April 08, 2013
So, we don't give up. Our physical bodies are six years older, but our spirits are renewed every day. Our troubles are temporary—our reward is eternal. "We set our eyes not on what we see but on what we cannot see... we live by what we believe, not by what we can see." (II Corinthians 4:18 & 5:7)
Our lives on earth are fleeting. We should be living to please God whether it be on earth or in heaven. Someday we all will stand before Christ and give an accounting for the things we have done. Because He died for us we should no longer live for ourselves, we should live for Him. If we belong to Christ there should be a visible change, the old should be gone because we are a new creation. All of this happened because God gave Christ as a sacrifice for us. He made peace between us and Himself. And when that happens you can't help but tell others of the peace He gave and we can have. It is our responsibility to tell others. We are His voice and His messenger.
So, we speak, with our words and actions. We "show we are servants of God: in accepting many hard things, in troubles, in difficulties, and in great problems...we show we are servants of God by our pure lives, our understanding, patience, and kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by true love, by speaking the truth, and by God's power. We use our right living to defend ourselves against everything. Some people honor us, but others blame us. Some people say evil things about us, but others say good things. Some people say we are liars, but we speak the truth. We are not known, but are well known. We seem to be dying, but we continue to live. We are punished, but we are not killed. We have much sadness, but we are always rejoicing. We are poor, but we are making many people rich in faith. We have nothing, but really we have everything." (II Corinthians 6:4–10)
We defend ourselves by our right living. We are falsely accused, but we know the truth, and we will stand firm. We will not bend, we will not bow, and we will not break. We were reminded this past week of another scripture we used to quote often but haven't for a while. It is the prayer Elijah prayed before God sent fire down from heaven. It is still our prayer—maybe even more so now.
Addendum: 4/25/16 ~ I love how Paul said, "We have nothing, but really we have everything." (II Corinthians 6:10) So true. Nothing else matters. Nothing! False accusations, illness, circumstances beyond your control, the morality of our country disappearing, ________ (fill in the blank) all mean nothing when your faith is in Christ. IF—Christ is your salvation and is Lord of your life, THEN—NOTHING else matters. Nothing. Because when you have Christ, you have everything.
Next Entry: II Corinthians 6:14 – 7:16
So, we don't give up. Our physical bodies are six years older, but our spirits are renewed every day. Our troubles are temporary—our reward is eternal. "We set our eyes not on what we see but on what we cannot see... we live by what we believe, not by what we can see." (II Corinthians 4:18 & 5:7)
Our lives on earth are fleeting. We should be living to please God whether it be on earth or in heaven. Someday we all will stand before Christ and give an accounting for the things we have done. Because He died for us we should no longer live for ourselves, we should live for Him. If we belong to Christ there should be a visible change, the old should be gone because we are a new creation. All of this happened because God gave Christ as a sacrifice for us. He made peace between us and Himself. And when that happens you can't help but tell others of the peace He gave and we can have. It is our responsibility to tell others. We are His voice and His messenger.
So, we speak, with our words and actions. We "show we are servants of God: in accepting many hard things, in troubles, in difficulties, and in great problems...we show we are servants of God by our pure lives, our understanding, patience, and kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by true love, by speaking the truth, and by God's power. We use our right living to defend ourselves against everything. Some people honor us, but others blame us. Some people say evil things about us, but others say good things. Some people say we are liars, but we speak the truth. We are not known, but are well known. We seem to be dying, but we continue to live. We are punished, but we are not killed. We have much sadness, but we are always rejoicing. We are poor, but we are making many people rich in faith. We have nothing, but really we have everything." (II Corinthians 6:4–10)
We defend ourselves by our right living. We are falsely accused, but we know the truth, and we will stand firm. We will not bend, we will not bow, and we will not break. We were reminded this past week of another scripture we used to quote often but haven't for a while. It is the prayer Elijah prayed before God sent fire down from heaven. It is still our prayer—maybe even more so now.
"Lord, you are the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel. Prove that you are the God of Israel and that I am your servant. Show these people that you commanded me to do all these things. LORD, answer my prayer so these people will know that you LORD, are God and that you will change their minds." I Kings 18:36–37Amen. Answer our prayer so ALL will know HE is God and HE is the One who saved us. There was no doubt that it was God who sent the fire down and burnt the sacrifice, wood, stones, water, and ground around the altar. May there be no doubt that it was GOD alone who saved us.
Addendum: 4/25/16 ~ I love how Paul said, "We have nothing, but really we have everything." (II Corinthians 6:10) So true. Nothing else matters. Nothing! False accusations, illness, circumstances beyond your control, the morality of our country disappearing, ________ (fill in the blank) all mean nothing when your faith is in Christ. IF—Christ is your salvation and is Lord of your life, THEN—NOTHING else matters. Nothing. Because when you have Christ, you have everything.
Next Entry: II Corinthians 6:14 – 7:16
No comments:
Post a Comment