2 Corinthians 1:12

2 Corinthians 1:12 Now this is our boast: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in our relations with you, in the holiness and sincerity that are from God. We have done so not according to worldly wisdom but according to God's grace.

This is something that I feel we need to all work towards. Namely, that we can say that we have acted in such a way towards all people in holiness and godly sincerity. That no one can say we have acted using the wisdom of this world but that we have lived our lives for God by his grace. So how do we compare to this verse? Is all our conduct done in holiness and sincerity? If not, we need to repent and ask for God’s grace in our lives so that we can be changed by the Holy Spirit into someone who can make this statement.

Hope in God

In 2 Corinthians 1:8-11, Paul shares about some of his struggles. He talks about how they were overwhelmed so that they despaired of life. They had come to the end of themselves and yet had to continue on. What strikes me is in verse 9 where he says, “we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead;” This is very significant. God brought them to a place where they could not trust in themselves and more. They had the sentence of death within them. Yet it didn’t end there. They put their trust in God. Not in themselves, not in their skills or abilities but in God. Maybe it took this incident or trial that Paul talks about to really bring about full surrender in his life to God. But Paul put his hope in God and God delivered them from the peril of death and Paul continues in this hope by saying God will deliver us. Not only has God delivered Paul already but God will continue to deliver him.

This led me to think about circumstances in my life that feel like they take me beyond what I can bear. I need to put my hope in God, not in people, in my strengths or anything else. My hope, your hope needs to be in the God who raises from the dead. The one who gives us hope when it seems that all hope is lost. The God who has promised to deliver us.

Comfort of God

2 Corinthians 1:3-5 3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. 5 For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.

It is because of God’s grace and peace that the Apostle Paul can write this. God comforts us in all our troubles. He gives us his grace to continue on and his peace to know that he is in total control. Our faith in God stands on his word which says in Romans 8:28 “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Even our troubles and afflictions are worked to our good and even to the good of others. Paul states that God comforts us so that we can then comfort others who are going through the same things. Just as Christ suffered and that flows into our lives so does the comfort of Christ flow into our lives. This should lead us to bring praise to God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.

Peace of God

2 Corinthians 1:2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul greats the Corinthian church with the grace of God and also the peace of God. We tend to think of peace as the absence of conflict in our lives. But that isn’t all he is talking about here. In fact later in this chapter he talks about suffering and affliction which comes from being a follower of Jesus Christ. So he must be talking about something else besides what we consider peaceful lives. I think first of all he reminds us that we are at peace with God through the grace of God. We are no longer enemies of God. We are no longer in conflict with God. We receive God’s comfort. As I said last time we have committed high treason against God by our sin. Yet through God’s grace we are forgiven and are at peace with him. His peace surpasses our understanding and helps us to understand the next portion of this chapter which we will get into next time.

Grace of God

I recently started reading through the book of 2nd Corinthians. I thought that along the way I would share some of what I have gleaned from the word of God.

2 Corinthians 1:2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I just enjoy reading this verse. Take a moment and read it out loud. Go ahead, say it out loud. If someone is near you maybe they need to hear about God’s grace and peace. Soak it in. God’s grace is amazing. It is beyond our comprehension that God would love us so much that he would pay the price himself so that we could be in a right relationship with him even though we are sinners. God’s grace takes away that ultimate penalty for our sins. We who have sinned against the creator of the universe, who have committed high treason against the supreme ruler, are forgiven not because of anything we have done or could do to earn it but because of God’s gift of grace. Next time we will look at God’s peace.

Wisdom of God or foolishness of men?

This past Sunday we examined 1 Corinthians 1:18-31. In this passage Paul contrasts the wisdom of God with the wisdom of people. In fact the passage shows that our wisdom is foolish when compared to God’s wisdom. We see God’s wisdom as foolish even though we can’t even agree on what is wise or not. I want to look at some other passages from the Bible that talk about being foolish and see what we can learn.

Psalms 14:1 The fool says in his heart, "There is no God."

Many say this today. We are surrounded by people who claim there is no God. It seems to me that they disregard the possibility that maybe they don’t know everything. I could see someone saying that there is a god but not one who is involved with us. That at least takes into account that people do not know everything. To say that there is no god at all presupposes knowledge that we just do not have as humans. In fact I believe it takes more faith to believe that there is no god at all than there is to believe in a personal God who has revealed himself to us.

How does the world see us?

On Sunday the question was posed “How does the world see us?” Peculiar, odd, weird or intolerant were the answers given. It raises the question in my mind of wow should the world see us? Well the fruit of the spirit is in Galatians 5:22-23 “22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” When people see Christians this is what they should see. People so full of these things that it can’t be explained other than by bringing God into the conversation. This should describe each follower of Jesus Christ. What keeps you from having this fruit evident in your life? How can you work to have this fruit show up? It comes from walking close to Jesus not from just avoiding a list of do’s and don’ts. The disciples were marked by the leaders of Israel not because of their intelligence or speech but because they had been with Jesus. Spend time with Jesus and he will develop the fruit in your life.

Some thoughts

On Sunday as I was listening to our guest speaker he posed some questions that got me thinking about how off base our thoughts are sometimes. The question was “What keeps people from living out the love of God?” Some of the answers were fear, selfishness, peer pressures, distractions or pride. This is something that affects us all and yet our reasons are so little in comparison to the benefits we gain from living out God’s love for us and others. God has promised us peace and joy that are beyond understanding. Doesn’t that alone outweigh the things that hold us back? What happens often is that we haven’t experienced the peace and joy of God in our lives so we don’t believe that it actually exists. Try this, pray and ask God for His peace and joy to be evident in your life.

The earth is filled with His glory

Isaiah 6:3 And they were calling to one another: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of His glory."

This is a picture from God’s throne room with the angels crying out about the God they serve. They were recognizing that first of all that God is holy. Not just a little holy or very holy but completely and totally holy. God is perfect and we cannot even comprehend how perfect He is in our limited minds. Yet God is holy, holy, holy. This is why we should be concerned about how we approach a holy God. We should approach this God in the way that He commands and with reverent fear. Not fear of punishment but fear of disappointing Him.

Then the angels go on to point out what is obvious to them but sometimes what I think we miss. The whole earth is full of His glory. We miss seeing God’s glory in all of creation and even in each other because we tend to focus on what is wrong and not what is right. We think about how things need to change or that seems to be out of sync. Yet we are commanded to think about the good things around us. Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.” These things bring about God’s glory and reflect it so that we can see it. Take some time today to contemplate God’s glory around you.

Let the earth be filled

Psalms 72:19 Praise be to his glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with his glory. Amen and Amen.

David called for the whole earth to be filled with the glory of God. He had a grasp on what it meant to experience God’s glory. David wrote this Psalm at the end of his life. Imagine a world where we all experience each and every day and in ever thing we do it is full of God’s glory. This was David’s prayer and should be ours; to see God’s glory fill the earth. It would change everything. It would change your relationships, your job and your family. We have the opportunity to live each day for God’s glory and in our own small way help to bring the glory of God throughout the whole earth. Live today for the glory of God.

God's Will (part 5)

God guides us at times through the circumstances of this life. One of my favorite songs has a line that says step by step you will lead me. God has led me often one step at a time. It seems as when I complete one step He opens up the door or gives direction for the next step. Rarely have I seen more than one step ahead in my life. God has called me to follow Him. Not to know all that will happen or what to do in every circumstance. If I knew all those things I wouldn’t need any faith to walk day by day. At times in our lives God will close doors or open them. I recently heard someone say if God closes a door he opens a window somewhere. But God also asks us at times to persevere through our circumstances. At times what seems like an open door is really temptation to not follow God’s direction and leading. We must always go back to His word for confirmation.

God's Will (part 4)

God has placed us within a body of believers called the church. God uses people in the church to speak and counsel one another in God’s will. All throughout scripture we are taught to seek counsel from those who know God’s word and have shown that they put it into practice. God puts people into your life to help you along that path to know and serve Him better. They may see things that God is doing in your life that you cannot because you are too close to the situation. They may have the counsel of God that you need. The problem comes when we put what others say, their advice which may or may not line up with God’s word ahead of seeking God directly. We can run to friends for help but we must also seek the one who knows all things. Daily time in God’s word is always needed to be able to discern whether what someone shares with us is from God or not. It also helps us to help others who God has put in out place.

God's Will (part 3)

God shows us His will at times through what most of us know as common sense. God has given us a mind and expects us to us it when we are determining His will and direction for our lives. When you go to look for a new job you don’t just go for any job but you take time to determine your strengths and abilities and then look for jobs that will best use those abilities that God has gifted you with. Use your understanding and knowledge to grasp God’s will and direction. Just realize this; our common sense is corrupted by the sin nature. So it may seem like common sense that when someone wrongs you that you get back at them, this is not acceptable in God’s eyes and is prohibited in His word. We still need to submit to the Bible as the final authority.

God's Will (part 2)

God speaks to us through His word but sometime He also uses other things to guide us. When we are in prayer and seeking God’s direction He sometimes speaks through the Holy Spirit. He may do this by giving you a new thought, a strong impression about something or someone or even through a feeling. God may give you a strong desire to do a certain task or take on a role that you never would have thought of on your own. Sometimes God guides us through dreams or visions. He even uses angels or speaks out loud from time to time. We must not forget that this guidance must line up with all of God’s word. The Holy Spirit will not guide you to do something that is contrary to God’s revealed word in the Bible. Always check and recheck what you hear with what is written.