II Corinthians 8: 1- 9: 15
These two chapters
discuss and lay out the whole doctrine (what we believe) about the whole
idea of giving. The foundation under the principle of giving, the
reason why we would want to give, the policies to follow in our giving, and the rewards we can expect as a result of our generosity.
This is all explained in these 39 verses.
This is a lot of ground to cover, so I am breaking it up into its components over several days.
Today we will look at some of the policies we are to follow:
8:16- 9:5
But thanks be to God who puts the same earnestness on your behalf in the heart of Titus.
For he not only accepted our appeal, but being himself very earnest, he has gone to you of his own accord.
Titus himself loved the Corinthians, and had confidence in their determination to help the struggling Christians in Jerusalem, as he was the one who first mentioned this to them, a year ago; and wanted to go back to see them and help them get this gift together. Titus must have been known to have substantial financial acumen to have this responsibility.
We have sent along with him the brother whose fame in the things of the gospel has spread through all the churches;
We're not given the name of this brother, so they may not have met him yet.
and not only this, but he has also been appointed by the churches to travel with us in this gracious work,
He is one who will go with Paul to deliver the gift to the Jerusalem church.
which is being administered by us for the glory of the Lord Himself,
There were representatives from many of the churches who would be going with him to bring the present.
and to show our readiness,
Many of the Gentile churches Paul founded participated in this aggregate gift.
taking precaution so that no one will discredit us in our administration of this generous gift;
Paul had representatives from churches in Macedonia and Galatia and Asia accompany him with this sizable bundle of money to take to Jerusalem for the saints, to provide security and accountability.
for we have regard for what is honorable, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men.
Paul is thinking of the admonition of Proverbs 3:4, to find favor and good understanding in the sight of God and man. He wanted to give glory to God, and also to maintain a good reputation.
We have sent with them our brother, whom we have often tested and found diligent in many things, but now even more diligent because of his great confidence in you.
This is the third worker Paul is sending to Corinth ahead of his own visit. All three of these men have great confidence in the Corinthian saints to follow through on their pledge.
As for Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker among you; as for our brethren, they are messengers of the churches, a glory to Christ.
So if anyone asks who these guys are: Titus is Paul's partner who works alongside him in the work, and the other two are delegates from the churches who have already contributed to the gift, all to bring glory to Christ.
Therefore openly before the churches, show them the proof of your love and of our reason for boasting about you.
Paul is encouraging them to welcome these men openly, loving them as brothers in the Lord, and to live up to the confidences Paul has in them.
For it is superfluous for me to write to you about this ministry to the saints;
for I know your readiness, of which I boast about you to the Macedonians, namely, that Achaia has been prepared since last year, and your zeal has stirred up most of them.
Paul considers it excessive to keep mentioning this, since they had decided and agreed a year ago to gather this collection and have it ready to send, and this has been a big encouragement to all these other churches to follow suit.
But I have sent the brethren, in order that our boasting about you may not be made empty in this case, so that, as I was saying, you may be prepared;
So he's sending these three brothers to make sure they've made all the preparations, because they had said they would, and Paul has advertised their generosity among the other churches to encourage them to give also.
otherwise if any Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared, we--not to speak of you--will be put to shame by this confidence.
We don't want to be ashamed of you, and especially we don't want you to be embarrassed at not having done what you said you would do, so have it finished and ready when I show up with the Macedonian brothers who your example encouraged.
So I thought it necessary to urge the brethren that they would go on ahead to you and arrange beforehand your previously promised bountiful gift,
so that the same would be ready as a bountiful gift and not affected by covetousness.
That's why he sending Titus and the others ahead of him, so that this generous gift would be just that, a gift generously given, not out of necessity or hastily thrown together out of duty.
Paul was handling and transporting a sizable sum of money, so he wanted them to have it all together and ready on time, so that he wouldn't be ashamed of boasting about them to encourage others to also give, and so they also wouldn't be embarrassed, if they didn't have it ready.
So he was sending not just one or two, but three brothers ahead of his coming, to help them get it all together. It needed to be freely given, and bountifully contributed, according to the bounty God had given them, not feeling that they had to give out of duty or obligation.
And Paul will be traveling in a large group, for several reasons. There is safety and security in numbers. They were delegates from many of the churches who contributed to this large gift, so they were invited to see the results, the recipients of this support. They would also provide accountability that it would all be there, and preserve the reputations of all involved. And God would receive the glory for all this cooperative giving.
O my Father, help us to understand how You view our finances, and the discernment to handle our money wisely, whether in paying our bills or contributing to the offering at church, or whatever we use it for. Grant us Your bounty in our incomes, so that we will be able to give generously, not having to count the pennies, or give out of obligation.
Father, Jesus taught us that what we do with our "treasure" shows where our hearts stand. So I pray that You would grant me the finances to joyfully give generously, not having to be concerned for my obligations.
And send me out, Father, let me sow Your precious seed, to cast it broadly across Your fertile fields. Let me reap some of Your fields ready for harvest, and help to fill Your great House. To build up Your Kingdom.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess in every language that Jesus our Christ is Lord God Almighty, the sovereign King of the the Universe, to the glory of Almighty God the Father, forever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Tuesday, October 8, 2019
Monday, October 7, 2019
Why Would We Want To Give?
II Corinthians 8: 1- 9: 15
These two chapters discuss and lay out the whole doctrine (what we believe) about the whole idea of giving. The foundation under the principle of giving, the reason why we would want to give, the procedure for how we proceed to give, and the rewards we can expect as a result of our generosity.
This is all explained in these 39 verses.
This is a lot of ground to cover, so I am breaking it up into its components over several days.
Yesterday we talked about the Principle of giving in 8:1-6.
Today we will look at why we would want to give, the purposes for giving:
8: 7-15
But as you abound in everything, in faith and utterance and knowledge and in all earnestness and in the love we inspired in you, see that you abound in this gracious work also.
Paul has just recounted to these Corinthians how the Macedonian believers had given generously out of their poverty, and now here these brothers and sisters have an abundance of everything; they are not being persecuted, and they enjoy much material prosperity, so he is expecting them to contribute abundantly.
I am not speaking this as a command, but as proving through the earnestness of others the sincerity of your love also.
Paul isn't saying they have to do this, he is encouraging them to show their love for their suffering brothers and sisters.
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.
As our example, our Lord Jesus Christ also was generous in giving up His riches in Heaven to come as a poor man, so that He could bestow on us His riches. He didn't want to keep everything for Himself, but gave Himself freely. So He also wants us to freely share what He has given to us, and not be stingy.
I give my opinion in this matter, for this is to your advantage, who were the first to begin a year ago not only to do this, but also to desire to do it.
But now finish doing it also, so that just as there was the readiness to desire it, so there may be also the completion of it by your ability.
A year earlier, the Corinthian church was the first church to freely volunteer to help the believers in Jerusalem. Now it's time to do what they said they would do, and follow through on that offer.
For if the readiness is present, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have.
If they still want to do this, they don't have to give more than they actually have. We give from what we have, we don't go into debt to appear to be more generous.
For this is not for the ease of others and for your affliction, but by way of equality--
at this present time your abundance bring a supply for their need, so that their abundance also may become a supply for your need, that there may be equality;
This is not to put you into financial straits just to help them to be comfortable, but if you help them in their need now, then later on you may have a need that they will be able to help you with, so that everyone will have what they need and no one will need to suffer privation.
as it is written,
So the reasons why we are to be generous in our giving as presented here are:
1) To abound in all the aspects of Christian living,
2) To show your love for one another,
3) To follow Christ's example to be like Him, and
4) To express compassion for others in helping to meet their needs.
O my Father, Your ways are so wise, and when we follow them things always seem to turn out well all around. Your ways always show us a win-win way of living; that when we have an abundance, then we can share to help meet the needs of others, and then when they have an abundance in some other area, they can help us where we have a need. And everyone benefits.
When we love one another as You have loved us, then we will notice when our brother or sister has a need that we can help with, and we won't hesitate to pitch in to help.
Father, You saw our need, and sent Your Son to help, to meet our stupendous need by the giving of Himself. We will never be able to that, and we will never need to, because Jesus already finished it for us.
Now we can not only help one another in temporal ways physically and mentally, but also eternally spiritually, in sharing Your Good News with them.
When they receive Your Good News and accept Jesus' death as their own, then You will meet their every need, spiritually, emotionally, mentally, and materially.
Father, teach us how to reach out to every person You have enabled us to help. Each of us has individual characteristics that can reach people others can't. Show us who these people are, send us to them, bring them to us, so that we can be used of You to benefit them and bring You glory.
Let our love and care for one another show the World how much You love each of them, too, and that You sent Your Son for them, too. Send out Your workers, Father, to draw all Your lost sheep into Your One Fold with One Shepherd, and fill Your house with children.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord God Almighty, to the glory of Almighty God the Father, forever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
These two chapters discuss and lay out the whole doctrine (what we believe) about the whole idea of giving. The foundation under the principle of giving, the reason why we would want to give, the procedure for how we proceed to give, and the rewards we can expect as a result of our generosity.
This is all explained in these 39 verses.
This is a lot of ground to cover, so I am breaking it up into its components over several days.
Yesterday we talked about the Principle of giving in 8:1-6.
Today we will look at why we would want to give, the purposes for giving:
8: 7-15
But as you abound in everything, in faith and utterance and knowledge and in all earnestness and in the love we inspired in you, see that you abound in this gracious work also.
Paul has just recounted to these Corinthians how the Macedonian believers had given generously out of their poverty, and now here these brothers and sisters have an abundance of everything; they are not being persecuted, and they enjoy much material prosperity, so he is expecting them to contribute abundantly.
I am not speaking this as a command, but as proving through the earnestness of others the sincerity of your love also.
Paul isn't saying they have to do this, he is encouraging them to show their love for their suffering brothers and sisters.
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.
As our example, our Lord Jesus Christ also was generous in giving up His riches in Heaven to come as a poor man, so that He could bestow on us His riches. He didn't want to keep everything for Himself, but gave Himself freely. So He also wants us to freely share what He has given to us, and not be stingy.
I give my opinion in this matter, for this is to your advantage, who were the first to begin a year ago not only to do this, but also to desire to do it.
But now finish doing it also, so that just as there was the readiness to desire it, so there may be also the completion of it by your ability.
A year earlier, the Corinthian church was the first church to freely volunteer to help the believers in Jerusalem. Now it's time to do what they said they would do, and follow through on that offer.
For if the readiness is present, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have.
If they still want to do this, they don't have to give more than they actually have. We give from what we have, we don't go into debt to appear to be more generous.
For this is not for the ease of others and for your affliction, but by way of equality--
at this present time your abundance bring a supply for their need, so that their abundance also may become a supply for your need, that there may be equality;
This is not to put you into financial straits just to help them to be comfortable, but if you help them in their need now, then later on you may have a need that they will be able to help you with, so that everyone will have what they need and no one will need to suffer privation.
as it is written,
He who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little had no lack (Exodus 16:18).When God gave the children of Israel the manna in the wilderness, he had them gather it every morning, and everyone had just enough, whether they gathered a little or a lot. It all evened out so that no one had too much, and no one was caught short. They all had just what they needed.
So the reasons why we are to be generous in our giving as presented here are:
1) To abound in all the aspects of Christian living,
2) To show your love for one another,
3) To follow Christ's example to be like Him, and
4) To express compassion for others in helping to meet their needs.
O my Father, Your ways are so wise, and when we follow them things always seem to turn out well all around. Your ways always show us a win-win way of living; that when we have an abundance, then we can share to help meet the needs of others, and then when they have an abundance in some other area, they can help us where we have a need. And everyone benefits.
When we love one another as You have loved us, then we will notice when our brother or sister has a need that we can help with, and we won't hesitate to pitch in to help.
Father, You saw our need, and sent Your Son to help, to meet our stupendous need by the giving of Himself. We will never be able to that, and we will never need to, because Jesus already finished it for us.
Now we can not only help one another in temporal ways physically and mentally, but also eternally spiritually, in sharing Your Good News with them.
When they receive Your Good News and accept Jesus' death as their own, then You will meet their every need, spiritually, emotionally, mentally, and materially.
Father, teach us how to reach out to every person You have enabled us to help. Each of us has individual characteristics that can reach people others can't. Show us who these people are, send us to them, bring them to us, so that we can be used of You to benefit them and bring You glory.
Let our love and care for one another show the World how much You love each of them, too, and that You sent Your Son for them, too. Send out Your workers, Father, to draw all Your lost sheep into Your One Fold with One Shepherd, and fill Your house with children.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord God Almighty, to the glory of Almighty God the Father, forever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Sunday, October 6, 2019
The Foundation Of Generosity
II Corinthians 8: 1-24; 9: 1-15
These two chapters discuss and lay out the whole doctrine (what we believe) about the whole idea of giving. The foundation under the principle of giving, the reason why we would want to give, the procedure for how we proceed to give, and the rewards we can expect as a result of our generosity.
This is all explained in these 39 verses.
This is a lot of ground to cover, so I will break it up into its components over several days.
Today we will look at the Principle of giving: 8:1-6.
Now, brethren, we wish to make known to you the grace of God which has been given in the churches of Macedonia,
Giving is a gift of grace from God to us. He is gracious to us, and enables us to also be gracious with one another, by sharing our material possessions with each other.
The churches in Macedonia have realized this and he wants to tell them about it.
that in a great ordeal of affliction their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed in the wealth of their liberality.
These churches were experiencing persecution at this time, and consequently did not have a lot of material possessions. But their affliction did not impede their joy and their poverty did not diminish their generosity.
For I testify that according to their ability, and beyond their ability, they gave of their own accord,
Out of their own volition, they wanted to give as much as they could, even beyond what would reasonably be expected. Even more than would be considered reasonable.
begging us with much urging for the favor of participation in the support of the saints,
They considered it a privilege to be included in the offering to be given to fellow believers that they had never even met personally.
and this, not as we had expected, but they first gave themselves to the Lord and to us by the will of God.
When we first give ourselves to the Lord, we will also make ourselves available to God's people; and this went far beyond what Paul expected of them.
So we urged Titus that as he had previously made a beginning, so he would also complete in you this gracious work as well.
Titus had previously begun to organize a collection from Corinth for the Christians at Jerusalem, and he wanted him to be able to finish it, to complete the whole amount they had already declared that they would contribute.
The principle of the foundation of our generosity is that God is generous with us. When we love God, we will also love who He loves, His people. So when we hear that some of God's people are in need, and we have the means to help them, then it is our responsibility to voluntarily contribute generously to meeting their needs.
This really should go without saying. If you are a parent of children, and your child needs a pair of shoes, do you need someone else to force you to buy them a pair of shoes? No, you love your own child, and will automatically make sure that they will get the shoes they need; or whatever else your children need. It's your responsibility, and you want your children to have everything they need. And even some of what they want, if you determine it will not harm them.
God is no different. We are His children, and He wants us to notice when our spiritual brothers and sisters have unmet needs. We are His hands and feet, and I have noticed that a lot of His blessings, especially the material ones, have human fingerprints on them.
It is our responsibility as family members to love one another enough to be generous in our support of one another, even when we have not personally met the recipients of our gifts.
The foundation under everything God does is Love. God is Love, and we who belong to Him, love Him back, and also love those He loves, our spiritual brothers and sisters. This is why we want to contribute to collections to meet the needs of missionaries, for instance. Why our churches organize special collections for specific missions or missionaries.
And why we also help communities with disaster relief. The most help these communities receive is from Christian churches and Christian organizations.
This is a good witness to the World, that when Christians first give themselves to the Lord, they also give themselves and their skills and abilities and their funding to people who have suffered some natural disaster, whether they are Christians or not. God loves all people, and is not willing that any would perish, and this a good witness on His behalf that almost always results in someone recognizing how much God loves them, too, and coming to Him for Salvation.
O my Father, thank You for the example of the Macedonian churches who loved You so much that, even under persecution and extreme poverty they still wanted to help their brothers and sisters in Jerusalem.
How much more do we have, without the constraints of powerful forces trying to prevent us. Father, impress upon us the generosity that they displayed to also participate in growing Your Kingdom.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, and every tongue will proclaim that Jesus Christ is our Lord God Almighty, to the glory of Almighty God the Father, forever and ever, Amen.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
These two chapters discuss and lay out the whole doctrine (what we believe) about the whole idea of giving. The foundation under the principle of giving, the reason why we would want to give, the procedure for how we proceed to give, and the rewards we can expect as a result of our generosity.
This is all explained in these 39 verses.
This is a lot of ground to cover, so I will break it up into its components over several days.
Today we will look at the Principle of giving: 8:1-6.
Now, brethren, we wish to make known to you the grace of God which has been given in the churches of Macedonia,
Giving is a gift of grace from God to us. He is gracious to us, and enables us to also be gracious with one another, by sharing our material possessions with each other.
The churches in Macedonia have realized this and he wants to tell them about it.
that in a great ordeal of affliction their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed in the wealth of their liberality.
These churches were experiencing persecution at this time, and consequently did not have a lot of material possessions. But their affliction did not impede their joy and their poverty did not diminish their generosity.
For I testify that according to their ability, and beyond their ability, they gave of their own accord,
Out of their own volition, they wanted to give as much as they could, even beyond what would reasonably be expected. Even more than would be considered reasonable.
begging us with much urging for the favor of participation in the support of the saints,
They considered it a privilege to be included in the offering to be given to fellow believers that they had never even met personally.
and this, not as we had expected, but they first gave themselves to the Lord and to us by the will of God.
When we first give ourselves to the Lord, we will also make ourselves available to God's people; and this went far beyond what Paul expected of them.
So we urged Titus that as he had previously made a beginning, so he would also complete in you this gracious work as well.
Titus had previously begun to organize a collection from Corinth for the Christians at Jerusalem, and he wanted him to be able to finish it, to complete the whole amount they had already declared that they would contribute.
The principle of the foundation of our generosity is that God is generous with us. When we love God, we will also love who He loves, His people. So when we hear that some of God's people are in need, and we have the means to help them, then it is our responsibility to voluntarily contribute generously to meeting their needs.
This really should go without saying. If you are a parent of children, and your child needs a pair of shoes, do you need someone else to force you to buy them a pair of shoes? No, you love your own child, and will automatically make sure that they will get the shoes they need; or whatever else your children need. It's your responsibility, and you want your children to have everything they need. And even some of what they want, if you determine it will not harm them.
God is no different. We are His children, and He wants us to notice when our spiritual brothers and sisters have unmet needs. We are His hands and feet, and I have noticed that a lot of His blessings, especially the material ones, have human fingerprints on them.
It is our responsibility as family members to love one another enough to be generous in our support of one another, even when we have not personally met the recipients of our gifts.
The foundation under everything God does is Love. God is Love, and we who belong to Him, love Him back, and also love those He loves, our spiritual brothers and sisters. This is why we want to contribute to collections to meet the needs of missionaries, for instance. Why our churches organize special collections for specific missions or missionaries.
And why we also help communities with disaster relief. The most help these communities receive is from Christian churches and Christian organizations.
This is a good witness to the World, that when Christians first give themselves to the Lord, they also give themselves and their skills and abilities and their funding to people who have suffered some natural disaster, whether they are Christians or not. God loves all people, and is not willing that any would perish, and this a good witness on His behalf that almost always results in someone recognizing how much God loves them, too, and coming to Him for Salvation.
O my Father, thank You for the example of the Macedonian churches who loved You so much that, even under persecution and extreme poverty they still wanted to help their brothers and sisters in Jerusalem.
How much more do we have, without the constraints of powerful forces trying to prevent us. Father, impress upon us the generosity that they displayed to also participate in growing Your Kingdom.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, and every tongue will proclaim that Jesus Christ is our Lord God Almighty, to the glory of Almighty God the Father, forever and ever, Amen.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Saturday, October 5, 2019
Confidence In One Another
II Corinthians 7: 5-16
For even when we came into Macedonia our flesh had no rest,
He's saying that physically he was exhausted.
but we were afflicted on every side: conflicts without, fears within.
Some of the conflicts he referred to here were being beaten and whipped and thrown into prison, and an earthquake shaking the prison; he was thrown out of the city of Philippi, and had to sneak out of Thessalonica by night, and then ran from Berea to the sea by ship. And even in Corinth itself he was hauled before Gallio. He didn't go over these here because these Corinthians knew about all these trials.
He also talks about fears within. These could be the possibility that these Corinthian brothers and sisters were holding hard feelings toward him because of the hard matter he had them deal with.
But God, who comforts the depressed, comforted us by the coming of Titus;
That lost "sorrowful letter" was carried to Corinth by Titus, who returned to Paul in Ephesus, where He was writing this letter.
and not only by his coming, but also by the comfort with which he was comforted in you, as he reported to us your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me; so that I rejoiced even more.
So Titus was able to let Paul know that everything was settled with these believers, and how the thorny matter had been resolved, and they appreciated Paul for his help in handling this matter.
For though I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it;
Though it hurt him to have to write that letter, he sees that it did good for them.
though I did regret it--for I see that that letter caused you sorrow, though only for a while--
He did have concerns and care that he would be hurting them by his words, but only until they took action in obeying what he instructed them to do.
Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance;
Paul isn't happy that they were saddened or upset by his letter, but that their consciences were awakened to the moral situation, and they repented, they turned it around.
for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, so that you might not suffer loss in anything through us.
God wants us to recognize the sinfulness of sin, the harmfulness it perpetrates on us, and the losses it imposes on us when we dwell in it. They did this, and took care of the situation with the incestuous man. Paul didn't want them to suffer any losses in what he wrote to them, and was glad that they took care of this.
For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to Salvation, but the sorrow of the World produces death.
Godly sorrow is more than just being sorry for it, it's a grieving for hurting the heart of God, who Loves us. This produces a complete turning around of our attitudes to never want to go there again, into that sinful state of mind. A complete release of the sin that had us captive. Salvation.
Contrasted with worldly sorrow, being sorry for the consequences, or for getting caught. With no change of mind as to the lack of wisdom of the original offense. Without that change in thinking processes, we just go back into the same erroneous patterns of living that lead to death.
For behold what earnestness this very thing, godly sorrow, has produced in you: what vindication of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what avenging of wrong! In everything you demonstrated yourselves to be innocent in the matter.
So look at yourselves, at how much you have grown spiritually through this process: to sincerely, deeply, zealously display your vehement desire to right the wrong that had been done, which has shown you how you are cleared of any wrongdoing in yourselves. This is what heartfelt obedience produces.
So although I wrote to you, it was not for the sake of the offender nor for the sake of the one offended, but that your earnestness on our behalf might be made known to you in the sight of God.
So it wasn't really just for the sake of the man who did this, or for those injured by his behavior; but for you to know that you are steadfast in your love of God and obedience to Paul in teaching you God's ways.
To give you the confidence to know that you can continue to follow God in His ways in your everyday lives, and that you have the strength and fortitude to not turn back to the corrupt ways of the society around you that you came out of.
For this reason we have been comforted.
This is why my mind has been relieved, and I can relax in the peace of God on your behalf, as I knew that you would do what was right.
And besides our comfort, we rejoiced even much more for the joy of Titus, because his spirit has been refreshed by you all.
Paul was really glad for Titus, after Paul sent him to deliver that "sorrowful letter," putting him right in the middle if they had not received it favorably.
For if in anything I have boasted to him about you, I was not put to shame; but as we spoke all things to you in Truth, so also our boasting before Titus proved to be the truth.
Paul must have assured Titus that these Corinthians would of course understand the spirit in which the letter was written, and appreciate that he would bring it to them. Paul knew he had taught these believers sufficiently to understand why he had to write it, so what he encouraged Titus with did turn out to be true. (Whew!)
His affection abounds all the more toward you, as he remembers the obedience of you all, how you received him with fear and trembling.
Now that they have treated Titus so well, taking what he brought and acting on it in a righteous manner, Titus loves them all the more, too.
I rejoice that in everything I have confidence in you.
And Paul is so glad that he can have all that confidence in them to do right and follow God's ways.
We never can be quite sure what someone else will do, what attitude they may have, when confronted with a hard and unpleasant responsibility. Paul wanted to trust these Corinthians, but he naturally had a few nagging doubts. When Titus returned with the good news of their acceptance of the letter and their resultant actions, I can imagine how relieved he must have been.
He sent Titus, and he boasted about these believers to him, assuring him of their faithfulness to the Lord, to get him to go. But then he had the fears within wondering if they would live up to his boasting.
Praise the Lord, this matter was resolved in a godly manner, according to God's will. God always wants us to do right, to get along, to confront what is wrong and harmful, and to make it right again.
Paul had enough confidence in the Corinthian church to trust them to not mistreat the messenger for delivering a troublesome letter. And his trust was rewarded.
O that we would be able to do this in all the thorny situations we all find ourselves in from time to time. We need a guide, like Paul was to the Corinthians, who loves us enough to call us on what we're doing wrong, and lead us to get it right.
This kind of hard love is not always received well. Families have split, marriages have broken, friendships have been dissolved. Neighbors have put up walls, and relationships all around have suffered, when people refuse to humble themselves to admit what it is they're doing wrong. And sometimes those people are us.
Do my friends and relatives have enough confidence in me to trust me to respond positively to constructive criticism? Or are they afraid I might react all over them, and keep quiet?
O my Father, I thank You for the few I have encountered in my life who have called me on something I was doing wrong. And for Your grace to accept their words as Your direction. I know I still have blind spots, so I pray that You would bring others onto my path to continue to guide me and lead me in Your paths of righteousness.
Father, I pray for all Your children, that we would love one another as You have loved us, noticing how we are harming ourselves, and leading one another back into Your righteous ways. And that we will be humble enough to receive Your gracious words spoken by a brother or sister we can trust.
Lead, guide, and direct us, Father. Use Your Word, Your gentle nudgings, and one another, to show us how to extricate ourselves and one another from the holes we dig for ourselves, and the brambles of the World we find ourselves entangled in.
Help us to walk confidently in the path You have placed our feet upon, striding with our heads up, even strutting in the pride of Your glory. Showing and displaying before the World how much You Love us, and have sent Your own Son to make us into Your princes and princesses.
Send out Your workers, Father, into Your fields, to reap the crop that is already white to harvest. To find every lost sheep and every wandering and caught lamb, to draw them into Your One Fold with One Shepherd.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, and every tongue will proclaim the glory of Jesus Christ our Lord God Almighty, to the glory of Almighty God the Father, forever and ever, Amen.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
For even when we came into Macedonia our flesh had no rest,
He's saying that physically he was exhausted.
but we were afflicted on every side: conflicts without, fears within.
Some of the conflicts he referred to here were being beaten and whipped and thrown into prison, and an earthquake shaking the prison; he was thrown out of the city of Philippi, and had to sneak out of Thessalonica by night, and then ran from Berea to the sea by ship. And even in Corinth itself he was hauled before Gallio. He didn't go over these here because these Corinthians knew about all these trials.
He also talks about fears within. These could be the possibility that these Corinthian brothers and sisters were holding hard feelings toward him because of the hard matter he had them deal with.
But God, who comforts the depressed, comforted us by the coming of Titus;
That lost "sorrowful letter" was carried to Corinth by Titus, who returned to Paul in Ephesus, where He was writing this letter.
and not only by his coming, but also by the comfort with which he was comforted in you, as he reported to us your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me; so that I rejoiced even more.
So Titus was able to let Paul know that everything was settled with these believers, and how the thorny matter had been resolved, and they appreciated Paul for his help in handling this matter.
For though I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it;
Though it hurt him to have to write that letter, he sees that it did good for them.
though I did regret it--for I see that that letter caused you sorrow, though only for a while--
He did have concerns and care that he would be hurting them by his words, but only until they took action in obeying what he instructed them to do.
Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance;
Paul isn't happy that they were saddened or upset by his letter, but that their consciences were awakened to the moral situation, and they repented, they turned it around.
for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, so that you might not suffer loss in anything through us.
God wants us to recognize the sinfulness of sin, the harmfulness it perpetrates on us, and the losses it imposes on us when we dwell in it. They did this, and took care of the situation with the incestuous man. Paul didn't want them to suffer any losses in what he wrote to them, and was glad that they took care of this.
For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to Salvation, but the sorrow of the World produces death.
Godly sorrow is more than just being sorry for it, it's a grieving for hurting the heart of God, who Loves us. This produces a complete turning around of our attitudes to never want to go there again, into that sinful state of mind. A complete release of the sin that had us captive. Salvation.
Contrasted with worldly sorrow, being sorry for the consequences, or for getting caught. With no change of mind as to the lack of wisdom of the original offense. Without that change in thinking processes, we just go back into the same erroneous patterns of living that lead to death.
For behold what earnestness this very thing, godly sorrow, has produced in you: what vindication of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what avenging of wrong! In everything you demonstrated yourselves to be innocent in the matter.
So look at yourselves, at how much you have grown spiritually through this process: to sincerely, deeply, zealously display your vehement desire to right the wrong that had been done, which has shown you how you are cleared of any wrongdoing in yourselves. This is what heartfelt obedience produces.
So although I wrote to you, it was not for the sake of the offender nor for the sake of the one offended, but that your earnestness on our behalf might be made known to you in the sight of God.
So it wasn't really just for the sake of the man who did this, or for those injured by his behavior; but for you to know that you are steadfast in your love of God and obedience to Paul in teaching you God's ways.
To give you the confidence to know that you can continue to follow God in His ways in your everyday lives, and that you have the strength and fortitude to not turn back to the corrupt ways of the society around you that you came out of.
For this reason we have been comforted.
This is why my mind has been relieved, and I can relax in the peace of God on your behalf, as I knew that you would do what was right.
And besides our comfort, we rejoiced even much more for the joy of Titus, because his spirit has been refreshed by you all.
Paul was really glad for Titus, after Paul sent him to deliver that "sorrowful letter," putting him right in the middle if they had not received it favorably.
For if in anything I have boasted to him about you, I was not put to shame; but as we spoke all things to you in Truth, so also our boasting before Titus proved to be the truth.
Paul must have assured Titus that these Corinthians would of course understand the spirit in which the letter was written, and appreciate that he would bring it to them. Paul knew he had taught these believers sufficiently to understand why he had to write it, so what he encouraged Titus with did turn out to be true. (Whew!)
His affection abounds all the more toward you, as he remembers the obedience of you all, how you received him with fear and trembling.
Now that they have treated Titus so well, taking what he brought and acting on it in a righteous manner, Titus loves them all the more, too.
I rejoice that in everything I have confidence in you.
And Paul is so glad that he can have all that confidence in them to do right and follow God's ways.
We never can be quite sure what someone else will do, what attitude they may have, when confronted with a hard and unpleasant responsibility. Paul wanted to trust these Corinthians, but he naturally had a few nagging doubts. When Titus returned with the good news of their acceptance of the letter and their resultant actions, I can imagine how relieved he must have been.
He sent Titus, and he boasted about these believers to him, assuring him of their faithfulness to the Lord, to get him to go. But then he had the fears within wondering if they would live up to his boasting.
Praise the Lord, this matter was resolved in a godly manner, according to God's will. God always wants us to do right, to get along, to confront what is wrong and harmful, and to make it right again.
Paul had enough confidence in the Corinthian church to trust them to not mistreat the messenger for delivering a troublesome letter. And his trust was rewarded.
O that we would be able to do this in all the thorny situations we all find ourselves in from time to time. We need a guide, like Paul was to the Corinthians, who loves us enough to call us on what we're doing wrong, and lead us to get it right.
This kind of hard love is not always received well. Families have split, marriages have broken, friendships have been dissolved. Neighbors have put up walls, and relationships all around have suffered, when people refuse to humble themselves to admit what it is they're doing wrong. And sometimes those people are us.
Do my friends and relatives have enough confidence in me to trust me to respond positively to constructive criticism? Or are they afraid I might react all over them, and keep quiet?
O my Father, I thank You for the few I have encountered in my life who have called me on something I was doing wrong. And for Your grace to accept their words as Your direction. I know I still have blind spots, so I pray that You would bring others onto my path to continue to guide me and lead me in Your paths of righteousness.
Father, I pray for all Your children, that we would love one another as You have loved us, noticing how we are harming ourselves, and leading one another back into Your righteous ways. And that we will be humble enough to receive Your gracious words spoken by a brother or sister we can trust.
Lead, guide, and direct us, Father. Use Your Word, Your gentle nudgings, and one another, to show us how to extricate ourselves and one another from the holes we dig for ourselves, and the brambles of the World we find ourselves entangled in.
Help us to walk confidently in the path You have placed our feet upon, striding with our heads up, even strutting in the pride of Your glory. Showing and displaying before the World how much You Love us, and have sent Your own Son to make us into Your princes and princesses.
Send out Your workers, Father, into Your fields, to reap the crop that is already white to harvest. To find every lost sheep and every wandering and caught lamb, to draw them into Your One Fold with One Shepherd.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, and every tongue will proclaim the glory of Jesus Christ our Lord God Almighty, to the glory of Almighty God the Father, forever and ever, Amen.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Friday, October 4, 2019
Heal Our Feelings To Catch Up With Our Obedience
II Corinthians 7: 1-4
Therefore, having these promises,
These are God's plans for us to do for us what He has done, to make us His own family, that we spoke of yesterday.
beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit,
Because he loves them so much, he's urging them to be all God wants them to be, in being cleansed from all the filth of the World physically and from their minds to think pure thoughts.
perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
"Practice makes perfect," so we are to work on practicing in our lives and thoughts the pureness of His thoughts for us, and living a lifestyle different from our neighbors who are of the World.
The ways of the World are diametrically opposed to the ways of Heaven and God. We are God's family, living here as aliens, visiting this Earthly realm as Christ's ambassadors. To represent Him, we are to show the World His ways.
Make room for us in your hearts; we wronged no one, we corrupted no one, we took advantage of no one.
Yesterday we saw how they were holding back their affections. Now Paul is asking them again to relax and reconsider their feelings toward him. He hasn't injured or defrauded any of them in any way, even though he did write that "sorrowful letter" that has been lost to antiquity, that we discussed on September 21, 2019.
I do not speak to condemn you, for I have said before that you are in our hearts to die together and to live together.
Paul really loves these Corinthians, and doesn't want to criticize them, so he's trying to build them up by revealing the oneness of spirit he feels with them, to both live together and die together.
Great is my confidence in you; great is my boasting on your behalf. I am filled with comfort;
He is encouraging them because he has seen how they have followed the path of "tough love" with the erring brother (which brought him back into their fellowship, September 21, 2019), so he's been sharing with other churches their obedience and subsequent growth from this process. And he takes solace in that when he faces problems.
I am overflowing with joy in all our affliction.
When he undergoes tribulation in his travels, he can still be joyful knowing how his Corinthian brothers and sisters love the Lord.
We'll look at some of these afflictions tomorrow.
So Paul loves these believers deeply, and he wants them to love him back. Not for his own sake, but because he doesn't want them to carry grudges or hold back on account of past unpleasantries that have now been resolved. He wants all the residual negative feelings to dissipate and to resume an open relationship with him. This will reduce stress all around, and be for the benefit of all.
We need to remember this. The past doesn't rule the future. God's power in us is changing us fundamentally, and we need to recognize this when we find that we have unfavorable attitudes toward those who have hurt us in the past.
We need to pay attention to see if the Lord is working in them to renew their thinking processes, and act accordingly. If they have asked forgiveness, and we have granted it, then the relationship should change, if they really are following the Lord, as they say they are.
This requires discernment. We need to watch to see if their attitudes have really turned around, or if they're just using words.
Paul had to deal with a very thorny situation there in Corinth, and he told them to do something that was really hard for them to do to resolve it.
And these believers obeyed him, and did what what was needed, what was right to do for the situation, and everything was resolved. But feelings sometimes take time to settle down, and Paul gave them time to get everything straightened out (see September 20, 2019). Now he's expecting for them to continue in this path, and for their affections for him to return.
When we have to do something that's really hard for us to do, but we know that it's the right thing to do, our feelings can feel like they're on a roller coaster. And when we obey the Lord and do that hard thing, we can still feel really bad about it, and it will take time for our feelings to settle down and resolve back into the peace of God about it.
When we trust God to love us that much, and look to Him to heal our attitudes that haven't yet caught up with our obedience; then He will graciously pour His peace into our heart, to also be free to love our brothers and sisters in the Lord, forgetting the hurts of the past, the wounds that are now healed.
O my Father, thank You so much for having Paul write these things down, so that we can read them today, and follow Your course for getting along with one another as we obey Your ways in our daily lives and close relationships.
Father, we all have rough edges that can hurt as we rub up against one another. Help us all to remember this, and exemplify Your character in Your graciousness and forgiveness and forbearing one anothers' weaknesses.
Teach us to open our hearts to one another, loving each other as You have Loved us: unconditionally, lavishly, unbounded. Help us to respect that love that we receive from one another, not taking advantage of any brother or sister who appears vulnerable.
Show us how to protect the vulnerable from unscrupulous predators in sheep's clothing, and to have the moral fortitude to deal righteously with anyone who would do harm to Your children.
Father, continue to grow us up as Your children, teaching us Your ways in all the details of our living every day in this fallen World. Make us to stand tall among our human brethren, to show forth Your power and might and glory to the World, that they will see and know that You have sent Your Son for their benefit, but will also Judge.
Use us, Father, to bring all of Your lost and wayward lambs back from their entanglements in the brambles and briars of the World's ways. Send out Your workers into Your missionary fields, to harvest all who are searching, to gather all of Your chosen into Your One Fold with One Shepherd.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, and every tongue will proclaim in every voice and language, that Christ Jesus is Lord God Almighty, to the glory of Almighty God the Father, forever and ever, Amen.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Therefore, having these promises,
These are God's plans for us to do for us what He has done, to make us His own family, that we spoke of yesterday.
beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit,
Because he loves them so much, he's urging them to be all God wants them to be, in being cleansed from all the filth of the World physically and from their minds to think pure thoughts.
perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
"Practice makes perfect," so we are to work on practicing in our lives and thoughts the pureness of His thoughts for us, and living a lifestyle different from our neighbors who are of the World.
The ways of the World are diametrically opposed to the ways of Heaven and God. We are God's family, living here as aliens, visiting this Earthly realm as Christ's ambassadors. To represent Him, we are to show the World His ways.
Make room for us in your hearts; we wronged no one, we corrupted no one, we took advantage of no one.
Yesterday we saw how they were holding back their affections. Now Paul is asking them again to relax and reconsider their feelings toward him. He hasn't injured or defrauded any of them in any way, even though he did write that "sorrowful letter" that has been lost to antiquity, that we discussed on September 21, 2019.
I do not speak to condemn you, for I have said before that you are in our hearts to die together and to live together.
Paul really loves these Corinthians, and doesn't want to criticize them, so he's trying to build them up by revealing the oneness of spirit he feels with them, to both live together and die together.
Great is my confidence in you; great is my boasting on your behalf. I am filled with comfort;
He is encouraging them because he has seen how they have followed the path of "tough love" with the erring brother (which brought him back into their fellowship, September 21, 2019), so he's been sharing with other churches their obedience and subsequent growth from this process. And he takes solace in that when he faces problems.
I am overflowing with joy in all our affliction.
When he undergoes tribulation in his travels, he can still be joyful knowing how his Corinthian brothers and sisters love the Lord.
We'll look at some of these afflictions tomorrow.
So Paul loves these believers deeply, and he wants them to love him back. Not for his own sake, but because he doesn't want them to carry grudges or hold back on account of past unpleasantries that have now been resolved. He wants all the residual negative feelings to dissipate and to resume an open relationship with him. This will reduce stress all around, and be for the benefit of all.
We need to remember this. The past doesn't rule the future. God's power in us is changing us fundamentally, and we need to recognize this when we find that we have unfavorable attitudes toward those who have hurt us in the past.
We need to pay attention to see if the Lord is working in them to renew their thinking processes, and act accordingly. If they have asked forgiveness, and we have granted it, then the relationship should change, if they really are following the Lord, as they say they are.
This requires discernment. We need to watch to see if their attitudes have really turned around, or if they're just using words.
Paul had to deal with a very thorny situation there in Corinth, and he told them to do something that was really hard for them to do to resolve it.
And these believers obeyed him, and did what what was needed, what was right to do for the situation, and everything was resolved. But feelings sometimes take time to settle down, and Paul gave them time to get everything straightened out (see September 20, 2019). Now he's expecting for them to continue in this path, and for their affections for him to return.
When we have to do something that's really hard for us to do, but we know that it's the right thing to do, our feelings can feel like they're on a roller coaster. And when we obey the Lord and do that hard thing, we can still feel really bad about it, and it will take time for our feelings to settle down and resolve back into the peace of God about it.
When we trust God to love us that much, and look to Him to heal our attitudes that haven't yet caught up with our obedience; then He will graciously pour His peace into our heart, to also be free to love our brothers and sisters in the Lord, forgetting the hurts of the past, the wounds that are now healed.
O my Father, thank You so much for having Paul write these things down, so that we can read them today, and follow Your course for getting along with one another as we obey Your ways in our daily lives and close relationships.
Father, we all have rough edges that can hurt as we rub up against one another. Help us all to remember this, and exemplify Your character in Your graciousness and forgiveness and forbearing one anothers' weaknesses.
Teach us to open our hearts to one another, loving each other as You have Loved us: unconditionally, lavishly, unbounded. Help us to respect that love that we receive from one another, not taking advantage of any brother or sister who appears vulnerable.
Show us how to protect the vulnerable from unscrupulous predators in sheep's clothing, and to have the moral fortitude to deal righteously with anyone who would do harm to Your children.
Father, continue to grow us up as Your children, teaching us Your ways in all the details of our living every day in this fallen World. Make us to stand tall among our human brethren, to show forth Your power and might and glory to the World, that they will see and know that You have sent Your Son for their benefit, but will also Judge.
Use us, Father, to bring all of Your lost and wayward lambs back from their entanglements in the brambles and briars of the World's ways. Send out Your workers into Your missionary fields, to harvest all who are searching, to gather all of Your chosen into Your One Fold with One Shepherd.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, and every tongue will proclaim in every voice and language, that Christ Jesus is Lord God Almighty, to the glory of Almighty God the Father, forever and ever, Amen.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Thursday, October 3, 2019
In Not Of The World
II Corinthians 6: 11-18
Our mouth has spoken freely to you, O Corinthians, our heart is opened wide.
We have talked openly to you, and have opened our hearts and lives to you.
You are not restrained by us, but you are restrained by your own affections.
We have not cramped you, hemmed you in, but you have hemmed in your own emotions of affection. You're holding back.
Now in a like exchange--I speak as to children--open wide to us also.
As I see you as my own children, open your hearts to us as we have to you.
Do not be bound together with unbelievers;
Do not make legal business or marriage partnerships with those who don't have the same world-view you have.
for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness,
Obeying the Law and rebelling against the Law cannot agree on anything.
or what fellowship has light with darkness?
Darkness cannot exist in the presence of light, light always overpowers darkness.
Or what harmony has Christ with Belial,
Belial is another name for Satan, the enemy of God. Christ is the anointed by God, and is God. There can be no friendship between God and this enemy of God.
or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?
Spiritually, the believer is alive, but the unbeliever is dead.
Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God;
When God's Holy Spirit lives in our spirits, that makes us God's dwelling place, His temple. So there can be no camaraderie between God and devils, demons that back idols.
just as God said,
We are in the World, but we are not to be of the World. We can do business with those who are of the World, but we are not to join with them in their ungodly ways and lifestyles.
O my Father, You are pure, and You are beautiful, and You want us to be pure and beautiful like You as Your children. Please show us where the boundaries are, to know how to do business with the World without condoning or partaking in the corruption of the World. Let us not contaminate ourselves by "touching the unclean thing." Help us to live our lives separate from the World, showing the World how pure and holy You are.
Show us how to manifest Your Love to the World, in how we love You and one another. Your purity is totally uncontaminated by any contact with anything not clean. And Your beauty is Your perfectness in everything You are.
O Father, strengthen us and protect us from the contamination of the World. You know how easy it is for us to slide into compromise with what would spoil our witness for you to the World. Help us to keep ourselves unspotted by the World we live in, as Your royal children.
Open our minds to understand who we are in Your family, to live our lives here as Your children, learning how to be royal, in the humility and graciousness of our Father God. Thank You for working in us, and on us, and even through us, making us into the very image of Your dear Son, our Christ Jesus the Lord.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is our Lord God Almighty, sovereign King of the Universe, to the glory of Almighty God the Father!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Our mouth has spoken freely to you, O Corinthians, our heart is opened wide.
We have talked openly to you, and have opened our hearts and lives to you.
You are not restrained by us, but you are restrained by your own affections.
We have not cramped you, hemmed you in, but you have hemmed in your own emotions of affection. You're holding back.
Now in a like exchange--I speak as to children--open wide to us also.
As I see you as my own children, open your hearts to us as we have to you.
Do not be bound together with unbelievers;
Do not make legal business or marriage partnerships with those who don't have the same world-view you have.
for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness,
Obeying the Law and rebelling against the Law cannot agree on anything.
or what fellowship has light with darkness?
Darkness cannot exist in the presence of light, light always overpowers darkness.
Or what harmony has Christ with Belial,
Belial is another name for Satan, the enemy of God. Christ is the anointed by God, and is God. There can be no friendship between God and this enemy of God.
or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?
Spiritually, the believer is alive, but the unbeliever is dead.
Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God;
When God's Holy Spirit lives in our spirits, that makes us God's dwelling place, His temple. So there can be no camaraderie between God and devils, demons that back idols.
just as God said,
I will dwell in them and walk among them; And I will be their God, and they shall be My people (Leviticus 26:12; Jeremiah 31:33; 32:38; Ezekiel 36:28; Zechariah 8:8).All these prophets prophesied that one day God would dwell among His people in a very intimate way, being their God, and they devoted to Him without varying.
Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate, says the Lord.We are commanded to separate ourselves from all that is filthy or contaminated or disgusting, not touching any filth at all. We may even need to leave the geographical area where the people are under the Lord's wrath.
And do not touch what is unclean; (Isaiah 52:11; Revelation 18:4).
And I will welcome you. And I will be a Father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to Me, says the Lord Almighty (Jeremiah 31:9; Revelation 21:7).God wants us to be beautiful, not contaminated with any worldly or demonic uncleanness. Jesus' Blood washed us clean, pristine, as though we had never sinned at all, so we would be fit to be able to dwell with God in His very presence as His own family. We are not to go back into the cesspool of excrement again, the pigsty of filth. Or be that close to those who live there.
We are in the World, but we are not to be of the World. We can do business with those who are of the World, but we are not to join with them in their ungodly ways and lifestyles.
O my Father, You are pure, and You are beautiful, and You want us to be pure and beautiful like You as Your children. Please show us where the boundaries are, to know how to do business with the World without condoning or partaking in the corruption of the World. Let us not contaminate ourselves by "touching the unclean thing." Help us to live our lives separate from the World, showing the World how pure and holy You are.
Show us how to manifest Your Love to the World, in how we love You and one another. Your purity is totally uncontaminated by any contact with anything not clean. And Your beauty is Your perfectness in everything You are.
O Father, strengthen us and protect us from the contamination of the World. You know how easy it is for us to slide into compromise with what would spoil our witness for you to the World. Help us to keep ourselves unspotted by the World we live in, as Your royal children.
Open our minds to understand who we are in Your family, to live our lives here as Your children, learning how to be royal, in the humility and graciousness of our Father God. Thank You for working in us, and on us, and even through us, making us into the very image of Your dear Son, our Christ Jesus the Lord.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is our Lord God Almighty, sovereign King of the Universe, to the glory of Almighty God the Father!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Wednesday, October 2, 2019
Today Is The Day Of Salvation
II Corinthians 6: 1-10
And working together with Him, we also urge you to not receive the grace of God in vain--
He says that receiving the grace of God should not be without significance or worthless.
For He says,
Because, just as Isaiah had prophesied so long ago, that "acceptable time" has now come, and "the Day of Salvation" is today. No need to wait for anything else. Don't put it off.
giving no cause for offense in anything, so that the ministry will not be discredited,
He didn't want the ministry to suffer injured reputation, which would reduce its effectiveness to rescue people.
but in everything commending ourselves as servants of God,
We belong to God as His servants, serving Him.
in much endurance [patience],
The ability or strength to continue patiently despite adverse conditions.
in afflictions,
Persecutions, anguish.
in hardships [necessities],
Neediness, the indispensable necessities of life.
in distresses,
Narrowness of room, being boxed in.
in beatings [stripes],
Whippings and lashings.
in imprisonments,
Locked up in shackles.
in tumults,
Tossings to and fro; the instability of commotion and confusion, riots, uprisings.
in labors,
Hard physical work.
in sleeplessness [watchings],
Sleepless nights
in hunger [fastings],
Not having enough to eat.
in purity [pureness],
Doing everything with sincere, undiluted motives.
in knowledge,
Knowing all the pertinent facts.
in patience [longsuffering],
Forbearance, fortitude, suffering-long.
in kindness,
Benevolence, having a gentle and gracious attitude.
in the Holy Spirit,
God's Spirit of Truth who lives in each of us, teaching us God's Love and Truth.
in genuine Love,
The affection that causes us to put the loved one's needs before our own, regardless of the cost.
in the Word of Truth,
The unveiled reality of what God has made and who He is and how He sees us. Words are powerful. God's Word created, and our words can build up or tear down. The Word of Truth is Scripture.
in the Power of God;
God's power working in us by His Holy Spirit in us, doing what we would never be able to do ourselves.
by the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left,
An implement, utensil or tool for war. Righteousness is our weapon and shield in the battle of good against evil. For both the right hand, promoting righteousness, and the left hand, against unrighteousness.
by glory and dishonor, by evil report and good report; regarded as deceivers and yet True;
as unknown yet well-known, as dying yet behold, we live; as punished yet not put to death,
as sorrowful yet always rejoicing, as poor yet making many rich, as having nothing yet possessing all things.
All these opposites can all be used by God to share the Grace of God with the World. And all the negatives are turned into positives in the Lord's hand.
So the Grace of God should not be considered useless; it's the power of God in us, to share with others boldly.
It doesn't matter where we are in our circumstances and situations, we can always find a way to be kind, or to offer encouragement, or otherwise display the Love of God to others, to draw them to Salvation.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, and every tongue will proclaim that Jesus Christ is our Lord God Almighty, our Sovereign King of the Universe, to the glory of Almighty God the Father, forever and ever, Amen.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
And working together with Him, we also urge you to not receive the grace of God in vain--
He says that receiving the grace of God should not be without significance or worthless.
For He says,
At the acceptable time I listened to you, and on the Day of Salvation I helped you. (Isaiah 49:8).Behold, now is "the acceptable time," behold, now is "the Day of Salvation"--
Because, just as Isaiah had prophesied so long ago, that "acceptable time" has now come, and "the Day of Salvation" is today. No need to wait for anything else. Don't put it off.
giving no cause for offense in anything, so that the ministry will not be discredited,
He didn't want the ministry to suffer injured reputation, which would reduce its effectiveness to rescue people.
but in everything commending ourselves as servants of God,
We belong to God as His servants, serving Him.
in much endurance [patience],
The ability or strength to continue patiently despite adverse conditions.
in afflictions,
Persecutions, anguish.
in hardships [necessities],
Neediness, the indispensable necessities of life.
in distresses,
Narrowness of room, being boxed in.
in beatings [stripes],
Whippings and lashings.
in imprisonments,
Locked up in shackles.
in tumults,
Tossings to and fro; the instability of commotion and confusion, riots, uprisings.
in labors,
Hard physical work.
in sleeplessness [watchings],
Sleepless nights
in hunger [fastings],
Not having enough to eat.
in purity [pureness],
Doing everything with sincere, undiluted motives.
in knowledge,
Knowing all the pertinent facts.
in patience [longsuffering],
Forbearance, fortitude, suffering-long.
in kindness,
Benevolence, having a gentle and gracious attitude.
in the Holy Spirit,
God's Spirit of Truth who lives in each of us, teaching us God's Love and Truth.
in genuine Love,
The affection that causes us to put the loved one's needs before our own, regardless of the cost.
in the Word of Truth,
The unveiled reality of what God has made and who He is and how He sees us. Words are powerful. God's Word created, and our words can build up or tear down. The Word of Truth is Scripture.
in the Power of God;
God's power working in us by His Holy Spirit in us, doing what we would never be able to do ourselves.
by the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left,
An implement, utensil or tool for war. Righteousness is our weapon and shield in the battle of good against evil. For both the right hand, promoting righteousness, and the left hand, against unrighteousness.
by glory and dishonor, by evil report and good report; regarded as deceivers and yet True;
as unknown yet well-known, as dying yet behold, we live; as punished yet not put to death,
as sorrowful yet always rejoicing, as poor yet making many rich, as having nothing yet possessing all things.
All these opposites can all be used by God to share the Grace of God with the World. And all the negatives are turned into positives in the Lord's hand.
So the Grace of God should not be considered useless; it's the power of God in us, to share with others boldly.
It doesn't matter where we are in our circumstances and situations, we can always find a way to be kind, or to offer encouragement, or otherwise display the Love of God to others, to draw them to Salvation.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, and every tongue will proclaim that Jesus Christ is our Lord God Almighty, our Sovereign King of the Universe, to the glory of Almighty God the Father, forever and ever, Amen.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
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