Six Decisions That Will Change Your Life

This action is similar to when Jesus asks the fisherman to leave their nets and immediately follow him. The disciples try to get him to eat, but Jesus says he already has food they don’t know about. He is meaning the food we give our mind and souls. Jesus talks about the harvest and says “Open your eyes and look at the fields” he is referring to the many people that believe in him, not the actual harvest season. The Samaritan woman served as an apostle for Jesus by getting the Samaritan people to believe in him. The people of Samaria then invited Jesus to stay and he stayed two days. In those two days Jesus spoke too many of them and they became believers. Now not only do they believe because of the Samaritan woman’s testimony, but they believe because they heard the words of Jesus

The people who are gathered in front of Jesus did not understand that this bread was provided by God, they thought Moses had fed the people. The bread was sent from heaven to supply for the physical needs of the people. The people do not understand that Jesus can fill them in a way that no bread is able to. It is evident that this crowd does not yet understand what it means to be a true disciple of Jesus.

“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in.” -Matthew 25:35

We have now come to the fourth and final book of Mere Christianity. In this book, the author takes us to the place in our Christian growth where we begin to rely more heavily on the power of God and less on ourselves to become the being that God originally intended for us to be — a son of God. He begins with an explanation of the difference between “making” and “begetting.”

In our Gospel reading Jesus retreats to a Gentile area where he thought he would be anonymous, and no doubt Jesus was weary of preaching to people who did not listen; but, on this retreat, he was approached by a woman, and not just any woman. She was a Syrophonecian Gentile woman who probably worshiped Greek gods; yet, she goes to Jesus knowing what Jews of those days thought of her. She is desperate; she needs help; she presents her case to Jesus (Mark 7:24-30).

Making difficult decisions show up in life more often than realized. These choices can alter a person’s life in good and bad ways. “The Bicycle” by Jillian Horton is a story that focuses on a young talented pianist named Hannah. Throughout the story Hannah deals with the strict teachings of her Tante Rose, which leads her to make ironic decisions. Similarly, in the story “Lather and Nothing Else” by Hernando Tellez, the barber undergoes a dilemma in which he must consider his moral values before making his final decision. Both stories have a protagonist that face conflicts which lead to difficult decision making, and in the end leads the characters to discover themselves. In both stories the authors use the literary devices theme, irony

When Jesus taught the Samaritan woman at the well, it was the first time he plainly declared his divinity and it was the first instance that John tells us that Jesus gave an aretology statement. This story comes right after John the Baptist testifies of Christ. He says that “I am not” and it is Jesus who is the “I am”.

There are many wonderful truths that can be learned from an examination of Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman in John 4. Things that if applied can be very helpful in understanding how to reach every man, woman, and child for Christ. We learn from the text that Jesus went through Samaria on purpose, not by mere happenstance. The scripture says, “And he must needs go through Samaria.” This immediately poses the question to us, Why? Why did he need to go through Samaria? It’s important to note that this would be an uncommon route for many Jews, especially the Pharisees, when traveling from Judaea to Galilee, although it was the shortest. Many of the Jews would cross the Jordan and travel through Perea then go back across into Galilee. When they did this it would add two extra days of travel, but allow them to bypass Samaria altogether. This is similar to when we avoid certain areas while traveling across town because we consider them dangerous or undesirable. Jesus was on mission and that is what directed his path. His purpose according to Luke 19:10, He came “to seek and to save that which was lost.” He needed to go through Samaria because he was seeking the lost. He was missional, as we are to live always on mission. If the world is going to be reached with the gospel of Jesus Christ, there are barriers in the hearts of believers and unbelievers alike that must be overcome.

There a number of reasons why the conversation between Jesus and the Samaritan woman was inappropriate in the historical and cultural context. First of all, the Samaritans were considered a second class Jew because they intermarried with the Assyrians and indulged in pagan traditions. Even though they were descendants of the Jews, there were ongoing conflicts between the Jews, and the Samaritans were not allowed to offer sacrifices at the Jerusalem temple, so they built their own. They believed that the Bible consisted of only the Pentateuch and it variated from the teachings of the Israelites. Additionally, the Samaritans did not welcome any Jews and if the Jews had to travel through this land, they were to “shake the dirt off their feet”.

Throughout our life we will always meet many people that teach us major life lessons,

Life changing events can sometimes be difficult. In the stories “I Never Had it Made,” By Jackie Robinson Warriors Don’t Cry By Melba Patillo Beals and “The Father of Chinese Aviation.” By Rebecca Maskel. Melba Beals, Jackie Robinson, and Feng Ru all experienced life changing events that impacted their lives. If you did not know these people went through danger to break segregation. Melba Beals and Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier by playing on a white ball team and going to a white school as blacks.

There are many different life changing events that can change your life. Sometimes things happen in people’s life and they can’t do anything about it. Changes can be good and sometimes it can be a terrible thing that results in a positive turn in one’s life. Change is a part of life that no one looks forward to. Everyone’s life changes at some point. Life is full of many unexpected challenges that will be thrown in your face at any place and any time. People learn and grow from every experience that they go through in life. Some of the events that have changed my life was losing my grandmother, graduation, and going to college. Changes come almost every day in my life.

The passage of Luke 10:25-36 is an essential story because it applies to every Christian today the same way, but in order for us to follow the example Jesus made, we must first understand what the story would have meant to the Jews in Jesus’ time. The first step in understanding the story of the Good Samaritan is to understand the relationship between the Jews and the Samaritans of the time. The Samaritans were considered unclean by the Jews, because they saw the Samaritans as a corruption of God’s chosen people, therefore the Jews were not supposed to make contact with the Samaritans whatsoever. Not only were the Samaritans considered unclean, the Jews would have seen them as

There have been very few events throughout my lifetime that I feel have impacted or inspired me with such noteworthiness and that I know will change my outlook on the world and affect me forever. One of those events occurred when I traveled to Portugal, my parent’s homeland. From this excursion in 2007, I learned the importance of family, most importantly the distant kind. It provided me with a totally different perspective on the world and how large and extended one’s family can really be; even across cultures and continents. I felt so fortunate learning this lesson at a young age and growing to appreciate the ideals I was brought up with as a child. The family I have in Portugal has always been there; however, their faces have aged and

The end of school came eventually, and I abandoned dreams of the sixth grade. Luckily, I was transferring to another elementary school, but this offered me little consolation. Only dummies have to repeat a grade.