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Weekly Guide：2022-2023 Week 99
November 26, 2023
Week 99 Day 1: Faith and Deeds ⇧ ⇩
Question
Scripture Reading
Meditation: God’s Story
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Do not merely listen to the word. Do what it says and be blessed in what we do.
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Look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. Do not discriminate and judge with evil thoughts. Do not show favoritism or we’d have broken the law “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
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Faith without deed is dead. Faith and deed go together, and faith is made complete with deed. A person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.
Meditation: My Story
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Walking with God - We are saved by faith, not by our work to achieve God’s standard. However, faith must bring about corresponding deeds. What does James remind me of with the message about deeds that come from faith and death of faith without deeds? Combine this with the teaching of not merely listen to the word but to do what it says and be blessed in what we do. What have I learned from this encouragement about faith and deeds in terms of listening to the word and doing what it says?
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Identity - We shall avoid tainting ourselves with the worldly norm of showing favoritism by appearance, discriminate and become judges with evil thoughts. It is not pleasing to God to look up to the rich and powerful. It is also not pleasing to God to place high up the poor and sufferings. What similar worldly norms are found in the environment I grew up with and am living in? How are they affecting me? How does God want me to treat others? How can I remind myself not to be tainted by those worldly norms that displease God?
Prayer
Notes and Responses
Week 99 Day 2: Wisdom and Holiness ⇧ ⇩
Question
What are the deeds filled with holiness, wisdom, and faithfulness like?
Scripture Reading
Meditation: God’s Story
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Seek wisdom from heaven and tame our tongues; we shall not curse human beings while praise our God at the same time.
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Do not let loose our desires, do not be friend with the world; Submit to God and obey Him, wash our hands and purify our hearts, repent and humble before God, go near God, do not judge other.
Meditation: My Story
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Walking with God - A faith without deeds is dead and useless. But what deeds display fully a faith that is alive? On subjects of taming the tongue, seeking the wisdom, attitude toward worldly norms, judging myself and others, what kind of deeds does a lively faith bring out? What is most meaningful to me?
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Integrity - How is the wisdom we ought to seek according to chapter 3 different from the wisdom of the world? No human can tame the tongue, so we need the wisdom from heaven to tame it. How does the wisdom from heaven help us tame our tongues (3:17)? What is the reason for quarrel and fight between people? What are the causes for us to desire what we don’t have (4:1-3)? What is the attitude of my prayers?
Prayer
Notes and Responses
Week 99 Day 3: Wait with Patience ⇧ ⇩
Question
What do faithful deeds wait for?
Scripture Reading
Meditation: God’s Story
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The plans of our lives should make God’s will top priority.
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What we seek should be the valuable spiritual crop, not the worldly riches. We shall wait patiently for God’s timing, be patient in suffering without swearing.
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We shall place God in the center of our lives, continue to pray, pray for others, and praise the Lord in all circumstances and in all things.
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We shall make saving the sinners from death and covering their sins as our motivation for turning them around.
Meditation: My Story
- Walking with God - God is the center of our lives. This is manifested in our pursue of valuables (5:1-12,) in our planning for the future (4:13-17,) in our attitude toward all things we face in daily life (5:13-18,) and in our motivation to preach gospel and truth (5:19-20.) Think about my conducts in these four areas, do they all come out of my faith? How my faith may be displayed in all these things?
Prayer
Notes and Responses
Week 99 Day 4: Salvation of Soul ⇧ ⇩
Question
How is the salvation like which is to be revealed to us in the last time?
Scripture Reading
Meditation: God’s Story
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We are elected by the grace of the one true Triune God.
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This salvation gives us new life and living hope as well as the inheritance in heaven.
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Through trials, faith may be proven to be genuine that may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.
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This salvation was revealed and pointed to the prophets, through their search with greatest care, and angels as well as those who have preached the gospel to us by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven.
Meditation: My Story
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Walking with God - God in three persons did the wonder. What were their works? What do these works mean to me? God’s salvation gives us new life and living hope as well as the inheritance in heaven. What is the new life to me? How am I now different from the old self? Have others observed any difference in me? What is my hope? What is living hope?
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Integrity - There is glorious joy in all kinds of trials. From this and surrounding passages, what is the source of this glorious joy? What is this glorious joy? Have I seen examples of this glorious joy? Have I experienced such glorious joy?
Prayer
Notes and Responses
Week 99 Day 5: Life in Salvation ⇧ ⇩
Question
In what aspects of life would the rebirth be displayed?
Scripture Reading
Meditation: God’s Story
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A life reborn in salvation is obedient, holy, and lives in reverent fear.
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A life reborn in salvation does not rely on perishable things such as silver or gold, but the precious blood of Christ, and has faith and hope in God.
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A life reborn in salvation loves others deeply from the heart.
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A life reborn in salvation craves pure spiritual milk to grow up.
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A life reborn in salvation is like a living stone being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God.
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A life reborn in salvation has a new identity of royal priesthood, of holy nation and of God’s special possession with a new mission to declare God’s wonderful light.
Meditation: My Story
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Walking with God - With a reborn life, I shall be changed in my desires. What does this passage tell me about the spiritual milk that I shall be craving? Is my craving of this spiritual milk befitting my new identity? What should I be relying on in my reborn life? People often realize what they rely on is not God only when they fall out of their safety net. What do I need to lose to feel danger and hopelessness?
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Identity - How has my identity changed when I was reborn? What do this mean to me: chosen people, royal priesthood, holy nation, God’s special possession? How am I living out this new identity?
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Fidelity - A reborn life has a new mission. How does the mission of declare God’s wonderful light relate to my new identity? What attitude and motivation should a royal priest hold when preaching gospel?
Prayer
Notes and Responses
Week 99 Day 6: Submit for God ⇧ ⇩
Forward
Happy New Year!
We continue reading the first and second book of Peter.
The meaning of suffering is fully portrayed in the first book of Peter. In this Christmas season, it brings the thought on how those of us who are suffering may be helped by Jesus’ suffering. We persevere and strengthen our hearts to wait for Jesus’ coming just like those early believers who suffered persecutions to experience His presence in difficult circumstances. Living without peace is caused by the gap between God’s promise and the harsh reality. However, God is capable of closing that gap to display the meaning of His son’s birth in the humble manger.
Humbly accept life’s hardships, patiently face the suffering, do not give up and be consumed, but by the name of God and His promises, carry on through the turbulence with tenacity. Like precious metals, we are being refined by fire. Like grains in the fields, we await patiently for the spring rain to come. We declare victory by Jesus’ love.
May you all be renewed in His word each day!
Question
What kind of relationship with others can be seen in those who have reborn life?
Scripture Reading
Meditation: God’s Story
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We as foreigners and exiles, shall abstain from sinful desires, live good lives, so others may see our good deeds and glorify God.
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Submit ourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority, to the emperor or the governors; In reverent fear for God, submit to our masters, whether they are harsh or good and considerate; For the Lord’s sake, wives shall submit to husbands, dressed in pure heart and reverent live, if any of their husbands do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives.
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For people of God, husbands shall be considerate living with their wives, and treat them with respect.
Meditation: My Story
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Identity - We are foreigners and exiles of this world. How is such identity like? What is the focus of my life in this world? Am I seeing this temporary tent as a permanent house?
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Integrity - Abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. What is the meaning that it “wages war against your soul?” Do I have a real-life example? Abstain from sinful desires is done once or is it a continuous process? What is my experience with that?
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Integrity - Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God. Why do the pagans accuse me? What is the purpose of my good deeds?
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Integrity - What is our relationship with our country’s authorities and bosses at work? What about relationship with our spouses? Think about my attitude and conduct according to this passage. Ask for the Lord’s help to change me to know my identity, so that my attitude and conduct are commensurate to the grace I receive.