Devotional (Page 7)

2 Corinthians, Day 6 Godly Grief 2 Corinthians 6:11 – 7:6 “Godly grief is to sin what pain is to disease. A sensitive conscience is a gift of God, just like nerve endings that recoil from scalding water” (John Piper). I often have the privilege of meeting with couples preparing for marriage. It is an exciting season for an engaged couple and it is a privilege to be such a vital part of their preparation process. The first thing I…

My Motivation #4 (2 Corinthians 5) “For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that…

2 Corinthians, Day 4 SUFFERING AND JOY ARE TWO SIDES TO MINISTRY “My Motivation #3” 2 Corinthians 4 What is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal Paul shares with us through the Written Word his motivation behind preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ: God has provided mercy so he doesn’t lose heart in preaching the Word. We have removed all secret and shameful ways of presenting the Good News. By presenting the Gospel truthfully and plainly, we…

2 Corinthians, Day 3 2 Corinthians 3 In 2 Corinthians 3, Paul spends much of the chapter comparing the old and new covenants, the old covenant being the law of Moses and the new covenant being found in the death and resurrection of Christ. The old covenant served a purpose but it lacked the ability to provide transformation. In 2 Corinthians 3:9, Paul teaches that there was glory in the law but the glory of the new covenant far surpasses…

2 Corinthians, Day 2 2 Corinthians 2 Estrangement Is Strange for Believers “But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire. So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother,…

2 Corinthians, Day 1 Chapters 1 – 2:11 The central theme of 2 Corinthians is the relationship between suffering and the power of the Spirit in Paul’s apostolic life, ministry, and message. Paul made a decision that it was best to suffer humiliation and leave, without retaliating, in order to extend mercy to the Corinthians. Paul wrote this letter from Macedonia, a year or so after writing 1 Corinthians, and a year before he wrote his letter to the Romans from…

1Corinthians, Day 10 Remember These Five Things I Corinthians 16   “Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love” (I Corinthians 16:13 – 14). In the last chapter of I Corinthians, Paul informs and challenges the church about their role in the collection for the poor in Jerusalem. Then, he commends two of his top leaders for their great work and calls them to be vigilant in the…

1 Corinthians, Day 9 Resurrection (1 Corinthians 15) “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have…

1 Corinthians, Day 8 DON’T LET DIFFERENCES CAUSE SCHISMS “Spiritual Gifts” 1 Corinthians 12 – 14  DEFINING SPIRITUAL GIFTS — Chapter 12 One of the issues in the Corinthian church was the misuse of spiritual gifts. Paul found it necessary to go into great detail explaining the origin and use of spiritual gifts. Spiritual gifts come from the same source: the Holy Spirit. Here are the 18 spiritual gifts that are mentioned in God’s Word in alphabetical order: Administration, being…

1 Corinthians, Day 7 1 Corinthians 11 I used to work as a supervisor for a college cafeteria. At the end of each shift, we had a checklist of tasks to complete after we were done serving meals for the day. We all knew that the faster we completed the tasks, the faster we got to go home. One of the lessons I learned is that when the people I was “in charge of” realized I had their best interest…