Digging in Deeper: 2 Corinthians 6:3-10

“We put no obstacle in anyone’s way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love; by truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise.  We are treated as imposters, and yet are true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything.”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

When it comes to sharing the Gospel with the world around us, our goal should be to make certain that the only offensive thing about us is our message, the Gospel itself.  Everything else about us should be a gigantic yes to the world.  Or, as Paul puts it here, we commend ourselves in every way. Read the rest…

Morning Musings: 2 Corinthians 4:4

“In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

Now, this idea would no doubt be pretty offensive and off-putting to have as our lead when we share the Gospel with someone else: “You’re not going to really understand what I’m about to tell you, but that’s okay because the Devil has probably blinded your mind to it.”  But it is something that is pretty important for us to keep firmly in mind as we do. Read the rest…

Morning Musings: 2 Corinthians 3:3

“And you show that you are letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

The Corinthians were a letter from Christ, delivered by Paul?  Huh?

Think about it like this.  What might a letter from Jesus have to say?  From the witness of the Gospels we can say a few things.  It would say, “I love you.”  It would say, “I am for you.  I want you to live fully the life God designed you to live and I’m going to help you every step of your journey to do that.  I gave my life for you so that you can be a part of My Father’s family.  I want you to leave behind the sin that drags you down and steals life from you.  The abundant life of the kingdom can be yours if only you will trust me.” Read the rest…

Morning Musings: 1 Corinthians 15:35-36

“But someone will ask, ‘How are the dead raised?  With what kind of body do they come?’  You foolish person!  What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

The whole idea of the resurrection is a big one.  It’s a huge one.  It’s beyond what we can really understand.  We get resuscitation.  We get reanimation.  The latter is a pretty popular pop culture genre right now.  But resurrection?  That’s something new.  At least, it was in first century Corinth.  So, naturally, people who were culturally trained to be skeptical of theologies and philosophies that seemed to glorify the material over the spiritual as the Christian doctrine of the resurrection seemed to do began to ask some hard questions.   Read the rest…

Morning Musings: 1 Corinthians 14:20

“Brothers, do not be children in your thinking.  Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature.”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

Christians are often accused of being a naïve lot.  We don’t know enough about the world because we haven’t experienced enough of it.  How can we say this or that is really bad until we have walked those roads ourselves?  Perhaps there is some good in the things we roundly condemn.  We just haven’t encountered it because we are too clueless about it.   Read the rest…