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2 Corinthians 13

2/28/2012

2 Corinthians 13:11-12 “Dear brothers and sisters, I close my letter with these last words: Be joyful. Grow to maturity. Encourage each other. Live in harmony and peace. Then the God of love and peace will be with you. Greet each other with Christian love.”

We have got to start living this out as one unified church. We can’t be arguing with other Christians about basic things because we all should be seeking to grow to maturity. This takes us asking God to lead us and to give us the strength to be different and work together with other Christians to be the light of the world. We need to build each other up and make a difference that the world can see. It’s not about a certain name of a church it is about the church led by Jesus Christ. We can all work together to show that Christ is our role model and who we need to resemble in our lives and then we can impact people for God.

I love what Paul closes this letter with in verse 14, “May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”

This combination is what completes us and brings us to maturity, we need to be willing to work hard to grow and learn and listen so we know exactly what to do in all situations so people see us as true Christians not hypocrites. Amen

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2 Corinthians 12

2/27/2012

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2 Corinthians 12:20-21 “For I am afraid that when I come I won’t like what I find, and you won’t like my response. I am afraid that I will find quarreling, jealousy, anger, selfishness, slander, gossip, arrogance, and disorderly behavior. Yes, I am afraid that when I come again, God will humble me in your presence. And I will be grieved because many of you have not given up your old sins. You have not repented of your impurity, sexual immorality, and eagerness for lustful pleasures.”

Paul has some concerns with the church in Corinth, when I read this today it made me think about the church in America. How any times to we say one thing and do another? We should be diligent in our walk knowing that we accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior and that does come with life change. Are we working on our new lives being the example Christ calls us to be or are we spinning our wheels in the same mud we did before we accepted Jesus? We are new creations and should have died to our old self but that takes devotion and time, what keeps us from putting the time in so we are different? Satan will constantly use what he knows is our weakness to try and keep us from growing and glorifying God. Our job is to open up and let the Spirit lead seeking God’s wisdom for everything in our lives.

I like to see how Paul uses his weakness to humble himself and honor God. In chapter 12 verse 7 we see what Paul is working with. “…even though I have received such wonderful revelations from God. So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud. Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time He said, ‘My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.’ So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.”

We know we have weakness that makes us struggle and so does Satan we need to continue to grow and know God’s word so in those weaknesses we don’t act on them but follow the Spirit. Then we will understand what Paul says at the end of verse 10, “…For when I am weak, then I am strong.” Amen

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2 Corinthians 7

2/24/2012

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2 Corinthians 7:1 “Because we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit. And let us work toward complete holiness because we fear God.”

It is so nice to be aware of what is going on in our lives. When we are led by the Spirit we tend to think before we act or react and the Spirit shows us what is right. When we put bad in we have more of a chance for bad to come out. We want to keep in tune with the world but we need to be careful what we watch and what we take in so we don’t flood ourselves with crap that will cloud the Spirit.

The end of the verse says, “…let us work toward complete holiness because we fear God.” This takes us filling up with good; reading God’s word and learning what it says. This is not a onetime experience because God’s word is active and living, so we need to learn constantly. It also takes prayer and fellowship with other believers who are working on their walk with the Lord. It has been amazing for me to stop and slow down before reacting and give the Spirit a chance to lead.

I sometimes just say nothing and ask “what would Jesus do.” It seems cliché but it has helped me grow. I have truly worked on this because I respect what God has done for me, when we think of this we work harder and our focus is on Him not ourselves.

In 2 Corinthians chapter 6 verse 1 Paul says, “As God’s partners, we beg you not to accept this marvelous gift of God’s kindness and then ignore it.” Thank Him and work hard to grow so everything we do is for Him and we seek His guidance in everything. When He is the center of our lives we go to Him for everything even when we are struggling with life. I love what Paul says in 2 Corinthians chapter 7 verse 10, “For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death.”

The Spirit will lead us and our focus will be on pleasing God not ourselves and we will experience the joy that only comes from God. We all need to continue to grow and learn so God is the center of our lives. Amen

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2 Corinthians 5

2/22/2012

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2 Corinthians 5:15 “He died for everyone so that those who receive His new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.”

When we understand this our entire outlook will change and we will work to be like Christ. Our focus comes off wanting everything to please ourselves and we see others and want them to know Christ. The heart transformation is what drives us to look and live outwardly knowing that our purpose is to serve the Lord and be a light to people.

Verse 17 says, “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”

When we belong to something we are committed to it and we do everything we can to share and let people know about it. That’s how it is with our walk with Jesus Christ; after we believe we must seek to mature and belong so we live our lives because we love Him and are thankful for what He did. It is so easy to believe and not be transformed to that new creation. When this happens we start doing things because we think we have to, such as, we should go to church or we should serve, or we should tithe, but it’s not done because we love our new lives it’s done out of obligation.

When we accept Jesus and realize without Him there is no eternal life and that He has given us a chance to be new and glorify God with our lives that will help us belong. And when we belong we joyfully do everything that God has put in our hearts. We read God’s word to transform, we serve because we want to help people know Jesus, we give because it is God’s money and it will be used to help the Kingdom grow. Our entire outlook changes and we see God in the center of our lives not an addition to our lives.

Think of this question: What are you committed to? If it’s everything in our lives and God is just fit in we need to ask Him to help us belong so our commitment changes and our focus is on Him. In chapter 5 verse 9 Paul says, “So whether we are here in this body or away from this body, our goal is to please Him.” Amen

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2 Corinthians 4

2/20/2012

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2 Corinthians 4:8-10 “We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.”

I read this and just sat in awe as I thought of Paul and the men with him. Then I thought this really applies to us as well. We have the Spirit in us when we accepted Christ as Lord and Savior and we are going through these worldly attacks constantly because Satan is trying to keep us from experiencing the peace and joy that comes from knowing Jesus. When we say yes to God and accept Jesus we need to focus on Him always, knowing that we have joined an eternal family that is al loving and constant.

Our focus is important because this world will do all it can to keep our eyes on it and ourselves. Look at what Paul tells us in verse 4; “Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the God News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.”

This is why the world is so set to keep our eyes off what is true. And we have to learn and study the truth so that we are constantly aware of where our focus should be. Verse 14 says, “We know that God, who raised the Lord Jesus, will also raise us with Jesus and present us to himself together with you.”

How amazing is that? We need to remember this every day and think about it as we have problems and troubles that will be inevitable because we know Jesus. Paul finishes chapter 4 with great advice and something for us to always think about. Verse 18 says, “So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.”

This should fill our hearts so as we go through life and we have troubles we focus on Christ and see eternity in heaven with God which is so amazing we can’t even comprehend its greatness. Amen

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2 Corinthians 1

2/18/2012

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2 Corinthians 1:3-4 “All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.”

This just shows again how God wants us to be thinking and caring for others. He comforts us in our troubles not just for our benefit but so we can comfort others. I love this because it is so important for us to glorify God always but especially when we have troubles. This is when God gets the glory and we don’t. What I mean is when people that don’t know God see how we react differently in tough situations they start to wonder how and then we can tell them it is because of Jesus in our lives. It shows people that we can’t do it on our own it takes God’s love to help guide us and comfort us.

Paul goes on to share in chapter 1 verses 8-10, “We think you ought to know, dear brothers and sisters, about the trouble we went through in the province of Asia. We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it. In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learn to rely only on God, who raises the dead. And He did rescue us from mortal danger, and He will rescue us again. We have placed our confidence in Him, and He will continue to rescue us.”

Have we stopped relying on our own strength yet? Do we give it to Him and say you know best I accept whatever happens because I know you love me? We must understand that this life is our journey home and Jesus is our way to the Father. When we stop and understand this we can work on developing our faith so people can see what it truly means to follow Christ.

Paul says in verse 21-22, “It is God who enables us, along with you, to stand firm for Christ. He has commissioned us, and He has identified us as His own by placing the Holy Spirit in our hearts as the first installment that guarantees everything He has promised us.” We are also commissioned and we are His children. Know the Holy Spirit and work on listening to Him so He leads and we don’t cloud Him out.

Pray this: God, I know you love me and have accepted me, now please continue to use me as a person who is comforted in all things because of you and then help me teach others how the comfort is for everyone. All Praises to you in Jesus name. Amen

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2 Corinthians 6

5/29/2011

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As I read today this verse from 2 Corinthians chapter 6 just jumped out to me. It is Paul talking about all his hardship and his life and I really love what he said in verse 10.

“Our hearts ache, but we always have joy. We are poor, but we give spiritual riches to others. We own nothing, and yet we have everything.”

We always have joy is remarkable to me because that’s what we all could have in the Lord when we die to self and fill our hearts with Him. I know that comes from trusting in the Lord and totally surrendering to God and His will. Our walk with the Lord will always have some kind of bumpy road because satan is working hard to help us focus on ourselves. We need to continually learn and grow to be filled with the Spirit so we actually want to change and be a new creation. Dying to self is our challenge and is the easiest way satan can cloud our walk and keep us stumbling without joy.

Look at Chapter 7 verse 1 which says, “Because we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit. And let us work toward complete holiness because we fear God.”

Do we realize the amazing gift God gave us, or do we not really think about it? Paul says, “…and let us work toward complete holiness because we fear God.” Do we work at our relationship with the Lord or do we expect it because of the free gift? We need to be opened to what the Spirit is saying, and that gets louder the more we turn to God for wisdom. I pray that I always have joy as I work hard to be just like Christ. Amen

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2 Corinthians 3

10/5/2010

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2 Corinthians 3:17-18 “For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord – who is the Spirit – makes us more and more like Him as we are changed into His glorious image.”

Can you see the power of change in your lives when you live by the Spirit? When we are full of the Spirit we desire to be Christ like. We don’t settle for less, we are not satisfied with doing nothing. Being a fully devoted follower of Jesus Christ is a heart felt passion to always be learning and growing. It is not a patch to put on when needed, it is what drives us daily to be like Christ. It says we are changed into His glorious image, that means we desire to read, we desire to pray, we desire to do more than sit back and help ourselves. We need to ask ourselves; are we happy with our belief? I say no, I want to be filled with the Spirit which will make me more and more like Him.

Proverbs 17:24 says, “Sensible people keep their eyes glued on wisdom, but fool’s eyes wander to the ends of the earth.”

What are you focused on? Our eyes need to be constantly on the Lord so we can stand firm and have joy and peace in this crazy world. Our true homes will come later, we need to learn and live as Christ did. Amen

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2 Corinthians 13

2 Corinthians 12

2 Corinthians 7

2 Corinthians 5

2 Corinthians 4

2 Corinthians 1

2 Corinthians 6

2 Corinthians 3

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