Are We Really Ready?

We look in Genesis at Abram going to Canaan, the war of the Kings, Abram rescuing Lot and the blessing of Melchizedek. We see God making promises and working"behind the scenes" with this founder of His people.

A disciple is a pupil of a teacher or rabbi. To be a disciple you must make a commitment and be obedient. We can strive to be disciples of Jesus .    

To discern is to distinguish right from wrong. We don't want to be deceived. We need the help of the Holy Spirit to make clear decisions Having spiritual clarity helps us see through distractions and align with God's will.

The Essenes were a Jewish sect that lived at Qumran, a settlement by the Dead Sea. We were aware of them through historians like Josephus and Philo. When the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered , we found out more about them. There is still controversy about them because they were mysterious.

We look at some scriptures about Living Water. Water was needed in Isreal, a hot and dry region, and it represented God's presence and restoration. Jesus offers belief in Him as the fountain of Living Water. You will thirst no more.

We look at some scriptures about the church and ideas about the church. Then we look at Jesus and the discples going to Caesarea Phillipi. I used Matthew 16:13-18. There are parallel passages in Luke 9:18-21 and Mark 8:27-29.

We talk about some of the promises of God. There are many in the Bible. These promises assure us, as believers, of His faithfulness and unfailing love.

When we have faith and are saved, our conversion should show itself in both fruit and works. Bearing fruit is your actions and the way you carry yourself. Works are deeds like looking after someone that is less fortunate than you.

We look at Psalm 110. It is a royal psalm. It is built around two statements from God. The first part is a prophetic oracle and the second part is a divine oath.

We look at some scriptures about being humble. We need to separate ourselves from the self-centered people who are proud and boastful. We need to think more of others and look at Jesus' examples to guide us.