2 Corinthians 8 & 9

Paul spends this entire part of his letter encouraging and commending the church to be generous. It is a common theme in the New Testament that it is not enough just to speak blessing toward someone if you can do more. We see accounts of people opening up their homes to others, visiting others in a time of distress, and givng financial gifts to others who were in need. The expectation is that over time, we all have our ups and downs, but the generous spirit ensures that all members of a faith community receive what they need. When a member has an abundance, they give. And when that member has a time of lack, he receives.

Giving is not a financial issue, it is spiritual. Everything we have or accumulate is from the Lord and when we reach the end of this life, we leave it all behind for our heirs to fight over. But the heart that holds "things" very lightly and gives freely demonstrates a spirit that is pleasing to God. Your giving doesn't buy you a ticket to Heaven. It indicates your level of understanding of God's generosity toward you. God rejoices when He sees believers who "get Him" by living generously and giving cheerfully.

2 Corinthians 6 & 7

Sometimes things get tough and stay that way. In these two chapters Paul talks about a tough stretch of ministry. He doesn't hide the fact that it has been difficult and draining. He doesn't pretend that he likes a good fight or that there is no struggle. He isn't whining, he is just being real. Then, early in chapter 7 he says that even though the going has been tough, he still has joy. But he was really glad for a visit from Titus. His visit comforted and refreshed Paul. Titus brought a fresh face, good news from home, and support for Paul. One guy. A simple visit. And it made the Bible.

God bless the Tituses of the world. Those who bring encouragement and support to those who are in a struggle. What a refreshing for Paul just to sit for a while and visit about the folks back home. For a little while to turn off the "ministry switch", and just have a good chat with a buddy. Let's all look for opportunities to be a Titus to someone.

2 Corinthians 4 - 5

Life comes at you fast and furious at times. It certainly came fast at Paul. He was stoned, beaten, plotted against, shipwrecked and snake bit all for his stand for Christ. But Paul had the big picture in mind. He called all of those things "light and momentary troubles".  He was thinking in light of eternity. Today, in 2012, Paul is still in the presence of Jesus. Do you think he is still fretting about the injustice and discomfort he endured 2000 years ago? I don't think so.

Can we, like Paul, recognize that Jesus dies for all and that we now should live not for ourselves for for him who died for us? If we could have a truly eternal perspective, do you think that the list of things that we think are worth fighting for might change? They do for me. I find that fewer and fewer things are really worth parting company over. But those few things cause me not to want to part company but to reconcile a lost world with the One who died for all.

2 Corinthians 2 - 3

The hallmark of the gospel is that grace and forgiveness is available to all who will receive it. Just because we have received salvation it doesn't mean that we will never mess up. It is necessary from time to time for those with spiritual authority to confront someone with their error but the goal of this confrontation is always to be redemptive. We are always looking to restore relationships whenever possible. Since we are under the new covenant, the glory and grace which are ours are dependent on right heart attitudes instead of strict adherence to the law code. That makes a huge difference in administering discipline. Instead of punishing wrongdoing, we are working to reestablish the grace relationship. Both might be uncomfortable, but one seeks to exact payment for transgression. The other seeks to make changes that restore the person to their position of grace. What a wonderful way to live!

1 Corinthians 16 & 2 Corinthians 1

At the end of Paul's epistles he usually takes care of personal and personnel issues. It is in these farewells that i begin to sympathize with him as I realize the number of churches he is assisting in leadership. He never uses his enormous spiritual authority to build his own empire. He always uses his authority to under-gird one of the young leaders he is helping. By giving his authority away to help others, he actually increases his authority. It would be good if all leaders could understand that principle.

As we slip into 2 Corinthians I notice something. A few days ago we talked about the misquoted, "God won't put more on you than you can stand", and realized that the scripture was actually referring to not being tempted beyond your ability to resist. Paul makes the point that we will most certainly have more put on us than we can stand in verses 8-10: ⁸ We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. ⁹ Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. ¹⁰ He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us,

It stands to reason that if we never had anything come against us that we couldn't stand, we wouldn't need to trust in God. But God wants us to trust His strength, not our own. He has delivered us, He will deliver us, and will continue to deliver us as we depend on Him.

1 Corinthians 14 & 15

I love being Pentecostal. I love the freedom of Pentecostal worship, I love the power of good Pentecostal preaching, and I love the joy of Pentecostal fellowship. But sometimes we Pentecostals get things out of order, and speaking in tongues is one of those things. Speaking in tongues isn't the reason we are Pentecostals although it is a spiritual distinctive that we embrace and enjoy. Paul does a masterful job of explaining that the speaking in tongues has a profound effect on the believer, but it is not effective in evangelizing. If the message can't be understood by the listener it doesn't help anything. Paul makes it clear that speaking in tongues is a vital part of his prayer time, but that the real work of the Holy Spirit in our lives is to make us more bold and effective witnesses of the salvation power offered by Christ's death and resurrection.

The resurrection is a much bigger deal in salvation and evangelism than speaking in tongues. If we don't believe that Jesus was resurrected and that we will resurrected when He returns, there is not much point in any of the rest of it. So if we believe in resurrection, the rest falls into place. That's why Romans 10:9 calls for us to confess that Jesus is Lord, but to believe that God has raised Him from the dead. We serve a risen Savior. Knowing and believing that is essential to Christian faith. I am amazed at the force and clarity of Paul's writing as he gives this great defense of our spiritual foundation.

1 Corinthians 12 & 13

The Holy Spirit is infinite and indefinable. He cannot be limited in the ways he chooses to work within the individual. Paul explains in detail that no one can claim supremacy because of his particular spiritual gift. After all, it is a gift, and is given by God's grace. So if we are benefiting from something that was given to us by someone much greater than us, we really have no reason to boast, because we have done nothing to deserve it. There are no insignificant members of the body of Christ.

When we remember that, we realize that chapter 13, "The Love Chapter" is much more than some nice words to read at a wedding; in reality it is a powerful way for us to live. It does not matter how many talents we have developed or spiritual gifts that we manifest, it we do not relate to one another in love, it is all a waste.