Diane D.

How does a failure to accept the inevitability of persecution hinder our witness? We tend to shy away from confrontation and isolation from those people we would like to engage with. Just what does it mean to "take up his cross daily" mean and to "carry his cross". We cannot deny the truth of the Gospel and if this, indeed leads to persecution, accept the results of being an active Christian.

Q1. (2 Timothy 2:20-22). When do you put your good plates and silverware on the table? When do you use your everyday tableware? What point is Paul making with this example? In practical terms, how do we "cleanse ourselves" so that we might be useful and ready for the Lord's use? Good plates and silverware go on the table whenever there is a gathering of family or friends. We use these beautiful place settings to honour those who come to dinner but more often, we use our day to day dinnerware. (I also thought that the good silverware and china are more fragile than the day to day stuff that is more durable and withstands more use). We cleanse ourselves through repentence but also, keep clean through the study of the Word and trying, daily, to walk as He would have us do.

Skilled workmen know and practice the basics with skill and use their knowledge to not only accomplish their objective but to do this in a skillful (with above average craftsmanship). the craftsman is also focused on what he is doing and not on other things around him in the environment. We need to do the same thing today, with the same focus and to continue to hone our skills so that we can not only teach the word, but pass it on in a fashion that will have meaning to the audience. Billy Graham revolutionized teaching of the scriptures because of his firm tie to the scriptures as the word of God but also his ability to speak about the scriptures in terms that his audience could relate to. He continued to make the Bible come alive.

A soldier assigned up to be a part of the corps and cannot take part in civilian life (social and emotional hardship) and trains himself on obeying orders and physical hardship. An athlete does much the same, without diversion into demanding less from his schedule and his training. Farmers do the same. They toil long hours and sometimes for little return. An athlete resounds most to me. It is not exclusive of society but they can still be training as an athlete. I like the focus mentioned here as well.

Q2. Why do you think our churches tend not to declare the call to endurance and suffering? Why did Timothy tend to shy away from it? What is the result of a willingness to suffer for the gospel? There has been a lot of church history between the time that this scripture was written and now. We are blessed now that we can worship as we wish without hardship and rejection. I have only conjectures for this. Possibly the churches and Timothy fully understood what the suffering would be since the Romans first crucified Jesus and Jews were handing Christians over to the Sanhedrin, and then again, when the Romans conquered Israel itself, in 70 AD destroying the Temple and subjugating the people. The Jews have had a long history of being outcast and the targets of executions and pogroms. Timothy may have shied away from it because a) he was young and not yet as seasoned as the apostles or Paul b) this endurance/suffering may be viewed by parishioners as a badge of honour which could cause insurrections and trials as in earlier history. The result of a willingness to suffer for the gospel is an example to those people on earth who may have to go through the same thing. It strengthens your faith. And although we should not just think of rewards whenever we do anything for the gospel, Matthew 5:12 states, Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

It is vital that the tenets of the Christian faith as faithfully taught are passed on to the next generation. As well the standards that are required for passing on these truths are very high. Those who as responsible for pastoring, teaching and helping the church and the church family must be mentored into the correct knowledge and attitude to tend to their flocks. Focus of tie should be on the future leaders rather than administration and programs which are important too, but do not last for eternity.

Paul knows that his life is near an end. His trust, though, is in Jesus with whom he has become very close. He is trusting God to guard his soul and the fruits of his ministry. Paul's faith is so sure, that this physical world and the riches and treasures he has grown up with in his early household are all transient. Paul has an eternal view now, and trusts in the one who is greater than all. The mistake the Romans made was in executing him. Paul by this time appears to have reconciled himself with his death, recognizing that we all go through it and that the soul, which the Romans cannot harm is protected. Their punishment is futile.

By focusing ON Christ instead of himself and his circumstances and challenges, Paul redirects Timothy's focus to the one who is stronger than any in this world and who cares and looks out for him and who has promised him a life in eternity. The emphasis is on Christ teaching and leading; not Timothy's talents. The Salvation through Christ is a gift and has been planned for those who believe from the beginning of the world. God knows what we are doing and have done and, with repentence forgives us to restore our right standing with him, hence shame has no root in our attitude.

The cowardice I have experienced has mostly come from within the workplace where there has been ( and may still be) a decided emphasis on separating church and state. It is inappropriate to have religious organization and this concept was somehow lumped into the more radical thinking that all viewpoints are important and tolerated (Christianity not so much). Interesting though was that I had a dear, dear friend who was a Muslim and I got to learn a lot about that viewpoint for the similarities (in the Torah and Moses) and differences. The level of cowardice seems to get smaller with age, however. I don't seem to mind so much that people may see me as a practising Christian (who has a long way to go!)

If you are close to them, possibly ask them how they are doing and what you have noticed in the lapse of their spiritual gift/ministry. Sometimes the awareness of the importance the use of this gift within the community is all that it takes. Appreciation is appropriate. This also opens the doors to a discussion regarding what the person thinks is his purpose in Christ and if prayer together, inviting Him to show what the lesson or next step is could revitalize the continued enthusiasm for the gift.

Our spiritual state was so bad prior to salvation that we relied on the world and its ways and its nature. What is new? Our heart, for one. It is the one thing that is not healed or purified. It is so bad, that it is totally new, replaced. We also have a new teacher and are grafted into Jesus' family. The Holy Spirit is our guide, our comforter, our teacher actively involved in our day to day life.

Our salvation relies on at least two understandings: God is the one who put our souls in us, declared when we would be born and can only bring about salvation and it is a gift. Our actions if true, come from a love and thankfulness of God. The flip side is that because we cannot earn salvation, we cannot lose salvation. What a blessing! By doing "good" works from a self-serving focus, we remove the focus from representing the Father as a Christian and move into what will catch the world's attention to us. We can lose focus on accepting Chris if we believe that this is all there is and that we do not need Christ. Believe me, there are always bigger and badder folks out there. Not only that, our pride and self-deceit keep us from learning more about God and his character and His care for us. We miss a lot that way.

Civil authorities should be obeyed. They are there for God's purpose whether we agree with them or not. Do not abrogate the power granted by us to vote, however. we still need to do everything we are allowed to do. An Anti-government stance will split the church into one camp or another (we don't need to look far for that instance). Also, by causing strife we are contributing to an environment that can do "every evil work'. Gossip or backbiting only hams us because we are not acting as Christ would have us do As well, we are not valuing the other person. God is working on different things with all of us, at different levels and with different situations. Needless to say, bringing this atmosphere of backbiting and tale telling will destroy a church. People need to interact in a safe and eternal focused environment...to have at least one peaceful refuge. When we are chattering this way, our focus is on us and not God. Man was not created for too much navel-gazing. We rise to the occasion when we think of the eternal and of others.

Christ's two purposes for us are to purify us and to redeem us from all iniquity through his redemption. Purification involves losing our sense of self and selfishness and living and thinking and believing in the essence of God. even back through the Torah, this redemption and purification was performed on our behalf by the High Priest on the Feast of Yom Kippur, offering the sins of the people through a purified priest for our forgiveness. It makes sense that we would only do good works after we were purified because these works do not stem fro our wants, but from a love of God and in alignment with his plan and purpose for us and those around us...but first we have to get OURSELVES out of the way.

If we were convinced He would return soon, we would reorder the priorities in our lives, I would think. Retirement and status are not so much included in our long term goals. we would hopefully, study the Bible more and ACT on those things emulating Christ (seriously, I should be doing more of that now since the Rapture could occur any time and we can track the prophesies about His coming day by day!). This hope is blessed because for the believers, it is a wrap up of what we have to deal with today. It is not only a reuniting with our families but also with Jesus. It will be a privilege to be in the audience! Christ's return will bring all the host of heaven with Him. He will be portraying His royalty and His true power unshackled as He was on earth.

We are tempted to focus on the fact that God gives us Grace (we cannot earn it) and if saved, we may tend to act any way we want. On the surface, this sounds like great freedom, however, true freedom comes from honouring God and being thankful for Him and His salvation. Slowly but surely, if we draw near to Him and listen and learn of Him, we will WANT to do what is right in His eyes out of our love for Him. Beyond love he has provided us all with the tools and examples to start to become how he envisions us. Grace continues to give us the nudges that we individually need!

Younger women and men are tasked to raising families and being leaders in their communities. Therefore, they need to be examples, modelling their behaviours on Christ with no carless speech, slovenliness, disobedience, irreverence. They need to be sure they are compassionate and suitably obedient and respectful. It is important that we think before we act, show compassion, run a good household, be temperate and perform good works toward others so that this models Christ to others and makes Christianity more real and inviting others to know more about it. If we are not to be good examples of Christ for the people around us, we are missing the opportunity in showing how this life is better for us now and through eternity. We would be abandoning our ability to display hope and provide the longer vision for others to learn and rely on as well.

There appears to be a number of older men and women who are intemperate. As well, their behaviour is not worthy of being a member of the Christian community through their lack of control, gossip and slander. Paul wants to see these followers with patience and self-control, moderate in the way they drink, honorable in their actions and examples of moral values to their households and communities.

Pastors and elders may hesitate to correct false doctrine because we have become a society of freethinkers (which could be good if it is with a purpose). We may be over- indoctrinated to accept all notions whether founded or not on fact and we are encouraged not to 'rock the boat'. The other possibility is that we are not studying enough of the basics and the pastors and elders are also simply not taught the basics sufficiently to make them understood as the basis from which all other thought devolves. Gentle but firm discipline results in being conversant with the scriptures and philosophy as based in the scriptures themselves. It is a key component of the armor of God we are told to put on daily!

How do we guard the faith...? Continue to learn and broaden your knowledge of the scriptures (they are alive and no one can fully know all of them completely). If you are balanced in your knowledge of them, then it will be impossible to be narrow minded because they contain and support grander themes of God, His kingdom, Jesus' mission and successful completion and our places within the kingdom in eternity to come. There may be small dissension over the finer points (which are usually based on man's view of the scriptures but not the scriptures themselves. We are also to guard by gently correcting those ideas which are contrary to the scriptures and standing firm on what is said and not said so others are also not misdirected. Finally we are to remember that we are to spread the knowledge and show ourselves as worthy ambassadors but we are not to overstep our roles to force conversion or alignment. We can raise the interest of non-believers but leave the Holy Spirit to do His work to continually nudge them to a decision for Christ.

The love for money grows as we obtain and buy things that make our lives easier. Without scriptural grounding, we tend to focus on obtaining more and more until we realize that it is a vapor and can be lost in a split second (as in the Depression). To escape this, ground yourselves in the scriptures, guard your hearts and keep them tender, continue to focus on what you can do for others less fortunate. It will bring you balance and keep you constantly aware that God has given you the funds/resources to manage (not through your own efforts).

I disagree with some who would also promote the opposite of this scripture; that is, be content in living in poverty. The follow up to this is the advise to focus not on how you live here, but focus on how you will live in heaven. This is equally unbalanced. Presently, as in Timothy's time, the advice was to give perspective. God is with us always, day by day and the love of money and the focus on obtaining and keeping more is wrong. To strive for amassing wealth alone, is always distorted. We need to be content knowing that God the Father loves us and watches over us. We need to be aware that we are to manage his resources well. whatever we have, we are to tithe it for use in the kingdom (again, hearkening back to Matthew 6:33). I guess the balance is that in whatever circumstance we currently are, we are to be content in what God provides and to continue to seek His kingdom first. I don't see anywhere specifically that it says to STAY in the bad circumstances which always change. Contentment doesn't keep us from trying to get ahead, per se. Trying to get ahead alone is thinking from a worldly perspective. If we manage resources well as we are charged, go out into the world as ambassadors trusting God, using resources for His work and ourselves to His righteousness opportunities and connections will be made to suit His purposes without limiting ourselves.

Why do people believe distortions? People who are either not taught fully or reject the teaching or are desperate will believe someone who gives them peace and can provide hope in tough situations. It is not just here, but through any part of our beliefs in society, mankind hungers for peace and a sense of value. Many of the distortions have been based on information taken out of context or do not tell the full truth. some are blatant lies. The ones cited here are the obvious ones. Regardless, the foundation we should test against is the scripture (and a broad look at it for consistency0. One scripture comes to mind when Jesus was dealing with this (Matthew 6:33, "But seek first the kingdom of god and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." The mindset FIRST is to seek the kingdom of god and his righteousness...these are the gates through which one must pass BEFORE anything else. It is impossible to be greedy, worldly, perverse if you have performed the first part.

The Gospel show sus that all people young or old, male or female are precious to God and that we all have eternal souls. It looks to the heart of the person and not their standing in society. Paul writes that slaves who are able should get their freedom as well. Why does he appear to condone slavery? I don't believe that Paul is condoning this practice, but he is also a realist. He knows that there are many people who own slaves and employ them in their businesses. Destruction of slavery may destroy their very society.. not that it is condoned, but where possible, a peaceful transition to freedom should be sought. In the interim, this letter also exhorts those who own slaves to treat them fairly and in a Christian manner since they, too, are brothers in Christ with the same eternal spirit.

We need to treat the responsibility for replacing church officers even more seriously than people we hire because of the need to understand/validate that they represent the best beliefs in the church and therefore will be a good influence. Sinch the church responsibilities affect others attending, they have the power to influence their eternal futures as well. It is a serious responsibility. Rather than hiring right away, take the time to know the individual, checking them for how they speak, how they deal with others, how they translate their beliefs into actions. In this way, the candidate will show a consistent picture of who they are over time; their true selves.