We're moving right along. I was sorta afraid that we weren't gonna finish up by December 31st...but I went ahead and calculated each day's reading....and we're gonna end right on time!!!! It's so hard to believe that we've been doing this for 48 weeks. I didn't keep all my hand-written notes....now I wish I had. Each week I have at least 10....usually more....pages of notes that I jot down each day when I sit down to read the scripture for that day!!!
Okay....I'll quit chit-chatting and get on with what I gleaned from II Corinthians!!
II Corinthians was one of Paul's most personal letters. He wrote it from Macedonia. This letter is very different from the first one. Something terrible had happened in the church (which we don't know what it was)....but, we feel Paul's pain from the opening lines.
Here are a few things that Paul told the church in Corinth....
~~ God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort
~~ He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others
Paul and Timothy were mistreated in Asia, but learned to stop relying on themselves and to rely only on God.
God always does what He says!!!
(AMEN)
Paul wrote his letters reprimanding the people of the church....out of love for them....and with a troubled heart and many tears.
I believed in God....so I spoke.
(I wish I could be more brave sometimes!!!)
As God's grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving and God will receive more and more glory.
Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day.
II Corinthians 5:7
For we live by believing and not seeing.
We serve God whether people honor us or despise us, whether they slander us or praise us.
Our hearts ache, but we always have joy.
We own nothing and yet we have everything.
We need to cleanse our bodies of everything that can defile our body or spirit.
God encourages those who are discouraged.
The kind of sorrow 9repentance) that God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation....but worldly sorrow lacks repentance....and results in spiritual death.
We need to be careful to be honorable before the Lord....but we also should want everyone else to see that we are honorable.
When we give, it should be done willingly, not grudgingly. Don't give reluctantly, or in response to pressure. "For God loves a person who gives cheerfully". God will generously provide all you need.
II Corinthians 9:15
Thank God for this gift too wonderful for words.
II Corinthians 10:17-18
If you want to boast, boast only about the Lord.
When people commend themselves, it doesn't count for much. The important thing is for the Lord to commend them.
Some of Paul's trials and hardships that he faced as a servant of God....
~~ He was put in prison
~~ He was beaten and whipped
~~ He often faced death
~~ Five times he was whipped by Jewish leaders receiving 39 lashes each time
~~ Three times he was beaten with rods
~~ He was stoned once
~~ He was shipwrecked 3 times
~~ He spent a whole night and day adrift at sea
~~ He faced danger from robbers
(and we think we have it rough sometimes!!!)
Paul said he would boast only about his weaknesses....because he didn't want anyone to give him credit beyond what they could see and hear in his message.
II Corinthians 12:7.....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 times, Paul begged the Lord to take away his "thorn in the flesh" (some think it might have been his poor eyesight)....but each time, God told Paul....
II Corinthians 12:9....My grace is all you need.
My power works best in weakness.
Paul closed his letter with these 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.
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
These were Paul's words to the church at Corinth....but also my words to you, my precious readers!!!
In His Most Precious Love....and with mine!!!
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Kind words are like honey—
sweet to the soul and healthy for the body.
Proverbs 16:24