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.

God's Will (part 1)

God reveals His will of command through His word. The Bible is God’s final authority when it comes to deciding whether something is God’s will or not. As we immerse ourselves in the Bible we will begin to have our minds renewed and even transformed from thinking one way to another. I was recently talking to someone about this topic and they have done a lot of study on how the brain works. He shared that they are beginning to find that when you change how you think about something it actually begins to change how your brain works. Meditating, studying, immersing ourselves in God’s words will change how you think, what you believe and how you act and feel. So take time each day to put the word into your thoughts. Listen to it on cd or from the internet. Read it. Listen to good teaching about the Bible. Spend time with God asking Him to help you understand what He is saying to you this day.

Continued thoughts about our words

Isaiah 6:1-5 1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory." 4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.

Isaiah saw God. He saw the sovereign of all the nations and of the entire universe seated on His throne. Moses who God spoke to as a friend speaks to a friends wasn’t able to see God and yet here is Isaiah in God’s presence. Look at Isaiah’s reaction to being in the presence of God, the holy, holy, holy one.

5 "Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty."

Isaiah knew what his core problem was when he came face to face with God. It wasn’t his thoughts or his actions but look at what he says. Isaiah cries out, woe to me, I am ruined for I am a man of unclean lips. He knew that his speech, what came out of his heart is what was wrong with him and what made him so opposite of a holy, holy, holy God.

6 Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 With it he touched my mouth and said, "See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for."

The cure for Isaiah’s unclean lips? It was a coal that was too hot for even that angel to pick up to come and sear Isaiah’s lips, burning away what was unclean in him. This was a radical fix for Isaiah and is something we need to pray that God would do spiritually in our lives. That God would take a coal from His altar and sear our lips so that we are no longer guilty of being people with unclean lips.

The Tongue - James 3:2-12 (Part 5)

James 3:9-12 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.


How can this be? It is like the question: “do you kiss your mother with that mouth?” said to kids who say things that would cause anyone to look at them twice. We praise God and curse men with the same tongue. Doesn’t this sadden you? But James is getting at something here. We have been made new. We have been born again. No longer should our heart be full of vile things but of the God things of God. So why do we speak evil? Does it show that our hearts have not been cleansed or that we are not walking by God’s Spirit? It should wake us up when we speak wrongly that our heart is connected to the wrong source and to repent and make a change. Don’t be a worthless salt spring that no one can find life in but connect your heart and therefore your words to the life giving spring that comes from knowing Jesus Christ.

The Tongue - James 3:2-12 (Part 4)

James 3:7-8 All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

We have a lot of power and skill in this world yet no one has yet found a way to tame the tongue. Some take a vow of silence but that doesn’t cure what is in their hearts. Jesus told us our mouth speaks what is in our hearts. It reflects what we truly believe.

The Tongue - James 3:2-12 (Part 3)

James 3:5-6 Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

The tongue is a small part of who we are yet it has great power. Who hasn’t made great boasts about who they will become or what they have already done? But just as a forest fire starts with one spark the tongue can set off a conflagration that will cause massive destruction not only in relationships but even in the physical world. Your tongue has the same power as the ships rudder. It will steer your life for better or for worse.

The Tongue - James 3:2-12 (Part 2)

James 3:3-4 When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go.

It takes something small and seemingly insignificant to turn such a large animal as a house or even a ship. We can make these powerful animals go where we desire. We can steer a ship that weighs hundreds of tons with just a relatively small rudder. Wars have been started with just the exchange of words. We fight and argue because of one small part of our body.

The Tongue - James 3:2-12 (Part 1)

James 3:2 We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check.

Our words betray us. The things that come out of our mouth when we are angry or upset or think that no one is around will one day be known by all. This is a sobering thought. Jesus said in Matthew 12:36-37 (NIV) 36 But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. 37 For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned." We stand or fall by our words. Does it make you stop and think before you open your mouth? It should.

What kids want

I heard a story recently about a pastor who was working with youth in a detention center. He asked them what they would have like from their parents, what would have helped prevent them from ending up there.
1. Keep your cool.
2. Don’t use alcohol or drugs.
3. Bug us a little – be strict show us who is boss, don’t cave in.
4. Don’t try to act like your kids.
5. Light a candle – show us the way.
6. Scare us – when we are doing wrong get tough.
7. Punish us but do it with love.
8. Call our bluff – mean what you say, don’t compromise.
9. Be honest – tell us the truth no matter what.
10. Praise us when we deserve it.

All of this basically calls us as parents to follow God's teaching on how to live our lives for Him each day.

Ephesians 6:4

Ephesians 6:4 Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.

Even though it is translated as fathers, it does apply to both parents. We exasperate our children when we show an ongoing pattern of treatment that leads to anger.
Some of the ways we do this are:
1. Showing favoritism – each child is unique and we need to treat them as such
2. Neglect them – no time to listen, too busy to be there
3. Never complimenting – need encouragement as much and more than correction

If we exasperate our children we can next move on to training them or instruction them in the ways of God.

The training speaks to discipline even by punishment when needed. They need to know there are lines that when crossed have consequences.

Instruction is confronting them with the truth of God's word in light of their own hearts. It is bringing it before their mind to think about and show them that there is a right and a wrong in this world.

All of this assumes that you have a good relationship with God. If you don't then get right with Him now. Your kids are depending on you to walk with God so that they will know how to walk by imitating you.

Parenting Success

As I did my research to prepare for Sunday's message on success in parenting I was struck by how important time with our children is key to helping them develop a thirst for God in their lives. Nothing else seemed to have as big an impact. In Deut. 6 it talks about when we are going about our daily lives to be talking to our children about God. It doesn't say make sure you have family devotions every day. Not that having devotions is a bad idea. In fact it is a great one. But we need to learn to use the situations we and our children face every day to point to God. A conflict at school or home is a great time to talk about how God would want us to handle it and to pray that God would help us do the right thing. If we don't spend any time with our kids how would we know where they need help. It is never too late to show an interest in the lives of our children, just make sure you are sincere. Take time to listen and hear the heart behind your child's words.

Colossians 3:23-24

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.(NIV)

Paul tells us that we are to do all things will all our heart. With our innermost being working towards accomplishing whatever is set before us. We don't work for men. We all work for God. You don't work for your boss, you don't work for a paycheck, you don't work for your children or your spouse. You work for God. So do it with all your heart. Don't be divided in your heart over whether this person deserves your best or does this project require the energy I have put in to it. Do it all for God. Our work, whether paid or unpaid, is done in service to God and not men and we do it so that our Father in heaven will be glorified. This is hard to do some days when we don't feel appreciated or that our work doesn't make any sort of difference and we wonder if anyone even notices what we have done. Know this, God sees what you have done and according to this passage has an inheritance in store for you. Work today with all your heart.

Thoughts on Hebrews 10:23-25

Hebrews 10:23-25(NIV) 23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. 25 Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
One way we hold unswervingly to the hope we profess is to keep walking with Jesus. Keep looking beyond your problems, your pains and you circumstances to God’s promises. Hold on to, cling to the hope that you have in Jesus Christ. Because God is faithful to do what He said He would do.
We are to spur on each other towards love and good deeds. Spur means to provoke or stimulate each other forward.
It seems as if there has always been a problem with people withdrawing from church fellowship. In fact, the writer calls it a habit. You miss one or two meetings and then you feel weird going back. Then in becomes ingrained to not go to church or small group anymore. That is where the danger lies. It is easy to fall away when you are not in a place where you are being spurred forward and where you are not being encouraged to walk with Jesus. The world will not encourage you to live as a follower of Jesus Christ. Only when you put yourself in a place where you can know others and be known will you experience growth. The enemy is constantly looking for those who wander off from the group to attack.
I have found that it is hard to encourage someone when you don’t see them very often or at all. It is hard to receive encouragement from others when you don’t share what is going on with others. Scripture is clear in that we need to meet together regularly if we are to consider ourselves as followers of Jesus Christ. We are shown that the church exists to share Christ with others and to be Christ to each other. Once we remove ourselves from interacting with others in the body of Christ we are like a branch that has removed itself from the tree and it withers and dies very quickly.
If you consider yourself a follower of Jesus Christ you need to be in regular fellowship where there is teaching, prayer and worship with others in the body of Christ. Maybe the church you were in wasn’t the place for you but there is a place for you somewhere. Find it. Get involved so that you can obey this passage and spur others on as you are spurred onward and get and be encouraged.

Success

I have been thinking about success lately. I was in our annual district prayer conference for the C&MA in October and the subject for the conference was what is success. I was struct that we so often say success is one thing and yet work to bring about success in other areas and neglect the one area we say we need to have success in. Let me give and example. If I were to ask you what would success mean for you in your family you may give an answer that would include close relationships, openness and understanding. Yet in practice our focus in our families is just getting through the day or week and we fail to do anything to foster closeness, openness and understanding. When I first started out being a pastor a friend of mine asked me what I would consider success in my ministry. And as I thought about it I came to this conclusion. If I was faithful to do what God had called me to do in all areas then I would be able to say I was successful even if the ministry failed or fell apart. The faithfulness/obedience to God was what was important. Yet sometimes I find myself working to make sure the ministry is successful and ignore doing the things God has called me to complete. Without a constant reminder of what success really means to me I get off track. So what does success mean to you? How are you going about trying to make sure you are successful?