JoanG

I feel that the Corinthians were proud of their tolerance of immortality because they might have felt that they were being inclusive of all people. They might have felt that it was more important to have larger numbers than worry about the activities that they were involved with. They felt that they were reaching out to people instead of trying to teach they about the bible or the teachings of Jesus and God. I believe that the Corinthian church had a very liberal value system. they were a very worldly oriented church of the time.

I believe that God has a character that does not change. I believe that God has a holiness that does not change. I believe that God has a heart that does not change. However, I believe that God does allow circumstances of man to change according to the prayers and needs of the human race. I believe that God will counter act when evil upsets his designed plans for us. I believe that God will continue to try to keep man on the grand design of the ultimate future that God has in mind for us.

If we feel that our prayers can not change anything, we pray very weak prayers. We only seek God's help as a last resort. We do not firmly believe or have true faith in what we are praying for or really asking for. We sometimes as for impossible things that God can not grant us. God will give us what we really need. He is not a heartless jerk that wants us to suffer for no reason. But at times, I feel that we really need to know what to ask for. We can not make promises that we can not keep. We need to pray with honesty, love and true faith.

We should emulate the facts to God. We should let him know what the bible says about our situations. We should let him know that we know what he has promised us in the scriptures. Moses was reminding God how the human mind works. He was telling God that people would look to him in all the wrong ways. That they would see a very violent God who cleans up his messes by killing all the witnesses. If we know that God's word can fulfill our needs, then we can relate it in terms that God has given us. We know what God is willing to give us. We know what God has no intention of giving us. We can pray for very meaningful things.

The people turned their backs from God and started to worship false god and money as their true god. God worked hard to bring his people out of the land of slavery. He was supplying all that they needed up to this point. I believe that God has a right to be able to destroy what he has created when it is not perfect in his eyes. Just like an artist that will throw away objects that do not come out right. A person will rip up a manuscript that does not read the right way. So if a person is not what God really intended, I believe that God should have the right to destroy it.

The old model of the church does not allow people to reach their full potential in Christ. People look to be entertained in this style of worship. they have no reason to take any responsibility to God. They feel that the pastor has all the responsibility. This leads to a lazy community. People do not work to please God. There is a lack of love towards others. Because people do not feel responsible for their brothers. Pastors need to teach people to step up to the plate. they need to give them the knowledge to move forward and to start to take responsibility for their gifts. they guide them to become all of those that God has created them for.

A person may have come into their gifts later in life. Or the person might not fully understand just where his gifts are leading them. And I also feel that the qualifications that a church sets on the titles of pastor or teacher would stop a person from being able to serve in that particular church. these can be the people that do best with street teaching. They find a place in community service programs such as a prison ministry, hospital ministry or other one on this type of situation. I believe that a church can have more that one pastor to fulfill the teaching and ministries of the church. We might need to look at the gifts of each person and create rolls that fit them. We cannot expect them to fit into our roles.

I believe that we must hit the hearts of the members of a congregation. We need to create an atmosphere where the Holy Spirit can be felt by all. We need to allow people to have the opportunity to be heard and to be able to tell their story. We need to listen willingly and openly to what everyone has to say. We need to allow open discussion about the bible and individual interpretations of the word. We must believe that God is still speaking today. We must believe that God is still opening hearts and minds and souls of individuals to continue His work here on earth.

I think that apostles today might actually be a strong guiding force within a group of churches. I feel that a true apostle would be able to try and make congregations more Christ aware. They would help people to live by the Spirit and true faith. They might actually be able to open the eyes of people so that there would be more love and acceptance within a congregation. I believe that we would be able to recognize false apostles because of the lies that they will tell us. They will try to manipulate the bible to fulfill their own agenda. they will profess to know the truth but their words will be lies.

I believer that all Jewish people who believe in the Son of God and all Christians that have accepted salvation through the death of the Son of God. I believe that that those that do not believe in Christ are the ones that are going to be excluded from this group. We cannot take pride in the fact that people were cut out of the opportunity for salvation. Yes it was by their own free will and choice, but it is a sad day. That could still be us if we make wrong choices on a daily basis.

The new creation is characterized by the Holy Spirit that dwells in its heart and soul. The old creation is a group of people that were cut and lived by the law. These people lack the spirit. The new creation needs to go through a new acceptance for their salvation. They are given a new identity. They are given a new purpose in life.

I feel that we become weary because we try to live according to the way of Christ. We see those around us having so much more than us. We wonder if it is all worth it. Paul promises us that God will bless us and that we are not alone in our feelings. We need to take care of those that we love because we share the same Father and Brother. Family takes care of family.

Sow to the flesh means to think more of material and earthly goods than of our own spirituality. People only think about what they can get. They want the best of everything. They do not care who they hurt to get it. The synonyms for the fruit of the spirit are: love, joy, peace forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity, sense of compassion in the heart, conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people involved in loyal commitments not needed to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely. In a congregation that sows the spirit is a very loving and compassionate group of people. Peace flows from all those that attend functions and worship. there is an ever present lightness about the group at all times. A congregation that sows to the flesh are always in conflict. They are only concerned with the material things in the church. they most important thing to them is the budget report. Prayers are repetitive at the best.

Dogs and pigs were considered very dirty and unholy animals. they were on the lower end of the food chain. Holy food and pearls were considered sacred and cherished. they were prized possessions. People need to stop witnessing to those that belittle the word of God. They cannot help those that refuse to listen and believe. We need to go to people who will listen to us. We need to find those that hunger for the truth. They want faith and hope in their lives. They are willing to accept God and his grace and his salvation for them.

I believe that the speck of sawdust are the sins of people that are truly sorry for them and are repentant to God. I believe that the plank is the sins of those that are critical of fellow Christians but never look at the sins in their own lives. They feel that they are above judgment. We need to repent of the sins in our lives before we can even think to help others. We must be right before God and ourselves. Without this forgiveness of our sins, we have no right to judge other Christians.

In Matthew's account, the way we judge people will be used to judge us. So if we are really critical in judging others, God will be the same way with us. If we judge others with love and patience, We can guarantee that God will judge us the same way. We need to have the heart of Jesus to judge the truth and not just the person. We need to judge their words and actions. We need to hold people up lovingly to the examples of Christ.

I find that I am critical of the members of my congregation. The consistory members to me seem to be the worst Christians in the church. I now view them on their actions as Christian leaders. I do see the faults with them now that Christ has come into my heart. He has taken the blinders off. I do not project my faults onto them. Because I understand that would be over criticizing them for my behavior. I find that I try to help them by explaining and talking about the bible. But they refuse to listen to reason. They seem to have their own version of the bible. They follow their own ideas and beliefs.

Sexual immorality does not just hurt the person having sex. It reaches so many more. It is actually a sin against many at one time. The punishment should be more severe because of all the people that one act does hurt. We, as Christians, need to take this warning very seriously. We need to be more aware of how we treat others.

I believe that people are very much able to control their sexual urges. They have to want to do this. They have to have a reason in their hearts to do this. People seem so out of control at times because their hearts are not sure. They have no reason within them to act any differently. When sexuality does not have boundaries, people will act lawlessly. Many will be hurt. There will be no stopping the abuse. No body will be safe from the pain. Nothing will have meaning. The world will be soulless. And man will destroy all with disease.

To be sanctified means to be cleansed and made holy. When this happens the Holy Spirit enters into our heart and soul and starts to take root there. We can learn and change our lives and allow the Holy Spirit to start to help us grow in the love of God and to become more Christ like as humans. When we become more like Christ and to start to give our lives over to God, we need to give up our worldly ways. We need to treat our bodies as temples which God now resides. This means avoiding activities that would match us to common people. This means to live better than those around us.

To live our lives by rules is to live in a heartless, thoughtless way. We do not have to think or feel about our actions. We do not have to think about how our actions will affect others. But to lie our lives for God, we have to think and feel but most of all, we get the chance to love and be loved. Paul is speaking with the authority of Christ Jesus.

Timothy is faithful to Jesus and God. He has the love of God in his heart and soul. He has been very reliable and Timothy is the type of person that will stay very faithful to God even when faced with abuse. I would actually go wherever God want to send me. I know that he would give me every thing that I would need to go. He would make sure that I would not have any concerns about going. My kids would be taken care of and my animals would be taken care of for my doing what God wants me to do.

I believe that Paul listed the abuse to show people that he is willing and does suffer for Christ on a daily basis. he wants the readers to know that he is so firm in his faith that his worldly discomfort does not stop him. I find that I take comfort in his words. He realized that life is tough and I can be comforted in the fact that I am not suffering alone. I have not walked away from a challenge. However, I find myself shying away from my home church. I feel that the devil has started to rest there.

Paul realizes that only the judgment of God matters. Man can not judge a person fairly and honestly. There are too many factors that will screw up the best of intentions. Paul realizes that he can not always judge himself fairly and honestly either. He know that humans make mistakes and they just need to repent to God and move on. They can not dwell on the failures that they make. God will judge us by what is in our hearts and souls. He can see inside of us the places that we do not ever know exist. I want to believe that God is a fair judge. He is not harsh or easy. He is completely thorough in his judgment of us. he looks at all aspects of each of our thoughts and actions.

A Christian worker is a steward of the Word of God. They are to keep watch that the word is not misused. That those who come to hear the word are treated with love and respect. They are to guide the congregation in a faithful journey. I am dealing with a group of elders in my home church that have little to no faith. The congregation is in constant turmoil. The elders seem more concerned about money that any thing else. They are haphazardly looking for an interim pastor. We lost our last one almost a year ago. The pulpit is filled each week by whoever we can find to speak. there is no consistency at all. I am actually finding it hard to sit there during the worship service. I find that I am suffering spiritually. I feel that people can become unfaithful due to the act of treating the church as a corporation. They find that they are caught up in the worldly aspects and they try to put God into a locked room to only let him out when it is convenient for them to do it. I feel that we need to learn to put God first. I feel that we need to really pray and try to get God to send us his graces. I feel that we need to educate people more about the bible.