People's Questions/God's Answers

  Dear Bible Study Sisters,

 We began our study of Malachi back in January, when our spirited lecturer, Lisa Harper, compared the Jews returning to their trashed homeland after 70 years of Babylonian captivity to Scarlett O'Hara returning to her ruined home, Tara, after the Civil War in "Gone With The Wind". The Jews, like Scarlett, felt angry and entitled. They had expected a trouble-free life and instead they had gotten this mess! The prophet, Malachi, ended up moderating a lively "Question and Answer" session between God and the Jews.

God wanted his people to know that he still loved them very much and he still had tremendous plans for them--to make them a light to all the nations, a light that would bring Messiah, hope, salvation and peace on earth, good will toward men. God wanted the Jews to get busy and start rebuilding and repairing the city of Jerusalem and its Temple so they would be ready when Messiah appeared. And, God wanted them to prepare their hearts with gratitude toward God and a holy desire to see the light of all nations come in the form of the Messiah. God wanted his people to be united in love and to show that love to surrounding nations. He wanted the Jews to rid themselves of idols and distractions that kept them from loving God and working for holy purposes. God wanted the Jews to put aside greed and value their relationships with God and with one another. But, many of the Jews had stopped hoping for Messiah. They had expected God to give them material wealth and a trouble-free life. When that didn't happen, and things got a lot worse once they were taken as hostages to Babylon, they stopped even hoping for the glory God had promised to them and to their temple in Jerusalem.

Malachi stirred up the conversation between God and the Jews to get the Jews to hear God's side of the story. In the midst of their disillusionment and dissatisfaction with the way things had turned out, God wanted to bring words of comfort and hope, that his plans for his people were not derailed by their time in Babylon. The ruined temple and city of Jerusalem would not stop God from blessing the Jews:

"But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall." Malachi 4:2 (New International Version)

No matter how ruined or hopeless the current circumstances looked, God still had wonderful things in store for his people! He wanted them to hear his voice, to know that their complaints were real, but God's love was more real and bigger and better and more powerful than any of the things that were troubling them!

God asked them to have faith in him, to "bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house." God told the Jews to "test"

him, to see if he would not "throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it." God promised that he would hold back the pests that would devour their crops and vines when they showed this kind of trust in him, and that the result would be that "all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land." Malachi 3:10-12 (New International Version)

Our Tuesday morning Bible scholars agreed to write down our own "Questions and Assorted Fussings" for God, as well as our "Stopped-Up Hopes", the things we have hoped and prayed for so long that we have just about given up. As we studied this little Old Testament book, we decided to exercise our own faith, to trust the God who continues to keep his promises to people who believe that his love is bigger and better and more powerful than all of our problems and fussings and stopped-up hopes!

I am sending you the list of our fussings and stopped-up hopes, not to discourage you, but to remind you that we all suffer in one way or another, and God asks us to listen to his voice of love, and to show love to our neighbors who may be suffering in a different way than we are!

"My name will be great among the nations, from the rising to the setting of the sun..., says the Lord Almighty." Malachi 1:11 (New International

Version)

God bless you all over our summer break! We will look forward to another lively discussion time in God's Word in September, 2014!

Love you all,

Grace Pendleton and Carolyn Ocheltree

Tuesday Morning Ladies' Bible Study Leaders

QUESTIONS AND ASSORTED FUSSINGS

COLLECTED BY TUESDAY MORNING LADIES’ BIBLE CLASS STUDY IN MALACHI

COLLEGE CHURCH OF CHRIST

SPRING 2014

1. Why is God’s timing not more easily understood by mankind?

 Example: People die young

                People have so many trials and tribulations

                Alzheimer’s takes over some minds

Even believers have trouble understanding why, when, how on these kinds of things.

2. I am wanting a certain family member to become a Christian.

3. I married the Christian man just to get divorced. He’s remarried and moved on. Why hasn’t God sent me someone? Why am I still single?

4. Why take my mom so early?

5. I miss the mark on feeling defensive in speech with others, in listening and many times having hurt feelings and forgiveness within the family.

6. I am troubled about my son and daughter-in-law’s faith, my grandkids’ lack of faith and my own need to be closer to God.

7. “God, you have said you do not want any to perish. I don’t understand why my prayers for my family have not been answered. They are special people and I know they believe in you—but one of them does not accept you as the one and true God. I do believe you hear and answer but this is bewildering to me. No answer that I can see.”

8.  Why do Christians behave ungodly and show favoritism toward others, when God’s word states he does not show favoritism??

9. I can only pray, “Not my will but Thine be done” If I ask for things that I should not ask for, if I seek after things selfishly, if I ask for my self and not for my neighbor, take this veil from my eyes and let me see. “Not my will but Thine be done” prayed Jesus. May the same prayer be mine every day. When this robe of flesh that I wear it makes me falter, guide my feet and hold my hand all the way—

10. Why has my life turned out so differently than how I imagined it?

11. I don’t understand why godly people are taken before their time, or before we are done with them?

12. Mental illness and addiction: Why do they have to exist? Why do good people die young?

13. Will I ever stop struggling with worry and fear in my life?

14. I want to ask “why” less and accept what God has allowed.

15. Why do I have to have vocal problems? I want to perform but can’t because of this problem.

16. What did I do so wrong to make my son hate me so? I was there for him. His father left us. I have ALWAYS been there, not his father. Yet, he seems to disrespect me and not his father who hasn’t been there. I did my best.

17. I want to see my husband come to Jesus. I want God to remove anything that would get in his way to search for Jesus.

18. Why can’t people learn from other’s mistakes?

19. Why is it so difficult to be patient? Patience is a virtue, yes, but really?

 STOPPED-UP HOPES 

COLLECTED BY THE LADIES’ BIBLE CLASS

 SPRING 2014 STUDY OF MALACHI

COLLEGE CHURCH OF CHRIST

1. My son’s salvation and emotional stability.

2. My parents: Do my parents really love each other? They argue (50+ years) and each argument my mom says it’s over (divorce). I just want to see them in love.

3. To have my daughter-in-law respond to our loving family.

4. Overcoming lonesomeness in a world of people.

5. My daughter’s health, work and family.

6. I pray that someday a few of my family members will grow up, be mature Christians, and be godly people.

7. My turn for a trouble-free life.

8. To lose weight.

9. Peace in my marriage.

10. A husband—a man who will love me and my children and provide for us.

11. Forgiveness of family member.

12. Success in my business and buying a home.

13. Losing weight.

14. Having my son back with me.

       Bringing my son back to God.

       My brother and sister forgive our Dad.

       Mend the relationship with my sister.

       My husband to have more faith.

15. I’ve almost lost hope for my husband becoming a Christian and attending church with me.

16. My non-Christian children and grandchildren and family members to find God and become Christians.

17. Grandson’s addiction to drugs.

18. Free of personal problems that I have no control over. I don’t see a happy ending.

19. Successful career.

20. Bring something great for the kingdom of God with the talents he’s blessed me with.

--Posted by Mama O.