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Q4. (2 Corinthians 3:6a) Why is a Christian's spiritual health so closely related to his or her involvement in ministry? Only that the Holy Spirit equips us for the ministry, but if we resist, we don't see it and the Lord might decide to use somebody else to get the job done... What are the consequences of dropping out of church --for the believer? For Christ's Kingdom? The Lord's action in our lives is limited. And the church is weaker as well, and may be handicapped by our lack of service ... and have trouble fulfiling its mission.

What is the balance between the need for training in ministry (either in the local church or in schools) and personal submission to the Spirit of God? There is no balance to have: personal submission must be 100%!! The Holy Spirit might ask us to get trained, and actually we are searching to get to know God and serve Him, serve His people, better. So we should naturally be inclined to get trained ... but all this should be submitted to God! Training can be a danger: Indeed, I have already been tempted to get trained in theology, so that people who know me (christian ones) could see how spiritual I was ... but the Lord wants us to listen to His voice first:-/ Are you able to “listen to the Spirit’s voice” in your own life? It is not about being able, but about being attentive to His voice, in the expectation of what He will tell us ... because we are hungry for His word, as we have tasted that the Lord is good!! :-) Why would this ability be so important in being a competent minister? If we have not yet understood that the Word of the Lord was so good that it is worth waiting for it ... then how can we communicate around us, and have everybody understand that they can have hope in the Lord, for He is good? More over, through the Holy Spirit, we have a relationship with Christ. And this is the key point that makes our action remarkable: "Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus." (Act 4:13) At that point one could still imagine that the teaching Jesus gave to his disciple was the key. But look at the second epistle of Peter, and see how he emphasizes the need to focus on getting to know Jesus personnally, intimately, as the way to stand firm through persecution ... knowledge about spiritual things does not make you bold, personal knowledge of Jesus and His love for us does.

In what sense are we “living letters”? What we don't see in this question, is that the text refers not to an individual, but to a church - the church of Corinth. What doesn't appear either, is that a letter is always ... sent! So we together are sent into the world where we live, to bring the message that Christ has written on our hearts. Each of us will fail in some part, and one could think of an individual that he is somebody very special ... but when they see christians together, they should have the whole picture, and be marveled "see how they love each other!"... it does not necessarily bring people to Christ, but should the church have favor of all the people (Acts 2:47) In what way can people “read us”? "out of the abundance of the heart [ones] mouth speaks" (Luke 6:45) ... and yes, sure, if the Holy Spirit fills us, it shows Why is it so important to be authentic, not phony, in our lives? Because we are sons of God, so we should act like God (Luke 6:35) ... instead, if we are not, we lie, and follow the devil (Joh 8:44) who is a liar and the father of lies. What can man do to us, that we should be afraid of telling the truth, even when it implies admitting our weaknesses and faults? What happens when people “read” something in you that they admire and mention it to you? I happened not to even realize that there was another option, when I was once asked how I could take the defense of a teacher that was neglecting the course she was giving us. We don't see ourselves, and it may be hard to understand what they mean; also, when we gave our lives to Christ when we were young, it's harder to compare with how we were before. I think in those circumstances, I should almost always ask for people to describe what they mean; it should also give me the time to react, and to answer appropriately! How might you respond appropriately? In speaking the truth of what I know: I can tell that I believe God is changing me, but I need to give reasons why I think it is indeed the explanation for what they tell me. People don't want some "learnt by heart" typical answer. Often if they ask, it shows that seeing you're not fake, they can be courageous and express the fact that they have no satisfying answer, unveiling a little what is actually in their mind: their fear of death, etc. ... they hope in return that you will answer them in truth in a way that they themselves might understand, to make their mind about the solution that you might have? Let us give them contextual, down to earth answers, in such a way that they could see that it is clearly in their reach, and know the direction to take to get what we have! :-)

In what sense is knowing God fragrant to people who are open to God? We discover that God is good and actually ... loves us!! doesn't it feel good to be loved, I mean, really loved? :-) .. and God is ... like the stars, the ocean, the high mountains ... so deep, so high, so big, so perfect, so ... it's just too much!! ... but all this is good news only because God is primarily love! :-) ... if you start feeling it ... it smells good! :-) In what way is this fragrance repugnant to people who are closed to God? I guess they smell only part of the flavor of it, as the one who got one talent, and said he was afraid because God was "... reaping where [he] did not sow, and gathering where [he] scattered no seed..." The evil one loves to mix the truth with the lie... so we smell something from the knowledge of God, and we misinterpret it! Have you suppressed your “fragrance” because some people are allergic to Christian perfume? I don't want to enter into a role, or to act out of guilt, as I used to do; but I have been many times regulating my perfume to the degree I thought people could accept it. Yet, it is not I who know the hearts of people, so I need not to be afraid, but I should instead speak the truth from my heart in boldness. And not be afraid to tell as I feel in my heart, even though they can mock me... (but Jesus loves me! :-)) If so, how can you regain the fragrance of Christ’s gospel? It's the fragrance of the knowledge of God! ... so it's as 2 Peter says, "make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, 2Pe 1:6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, 2Pe 1:7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. 2Pe 1:8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ."

(2 Corinthians 2:10-11) How does Satan take advantage of our unforgiveness? When we are disobeying God, we're following him; so, for this at least, he's our master... :-/ not a good master, no!! What are the symptoms in our own heart of unforgiveness? The holy Spirit is grieved, and our communion with God is limited! According to Matthew 6:14-15, how does holding unforgiveness hurt our spiritual lives? It ends up in spiritual death, if we continually quench the Spirit of God on this subject! What would you have to do to really let go of your resentment and give it to God? The possible relation pointed out between unforgiveness and bitterness interrogates me: I have some roots of bitterness to give up to God for good, but could it be that actually it comes from something that I hold against someone (perhaps God himself!)?.. The Lord said that we had to take our cross every day ... here also, we have to decide to forgive, and hold on to it, each and every day, when we feel it or not!

How does obedience to servant leaders help the church of Jesus Christ? It's obedience so that their service to the church is not hindered by the church itself! They care for the flock, as God asked them too. Better for us to submit joyfully, so that they care for us joyfully, and do not get tired of it! I still need to learn to pray for my leaders in the Lord! How does obedience to self-serving leaders hurt the church? Few will admit that they do, but it seems to me that many think they serve the church while actually searching to keep their priviledged position. So it is not always evident... While the church follows this leader, they watch at a model very different from the one of Christ, who left the glory of heaven, and came into the form of a man, not to be served, but to serve! ... and thus the church will gradually do likewise! And as everybody waits to be served, people are not reached, love is not shown to the world ... so the church fails to its mission! ... and nobody get served for long! instead, before, everybody's need was filled, out of love for one another! Are you obedient to those whom God has placed over you in the Lord? Why or why not? When I'm not, the Lord points it to me ... but I've got a tendancy to be on the watch, not being impressed by impressive messages, but rather looking at people's attitude in ordinary things. When it appears to me that they do not make it a priority to always walk in love, but instead make a difference between rich and poor, highly considered people and others (thus living by human standards) ... I don't fear to oppose them, if they happen to ask something to the church that I judge not to be from God. What is the relationship between obedience and church unity? If somebody starts being disobedient, and is not disciplined, others will be influenced, and not fear. The attitude changes, as we consider ourselves, and our appetites, instead of searching to build the community. But the actual unity is the fruit of the Holy Spirit working in us, to have us serve each other, serve the community and the Church, thus being the ligaments that link the members to one another! If the ligaments are loose, the body just fall on the ground and each member is independent!

What does it mean to “lord it over” someone? To be as though one were their lord, and they were our servants What is the balance between (1) good, strong leadership, (2) micromanaging, and (3) a complete laissez-faire approach to leadership? It depends on the situation. One has to be present, but not overly authoritative. Love is the key to help you being present, strong and courageous (cf. Joshua 1 and last chapters of Deut.), appoint godly leaders under you to help you as Moses was adviced to do, finally encourage and help everybody find their place. What are the dangers of an authoritative leadership style? It may discourage people from getting involved and telling you where you may be wrong... you may just fill a role but lose relationships as a person ... and it may lead you to fail to listen. What are the dangers of a weak leadership style? When the situation gets hard, you need to know where to look at. And the one(s) in leadership must be able to take hard decisions, to have faith in the Lord as Joshua and Caleb who saw the good things in the promise land while others were making the heart of the people melt.