Skip to main content

Tuesday... Yes, there are those who cause problems in our lives.


2 Corinthians 2:8 (NLT), "So I urge you to reaffirm your love for him."

Tuesday... Yes, there are those who cause problems in our lives.

Paul in his second letter to the Corinthian church in the second chapter dealt with a problem. In verse 5 (NLT) he writes, "I am not overstating it when I say that the man who caused all the trouble hurt all of you more than he hurt me." Verses 7-8 says, "Now, however, it is time to forgive and comfort him. Otherwise he may be overcome by discouragement. So I urge you to reaffirm your love for him."

But our response usually is, "But he hurt me." We too many times look at the hurt we have felt. They were hurt by him but Paul is saying that "it is time to forgive and comfort him." And you are to "reaffirm your love for him."


We live in a world that is all wrapped up in their hurts, their pain and their discouragements.

Paul goes on. Verses 9-11 says, " I wrote to you as I did to test you and see if you would fully comply with my instructions. 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."

The Message says, "Don't think I'm carrying a list of personal grudges. The fact is that I'm joining in with your forgiveness, as Christ is with us. After all, we don't want to unwittingly give Satan an opening for yet more mischief - we're not oblivious to his sly ways."

Paul then says in verse 14 (NLT), "But thank God! He has made us his captives and continues to lead us along in Christ's triumphal procession. Now he uses us to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere, like a sweet perfume." Verses 15-16 (CEV) says, "In fact, God thinks of us as perfume that brings Christ to everyone. For people who are being saved, this perfume has a sweet smell and leads to a better life. But for people who are lost, it has a bad smell and leads to a horrible death." 

Forgiveness and love goes a long way at spreading this perfume which has a sweet smell and leads to a better life. 

Let's try it in our families, in our friends and even in our churches. Let's strive to get rid of the bad smell that leads to a horrible death.

Paul says, "So I urge you to reaffirm your love for him." Yes, yes! #todaysbeginning

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Monday... He did it by Himself

Isaiah 44:24b (AMP), "I am the Lord, Maker of all things. Who alone stretches out the heavens, Who spreads out the earth by Myself." Monday... He did it by Himself. Many have a tendency to think very highly of themselves and what they can do. Oh we do have great ability but we are not the source. Yes it is important to have self-confidence but we are limited. The prophet Isaiah in 44:9-10 (NLT) says, "How foolish are those who manufacture idols. These prized objects are really worthless. The people who worship idols don't know this, so they are all put to shame. Who but a fool would make his own god - an idol that cannot help him one bit?" Now later in verse 24 (AMP) he writes, "For the Lord, your Redeemer, and He who formed you from the womb says, 'I am the Lord, Maker of all things, Who alone stretches out the heavens, Who spreads out the earth by Myself.'" I love that. "By Myself." Now we do need confidence but we are foolish to ma...
Post a Comment
Read more

Friday... We have this hope of expectancy.

Psalm 5:3 (NLT), "Listen to my voice in the morning Lord. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly." Friday... We have this hope of expectancy. Now David found a great way to start his day. He says in Psalm 5:1-3 (NLT), "O LORD, hear me as I pray." And that is a great place to start. It really is. Morning sunrise He goes on, "Listen to my cry for help, my King, my God, for I pray to no one but you." And that is so important. We don't try to pump ourselves up by ourself. No, we pray to no one but you, God, my LORD, my King. Now this relationship with God is so, so very important. And then David says, "Listen to my voice in the morning, LORD. Each morning I bring my requests to you" And that is so great. And then he says, "and wait expectantly." Yes, we have this hope of expectancy. We are experienced. That is what a relationship with God and a moment by moment connection does. It makes a difference in our daily wa...
Post a Comment
Read more

Friday... Yes, we can know this to be true.

Psalm 12:6 (NLT), "The Lord's promises are pure, like silver refined in a furnace, purified seven times over." Friday... Yes, we can know this to be true. Maybe this is what you want to say in this day in which we live. Psalm 12:1-2 (MSG) says, "Quick, I need your helping hand! The last decent person just went down, all the friends I depend on gone. Everyone talks in lie language; lies slide off their oily lips. They doubletalk with forked tongues." Do you ever feel that way?" Have you found that to be true? Well David the writer of this Psalm continues and says in verse 6 something to encourage us, to lift us up, to give us hope. Psalm 12:6 (NLT) says, "The Lord's promises are pure, like silver refined in a furnace, purified seven times over." The Message Paraphrase says verses 6-8 this way, "God's words are pure words, pure silver words refined seven times in the fires of his word-kiln, pure on earth as well as in heaven, God, keep ...
Post a Comment
Read more