Head-dibs

“ . . . so you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him. For this is why I wrote, that I might test you and know whether you are obedient in everything. Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive. Indeed, what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ, so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.” [2Co 2:7-11 ESV] When the church is permissive with sin, people will not be clean from sin. Forgiveness is not a reality where sin is permitted. The Corinthian church once permitted an incestuous man to remain in the fellowship. It was during this time the man continued without repentance, remaining unclean before God. When the church repented and confronted the man about his sin, then he repented. What happened next is astounding--the church did not forgive the man nor restore him to the fellowship. One c...

One of the joys of teaching through the Bible verse by verse is the absence of agenda. What I mean to say is that when one is systematic in teaching, one addresses issues as they are presented. If God sees fit to align a lesson from His Unchanging Word with the headlines, then it happens by His design, not mine. In today’s text (2 Corinthians 2:5-11) we begin a new section I call “The Forgiveness Factor.” The incident here concerns a church who does not forgive a man who repented of his sin. Now, before we take up arms in a cause against the church, let us be clear about one fact: Jesus said He would build His church and the New Testament is the record of Him fulfilling that promise. That this church had a problem with forgiveness is really the second half of the story--they actually had forgiven the man, but in the wrong way. Here’s what happened. In his first letter to the Corinthian church, Paul addresses an error: a man who attended the church was having a sexual relationship ...

“For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote to you, with many tears, not that you should be grieved, but that you might know the love which I have so abundantly for you.” (2 Corinthians 2:4) When we teach the Bible, we come across many hard and difficult truths as we study. Truth is not easy to hear at first because in order to truly hear, one must listen and respond to God first and release our faulty presuppositions. God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. If we are not humble then truth hits much harder--and this was the case with the Corinthian church--they refused to change. Paul says his tears are tears of love--his ministry would be much easier if they would only break. Yes, Paul is being severe, but this severity is only evident in the face of pride. His love for them does not change. He will be graceful if they are humble. How can a human being ( be it Paul or me or even you) deliver heavenly truth with such deep seriousness without hypocrisy...

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...

“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...

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...

When the Apostle Paul was misunderstood, he did not plant his feet, grind his teeth and fight his opposers; rather, he spoke the truth with confident joy. “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] Paul appeals to “conscience” (con = with; science = knowledge) the sense of right and wrong that God  put within each person. While some  may debate particulars of exactly “what” is right and wrong, we cannot miss the fact that the debate itself proves we have a concept of “right” and “wrong.”  Paul’s confidence in the face of misunderstanding is that He knows how God sees His heart. His joy lies in the fact that God’s got his six! He says, “we [act in a rejoicing manner] because of the way we conduct  ourselves in the world ”  We too can have a clear conscience in the way we minister in a wo...

Paul explains in 2 Corinthians 1:1-11 that it is the will of God that the church of God, built of the saints of God, be blessed with the Grace and Peace of God through the Christ of God, the God of all Comfort. Since we have this theological agreement, this spiritual relationship and this atmosphere in which we live as believers, what happens when conflict arises? What happens when one person misunderstands another? First, one must know what the conflict is all about. What happened between the Corinthian church and Paul is that Paul said he would do something and was delayed, nearly at the expense of his life. The church did not know what was happening to Paul except that false shepherds had gotten to the flock and stirred up trouble. They were bad farmers, planting seeds of doubt that resulted in confusion and unhealthy attitudes about Paul. The church had become convinced that Paul was self-serving, untrustworthy, inconsistent, unbalanced, untrained, unsophisticated, incompetent--...

A misunderstanding can be a tiny thing, but then so is a termite. A friend from Long Island told me of his experiences with the tiny bug: it’s blind, lives 48 hours and destroys everything. The damage of misunderstanding is not easy to repair. The start of a new year is often the time most people want to get back in shape. Interestingly, as “out of shape” as many may be, we have eight well-worked and very “in shape” muscles--they are found in the tongue. Flex it just right and an entire reputation is destroyed; ones’ good motives are suddenly transformed into evil motives; dignity is stripped. It’s not true that sticks and stones only break bones. Words hurt. The tongue can stab people in the back without shame in broad daylight. Often the victims slowly bleed to death without knowing they were wounded. Then CSI comes (Christ, Spiritual Inspector) and He finds the victim sitting in their car in the church parking lot wondering what just happened in that conversation. The weapon b...

We are considering the second letter Paul wrote the Corinthian church, whom he addresses “to the church of God.” Christ’s ownership is clear: this is God’s church, not your church, my church, not Paul’s church. We exist because of Christ, the builder, and we are a living body, the legislators of God’s Kingdom, a group of people (not a building) called out of the world by common faith in Jesus as risen Lord. Paul is busy locking down the business of hell so the church can do what the builder intends! Here we touch on the very reason Paul was inspired to write this letter. This particular church has rough edges to be knocked off so the living stones can fit together. The “church of God” fulfills the purpose of God.       The story of The Church blossoms out of Christ’s story: “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Cor 5:21). Christ’s suffering and glory is the Church’s suffering and glory: ...

Paul does not write to the Corinthian church alone for we find in the opening verses, “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother” [2 Cor 1:1 ESV]. Immediately we discover that Paul’s concerns for the Corinthian church are shared. What do we know about Timothy? A little study will show that Timothy and Paul are peas in a pod. Timothy’s mother mother was Jewish and his father was Greek. (Acts 16:1 and 2 Tim 1:5). Timothy was also follower of Christ, probably a convert from Paul’s first missionary journey which included Lystra, a Roman colony with Greek Culture that was home to Timothy. Paul calls Timothy, “ our brother.” A few verses down we learn that Timothy was with with Paul during his initial ministry in Corinth (see v. 19) then later sent back by Paul to continue ministry in Corinth; however, his ministry was not successful so he was replaced by Titus. Yet Paul calls Timothy “our brother” . Two thoughts: First, Timothy was part of ...

It's here! And just in time for Mother's Day! "Am I enough, Lord? Can I trust you, Lord? Can I be free from the past? Can I trust? Do I trust? Am I enough? AM I WORTHY? In Freedom from Myself: One Woman’s Diary of Gods Unceasing Love, author Fay Barlow shares her deepest hurts in the process of discovering the truth about her worth in Christ. Full of raw emotions and issues that most women are afraid to admit that they feel, Freedom from Myself reveals healing through biblical counsel and scripture in an entertaining but brutally honest manner. Laugh a little, cry a little, and heal a little as you delve into the heart and mind of one woman on a quest for meaning." Visit Fay's website here . Publisher: Tate Publishing & Enterprises ISBN: 9781604624731 Buy this book at: Amazon Barnes and Noble Books-a-million Buy.com

Coming April 22, 2008 "Am I enough, Lord? Can I trust you, Lord? Can I be free from the past? Can I trust? Do I trust? Am I enough? AM I WORTHY? In Freedom from Myself: One Woman’s Diary of Gods Unceasing Love , author Fay Barlow shares her deepest hurts in the process of discovering the truth about her worth in Christ. Full of raw emotions and issues that most women are afraid to admit that they feel, Freedom from Myself reveals healing through biblical counsel and scripture in an entertaining but brutally honest manner. Laugh a little, cry a little, and heal a little as you delve into the heart and mind of one woman on a quest for meaning." Publisher: Tate Publishing & Enterprises ISBN: 9781604624731 Buy this book at: Amazon Barnes and Noble Books-a-million Buy.com

"If we look carefully within ourselves, we shall find that there are certain limits beyond which we refuse to go in offering ourselves to God. We hover around these reservations, making believe not to see them, for fear of self reproach. The more we shrink from giving up any such reserved point, the more certain it is that it needs to be given up. If we were not fast bound by it, we should not make so many efforts to persuade ourselves that we are free. ” Henry Drummond (1851-1897), author of “ The Greatest Thing In The World .”

Let Hedonism be your guide. Try anything once and do the fun things twice—just don’t hurt anyone in the process; Stand up for your rights. Nobody has the right to tell you what to do—and be loud about it. Stay away from intolerant people; Follow your heart, your feelings. Soothe the conscience by referring to Step 1; Discover your hidden potential; Truth is what you make it, so do what seems right to you. Believe in yourself; Whatever you desire, go for it. Let nothing get in your way. Give yourself permission to get whatever you want even though people are not going to simply give it to you. The world is there for the taking—after all, you deserve it. The sooner you get it, the better. (" Send me $95 and I’ll show you how!") “Quarrels are a part of life. We grow up understanding them, we are competitive, we are even taught to be competitive. Little children fight. The kids fight over the toys, they go to school and they fight over the games in the playground, th...