Living in the Image of God, The Gospel

Explicit and Inexplicit Parental Instruction and Request

Living in the Image of God M07S01

This bible study discusses interactions at the event of Jesus changing water into wine (John 2:1–12), to recognize and appreciate a child’s capability to understand an inexplicit parental request and a parent’s capability to understand a child’s inexplicit response to a parental request. The study begins a series on the Gospel according to John. At this event, the mother of Jesus asked him to recognize that the wine was finished, thus conveying an inexplicit request that he should do something about the wine supply. Jesus responded but did not explicitly agree or decline to do something. His mother recognized the manner of his response and advised the servants to be attentive and do whatever Jesus asked them to do.

The Banking Blessings Ministry 2026 program year will focus on understanding messages of human interactions and relationships contained in the Gospel according to John. The study begins with interactions at the event of Jesus changing water into wine, which illustrate an inexplicit request by Jesus’ mother Mary. Jesus recognized a need based on the parent’s information and provided an inexplicit response that conveyed to his mother a promise to consider doing something to alleviate the need.

As we discuss in a previous study under “Receiving Message from God through Parent”, God may alert a child to an opportunity by prompting the child’s parent to pass the information as parental instruction, advice, or request. The information could be delivered as part of normal parent-child interaction with neither the parent nor child recognizing at the time that the information contains a message from God to the child. The child will receive the message and progress toward the opportunity if he/she has a habit of listening to the parent with intent to understand and implement the parent’s information.

Two famous examples from the bible describe how a simple parental request sent a child to a mission of historical significance. In both cases, the parental request was explicit and the child understood the details and transitioned into the intended mission because of seeking to implement the parental instruction details. In one example, Jacob (also known as Israel) requested Joseph to go check on his brothers in the wilderness and report back. In the other example, Jessee requested David to go check on his brothers in the battlefield. Each child understood the instruction and was intent on completing the instruction. Seeking to complete the instruction put them in position to transition to the mission that God transmitted through the instruction.

The study is important to guide our understanding of a key parental responsibility in Family Training: i.e., training a child to understand parental instructions, advice, or requests. The parent should guide the child to listen to the parent with intent to understand and implement the parent’s information. Also, the parent should listen to the child’s feedback to be sure they understand the objective of a parent’s instruction, advice, or request.

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Living in the Image of God, What The Lord Has Given Us

Wealth, Treasures, and Compassion

Living in the Image of God M06S10

This bible study discusses Christ teaching regarding wealth, treasures, and compassion; to cap this year’s study series on using “what the Lord has given us” to provide for “needs that he will show us.” Christ gives the teaching in responding to the same question in two separate events. In each event, he was asked what an individual must do to inherit eternal life. In one event, Christ responds with the Parable of Good Samaritan. In the other event, he responds with the analogy of the “rich versus the kingdom of God.” We discuss the two responses to understand that they are the same. Although, the specific information that Jesus provides in each response is different, the responses convey exactly the same message: apply the wealth that God has given you to provide for needs that he will show you and he will grant you eternal life in the Kingdom of God.

This bible study ends the series on “what the Lord has given us;” with a discussion of Christ teaching regarding compassion, God’s purpose for personal wealth, and the role of compassion and wealth in human interactions and relationships. He provides the teaching as a response to the same question in two events. In one event, a teacher of the Law asked what a person must do to inherit eternal life [Luke 10:25]: “On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. ‘Teacher,’ he asked, ‘what must I do to inherit eternal life?’” Jesus responds with the Parable of Good Samaritan. In another event, the same question was posed by an ordinary citizen [Matthew 19:16]: “Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, ‘Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?’” Jesus responds with the analogy of “the rich versus the kingdom of God.”

We discuss the two responses to understand that they provide the same message. The two responses convey a message regarding compassion, God’s purpose for wealth, and the role of compassion and wealth in human interactions and relationships: apply the wealth that God has given you to provide for needs that he will show you and he will grant you eternal life in the Kingdom of God.

Program Note

The 2025 program year of the Banking Blessings Ministry ends with this bible study session. We will take a break to prepare for the 2026 program year, which we pray will start during the last week of February. Thank you for participating with us this year. We look forward to welcoming you and many others to the program next year.

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Living in the Image of God, What The Lord Has Given Us

Assessing Capability to Intervene

Living in the Image of God M06S09

We discuss Christ disciples feeding a crowd of thousands in the wilderness as an example in assessing capability to provide goods or service to address a need. The disciples recognized a need and cared about feeding a large crowd that had come to see Jesus. They assessed their capabilities and realized their resources would be overextended. They consulted with Jesus, in his dual role as their human leader and as God. They presented him with the problem and a proposed solution. Jesus challenged them to feed the crowd and provided a miracle, using the disciples’ human effort as channel for the miracle, by multiplying food that they provided, in a way beyond human imagination. To assess your capabilities regarding a need: evaluate your personal resources, provide opportunities for others to contribute, and include their potential contributions in the assessment. Focus on what you can humanly do, because God may use your human effort as channel for a miracle.

When you recognize a need that calls for your intervention and you are interested in doing what you can to alleviate the need, start by understanding the need and assessing your capabilities to intervene. Your capabilities include what you can raise from your personal resources and contributions from others. Although you consult with God in prayer continually and have faith of his potential intervention with miracle, you should not include miracles in assessing your capabilities.

The disciples did not count on miracles when they assessed that their resources would be overextended by feeding the crowd: “That would take more than half a year’s wages! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?” [Mark 6:37]. Based on their assessment, they presented their leader with a proposed solution: “Send the people away so that they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” [Mark 6:36].

Jesus asked them to show what they could do, which they presented as a few loaves of bread and fish [Mark 6:38]: “How many loaves do you have?” he asked. “Go and see.” When they found out, they said, “Five—and two fish.” He blessed and multiplied the bread and fish to more than needed to feed the crowd, illustrating that God would often use your human effort as channel for miracles.

Therefore, to commit to doing what you can to alleviate a need, understand the need and assess your capabilities, counting what you can personally provide and what you can raise from contributions by others. However, count only your human capabilities. Do not include miracles, because only God will determine if and when to intervene with miracles.

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Living in the Image of God, What The Lord Has Given Us

Managing Personal Wealth—Christ Teaching in Sermon on the Mount

Living in the Image of God M06S08

The series on “what the Lord has given us” takes us this month to a Christ teaching in the Sermon on the Mount on managing personal wealth. God blesses individuals with personal wealth to be applied towards providing for needs that he will show them. Christ addresses personal wealth in the Sermon on the Mount through the teaching of “Treasures on Earth or In Heaven.” The teaching describes two alternatives for managing personal wealth. One alternative is to divert your wealth to building treasures on earth and risk losing all to circumstances you cannot control. The other alternative is to apply the wealth to provide for needs that God will show you and earn blessing as you do. Your earned blessings accumulate for your benefit and cannot be lost. The teaching leads to understanding the relationship between wealth and treasure and understanding blessing as a permanent promise of God.

This bible study discusses Christ teaching in the Sermon on the Mount regarding the management of personal wealth. He presents two alternatives: In one alternative, you divert your personal wealth to building treasures on earth and risk losing all to circumstances you cannot control: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal” [Matthew 6:19]. In the other alternative, you use your personal wealth as God intended, to provide for needs that he will show you. You earn blessings as you do and the blessings you earn accumulate for your benefit and cannot be lost [Matthew 6:20]: “But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.”

The teaching conveys an understanding of the relationships between wealth and treasure. We will learn that owner’s intent is the primary feature that distinguishes wealth from treasure. God gives wealth but the owner (an individual person) can decide to divert the wealth to treasure by changing his/her intent regarding the wealth. Second, the teaching conveys an understanding of blessing as a permanent promise of God. You earn blessing when you use your personal wealth as God intended. The blessing you earn accumulates for your benefit and cannot be taken away or destroyed. As we discuss in previous studies (e.g., M02S06, Accumulation of Blessing; M02S07, Blessing Does Not Seek Perfection): blessing and punishment are parallel promises of God, may coexist for a person, do not trade-off against each other, and will be fulfilled separately by God’s schedule as if for different people. One exception is that God can forgive a promise of punishment if the recipient repents and asks for forgiveness.

Additionally, we discuss Paul’s message in a letter to Timothy: his message of banking blessing by using what the Lord has given you to provide for needs that he will show you (1 Timothy 6:17–19).

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Living in the Image of God, What The Lord Has Given Us

Sermon on the Mount Teaching Regarding What the Lord Has Given Us

Living in the Image of God M06S07

In this bible study, we discuss Christ teaching in the Sermon on the Mount regarding “what the Lord has given us.” He provides the eye-for-eye teaching, love-your-enemies teaching, and a teaching on the motivation for assistance. He conveys a message through the teachings that God is pleased when you attend to a need that he has shown you, irrespective of your previous experience regarding the needy. Whether the needy is a friend or an enemy, God expects you to attend to the need with a pure motivation to alleviate the need.

We discuss Christ teaching in the Sermon on the Mount on using “what the Lord has given us” that you control to attend to needs that he will show you, irrespective of whether the need is for a friend or an enemy. We examine the eye-for-eye teaching (Matthew 5:38–42), love-your-enemies teaching (Matthew 5:43–48), and a teaching regarding the motivation for assistance (Matthew 6:1–4). The teachings provide a message that when God calls your attention to a need around you, he expects you to focus on recognizing and understanding the need and committing to doing what you can to alleviate the need. Respond to the need with a pure motivation to alleviate the need, even if the needy is your enemy.

A call for assistance by a friend will likely appeal to your goodwill and generosity. In contrast, an enemy’s call for assistance could be based on a claim of coercive authority over you. Christ teaching is that you should recognize the call for assistance and focus on doing what you can to alleviate the need. He used several examples to illustrate you should focus on the need and not whether the needy is a friend or enemy. In one example, he uses a law that existed at the time that a Roman soldier could ask any Jew to carry his [the soldier’s] gear for one mile. Christ said you should respond by carrying the gear for two miles: “If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles” [Matthew 5:41]. That is, you recognize the soldier’s order as a call for assistance and respond by providing more than he had authority to compel from you.

Your only motivation for attending to a need should be that you care and seek to alleviate the need. Do not allow other motivation to influence the assistance you provide or how you provide it. For example, if you are influenced by a motivation to receive human recognition or accolade, then the recognition or accolade you seek is your reward even if not received. God is pleased when you assist others only because you care and seek to alleviate the need. Any other motivation does not please God.

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Living in the Image of God, What The Lord Has Given Us

Understanding Communal Purpose of Individual Blessing

Living in the Image of God M06S06

We learn from the life of Joseph (the 11th son of Israel) that understanding the communal purpose of individual blessing may entail lengthy and at times complicated human interactions with careful attention to the living experience of others. Joseph was blessed that he could bless his extended family. From a lowly position in his family in Canaan, he progressed to a position of highest executive authority in Egypt, second only to Pharaoh. He performed his responsibilities and accomplished the direct goals of his position. However, he did not know the purpose of his position and power in relation to his extended family in Canaan, until his brothers arrived in Egypt to buy food. Through lengthy and complicated interactions with them, he later understood that his individual blessing was a means to a great purpose for his extended family. He used his position in Egypt and good relationship with Pharaoh to protect his family (the young nation of Israel) from a severe and lengthy famine that ravaged the world. The events convey a message that understanding the communal purpose of your individual blessing would require human interactions with others, including sensitivity to needs of others; compassion; and a discerning mind to recognize when and how to intervene in events around you.

This bible study uses the life of Joseph (the 11th son of Israel) to learn that understanding the communal purpose of individual blessing may entail lengthy and at times complicated human interactions with careful attention to the living experience of others. Interactions with other people provide opportunities to understand them better, understand their needs and what you could do to alleviate the needs, and recognize when and how to intervene as determined by your capabilities and assessment of their capability to receive and positively utilize any favors extended to them.

The bible account of Joseph from his childhood in Canaan through the relocation of his extended family to Egypt tells of his incidental rise from a lowly position in his family in Canaan, through a position of highest executive authority in Egypt, second only to Pharaoh. He was appointed to the position to run a program of grain collection and preservation during a period of abundance, and distribution during a following period of severe famine. The appointment was based on his interpretation of Pharaoh’s dreams regarding a seven-year period of abundance followed by a seven-year period of severe famine. He performed his responsibilities and accomplished the direct goals of his position. He had great power and personal wealth in Egypt but did not know the purpose of his position and power in relation to his extended family in Canaan, until his brothers arrived in Egypt to buy food.

Through lengthy and complicated interactions with them, he later understood their need and what he could do to alleviate the need. He understood how to harness his individual blessing to benefit his extended family. He used his position in Egypt and good relationship with Pharaoh to protect his family (the young nation of Israel) from the famine. The bible declares his understanding as follows [Genesis 45:4–7]: “Then Joseph said to his brothers, ‘Come close to me.’ When they had done so, he said, ‘I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will be no plowing and reaping. But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.’”

The life of Joseph and his interactions with his brothers in Egypt convey a message that understanding the communal purpose of your individual blessing could entail lengthy and at times complicated human interactions with others. The interactions would require sensitivity to needs around you; compassion, that is seeking to do something to alleviate the suffering of others; and a discerning mind to recognize those that could be relied upon to utilize positively the blessing extended to them, in order to prioritize to reach those more likely to advance the fulfillment of God’s purpose.

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Living in the Image of God, What The Lord Has Given Us

Custodians of Good News

Living in the Image of God M06S05

An angel’s interactions with night-shift shepherds regarding the birth of Jesus conveys a message of the individual responsibility regarding the communal purpose of individual blessing. The shepherds were each given information that is of great communal value but were not told what to do with the information. The angel promised to deliver to them “good news that will cause great joy for all the people,” delivered the news as promised, but did not tell them what they should do with the news. Based on the interactions, we learn that God may choose any person to receive individual blessing of any communal value; provides the recipient sufficient understanding of the communal value; and assigns to the recipient the authority to determine how to interact with others regarding the blessing he or she received: that is, regarding “what the Lord has given us” that is under the recipient’s control.

God chose a group of night-shift shepherds to receive a blessing that is of great individual and communal value to all people, revealed to them the blessing and its great value, but did not tell them what to do with the blessing or how to propagate its value. The shepherds were visited by an angel while they were tending their flocks at night at about the birth time of Jesus. The glory of God that presented with the angel confirmed to them that he was a messenger of God. They were terrified. The angel calmed their fear and explained he brought them good news for all people: “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.”

The angel was there to provide the shepherds with information that will be of great value to them, others, and the community (good news that will cause great joy for all the people). The angel proceeded to deliver the information and left thereafter. He did not tell the shepherds what to do with the information. After the encounter, the shepherds, on their own decision, went to Bethlehem to verify the information and shared what they were told with as many people as they could reach.

This bible account conveys a great message regarding the communal value of individual blessing. First, God can choose any person to receive individual blessing of any communal value. He chose the night-shift shepherds as custodians of “good news that will cause great joy for all the people.” This kind of information would have been expected only from “high-caliber and high-influence people of God” but was instead provided to ordinary night-shift shepherds. Second, God will choose a way to reveal to you the value of any blessing that he has given you: value to you as a person, to other individuals around you, and to your community. Third, he will grant you full authority and freedom to decide how you interact with others regarding your individual blessing—“what the Lord has given us” that is under your control. You have full ownership, authority, and God mandate to determine when, where, and how to apply your individual blessing towards the needs of self, others, and community.

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Living in the Image of God, What The Lord Has Given Us

Opportunity for Positive Impact—Peter and John Heal Lame Man

Living in the Image of God M06S04

We discuss Peter and John interactions with a lame man at the Temple gate, to understand recognizing a need and an opportunity to make positive impact by addressing the need; assessing your capabilities to provide goods or service to address the need; and preparing the beneficiary to understand what you can offer them and how the offer will address their need. Your capabilities are “what the Lord has given us” that you control: to serve the benefits of self, others, and community by addressing needs that God will show you. Peter and John recognized that the lame man presented them an opportunity to make positive impact using their capability to heal the sick. The man had asked for money but they offered him healing instead, to make lasting positive impact on the healing recipient and others that may witness the events or learn about them later.

This bible study discusses Peter and John interactions with a lame man at the Temple gate. The man was lame from birth and was carried and placed at the temple gate daily to beg from people going into the temple courts. Peter and John recognized the need and cared about the lame man. They assessed the need and their capabilities and recognized an opportunity to make lasting positive impact on the man and others that may witness the events or learn about them later. They recognized they could make such impact by healing the man, thus making him a visible beneficiary of their healing capability.

Their healing capability, after all, was a gift of God, given to each of them for the benefit of others: that is, a special case of “what the Lord has given us” that you control. In general, your capabilities—physical, mental, and spiritual—are “what the Lord has given us” that you control: to determine how to respond to needs that God will show you—to choose when and how to address the needs—needs of self, others, or community. In choosing to heal the lame man instead of giving him money, Peter and John illustrate that a person presented with a need can choose how to address the need, based on understanding what is needed and assessing his or her capabilities to provide for the need.

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Living in the Image of God, What The Lord Has Given Us

Communal Purpose of What the Lord Has Given Us

Living in the Image of God M06S03

David introduced the phrase what the Lord has given us to settle a developing dispute among his followers regarding the distribution of battle proceeds. His ruling conveys a message of the communal purpose of God’s blessing and individual responsibility to honor the communal purpose. Through his declaration that all will share alike, he proclaims the right of individual access to communal property, irrespective of contribution. Further, by giving gifts to others from the portion of the battle proceeds he controlled, he proclaims the individual responsibility to recognize and honor the communal purpose of individual blessing.

In this bible study, we discuss David’s interactions with his followers and others regarding the distribution of battle proceeds: to understand his message regarding the communal purpose of every blessing from God and the responsibility of every individual to recognize and honor the communal purpose. The events occurred as a response to his base being raided and plundered. A group of Amalekites had burnt David’s base at Ziklag and captured livestock and people (women and children). David and his followers were at the Philistine battlefield trying to enlist as foreign fighters with the Philistine army in a battle against Israel. They were rejected by the Philistine army. Thereafter, they returned to their base and found the base destroyed by the Amalekites.

David pursued the raiders with four hundred of his followers while the other two hundred chose to stay back at the base. They caught up with the raiders, defeated them in a fierce battle that lasted over twenty-four hours, recovered their livestock and people, and took large additional livestock as plunder. When they returned to Ziklag, some troublemakers among the four hundred grumbled that the other two hundred will not share in the plunder (1 Samuel 30:22). David responded that the plunder is what the Lord has given us and the share of the man who stayed at the base is to be the same as that of him who went to the battle—all will share alike (1 Samuel 30:22–24). After the equitable sharing, he gave gifts from the portions he controlled to several people that were not part of his base (1 Samuel 30:26–31).

Through his declaration of all will share alike from what the Lord has given us, David conveys a message that every person is entitled to receive relief from the facilities of society (i.e., things of communal ownership), irrespective of their contribution. Also, by giving gifts to others from the portion of the plunder he controlled, he conveys a message of generosity by the owner of any blessing of God (what the Lord has given us). As we discussed previously (M06S02), the owner has full authority to determine when, where, and how to provide relief to others from the blessing he or she controls (what the Lord has given us). So, David chose to send gifts from the plunder to his friends and other acquaintance in different places outside his base.

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Living in the Image of God, What The Lord Has Given Us

Distribution of Resources to Points of Need

Living in the Image of God M06S02

A prominent practice of the early church did not survive the disintegration and rebirth of the church. The early church vested itself with the authority to distribute resources to the points of need; a practice that led to the demise of the church and did not survive the rebirth of the church through evangelism following the martyrdom of Stephen. The fact that the practice did not survive provides a basis for understanding God’s purpose that the authority to distribute resources belongs to the owner. Every gift of God to an individual comes with full authority to determine when, where, and how to use “what the Lord has given us.” Whatever is in your possession—physical and mental resources—has been given to you by God, with a mandate and purpose to address the needs around you: needs of self and needs of others; and full authority to choose the needs to address; when, where, and how.

This study discusses a prominent practice of the early church that did not survive the disintegration and rebirth of the church. The early church in Jerusalem practiced communal control of the distribution of resources to points of need: “All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had” [Acts 4:32]. And the church leadership handled the sharing and demanded total surrender of the proceeds of individual ownership. Ananias and wife Sapphira received the ultimate punishment for disobeying.

However, the resource distribution function led to problems that the church leadership tried to solve by handing over the function to a new arm of leadership; the deacons, led by Stephen: “In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food” [Acts 6:1]. The church leadership responded by getting the church to appoint the deacons. Subsequently, any dissatisfaction with the distribution function fell squarely on the shoulders of Stephen and created opening for the enemies of the church. The martyrdom of Stephen and subsequent persecution of the Christians led to disintegration of the church. The Christians scattered far and wide and continued with evangelism wherever they were. Their evangelism led to rebirth of the church in several places. The church thrived, but the practice of exclusive resource distribution authority by the church did not survive.

The fact that the practice did not survive constitutes a basis for understanding that the authority to distribute resources belongs to the owner. Therefore, we learn that every gift of God to an individual comes with full authority to determine when, where, and how to use the resources. The understanding is an important step in learning and sharing God’s purpose for “what the Lord has given us.” We will understand that whatever is in your possession—physical and mental resources—has been given to you by God, with a mandate and purpose to address the needs around you: needs of self and needs of others; and full authority to choose the needs to address; when, where, and how.

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