Good morning. Something
that is hard to adhere to: do not fear those who kill the body, but are unable
to kill the soul. That is just the opposite of the way we act most of the time.
If some one or entity can harm us, we fear them greatly, and so order our lives
to avoid displeasing them. Rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and
body in hell. God does not automatically and instantly zap us when we do wrong;
but those with authority here on earth do. We say to ourselves “I'm sure God
will forgive us”; but we don't say that about earthly authorities. They inflict
their punishment quickly, while God many times delays His. Jesus then talks
about the sparrows. We are of more value than many sparrows. What do we do when
it really counts? Everyone who shall confess Me before men, I will also confess
him before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever shall deny Me before men, I
will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven. The proof is in the
pudding. How about another cliché - when push comes to shove. When it matters
most - when we come under fire, do we confess Him or deny Him? This
confession/denial is not just in words, but also in our actions. Do we bow to
peer pressure in certain situations? Then there are those Christians who do
just the opposite. They condemn their peers for every thing they do that the
Bible is against. Many times those condemning Christians have things in their
lives that are not biblical. Then when it comes to light, they bring disgrace
upon the name Christian. Father thank You that the reader confesses You before
men, not in word only but also by his/her actions.
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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