2 Corinthians: Readings and the Thoughts that followed
2 Corinthians 1:4 ~ "who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God."
- Care for people who are afflicted.
- God cares for us so much, how can that not spill from us into the lives of others?
- If you have no concern for the oppressed and afflicted, do a serious self check-up and see if you are actually His. 10/22/18
2 Corinthians 1:9 ~ "Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead."
- Don't look at the circumstance and base your response off if it.
- Paul found his helplessness in this circumstance and at understood it would help him let go of what he was holding on to... his life.
- "Whoever loves his life loses it" ~ John 12:25 10/24/18
2 Corinthians 1:17 ~ " Was I vacillating when I wanted to do this? Do I make my plans according to the flesh, ready to say “Yes, yes” and “No, no” at the same time?"
- I catch myself all the time making "grand" ideas and schemes, and when I step back I have to ask myself,
- "Is this from God, or is it something I really want to do so I have attributed it to God's will?"
- It's a hard question, but one that needs to be asked.
- Is this from God or me? 10/25/18
2 Corinthians 1:22 ~ "and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee."
- Why is it so important to have the Holy Spirit working in and through your life?
- He's the "proof of purchase" that you're a child of God. 10/28/18
2 Corinthians 2:8 ~ "So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him."
- Don't withhold your love, appreciation, or affection from people, even if they have wronged you.
- We want to hold our forgiveness and affirmation from people to punish them.
- Jesus didn't do this to us, we shouldn't do it to others. 10/23/18
2 Corinthians 2:17 ~ "For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God's word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ."
- We should not use the gospel message to build ourselves up, or manipulate people into doing what we want them to.
- We are carriers of the news that Jesus offers freedom to the world.
- Don't water it down, and don't add to it. The message is enough!!! 10/29/18
2 Corinthians 3:6 ~ "who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life."
- The letter of the law is not where you find life.
- The letter of the laws of the U.S. are made to condemn you.
- It's through the spirit of the law that we are allowed life.
- It's through the Spirit of God that we are given life, not through the Law. 10/30/18
2 Corinthians 3:14 ~ "But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away."
- There are people who remain too focused on the Law and Traditions of the Church that they miss the New Covenant that Jesus brought us.
- You will not do enough "good works" to earn your way to heaven.
- If we're being honest, your good works, done with this motive are filled with pride as though you are more capable than God, which turns anything "good" you might have done to bad. 10/26/18
2 Corinthians 4:1 ~ "Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart."
- Our ministry has been given to us by God, and with God beside us, who can be against us?
- He chose to allow us to take part in spread His message, even when He did not have to. 10/31/18
2 Corinthians 4:2 ~ "But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God's word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone's conscience in the sight of God."
- We, I must be very, very careful with my handling of God's Word.
- It is not my place to change or alter, and if/when we do we don't make it better, but rather we ruin it.
- The gospel is ENOUGH it doesn't need our spin to it. 11/1/18
2 Corinthians 4:3 ~ "And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing."
- This who are believers in Jesus should have no problem reading and understanding the Bible.
- Those who are lost might be able to read, but the comprehension of the message must be revealed through the Holy Spirit. 11/2/18
2 Corinthians 4:4 ~ "In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God."
- This is where we all began our life.
- We were masked in darkness, all are ignorant at first. Most move to denial, while some become bitter toward the Savior God provided.
- 11/3/18
2 Corinthians 4:5 ~ "For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake."
- It is so important to always remember that we are carrying His message, not our own.
- Having this knowledge allows you to proclaim Him with confidence, and know that people aren't rejecting us, but Him.
- Bottom line, it's all about HIM.
- 11/4/18
2 Corinthians 4:8-9 ~ "We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed"
- We can handle anything coming our way, because we're supported by the One allowing it to come our way.
- He will use it for His ultimate good. 11/5/18
2 Corinthians 4:14 ~ " knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence."
- You don't have to worry about God holding up His end of the bargain.
- He did it with Jesus, and He can do it with you. 11/6/18
2 Corinthians 4:16 ~ "So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day."
- Yes, you and I are getting older, and the days we have left are limited.
- But, we, as believers, are growing spiritually. Our Christlikeness is continually growing during our life and will become stronger and stronger until the day we enter into His presence.
- If you aren't becoming more like Him on a daily basis, do an honest self check and determined if you're actually born again. 11/7/18
2 Corinthians 4:17 ~ "For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison"
- Your life, my life is all the introduction, the pre-story of things that are to come.
- What's to come will easily put the best things you've experienced to shame... if you are His. 11/8/18
2 Corinthians 5:1 ~ "For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens."
- It doesn't get much better than this promise.
- Knowing this, go do the work God assigned us without fear. 11/9/18
2 Corinthians 5:5 ~ "He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee."
- God is in control, and He has given us everything we need to be successful with every circumstance.
- We might have to shift our idea of success, but He is faithful to us. 11/10/18
2 Corinthians 5:6 ~ "So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord"
- Yes, things during your life and mine will be hard, but we have hope of a future.
- No, more than hope, we have the promise of God that something much better is waiting for us.
- What could be any more secure than something promised from Him? 11/11/18
2 Corinthians 5:7 ~ "for we walk by faith, not by sight."
- This is the hang up for many non believers, they want the proof and visual assurance of God's existence.
- The Christian faith is not built on things we can see, feel, and touch, but faith in His promises. 11/12/18
2 Corinthians 5:9 ~ "So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him."
- Does this describe you?
- Are you aiming to please Him everywhere you are, or are you different at school/work than you are at home?
- Are you different when you go to another country or are you the same.
- I must confess, I am very convicted over this verse. 11/13/18
2 Corinthians 5:10 ~ "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil."
- Terrifying to the unbeliever, but it could be rewarding for the believer.
- We, as believers, will stand before God and give an account of the things we have done to advance His kingdom and bring Him glory. 11/14/18
2 Corinthians 5:12 ~ "We are not commending ourselves to you again but giving you cause to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast about outward appearance and not about what is in the heart."
- Pride is at the root of every sin.
- If you are going to have pride, take pride in the condition of you heart, soul, and spiritual life.
- The body is more than a mannequin to show off material possessions and worldly status. 11/15/18
2 Corinthians 5:14-15 ~ "For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised."
- Jesus died and rose. In doing so He did ALL the work.
- He did everything that is needed for us to no longer live for our selfish lives, but instead we can live as Paul wrote, "a living sacrifice."
- Are you living, today, in your life as a sacrifice for God? 11/16/18
2 Corinthians 5:17 ~ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
- When you accepted Jesus and Lord and Savior, a transformation began in your life. Jesus took you, who was a slave to sin and made you into a new person, free from sin, and in service to Him.
- The old excuses of, "I'm only human," and "everybody sins," don't work for us. We are new, no longer tied to sin as we once were, but chained to Jesus. 1/20/18
- You and I are NEW. In the words of Paul, we are a NEW Creation.
- There's a sense of being completely made over, with only things that He wants to be carried over. 11/17/18
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