Greta

Our fellowship with fellow Christians is often on a surface level because we have built barriers around ourselves and don't trust others sufficiently to let the barriers down. We fear being judged and want to keep others at a distance. To have fellowship at a deeper level in Christ, we must first ask God to help us grow closer. He will help us lower the barriers if we really want this. As we grow closer to God we will grow closer to our fellow Christians and learn to trust them. Make the first move and reach out to others and they in turn will respond to you. Love from Greta

The best antidote for the love of money is to become a 'giving person'. Share what you have with others and always be ready to help your neighbour both physically and financially. We can cultivate generosity so that it remains healthy by listening to the 'still small voice of God'. Let Him show us the people we are to give to. Remember that God loves all people, including our families, so He won't suggest that we give to others what He wants us to give to our families. I think Jesus repremanded the Pharisese when they refused to help their aging parents by saying that they were giving that money to another Godly cause.

I think the love of money starts when we see things that we would like to buy. It becomes a trap when we buy more and more, and travel further and further afield. It becomes more of a trap when we have difficulty to stop buying things and buying becomes adictive. I think we escape the trap when we draw closer to God - and when we start to give things away without expecting anything in return.

The contentment I seek is 'Peace of Mind and Heart' to be where I am at any given time. As Christians we are to do our best all the time and also 'go the extra mile'. This degree of excellency will enable the family head to receive promotion, especially as God gives him grace and favour. The balance between contentment and the quest for improvement? I think this would be like the changes Christ has made in our lives already, and being eager to embrace everything He has in store for us.

I think that people are susceptible to distorted Bible teaching about financial gain because that is what they want to hear. The four examples you give are, as you say, distorted. I have not heard preaching on any of them in this context. 'If we believe the promises of God we will prosper' I have heard, - but does the Bible say 'financially'? I have often heard and used the phrase that we can't outgive God, but I don't think we are supposed to give in order to get more back. Doesn't the Bible also say, 'When you tithe', not 'If you tithe'? Surely we are not given a choise here; those who are obedient to God do tithe. Everything belongs to God and we are stewards of what he entrusts to us, for "God owns the cattle on a thousand hills". When He sees us handling His affairs properly, He might increase what He entrusts to us. A bit like the story of the 5, 3 and 1 talents given to the servants.

The Gospel shows us that all men are equal in the sight of God and although we should all serve one another in love, no man should be owned by another. I don't think Paul actually condones slavery, but as it happens to be a fact of life at that time, he is showing how both the 'slave' and the 'master' should act towards one another. I think Paul's motive for this is so they will both live in unity and peace, and also he is making it obvious that he is not making waves to abolish slavery.

I have often wondered why Paul said "Don't be hasty in the laying on of hands" because in our church the 'laying on of hands' is mainly connected with prayer for healing. I hadn't thought of it as for ordination. For ordination, I can quite see that it is most unwise to rush into anything like this before the candidates have been well tried and tested. It would be like giving your approval to a possibly unsuitable person. The danger of moving too quickly is that you could jump from the frying pan into the fire and end up with another set of elders who are not as they should be. The congregation would also be very wary of anyone receiving 'quick promotion' in this way. The dangers can be lessoned by taking time to get to know and thoroughly test anyone before placing him in a position of authority.

A formal accusation and trial give both the accused and accusers a chance to have their say. What ever the decision it would be made public and have to be abided by, unless of course the 'false teacher' confessed and repented. The temptations to overlook and not go through with it would be great because we don't like to accuse anyone just in case we are wrong and it could be like stirring up a hornet's nest. They may have been false teachers, but they must have been in high authority at that time, - people with a lot of influense and probably wealth. I think it might be difficult to discipline those in authority in today's church, for people would fear that the church would be split, or even dissapear altogether.

Elders who direct the affairs of the church and who preach and teach are worthy of financial compensation. Luke 10:7 The worker deserves his wages. Deut 25:4 Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading the grain.

Our responsibility to help aging family members is to see they have enough money and food, and help to do the things they can no longer do for themselves. As Christians we are drawn to do even more for aging family members because we have God's Love in us as well as filial love. It is a repayment of a debt because we are giving support to our elders in their time of need to thank them for the love, support and kindness they gave us when we were young and growing up. Paul says that anyone who ignores the needs of elderly family members is worse that an unbeliever.

Leaders who teach in a rigid and unsmiling way are not displaying the fruits of the Holy Spirit, so the full lesson cannot be absorbed. It is a bit like "Do as I say and not as I do"; eg: If we tell our children not to argue or swear and then procede to do just that in front of them, then they are more likely to do what they see and hear us doing than what we tell them to do. A strong example of godliness in the leaders will do more good to the health of the church when good doctoring is preached, than if only words (even if they are good) are preached without godliness. God bless Greta

Godliness is doing only the things we know will please God because we love Him and want to please Him. The Holy Spirit working inside a person produces godliness in him/her. Embracing a strict morality brings a 'strived for' outward standard, but godliness is brought about by inwardly seeking God in Love. God bless Greta

Performing legalistic requirements is attractive to people because they are following a set of rules and if they manage to keep these rules they can feel self satisfied. They are relying on themselves and not on God. The fruit it produces in their lives would be 'pride' and 'self righteousness'. This is so different from the true gospel where people are made holy by the grace of God and not by their own endeavours. God bless Greta

Paul reminds Timothy and the church of predictions concerning widespread apostasy so that they will be prepared for when it happens and not be overwhelmed by the chaos it will produce. It could effect Timothy's ministry by him sticking even closer to the Word of God and not being distracted by any false prophets. The same applies to the true church. God bless Love Greta

Tendencies to anger, intimidation, force and pride should be avoided in the choise of church officers. If it is not, we could end up with people who are overbearing, angry and quarelsome who try to impose Their will on the church. This would cause great problems and we would end up with a situation like that described at the beginning of the chapter of 1 Timothy. God Bless Greta

Leaders should be observed carefully and tested BEFORE placing them in office, to ensure they are deeply committed to God and the Church. When they become leaders, the church submits itself to their leadership, so we must be very sure they are the right men. We should be looking at dedication to God and the Church, sober and steady men of upright character, trustworthy, welcoming and approachable with the ability to lead, teach, encourage and correct, (plus all the other qualities we have already covered), but most of all I think it is important that they should be full, and being continuously filled with the Holy Spirit. God Bless, Greta

'A husband of one wife' indicates faithfulness to his wife. The word 'husband' also indicates to me, love, protection and provision for his wife and children. The man is first head of his family and if he leads them with Godly qualities and is firm and fair in a gentle manner, then he will be the same way when he leads the family of God. If his family do not seek his advice and try to keep a distance from him, - then it is likely that the congregation would do the same. God Bless, Greta

I think that if a woman has a special calling and gifting from God, then she needs to obey God, 'for God knows the plans He has for us'. If the calling is not from God, then it will come to nothing. Men also need to have a special 'calling' from God and we, the congregation, submit ourselves to the Pastors. We have 3 Pastors in our church and the preaching is mainly done by these three men. There are also three ladies in our church who very occasionally, if they feel that God has given them a special Word for the Church, have been invited by the senior Pastor to give this Word. This maybe happens about once a year. Our services and our worship are lead by men and this works very well for us, praise God.

Wearing fancy clothes and drawing attention to themselves gave the wrong impression to people in (or visitting) the church in Ephesus. It caused people to look at these women questionably instead of accepting them for who they were, children of God. They also took people's attention away from the preacher. In 21st centuary, we tend not to tell people what to wear, but to show by example by dressing modestly. It is important to be clean and tidy and not to have our skirts too short or our necklines too low. God bless, Love Greta

The problem Paul is referring to is that the men are arguing amongst themselves and have bitterness in their hearts. We cannot worship in this manner, for we will be unable to connect with God. First we must forgive others and ask for forgiveness for ourselves. We must turn away from all bitterness and turn again with love to God. God bless Love Greta

Paul states that there is One God and He is so Holy that there is a very wide gulf between Him and us (sinful man). We need someone as a Mediator to plead our case for us - be a go-between. This person could only be someone Holy who could approach God, and also someone human who could understand us, yet not turn away from us. Jesus fulfills both specifications and He is also willing to do this. But the price of our sin still has to be paid in full with a blood sacrifice by someone who has never sinned, and again Jesus fulfilled the role and took our punishment. Jesus became a ransom for us and now we can be reconsiled to God the Father. What Love! God bless Love Greta

Paul emphasizes salvation of all mankind in this letter because Jesus' command was that the gospel was to be preached to the whole world. This suggests that in the Ephesus church there were some people (the Gentiles) who were excluded from the evangelism. Everything seemed to be in favour of the Jews. God bless, Love Greta

Paul needs to remind Timothy about the prophecies spoken over him in order to encourage him to carry out the difficult task that Paul has given him. In practical terms, 'Fight the Good Fight' means to embrace all Godly behaviour. To put to death the 'old self life' and put on the 'new life in Christ'. To help others and to speak wholesome and holy words and be pure in heart. Also to stand firm in our faith. Paul tells Timothy to 'hold on to faith and a good conscience' to encourage him not to give up, but to keep moving forward and to grow. I think that Paul is trying to counter in Timothy the temptation to refrain from telling the false teachers to stop confusing the people by speaking false doctrine. It would be so easy to just let it pass unsaid and pray that the teachers would stop doing this, but Paul says that Timothy MUST speak out about it. God bless. Love from Greta

"NOW TO THE KING ETERNAL, IMORTAL, INVISIBLE, THE ONLY GOD, BE HONOR AND GLORY FOR EVER AND EVER. AMEN". From this doxology we learn that God is the One and Only. He is exalted, eternal, magnificent and worthy of our praise. Praise is the only thing God doesn't do for Himself, but when we praise Him, He enters into our praise, enabling us to go higher and higher. We learn that to praise God pleases Him and also lifts us to great heights. Yes, I have often spoken and sung doxology in my personal prayer and praise time. Not only those written in the bible, but words given me by God that come bubbling up from deep within me. It has a wonderful effect on me and fills me with the Holy Spirit. Love and blessings from Greta

Paul tells of his own life to show us just how sinful he was; a murderer, blasphemer, persecutor and a violent man. He shares his testemony with the church so that they will see that if Paul (who he says was the worst of all) could be forgiven, saved and changed from glory to glory, then so could the rest of the church. He said all this to take us back to basics and show us why Jesus Christ came to earth and died for us. "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners - of whom I am the worst." 1 Timothy 1:15 God bless. Love Greta