PAUL S THORN IN THE FLESH PART 2

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Lindsay Palmer
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UNCERTAINTY James 1:5 PAUL S THORN IN THE FLESH PART 2 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

1 UNCERTAINTY James 1:5 PAUL S THORN IN THE FLESH PART 2 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. James 1:6 8 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a doubleminded man, unstable in all his ways. DEFINITION (Where the worksheets ask for definitions, be encouraged to find out the definition for yourself rather than simply rely on what has been given in the lesson.) doubt ( DEFINITION (Where the worksheets ask for definitions, be encouraged to find out the definition for yourself rather than simply rely on what has been given in the lesson.) double-minded ( 1 of 7

2 James 1:7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; DEFINITION (Where the worksheets ask for definitions, be encouraged to find out the definition for yourself rather than simply rely on what has been given in the lesson.) receive ( GO THE TEN! Tomorrow night, Allegra Cole could have her last first kiss. - Hitch The secret to a kiss is to go 90% of the way and then hold. - Hitch WATCH You may not want to watch this video if you find the word hell offensive. 2 of 7

3 Ephesians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ Go the ten! TWISTED TRANSLATIONS 2 Corinthians 12:7 (New Century Version) So that I would not become too proud of the wonderful things that were shown to me, a painful physical problem was given to me. This problem was a messenger from Satan, sent to beat me and keep me from being proud. 2 Corinthians 12:7 (Good News Translation) But to keep me from being puffed up with pride because of the many wonderful things I saw, I was given a painful physical ailment, which acts as Satan's messenger to beat me and keep me from being proud. 2 Corinthians 12:7 (Easy-to-Read Version) But I must not be too proud of the wonderful things that were shown to me. So a painful problem was given to me an angel from Satan, sent to make me suffer, so that I would not think that I am better than anyone else. 3 of 7

4 To interpret the Bible well, one must have both a well-developed understanding of the language the text is written in and a well-developed understanding of the One Who inspired the text. TEACHING TOOL? READ I met a man with epilepsy, who told me that the epilepsy was his thorn in the flesh. He said that he had asked God to heal him, but hadn t seen results (and so his conclusion was that God didn t want to heal him). He was understandably hurt by the idea that God wouldn t heal him, but found comfort when he recognised that because of the epilepsy, he had drawn closer to God. His next statement was that he didn t know if he would have drawn so close to God in any other way, and so he was unsure if he wanted to be healed of this disease. What this man, along with many other people fail to see, is that if God is using a sickness like epilepsy to either teach or draw His children closer to Him, then the God-appointed sick should not confide in doctors or use medicine to relieve the pain that God has placed on them. They should, instead, allow the sickness to have its way in their life, letting it ravage their bodies in every way that God intended it to. In this way, by leaving the sickness to run its full course, they will increase the effectiveness of the lesson and become as close to God as He intended. The problem with this interpretation of 1 Corinthians 12:7 is that so many of God s children aren t learning the lessons they believe that God is teaching them. In fact, many have no idea what they are meant to be learning. They will also sometimes take this teaching tool to their grave having never learnt their lesson through a lifetime of pain and suffering. However, if the disease isn t terminal, the teaching tool of sickness can be transferred from parent to child (as is the case with hereditary diseases such as arthritis, diabetes, high blood pressure and in some cases, epilepsy), and these children end up being taught the same lesson that their parents failed to learn. 4 of 7

5 QUESTIONS 1. 1 Peter 2:3, 4 (The Voice) 3 His divine power has given us everything we need to experience life and to reflect God s true nature through the knowledge of the One who called us by His glory and virtue. 4 Through these things, we have received God s great and valuable promises, so we might escape the corruption of worldly desires and share in the divine nature. Notes from the Voice Translation of the Bible: God took the first step to rescue us from this corrupt world. He has granted us His power, revealed to us true knowledge, and spoken to us great promises. He has done all this for a reason: that we might participate in His own nature and reflect His own life. But we are not passive observers of God s saving actions. We must receive His grace, grow in knowledge, and join Him in this work of redemption. What thoughts does the idea that Jesus Christ has made everything available for you to walk in, bring to mind? 2. Why is it unhelpful to expect that God will do everything for us? 5 of 7

6 3. What are some things that you can do to make sure that you are reading a Bible that is not going to mislead you? 6 of 7

7 ANSWERS 1. What thoughts does the idea that Jesus Christ has made everything available for you to walk in, bring to mind? You may write whatever you would like here. 2. Why is it unhelpful to expect that God will do everything for us? God has let us know what He will do in our lives and what He has already made available for us to partake of. If we don t do what God asks us to do, we miss out on all that Jesus has made available for us. Consider when unbelievers don t receive Jesus as their Lord. Jesus was punished for their sins while He was on the cross and has made eternal life available for them, yet they won t benefit from it because they don t do their part (Romans 10:9, 10). 3. What are some things that you can do to make sure that you are reading a Bible that is not going to mislead you? There isn t a perfect translation of the Bible. The best thing to do is to refer to several translations of the Bible while reading, and become familiar with the tools that help us to understand what is communicated in the original language (e.g. lexicons, Bible dictionaries, etc.). w w w. r e m o v e t h e r o o f. c o m 7 of 7

Katherine Hilditch.

Katherine Hilditch. God s blessings can be yours, not because you deserve them or have earned them, but because of what Jesus has done. He wants to bless you beyond your imagination, but are you willing to receive? This booklet