jamjar

I think being willing to share with others financially and in all things is what Christ would want from us. I think if we remain focused on Christ and the needs in our family and friends lives we should be able to cultivate generosity so that it remains healthy.

People who are content are happy people.if I am content in my life then I am not running around trying to find something to fill me with contentment. Knowing that Jesus is a part of my life fills me with contentment. If I am trying to improve my life then I am trying to better my situation and I am sure that self-improvement is good for everyone.

They think that godliness is a means to financial gain which is not true. Jesus said it was easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. I would rather be content with what I have and have the Lord than to be the richest person in the world. I do not want to be so focused and greedy for money that I forget my creator. I have often heard that if I gave money to certain religious denominations the Lord will bless me financially. I have been told that if I tithes my ten percent the Lord will bless me with financial gain. I would rather be blessed with a personal relationship with him than anything financial. The Lord wants us to place our hope on him not on financial gain. Jesus want us to be content in him and his teachings if we have food to eat and clothes to wear what else do we need? It's all about JESUS

The laying on of hands is like giving a blessing of God and if you don't really know the person you are laying your hands on you are not following the teachings of the word of God. I think that anyone given the privilege of leadership in the church should be given a trial period before deciding on having them as a leader in the church.

It was necessary to make a formal complaint with two or three witness because some in leadership will keep on with their false teachings and wrong doings if they are not confronted with what they are doing wrong. It would be easy to compromise if the person had wealth because you wouldn't want to loose his financial support. It is difficult to exercise church discipline today because most people wish to do as they please and not what pleases God.

When they labor for the Lord. Jesus said "The worker deserves his wages." Scriptural support is found in I Corn. 9: 5-14, Galatians 6:6, Luke 10:7, James 5:4. Old Testament, Lev. 19:13, Deut.24:14-15,

We are putting our religious beliefs in practice when we help out aging family members, they have helped us in the past, now it is our chance to repay our debts by showing them the love of Christ by helping them. Paul said that if we do not do this we do not share the faith and that we might as well be unbelievers.

When we have the Holy Spirit living in us our hearts are open to receive others as they are. We do not have a bunch of rules and regulations to be followers of Christ. A strong example of godliness in a church help a church to grow in all of the gifts of the Holy-Spirit if we see these gifts in leadership we will be drawn to the leadership because he is Christ-like.

Godliness is being Christ like, loving, kind, giving, comforting, peaceful, patient, The Holy Spirit produces godliness in a person, Godliness is different than a strict morality in that it is giving and forgiving and not all about self.

Legalism is a form of self-rightness like look at me look how great I am.Outwardly they may look perfect but inside they are corrupt. There is only one perfect man and that man is Jesus Christ. The fruit that it produces is self-rightness. The true gospel teaches that everything that we believe and trust in is our faith in Jesus Christ. That Jesus is the answer not our own self-rightness.

Paul is reminding Timothy that the spirit clearly says that in later day some would stop following the teaching of Christ and they would follow the teachings of deceiving spirits and demons. If the church is grounded in the teaching of Christ then there is no problem. He is saying that we should know the word of God that if we know the truth we will not be led astray by demons or deceiving spirits.

Overseers/Elders are the overall leaders they have to be able to teach sound doctrine, they have to be able to correct,rebuke,encourage with patience and careful instruction. The Deacons must be solid in the truth of the faith must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it was taught.

I don't think any church member wants to be bullied into doing things that they fell that they should not do. I think there would be a great falling away from the church if we did not consider these factors it is not Christ like to be a bully,or boastful, or angry or puffed up with pride or a drunkard.

If they are not spiritually mature they will not be able to make the right decisions because of pride and they will be setting themselves up for a fall from Satan. We should be looking for someone who is spiritually mature, loving, beyond reproach,proven, blameless,trustworthy,holy,devout,someone with the character of Jesus Christ.

What he is saying is that a man should have only one wife and not go around committing adultery, be happy with one wife, God intended man to have one wife from the very beginning starting with Adam and Eve. If a man cannot keep his own family in order how will he be able to keep his congregation in order.

It is saying that a church leader should be established and faithful to his wife before being allowed to become a leader in the church. If a leader's family are believers and not wild or disobedient, we know that he can control his family (with love and patience) then he has good leadership potential. Now, if we see that his family is quarrelsome and unruly stay away from him as a leader if he can't keep peace in the family he will not be able to handle disputes in the church.

These women in their fancy clothes were more into themselves with the attitude look at me and what I have they were not thinking of the poor person trying to follow Christ with nothing. It was all about them and not about Christ. The church cannot grow spiritually with this attitude. I think today the women in the church should dress modestly and not with the attitude, look at me and my beautiful clothes. They should be thinking more about how Christ look at their inner appearance not their outer.

False teachings were being taught in the church. There didn't seem to be too much love in the church and Christ wants us to worship him in spirit and in truth not with mean though about our fellow brother in Christ. We are too love not to hate our fellow man.

Jesus died for all of mankind if we believe in him and ask for his forgiveness from our sins. He stands as mediator for us before God. In other words he is our lawyer before God, he pleads our case before out heavenly father.

I think that the Jewish congregation were so focused on themselves and their ancestor y that they were forgetting about the Gentiles. The church in Ephesus was forgetting that Jesus came to save the Gentile as well as the Jew. Our backgrounds have nothing to do with being saved in Jesus Christ.