in the ground, and the food that comes from the land will be rich and plentiful. In that day your cattle will graze in broad meadows. 24 The oxen and donkeys that work the soil will eat fodder and mash, spread out with fork and shovel. 25 In the day of great slaughter, when the towers fall, streams of water will flow on every high mountain and every lofty hill. 26 The moon will shine like the sun, and the sunlight will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven full days, when the LORD binds up the bruises of his people and heals the wounds he inflicted.

OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) Though the people of God continually rebelled against the Lord and His rule over them, what did the Lord long to do for them? Why? (v.18)
2) What was the Lord's promise to His willful children and how would He respond to them in their trouble? (v.19)
3) What had the Lord given His rebellious people and how would He provide for them despite His judgments against them? (v.20-21)
4) What did the Lord expect His people to do in response to His mercy? (v.22)
5) How else would the Lord demonstrate His great compassion for His people? (v.23-24)
6) What would happen in the "day of great slaughter" and when "the LORD binds" up the wounds of His afflicted people? (v.25-26)

APPLICATION QUESTIONS
7) In what ways have you rebelled against the Lord? 
8) How will you restore right relationship with Him?

LIFE LESSONS
9) Despite His chastening, the Lord longs to be gracious to His rebellious people.

Justice for the Poor

Monday, August 3, 2015
Psalm 140:6-13 NIV

6 I say to the LORD, "You are my God." Hear, LORD, my cry for mercy. 7 Sovereign LORD, my strong deliverer, you shield my head in the day of battle. 8 Do not grant the wicked their desires, LORD; do not let their plans succeed. 9 Those who surround me proudly rear their heads; may the mischief of their lips engulf them. 10 May burning coals fall on them; may they be thrown into the fire, into miry pits, never to rise. 11 May slanderers not be established in the land; may disaster hunt down the violent. 12 I know that the LORD secures justice for the poor and upholds the cause of the needy. 13 Surely the righteous will praise your name, and the upright will live in your presence.

OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) What is the psalmist's prayer to the Lord? (v.6)
2) Who does the psalmist declare the Lord to be and what has the Lord done for him? (v.7)
3) What are the psalmist's petitions to the Lord? Why? (v.8-13)

APPLICATION QUESTIONS
4) Who (or what) are your enemies? What are your prayers to the Lord concerning them?

LIFE LESSONS
5) The Lord expects His children to pray blessings for our human enemies and to pray deliverance from spiritual and emotional strongholds (enemies of our soul).

God Delights in Showing Clemency

Sunday, July 26, 2015
Micah 7:14-20 NIV 

14 Shepherd your people with your staff, the flock of your inheritance, which lives by itself in a forest, in fertile pasturelands. Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead as in days long ago. 15 "As in the days when you came out of Egypt, I will show them my wonders." 16 Nations will see and be ashamed, deprived of all their power. They will put their hands over their mouths and their ears will become deaf. 17 They will lick dust like a snake, like creatures that crawl on the ground. They will come trembling out of their dens; they will turn in fear to the LORD our God and will be afraid of you. 18 Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. 19 You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea. 20 You will be faithful to Jacob, and show love to Abraham, as you pledged on oath to our ancestors in days long ago.

OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) What did the Prophet Micah ask the Lord to do for His people? (v.14-15)
2) How would the nations respond? (v.16-17)
3) What does the prophet ask the Lord and say about His relationship with His people? (v.18-20)

APPLICATION QUESTIONS
4) How has the Lord shown His faithfulness to you, despite any spiritual weaknesses, or transgressions, that have manifested in your life/

LIFE LESSONS
5) The Lord longs to be gracious to His people and will relent from allowing calamity to befall us when we confess and repent of our transgressions.

Justice, Kindness, and Humility

Sunday, July 18, 2015
Micah 6:3-8 NIV 

3 "My people, what have I done to you? How have I burdened you? Answer me. 4 I brought you up out of Egypt and redeemed you from the land of slavery. I sent Moses to lead you, also Aaron and Miriam. 5 My people, remember what Balak king of Moab plotted and what Balaam son of Beor answered. Remember your journey from Shittim to Gilgal, that you may know the righteous acts of the LORD." 6 With what shall I come before the LORD and bow down before the exalted God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? 7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of olive oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? 8 He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) What questions does the Lord ask of His people? (v.3)
2) What does the Lord remind them of? Why? (v.4-5)
3) What had the Lord's people asked of Him? (v.6-7)
4) What has the Lord required of His people? (v.8)

APPLICATION QUESTIONS
5) Have you, your family, your local church, and/or your church denomination done what the Lord requires of His people? if not, why not? If so, briefly explain how. 

LIFE LESSONS
6) The Lord is serious about our covenant with Him and our commitment to other people.
7) The greatest sacrifice that we can offer the Lord is the sacrifice of our will for His.

Abounding in Steadfast Love

Tuesday, May 26, 2015
Jonah 3:10-4:1-11 KJV

10 And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did [it] not. 

1 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry. 2 And he prayed unto the LORD, and said, I pray thee, O LORD, [was] not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou [art] a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil. 3 Therefore now, O LORD, take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for [it is] better for me to die than to live. 4 Then said the LORD, Doest thou well to be angry? 5 So Jonah went out of the city, and sat on the east side of the city, and there made him a booth, and sat under it in the shadow, till he might see what would become of the city. 6 And the LORD God prepared a gourd, and made [it] to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his grief. So Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd. 7 But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd that it withered. 8 And it came to pass, when the sun did arise, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, that he fainted, and wished in himself to die, and said, [It is] better for me to die than to live. 9 And God said to Jonah, Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd? And he said, I do well to be angry, [even] unto death. 10 Then said the LORD, Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not laboured, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night: 11 And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and [also] much cattle?

OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) What did the Lord God do after the people of Ninevah repented? (3:10)
2) How did Jonah respond? (4:1-3)
3) What did the Lord ask Jonah? (4:4)
4) What did Jonah do next? (4:5)
5) What did the Lord do for Jonah and how did Jonah respond? (4:6)
6) What did the Lord do the next morning how did it affect Jonah? (4:7-8)
7) What did the Lord say to Jonah about the plant and how did Jonah respond? (4:9)
8) How did the Lord explain His pity on the people of Ninevah to Jonah? (4:10-11)

APPLICATION QUESTIONS
9) Have you ever failed to show mercy, pity or compassion for a group of people, or an individual, because you believed they deserved the Lord's judgment?

LIFE LESSONS
10) The Lord God demonstrates mercy to all people by giving them the opportunity to repent of their sins against Him.
11) The Lord God expects His children to be loving, compassionate, and merciful toward the lost souls He died to save.

God's Giftings and Callings are Irrevocable

Tuesday, May 5, 2015
Romans 11:25-32 KJV

25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. 26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: 27 For this [is] my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins. 28 As concerning the gospel, [they are] enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, [they are] beloved for the fathers' sakes. 29 For the gifts and calling of God [are] without repentance. 30 For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief: 31 Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy. 32 For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.

OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) What was the mystery that the Apostle Paul wrote the readers of this book and why didn't he want Gentiles to be ignorant about it? (v.25-26a)
2) What had been prophesied in Scripture concerning the mystery? (v.26b-27)
3) Though the nation of Israel were enemies of the gospel of our Lord Jesus, what are God's feelings about Israel? Why? (v.28-29)
4) What comparison did the apostle make between Israel and Gentile believers? (v.30-31)
5) Who will the Lord ultimately have mercy upon? (v.32)

APPLICATION QUESTIONS
6) When in your life were did you not believe God? 
7) Why do you believe in Him now?

LIFE LESSONS
8) It is because of God's mercy and faithfulness that any of us are saved.

God Judges the People with Equity

Monday, March 23, 2015
Psalm 67 KJV 

1 [[To the chief Musician on Neginoth, A Psalm [or] Song.]] God be merciful unto us, and bless us; [and] cause his face to shine upon us; Selah. 2 That thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations. 3 Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee. 4 O let the nations be glad and sing for joy: for thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon earth. Selah. 5 Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee. 6 [Then] shall the earth yield her increase; [and] God, [even] our own God, shall bless us. 7 God shall bless us; and all the ends of the earth shall fear him.

OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) What does the psalmist desire from the Lord for himself and the people of God? Why? (v.1-2)
2) What does the psalmist want the people of God and the nations to do? Why? (v.3-6)
3) What does the psalmist expect the Lord to do for His people and all the people of the earth? (v.7)

APPLICATION QUESTIONS
4) Why do you need the Lord's mercy and blessing this day?

LIFE LESSONS
5) All people, saved and unsaved, need God's mercy and blessing. That happens as His people praise and exalt Him.

Here is Your God!

Wednesday, March 4, 2015
Isaiah 40:1-10 KJV 

1 Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. 2 Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the LORD'S hand double for all her sins. 3 The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: 5 And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see [it] together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken [it]. 6 The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh [is] grass, and all the goodliness thereof [is] as the flower of the field: 7 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people [is] grass. 8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever. 9 O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift [it] up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God! 10 Behold, the Lord GOD will come with strong [hand], and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward [is] with him, and his work before him.

OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) What is the Lord's command concerning the exiled people of God? Why? (v.1-2)
2) What is the "voice in the wilderness" to declare and how is that declaration to be done? (v.3-4)
3) What is to be revealed after this season of preparation for the people of God? Why? (v.5)
4) What else is the voice to declare? Why? (v.6-8)
5) What are the faithful remnant (Zion; Jerusalem) to do and say to the cities of Judah? (v.9)
6) What else is to be said about God? (v.10)

APPLICATION QUESTIONS
7) Have you ever rebelled (disobeyed) the Lord? If so, briefly describe how the Lord restored you into right relationship with Himself and other believers?

LIFE LESSONS
8) The judgments of the Lord against His rebellious people are always tempered by His mercy and comfort.
9) The heart of the formerly rebellious believer is to be prepared for restoration of fellowship with the Lord and His people.
10) The Lord never gives up on His people.

Compassion and Justice for the Poor

Tuesday, February 10, 2015
Lev 19:9-15 KJV 

9 And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest. 10 And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather [every] grape of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger: I [am] the LORD your God. 11 Ye shall not steal, neither deal falsely, neither lie one to another. 12 And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I [am] the LORD. 13 Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbour, neither rob [him]: the wages of him that is hired shall not abide with thee all night until the morning. 14 Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumblingblock before the blind, but shalt fear thy God: I [am] the LORD. 15 Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honour the person of the mighty: [but] in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour.

OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) The Lord's moral and ceremonial laws continue with these verses in Chapter 19. What did the Lord our God tell His people not to do, concerning their gleanings (harvesting)? Why? (v.9-10)
2) What else did the Lord tell His people to do, and not to do, toward their neighbors? (v.11-15) 

APPLICATION QUESTIONS 
3) Who do you consider your neighbors to be? Why?
4) Has the Lord ever given you a burden (compassion) for people that you may never meet? If so, please describe one such instance.

LIFE LESSONS
5) Our "neighbor" may be people who live in our vicinity, or in other parts of the world.
6) Our Lord loves all the people of the world, no matter their ethnicity, or station in life. 
7) When the Lord grows His love in our hearts, it is for all with whom He brings into our lives and gives us the compassion to help.

Mercy Triumphs Over Judgment

Tuesday, February 3, 2015
James 2:8-13 KJV 

8 If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: 9 But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. 10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one [point], he is guilty of all. 11 For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. 12 So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty. 13 For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.

OBERVATION QUESTIONS
1) How will believers do well or prosper in this life? (v.8)
2) What do transgressors do that is sinful and why is it sinful? (v.9-11)
3) What does James encourage believers to do? Why? (v.12-13)

APPLICATION QUESTIONS
4) Have you ever shown partiality or favoritism toward specific individuals in the body of Christ, while ignoring or dismissing others? If so, why?
5) What, if anything, will you do to correct the error of your ways?

LIFE LESSONS
6) The Lord has no favorites in His body and neither should His children.
7) To prefer one member of Christ's body, while ignoring or dismissing other members of the body, is a sin.
8) The Lord God loves all of the members of His body equally and expects His children to be merciful toward all who are in the household of faith.

Gratitude for God's Steadfast Love

Friday, January 16, 2015
Psalm 107:1-15 KJV 

1 O give thanks unto the LORD, for [he is] good: for his mercy [endureth] for ever. 2 Let the redeemed of the LORD say [so], whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy; 3 And gathered them out of the lands, from the east, and from the west, from the north, and from the south. 4 They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way; they found no city to dwell in. 5 Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them. 6 Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, [and] he delivered them out of their distresses. 7 And he led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city of habitation. 8 Oh that [men] would praise the LORD [for] his goodness, and [for] his wonderful works to the children of men! 9 For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness. 10 Such as sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, [being] bound in affliction and iron; 11 Because they rebelled against the words of God, and contemned the counsel of the most High: 12 Therefore he brought down their heart with labour; they fell down, and [there was] none to help. 13 Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, [and] he saved them out of their distresses. 14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and brake their bands in sunder. 15 Oh that [men] would praise the LORD [for] his goodness, and [for] his wonderful works to the children of men!

OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) Why should we give thanks to the Lord? (v.1)
2) What should the Lord's redeemed do? Why? (v.2-7)
3) What else does the psalmist say that the redeemed of the Lord should do? Why? (v.8-9)
4) How does the psalmist describe the unredeemed? (v.10)
5) Why are the unredeemed in such trouble? (v.11)
6) What does the Lord allow to happen to them? (v.12)
7) How do the unsaved respond and what does the Lord do for them? (v.13-14)
8) What is the psalmist's final exhortation? Why? (v.15)

APPLICATION QUESTIONS
9) How has the Lord demonstrated His goodness to you this week? 
10) What have you done in response to God's goodness to you?
11) Do you know of anyone who is bound by sin and troubled in soul?
12) What might you do to help them?

LIFE LESSONS
12) The Lord is good to those He has redeemed. 
13) The Lord is worthy to be praised for His goodness to us.
14) Only God can save the lost, but He expects us to tell them about Him.

Bless God's Holy Name

Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Psalm 103:1-13 KJV

1 [[[A Psalm] of David.]] Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, [bless] his holy name. 2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: 3 Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; 4 Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; 5 Who satisfieth thy mouth with good [things; so that] thy youth is renewed like the eagle's. 6 The LORD executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed. 7 He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel. 8 The LORD [is] merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. 9 He will not always chide: neither will he keep [his anger] for ever. 10 He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. 11 For as the heaven is high above the earth, [so] great is his mercy toward them that fear him. 12 As far as the east is from the west, [so] far hath he removed our transgressions from us. 13 Like as a father pitieth [his] children, [so] the LORD pitieth them that fear him.

OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) How does David encourage himself in the Lord? (v.1-2)
2) What six benefits do the Lord's people enjoy? (v.3-6)
3) Who did te Lord reveal His ways to? Who witnessed His acts? (v.7)
4) What is the Lord like, according to David? (v.8-10)
5) Whom has the Lord pitied and revealed His mercy to? How? (v.11-13)

APPLICATION QUESTIONS
6) Have you ever been chastened by the Lord? If so, please describe one such instance.
7) If you answered affirmatively to the above question, how long did the Lord's chastening (correction) last?


LIFE LESSONS
8) The Lord is gracious to the oppressed.
9) The Lord is merciful to those who fear Him.
10) The Lord has not given us what our sins deserve.

O Lord, Hear and Forgive

Tuesday, December 2, 2014
Daniel 9:11-19 KJV 

11 Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that [is] written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against him. 12 And he hath confirmed his words, which he spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil: for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem. 13 As [it is] written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the LORD our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand thy truth. 14 Therefore hath the LORD watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for the LORD our God [is] righteous in all his works which he doeth: for we obeyed not his voice. 15 And now, O Lord our God, that hast brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and hast gotten thee renown, as at this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly. 16 O Lord, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain: because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people [are become] a reproach to all [that are] about us. 17 Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord's sake. 18 O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies. 19 O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name.

OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) Why had Israel been deported to a foreign land? (v.11)
2) How were God's words confirmed to His people? (v.12)
3) Though Israel had disobeyed God's laws, what had they failed to do so that the Lord would relent in allowing the curse from coming upon them? (v.13)
4) Why was the Lord right in allowing calamity to befall Israel? (v.14)
5) What was Daniel's prayer to the Lord on behalf of God's people? (v.15-19)

APPLICATION QUESTIONS
6) Have you ever committed a sin that you did not confess to the Lord immediately? If so, please describe what happened following one such instance.
7) What should be the response of your spiritual leaders when your family, church, or nation have transgressed God's laws?
8) Why should the Lord hear the prayers of those who intercede for His people? 

LIFE LESSONS
9) God expects His commands (words) to be believed.
10) Corporate prayer is the only acceptable appeal when a group of people have transgressed God's commands.
11) The Lord will hear the prayers of His intercessors when they pray on behalf of their people, because of who He is, not because of who they are. 

Great and Awesome God

Monday, December 1, 2014
Daniel 9:3-10 KJV 

3 And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes: 4 And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments; 5 We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments: 6 Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. 7 O Lord, righteousness [belongeth] unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, [that are] near, and [that are] far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee. 8 O Lord, to us [belongeth] confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee. 9 To the Lord our God [belong] mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him; 10 Neither have we obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets.

OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) The prophet Daniel had read God's word and understood that the time for the captives to be free had come. As a result, what did the prophet do? (v.3-4a)
2) What did the prophet confess about God? (v4b, 7a, 9a)
3) What sins did the prophet confess to God concerning himself and his people? (v.5,6,9b,10)
4) According to the prophet, what did God's people deserve for their sins? (7b, 8)

APPLICATION QUESTIONS
5) Have the people of your family, church, and/or nation sinned against God? If so, please explain how?
6) Have you ever confessed the sins of your family, church, and/or nation to God? If so, when and under what circumstances.
7) If your family, church, and/or nation has sinned against God recently, is the Lord leading you to intercede on their behalf?

LIFE LESSONS
8) We don't deserve God's forgiveness, but He offers it to all who believe in Him.
9) Intercession is the confession of corporate sin before Almighty God.
10) The Lord is merciful and forgiving toward all who keep his commands.
11) The elements of intercessory prayer are: (a) Confession of personal sin, (b) confession of corporate sin, (c) Confession of God's goodness and mercy, and (d) Petition for the Lord's forgivness and mercy.

The God of our Salvation

Friday, November 28, 2014
Psalm 85:1-7 KJV 

1 [[To the chief Musician, A Psalm for the sons of Korah.]] LORD, thou hast been favourable unto thy land: thou hast brought back the captivity of Jacob. 2 Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of thy people, thou hast covered all their sin. Selah. 3 Thou hast taken away all thy wrath: thou hast turned [thyself] from the fierceness of thine anger. 4 Turn us, O God of our salvation, and cause thine anger toward us to cease. 5 Wilt thou be angry with us for ever? wilt thou draw out thine anger to all generations? 6 Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee? 7 Shew us thy mercy, O LORD, and grant us thy salvation.

OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) What have you read and learned about the sons of Korah?
2) Why do you think that this psalm was written for them?
3) What six things does the psalmist remember about the Lord? (v.1-3)
4) What four things does the psalmist implore the Lord to do? (v.4,7)
5) What three things does the psalmist ask of the Lord? Why? (v.5-6)

APPLICATION QUESTIONS
6) What do you learn of the Lord from this passage of Scripture?
7) Have you, your family, or your church, ever experienced the chastening of the Lord? If so, what happened?
8) If you answered affirmatively to the previous question, what did the subject(s) of God's displeasure do to restore right relationship with Him?

LIFE LESSONS
9) Sin not only affects the individual(s) who committed the transgression(s), but may affect those associated with them.
10) The Lord's anger toward His people may last for many generations, when not repented of.
11) Individual, corporate, and/or national repentence always leads to revival. 

New Mercies Every Morning

Thursday, November 20, 2014
Lamentations 3:19-26 KJV

19 Remembering mine affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall. 20 My soul hath [them] still in remembrance, and is humbled in me. 21 This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. 22 [It is of] the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. 23 [They are] new every morning: great [is] thy faithfulness. 24 The LORD [is] my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. 25 The LORD [is] good unto them that wait for him, to the soul [that] seeketh him. 26 [It is] good that [a man] should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD.

OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) What does the prophet remember and what effect does it have on him? (v.19-21)
2) What does Jeremiah recall about the Lord? (v.22a)
3) Why are the Lord's people not consumed? What is new every morning? (v22b-23)
4) Why does Jeremiah place his hope in God? (v.24)
5) Who (or what) is the Lord good to? (v.25)
6) What should we hope and wait quietly for? (v.26)

APPLICATION QUESTIONS
7) Who, or what, do you remember when you are distressed?
8) What do you typically do during times of trouble?
9) How do you wait upon God?

PRINCIPLES
10) The Lord allows trouble in our lives to humble us
11) The faithful mercies of God give us reason to hope
12) The Lord is good to all who place their trust in Him
13) The Lord is compassionate toward those who seek Him
14) It is always good to hope in, and wait quietly on, the Lord

Hope in the Lord Forevermore

Friday, November 7, 2014
Psalm 130:1-8 KJV

1 [[A Song of degrees.]] Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O LORD. 2 Lord, hear my voice: let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications. 3 If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? 4 But [there is] forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared. 5 I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope. 6 My soul [waiteth] for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: [I say, more than] they that watch for the morning. 7 Let Israel hope in the LORD: for with the LORD [there is] mercy, and with him [is] plenteous redemption. 8 And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities. 

[Psa 131:1-3 KJV] 

1 [[A Song of degrees of David.]] LORD, my heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty: neither do I exercise myself in great matters, or in things too high for me. 2 Surely I have behaved and quieted myself, as a child that is weaned of his mother: my soul [is] even as a weaned child. 3 Let Israel hope in the LORD from henceforth and for ever.

OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) From where did the psalmist cry to the Lord? (v.1)
2) What did the psalmist ask the Lord? (v.2)
3) Of what two things did the psalmist remind the Lord? (v.3-4)
4) What did the psalmist purpose to do? (v.5-6)
5) Of what did the psalmist remind God's people? (v.7-8)

6) How did the psalmist describe himself to the Lord? (v.1-2)
7) What was the psalmists hope for Israel? (v.3) 

APPLICATION QUESTIONS
8) How do you relate to the Lord after committing a sin? Why?
9) What are your reasons for waiting on the Lord?
10) What is your hope for the people of God in your home church?

11) What is your heart attitude toward the Lord, as you wait on Him?

PRINCIPLES
12) Regardless of how deeply we've fallen into sin, God's mercy is greater still.
13) The Lord never gives us what our sins deserve, because He is merciful.
14) Waiting on the Lord is a demonstration of our dependence upon the Lord.

15) Contentment in every situation leads to a victroious life in Christ.

A Future with a Hope

Friday, September 5, 2014
Jeremiah 29:10-14

10 For thus saith the LORD, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place. 11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. 12 Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. 13 And ye shall seek me, and find [me], when ye shall search for me with all your heart. 14 And I will be found of you, saith the LORD: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the LORD; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive.

OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) What nation(s) had been in captivity in Babylon for seventy years? What was the Lord's promise to them in this verse? (v.10)
2) What were the Lord's thoughts and plans toward/for His captive people ? (v.11)
3) What hope, and promises, did the Lord offer His people? (v.12-14)

APPLICATION QUESTIONS
4) Have you ever experienced the mercy of the Lord, despite your failures? If so, please describe one such time.
5) How did the Lord manifest His love toward you, despite your confessed sin(s)?
6) What was your response to the Lord after He showered favor and blessing on you despite your past failures?

PRINCIPLES
7) The Lord's mercy endures, whether we deserve it, or not.
8) The Lord's faithfulness does not depend upon us, but upon Him!
9) No matter how many times we fail Him, the Lord receives His penitent people.
10) God is absolutely  merciful, but He is also absolutely just!