Head-dibs

It was like viewing ocean waves from beneath.

Ever stand toe-to-toe to a situation and stare down the one hard fact that what you are about to face is not going to be easy? That it’s just gotta be difficult? Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians reveals the church was not responding well to Paul his heart was nearly broken. He’s been severe with them and despite his own near death experiences, this church didn't seem to care about him or it’s purpose. Paul writes, “But I determined this within myself, that I would not come again to you in sorrow. For if I make you sorrowful, then who is he who makes me glad but the one who is made sorrowful by me? And I wrote this very thing to you, lest, when I came, I should have sorrow over those from whom I ought to have joy, having confidence in you all that my joy is [the joy] of you all.” (2 Cor 2:1-3) God did not allow him to come when he said he would and now Paul clarifies God’s plan for both him and them. After all, Paul wants what any pastor w...

I just couldn't resist.

“But I call God to witness against me--it was to spare you that I refrained from coming again to Corinth. Not that we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy, for you stand firm in your faith.” [2 Co 1:23-24 ESV] Someone observed that, while  we have many points of view, God has infinite viewing points. We only see a situation from a certain perspective until we chose to move and expand our view. God on the other hand sees everything all at once. Men may be blinded to seeing truth by varying shades of deceit, but God sees truth in the light. Being falsely accused of unfaithfulness in ministry, Paul addresses doubts held against him by calling God to witness his integrity. This is a beautiful truth concerning truth: it always stands before God. When Paul’s calling was called into question by those who sought to undermine his ministry, Paul called on God to witness his calling. When Paul was accused of using the ministry for personal gain, he called God to...

Recently, we lost something. Our search was so extensive that we were not merely looking from room to room but got right down to moving the furniture, sweeping every place with a flashlight in order to find it. We searched everywhere; that is, we searched in every place anyone would be. It did not make sense to get into the crawl spaces or get in our car and drive to some to another location to look because we did not lose the item anywhere except in a certain place. When we lose something, we look in the place we lost it.  Sometimes we have an idea to look for something that is not lost so we chase the idea in the realm we expect to make a discovery. For example, when I was young we explored the Rocky Mountains and spent some time looking for gold. We did not look in the sky (though the color could be found in the sunset) and we did not look in the trees (though the Aspens in fall are quite aflame in gold); rather, we looked near abandoned mines and panned the streams below f...

Struggling with what God has called you to do? Sometimes we find ourselves asking, “why did I start this in the first place?” That’s really not a bad question by the way, because our “why” is an excellent resource to help us keep going. If we can’t answer “why,” then perhaps we need a better “why.” Paul tells us why he continued in ministry, even in the face of opposition. “And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.” [2Co 1:21-22 ESV]. Paul’s “why” is rooted in Jesus, the God-given foundation of ministry, “it is God who establishes us with you in Christ.” This is the second time Paul fell back on his “why.” The first time was recorded in his first letter when he reminded his opponents of their position in Christ as “confirmed, blameless in the day of the Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful through whom you were called into one fellowship with His Son, Jesus...

I like this so . . .  . . . I thought it over and did not buy the mug after all.

Criticism of the gospel ministry is nothing new (ol’ Solomon was right, you know: there is nothing new under the sun), so we can find great encouragement to remain faithful in all we do out of love for the Lord by considering how the apostle Paul rooted the defense of his ministry in truth. He writes: “For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we proclaimed among you, Silvanus and Timothy and I, was not Yes and No, but in him it is always Yes. For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory. And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee. But I call God to witness against me--it was to spare you that I refrained from coming again to Corinth. Not that we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy, for you stand firm in your faith.” [2Co 1:19-24 ESV] Paul is truthful in mini...

"Recently I read the statement, 'Jesus was a vegetarian.' Supposedly, since Jesus did not eat meat, neither should we. There are several problems with this line of reasoning ."

“Because I was sure of this, I wanted to come to you first, so that you might have a second experience of grace. I wanted to visit you on my way to Macedonia, and to come back to you from Macedonia and have you send me on my way to Judea. Was I vacillating when I wanted to do this? Do I make my plans according to the flesh, ready to say ‘Yes, yes’ and ‘No, no’ at the same time? As surely as God is faithful, our word to you has not been Yes and No.” [2Co 1:15-18 ESV] This is the first big sticking point in Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians. A couple of items to notice here. First, we can see by inference how Paul’s opponents watched him closely, taking the first opportunity to slander him. Paul said he would come and he did not so the enemy was there to plant seeds of doubt and dissension against Him. We have an enemy, who is the devil (Satan). He is the Father of lies. His business is the opposite of the business of Jesus. The business of Jesus is to build a church with king...

“For we are not writing any other things to you than what you read or understand. Now I trust you will understand, even to the end (as also you have understood us in part), that we are your boast as you also [are] ours, in the day of the Lord Jesus.” [2Co 1:13-14 NKJV]  The day will come when we will stand before the Lord Jesus Christ. Any ideas what you will say to Him? What will be your boast about your relationship to others in His Church? Are you able to rejoice in the ministry you have received? Will the things you say then match what you say now about the church? Paul’s attitude toward this church is not the same as the attitude this church has for Paul. They misunderstood Paul so they wrote him off. Paul prayed and gave thanks for them ( 1 Cor 1:4-9 ). Paul had already referred to the Day of the Lord Jesus 3 times in the previous letter, so this does not catch them (or us) by surprise. The day he refers to is not a day when a person’s salvation is decided, whether on...

[July 2004 I went to Kenya, Africa to speak in two Pastor’s Conferences on the subject of Man, Sin and Salvation. At the end of each day I left just over an hour for questions: half the time were questions touching the subject of my lectures and the other half for “open questions” Here is one of the questions asked by a Bible student] Question:  “Men and women who saw God in the Bible: Why did they not all die?” “ But He said, ‘You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live! ’” (Exodus 33:20) Answer: First, consider those who did see God—how did they respond when they saw Him? They were instantly aware of their sinfulness, and God’s holiness and righteousness (to name a few. And notice also that each responded in an attitude of worship, bowing down): Abraham built altars, worshipping on his face; Isaac and Jacob set up heaps of stones as memorials when they saw the LORD in visions; Moses was told to remove his sandals for he was on Holy ground; only one priest could ...

Paul's ministry was misunderstood by fellow believers, but he did not treat them in a way that compromised The Faith. Rather, he showed them great grace. He says “For our boast is this, the testimony of our conscience, that we behaved in the world with simplicity and godly sincerity, not by earthly wisdom but by the grace of God, and supremely so toward you." [2Co 1:12 ESV] In the midst of misunderstanding, Paul says “toward you we conducted ourselves honestly.” He recognized that they were once in the world. There is a gentle reminder here: Remember when we came to you with the gospel as we did in all the world -- honestly, simply? We came in obedience to His Commission; you responded to HIM, not us. There is great grace in the midst of misunderstanding when we remember our sinful past how we first received the grace of God in Christ Jesus. Paul says “toward you we conducted ourselves in godly sincerity.” We did not soften God’s word for you but spoke to you as from God...