Daily Thoughts From God's Word

Maybe I’ll just finish out 2 Corinthians in the vein I have started, i.e., selected verses.  Let’s start with:  "Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully . . . for God loves a cheerful giver” (9:6,8).  This is not a get rich scheme; rather, it is an encouragement for us to be generous with what God has given to us.  God is pleased when we live in such a manner.   “We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion rais

More jewels from 2 Corinthians.  “So we are always of good courage.  We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight” (5:6,7; One of the men at ReCenter, last evening, referenced this chapter and told how great a comfort it has been to him.).  And, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.  The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (5:17).  And, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no

The encouragements continue:  “Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God” (3:5); “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another” (3:18).  There’s more:  “For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord” (4:5).  And what about, “But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing p

In his second letter to the Corinthians, Paul begins by encouraging the saints by reminding them about their (and our) “Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction” (1:3,4).  Paul himself had been so utterly burdened beyond his strength that he “despaired of life itself” (1:8).  But the difficulties, according to Paul, were “to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead” (1:9).  There are some jewels here, which I think we

Varieties of gifts, the same Spirit. One body many parts. Gifts given to all. Love. Faith, hope, and love. All this is about the church and for the church. And Paul tops it off with a reminder about the gospel and the resurrection. And, finally, instructions to stand firm and, also, warm greetings to the Corinthians. Reading these chapters, one is just reminded of how wise and good God is and how abundant are his provisions for his people. He has given us all we need

Lots of instruction in these chapters about marriage, singleness, food offered to idols, offending others, working for a living, etc.  I wonder if a good summary statement of all that Paul writes here might be found in 9:12 – “But we endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ.”  In other words, all things are to be done, and all relationships are to be watched carefully, for the sake of the gospel.  And in another place:  “So, whether you e

One verse in chapter four has always stood out to me:  “Who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive?  If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?” (4:7)  In these chapters Paul writes about his apostolic ministry and continues to address problems in the Corinthian church (immorality, lawsuits against fellow believers, and issues regarding Christian marriage).  In all this, it appears that, though much sin can be fo

Churches are not perfect.  What’s the old adage?  “Churches are not perfect because they are made up of imperfect people.”  And certainly, the church at Corinth was not perfect.  Here’s the thing, though, these people were genuinely the church and, thus, it could be written of them that they were sanctified, called to salvation, recipients of grace, enriched in speech and knowledge, having Christ in them, gifted, persevering by God’s grace, ultimately guiltless (because of th

In chapter 1, Paul stated, “We preach Christ crucified” (1:23).  He continues his focus on Christ in these chapters:  “And I, when I came to you, brothers . . . I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified” (2:1-2).  Paul explains further, “Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God” (2:12).  And so it is, for those of us who know Christ and his salva

“For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1:18).  Just this thought this morning:  The world simply does not understand.  It cannot understand, and it won’t understand.  How foolish many must think we are.  But the cross is everything, and by that I mean Jesus Christ and all he has done for us and all that he is to us.  Maybe a good illustration of this reality:  At Baxter, last evening, we went walk

Following up on yesterday’s thoughts – “Kind of a must-be-holy-but-we’re-not-holy-but-we-have-the-righteousness-of-another-which-means-no-one-can-make-any-successful-charge-against-us thing.” – God has given gifts and, also, one another to help us become more and more like Christ – in dealing with enemies, in loving others, in submitting to the authorities, etc. – and, especially, we have the example of Christ himself.  The gospel, the Savior, the fellowship of the church, sp

Paul writes, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship” (12:1).  We are to live lives of holiness.  We are new creatures with a new and holy Lord. Our problem is that, even as children of God, our lives do not always reflect this reality.  That’s why it’s such good news that this entreaty is set on the foundation already laid out in the letter, i.e., th

Now, that which Paul himself has experienced – forgiveness of his sins and a right relationship with God and eternal life – he wants Israel to experience:  “For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh” (9:3).  The covenants are theirs.  And the promises.  And the Christ.  And all other things.   Israel has a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge (10:2), and Paul’s “heart's desire an

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (8:1).  I just have to wonder, have many sweeter words ever, I...

Coming from Acts into Romans (the one being largely historical, the other largely theological), one understands why Paul does what he...