Today’s reading: 2 Corinthians 4:13-18, 5:1-10

“Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day.” - 2 Corinthians 4:16

I will never forget the sweet voice of one of our 90-year-old church members as she joined the group filing out of the sanctuary. She said, “Andrew, I know I’m old, but why don’t I feel old.”

I genuinely believe that the verse above is the answer to her question. Her lifetime of allowing Jesus to “renew” her inner life had resulted in a vitality she could feel every day.

The choice is ours. Jesus has already taken His stand. He longs to grow us more and more — for us to extend the same offer to others.

Knofel Staton said it well, “Paul ended this chapter the way he began it, ‘We do not lose heart.’ Paul had the right perspective on life.”

Let God take you up today in His arms and give you a bigger perspective right now. We will one day be raised with Christ. We will one day, “slip into new bodies.”

What now?

It is time to go hard. It is time to be renewed and offer it to everyone we meet.

Today’s reading: 2 Corinthians 4:1-12

'We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.' - 2 Corinthians 4:7

What is your greatest strength when you start talking to someone who isn't yet a Christian? We want them to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior, as we do, but we often neglect the most effective method.

So, what is it?

Paul makes it clear that it is the weakness of our "perishable containers" or our "dying bodies" that allow us to truly show how incredible God's light and power really are.

Do you lead with your weaknesses when talking to someone about Jesus? Paul didn't feel the need to "trick" them or "distort" reality in order to win the lost.

Our weaknesses put a floodlight on just how powerful God really is.

Psalm 44:3 drives this home:
"It was not their own strength that gave them victory. It was by your mighty power that they succeeded."

Weakness is something everyone can relate to, which gives us the opportunity to tell them how great Jesus is at redeeming our inadequacies by His blood, His love.

Today’s reading: 2 Corinthians 3

'For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.' - 2 Corinthians 3:17-18

Since 1905, the Indianapolis Star has printed verse 17 on the top of their newspapers.

How are we to keep law and order in our world today? How do we motivate people to abide by the law? The Law of Moses only revealed the Israelites' inability to live up to its standards.

True freedom isn't found in trying to finally play by all the rules. True freedom is found by being covered with the blood of Jesus, resulting in our forgiveness. Then we enter into the process of sanctification, where God draws us closer daily.

Colin Kruse says it so well: "The demands of the law cannot be fulfilled, and therefore they stand under its condemnation. But under the covenant of the Spirit, there is liberty."

Today’s reading: 2 Corinthians 2:12-17

'And who is adequate for such a task as this? You see, we are not like the many hucksters who preach for personal profit. We preach the word of God with sincerity and with Christ’s authority, knowing that God is watching us.' - 2 Corinthians 2:16-17

Spreading the knowledge of Christ will not smell sweet to everyone. There will be many who will hear only "death and doom." Don't let these naysayers discourage you from sharing Jesus' love regardless. There will be some who will breathe in the gospel and it will regenerate them in every sense of the word.

What is Paul's main advice as we set to work on this great mission?

#1: We are not adequate in our own strength to do this. We can't endure consistent rejection in hopes that some will respond to what we are wanting to share. Yet we have Christ's authority and power to keep us going each day!

#2: Sincerity goes a long way. The word used for it here is eilikrineia and it can also mean "unmixedness" or "clearness" or "purity." Our integrity should speak for itself.

God has removed all of our excuses (just like he did for Moses).

Today’s reading: 2 Corinthians 1:12-24, 2:1-11

 'When you forgive this man, I forgive him, too. And when I forgive whatever needs to be forgiven, I do so with Christ’s authority for your benefit, so that Satan will not outsmart us. For we are familiar with his evil schemes.' - 2 Corinthians 2:10-11

Whenever there is division among Christians, we know who the initiator is: the Devil (our adversary). God, on the other hand, is always trying to bring us together. Friends. Spouses. Even those we naturally bump heads with.

The last word in these two verses is noema in Greek. In a more fleshed out view, the word means "the content of thinking and reasoning." (Nida/Louw)

The mind of the Devil never stops working to tear us apart, and his method is to encourage us to see another human as standing in our way, preventing us from happiness.

Can you see how Eve, then Adam, gave in to the deceit of the Devil in the Garden of Eden?

The temptations that come are always sugar-coated with something that seems like it'll satisfy.

Don't take the bait!

Today’s reading: 2 Corinthians 1:1-11

"In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we learned not to rely on ourselves, but on God who can raise the dead." - 2 Corinthians 1:9

The Greek word that is used for "comfort" in our passage today is parakaleo. This is very similar to the term that's used to describe the Holy Spirit. It can also be translated as "to encourage" or "to urge" or "to cause someone to be consoled."

He gives them strong teaching about troubles and parakaleo-ing each other, and then in verses 8-11 he shows them how they helped save his life from afar. How did they do it? What was the great difference maker in bringing Paul comfort?

It was their prayers.

Paul really believed that his life was spared in Asia Minor because people in southern Greece were praying. He was "crushed" and "overwhelmed" and didn't think he would make it (verse 8).

Yet the church in Corinth prayed.

What differences will we make when we pray?

Never believe the lie that your prayers don't matter. They can make all the difference.

In 1914, Miriam Arnold wrote the following chorus to a beautiful hymn.  What a great reminder these words are!

O how praying rests the weary
Prayer can change your night to day
So, in sorrow and in gladness
Don't forget to pray

Today’s reading: 1 Corinthians 16

  “Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong. And do everything with love.” - ‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭16:13-14‬ ‭NLT‬‬

These two verses have it all when it comes to practical advice for living as a Christian.

On guard >> there are no off-days as Christians

Stand on faith >> not on our own efforts, but Jesus’

Courageous >> we need to be brave and unintimidated by the world

Strong >> this is the same Greek word used for Jesus and John the Baptist as they grew up 💪

Love >> wanting what is spiritually best for others

Let’s get out and make an eternal difference with the Good News this week!

Today’s reading: 1 Corinthians 15:29-58

“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.” - 1 Corinthians‬ ‭15:58‬ ‭NASB‬‬

This is such a fantastic verse to share with those who are struggling to hold on. The very thought of becoming “immovable” strikes us with courage to face whatever is to come.

Yet how can we stand so assured, knowing that our work for Jesus isn’t useless (all for nothing)? Resurrection is yet again the answer. The hope of new bodies. A new heavens and a new earth. All things new.

C.S. Lewis’ thoughts fit well here: “He (God) knows what a wretched machine you are trying to drive. Keep on. Do what you can. One day (perhaps in another world, but perhaps far sooner than that) He will fling it on the scrap-heap and give you a new one.”

Don’t give up just yet. Dig your heels in if you need to. Do whatever it takes to make sure your dependence on Jesus grows more and more every day. In the end, we won’t regret it.

Today’s reading: 1 Corinthians 15:1-28

 “And if we have hope in Christ only for this life, we are the most miserable people in the world.” - 1 Corinthians 15:19

Have you ever met a truly miserable person? Maybe you’ve seen yourself in this kind of state. A miserable person is someone who has nothing to look forward to. It seems that this is one of the favorites of our enemy, the Devil. If he can get us to believe that tomorrow isn’t worth living, he feels as though he has won.

As Christians, we know that Jesus’ resurrection ensures that we will always have something better ahead of us. This is despite painful circumstances we will face.

We know Jesus was raised, and we understand that this means we will one day be raised as well. We are assured of this because of our being united with Jesus when we came to faith initially (Romans 6:4-6).

The world may pity us because of our faith, but we can smile — because we know the truth. The empty tomb continues to be the proof.

Now the challenge is to share our salvation story with the world.

Today’s reading: 1 Corinthians 14:18-40

“But if all of you are prophesying, and unbelievers or people who don’t understand these things come into your meeting, they will be convicted of sin and judged by what you say. As they listen, their secret thoughts will be exposed, and they will fall to their knees and worship God, declaring, “God is truly here among you.”” - ‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭14:24-25‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Here we see a beautiful picture of why we do weekly worship times as Jesus’ church. We show up (in-person or online) ready to uplift others and glorify  God together. Anything that threatens this narrow focus has to be put into its proper order. God enjoys seeing peace as we meet, not chaos.

The church in Corinth was misusing the spiritual gifts they were given, and it was preventing others from “falling to their knees” in worship.

Having a plan, an order, to our times of weekly worship is expected. God has always worked mightily within that base of preparation.

What distractions can we eliminate each week so more come to faith in Jesus?