Paul’s ministry was not easy. From the moment of his conversion, after he was struck blind on the Damascus road, to the moment he was beheaded in Rome, Paul knew hardship. He provided a graphic, pen portrait of his ministry in 2 Corinthians 11:23–33. Some of the hardships Paul faced included “dangers among false brethren” […]
Read MoreTag Archives: Second Corinthians
Newborn
Two hours away from our own front door we traveled completely around the world. We didn’t miss a continent. From Paraguay to the Congo. From the Serengeti Plains of Tanzania into the tropical rain forests of Malagasy, across the Indian Ocean to mysterious Malaya. Then it was the tundra of the Arctic Circle, Scandinavia to Mesopotamia, Egypt to China, Manchuria to Siberia.
Read MoreThe Cost of Giving
Can you recall Jesus’ radical philosophy: “Be a servant, give to others”? The basis of that statement is tucked away in Luke 9:23. Following Christ is a costly, unselfish decision. He says: “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.”
Read MoreServant-Hearted
The fine little volume on pastoral leadership, In the Name of Jesus, lists three very real, albeit subtle temptations any servant of Christ faces. They correspond with the three temptations our Lord faced before He began His earthly ministry. They also fit with three observations the apostle Paul mentions in his letter to the Corinthians (2 Cor. 4:1–7).
Read MoreA Personal Assessment
Take time today to read again, slowly and carefully, through yesterday’s Scripture reading—2 Corinthians 11–13. List the hardships the apostle Paul endured. Try putting yourself and your own particular circumstances and trials into Paul’s constant affirmations of faith. Start with . . .
Read MoreTime to Toughen Up
There are 1,130 frostbitten miles, mountain ranges, blizzards, hungry beasts, and frozen seas between Anchorage and Nome. This awful trek is the scene of the ultimate endurance test known as the Iditarod Sled Dog Race, where twelve huskies pull a sled and its driver through the most grueling, inhuman conditions one can fathom. One frequent champion was the late Susan Butcher, whose tough-minded fixation on winning earned her the nickname Ayatollah Butcher.
Read MoreSuffering
Of all the letters Paul wrote, Second Corinthians is the most autobiographical. In this letter Paul records the specifics of his anguish, tears, affliction, and satanic opposition. He spells out the details of his persecution, loneliness, imprisonments, beatings, feelings of despair, hunger, shipwrecks, sleepless nights, and that “thorn in the flesh”—his companion of pain. How close it makes us feel to him when we see him as a man with real, honest-to-goodness problems, just like ours!
Read MorePreventing Dry Rot
Not everybody gets “turned on” over management concepts, but most of us can profit from such information at home or church or school. Even as individuals we may find some of these principles coming in handy.
Read MorePermission Granted
Paul jumped all over the Galatians for allowing a handful of legalistic Judaizers to invade their lives and clip their wings. Remember his rebuke? “It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery . . . . For you were called to freedom, brethren” (Galatians 5:1, 13).
Read MoreJoyful Generosity
Thoughts disentangle themselves . . . over the lips and through the fingertips. I learned that saying over thirty years ago, and just about every time I put it to the test, it works! Whenever I have difficulty comprehending the complicated or clarifying the complex, I talk it out or write it out.
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