Good morning. Yesterday we
were speaking of godliness. Godliness actually is a means of great gain, when
accompanied by contentment. Another word for godliness here is piety. Of course
piety is not good when it has an attitude of "I am holier than thou".
That type of godliness does not come with contentment. They are never
"happy" in what they do. They are ever striving to become more godly.
We have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it
either. This crotchety old man saved up $10,000. He had made his wife promise
that she would bury the $10,000 with him. At the funeral she carefully placed a
box inside the coffin with him. Her friend asked, you didn't really put the
money in there did you? Of course I did, said the woman. I am a Christian, and
I keep my word. How could you do that, her friend asked? I wrote him a check.
Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish
and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. That is so true,
even in the body of Christ. Too many times that desire for more money consumes
a person. No matter how much that person gets, it is never enough. As I've said
before from Hello Dolly: money is like manure – it is no good unless you spread
it around. All these people trying to win millions from the lottery. They
daydream about what they're going to do with it. In reality they would be
overjoyed with just five or $10,000 of it. Father thank You that the reader lives
a godly life with contentment. He/she is an example to all who believe.
Therefore I exhort you, be imitators of me
Good morning. Paul then gives a list of a lot of things that he has gone through as an apostle. I do not write these things to shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved children. For if you were to have countless tutors in Christ, yet you would not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. There could be many people that you listen to either in church or through the Internet or other means; but there was only one person (as a general rule it was a person) that lead you to Christ. Therefore I exhort you, be imitators of me. He was saying that just like a child imitates his or her father, they were to imitate him. He says that again seven chapters later. Since it is easy to forget some things about people we have not seen in a while, Paul says that he sent Timothy to them to remind them of his ways which are in Christ, just as he taught everywhere in every church. Some have become arrogant, as though I were not coming to you. I shall find ou...
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