Category: II Corinthians

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Opposing Functions

I love spending time with our grandkids. Last night we took Sam, our eight-year-old grandson for his belated birthday dinner.

We had been in Greece on his actual birthday and had Face Timed with him before he went to school that morning, but this was our night out. We went to Wendy’s. His choice.

We were talking with him about the things he likes and what he’s doing in school. He’s in third grade now and he’s learning division. I was impressed. We talked about addition and subtraction, multiplication and division, when he said this, “Those are opposing functions”.

I don’t think I even knew what a function was when I was in 3rd grade but yes, you’re right. They are opposing functions.

That phrase stuck with me the rest of the evening. I knew the Lord was trying to get through to me so, I stayed up after Dave went to bed and listened.

I realized there are several opposing functions in Scripture. We’ve looked at one the last two days, patience and impatience. However, it goes deeper than that.

“Christ had no sin, but God made him become sin so that in Christ we could be right with God.” II Corinthians 5:21 ERV

Now, that’s a mammoth opposing function. Christ took our sin, although He had never done anything contrary to God’s will and gave us His right standing with God, although we had never done anything worthy of righteousness.

“ He was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever he promises. 22 And because of Abraham’s faith, God counted him as righteous. 23 And when God counted him as righteous, it wasn’t just for Abraham’s benefit. It was recorded 24 for our benefit, too, assuring us that God will also count us as righteous if we believe in him, the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.” Romans 4:21-24 NLT

For a long time, I couldn’t see myself as righteous. That’s a religious word meaning in right standing. Every time I looked at my past, I saw all the ways I didn’t measure up and looking to the future, I had no hope that would change.

It was all about me! And I wasn’t good enough.

I had known verse 8 of Romans 5 from the time I was a little girl, but I remember the first time in my adult life when it rang true in my heart. I was sitting at my kitchen table, in a little rented house in Glendale, AZ. Dave was at work, Kim was at all-day kindergarten and Koy was napping in his room.

I had my Bible open and was praying for God to give me something to live by.

“When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. 7 Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. 8 But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. 9 And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. 10 For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. 11 So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.” Romans 5:6-11 NLT

I cried then and I have tears in my eyes now.

Christ took my sin and made me a friend of God – now that’s an opposing function!

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Defeat the Giant

Yesterday we talked about impatience. How did you do? Did you sail through your day, willing to wait, with a good attitude or did you hit the road block of unexpected delays and disruptions?

I can say that my morning was pretty much interruption free but that doesn’t require much patience. In the afternoon, I felt more hurried and pressed to get things done and done NOW. I know I wasn’t as patient as I should have been.

When those obstacles or disruptions come our way we need to face things head on like a little shepherd boy with a giant. Am I comparing impatience to Goliath? You bet!

Impatience is a giant of an emotion and just like Goliath, impatience has brothers – anger, criticism, strife and rude behavior.

While the Israelite army was standing on a hillside trying to avoid conflict with the Philistines, Golaith would walk out and taunt them daily. There was no victory, no peace. What was a needed was a confrontation – a confrontation wrapped in prayer and the power of God.

You see, when David went to meet Goliath he picked up 5 stones. This was not a backup measure in case he missed with the first one. No! If that had been the case he would have been dead. It was an offensive tactic, he wanted to be armed to take out the whole family.

So let me ask – what giants are you facing today? Have you been avoiding them? Choosing to go another direction? There will come a time that you must face the giants but not in your own strength. God will be there to lead you into battle victoriously – you must simply trust in Him.

” David said to the Philistine, ‘You come to me using sword, spear, and javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord All-Powerful, the God of the armies of Israel. You have said bad things about him. 46 Today the Lord will let me defeat you. I will kill you. I will cut off your head and feed your body to the birds and wild animals. And we will do the same thing to all the other Philistines too. Then all the world will know there is a God in Israel. 47 All the people gathered here will know that the Lord doesn’t need swords or spears to save people. The battle belongs to the Lord, and he will help us defeat all of you.” I Samuel 17:45-47 ERV

Follow His lead and claim victory today!

“I am grateful that God always makes it possible for Christ to lead us to victory. God also helps us spread the knowledge about Christ everywhere, and this knowledge is like the smell of perfume.” II Corinthians 2:14 ERV

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Light the World

In my quiet time, I began to sing. The first song that came to my heart was “In My Life Lord be Glorified”.

We talked about it the last week – David was able to defeat Goliath so all the world would know there was a God in Israel (I Samuel 17:46). Daniel spent the night with lions and came out unscathed and the king proclaimed that God, was the true god, to be worshipped. (Daniel 6:26-27). Esther went from being a peasant girl to queen that saved the Jewish people from annihilation, “for such a time as this”. (Esther 4:14) Finally Paul stood before the elite of Athens at the altar they set aside for “the unknown god” and said let me tell you who this unknown god is – then he told them about Jesus. (Acts 17:22-24).

God wants to be glorified in our lives!

When we honor and exalt Him we are bold; we are strong; we are confident. Not in our own abilities but in His. Jesus said about Himself:

“However, those the Father has given me will come to me, and I will never reject them. 38 For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do my own will. 39 And this is the will of God, that I should not lose even one of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them up at the last day.” John 6:37-39 NLT

We also have a calling from the Father to do His will.

“This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

18 And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. 19 For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. 20 So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” II Corinthians 5:17-20 NLT

God will always have a voice, it is yours and mine.

“For God, who said, ‘Let there be light in the darkness,’ has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.

7 We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.” II Corinthians 4:6-7 NLT

Let’s be that light, be the voice; let the world see God through us.

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On The Move

It’s been a busy last couple of days. Sunday, we spent packing up, making sure everything fit in the suitcases and the new bag I bought. Monday we were to head out about noon. Our driver picked us up a little late but no problem.

We were headed for the ferry port and had allowed extra time for little incidentals to make sure we were there in plenty of time. Just about the time the car showed up, I received a text saying “due to rough seas” the ferry would be about 30 minutes late. By the time we got to the port that delay had been extended to almost an hour. We watched the ferry tracker for the next several hours and finally, finally, over three and a half hours later the ferry arrived.

Elation and exhaustion.

We arrived in Heraklion Crete at 8 pm, we had started at noon. Somehow the theme song from Gillian’s Island kept running through my head – a three hour tour. LOL

The receptionist at the hotel was very kind and our check in was easy. She directed us to our room and then told us the closest place to go to get a good meal. Throughout the whole day we kept reminding ourselves that the “steps of the righteous are ordered by the Lord”.

It’s amazing that we are on this adventure – the Lord has provided for each and every need. We have been able to share the love of Jesus in small ways everywhere we have gone.

“So trust in the Lord and do good. Live on your land and be dependable. 4 Enjoy serving the Lord, and he will give you whatever you ask for. 5 Depend on the Lord. Trust in him, and he will help you.” Psalm 37:3-5 ERV

We fell into bed Monday night, thanking the Father for comfortable accommodations, even though there was no sea view or beautiful sunset and enjoyed sweet sleep.

Tuesday there were three things on my “to do” list. Find a laundry, find a toy store to get some gifts for the grandkids and the main event was visiting the church of Titus.

“Titus, because of our faith, you are like a son to me. I pray that God our Father and Christ Jesus our Savior will be kind to you and will bless you with peace! 5 I left you in Crete to do what had been left undone and to appoint leaders for the churches in each town.” Titus 1:4-5 CEV

Titus when to Crete with Paul on his second missionary journey in approximately 60 A.D. He stayed there preaching and making disciples for many years. The legacy of Titus is a part of this island’s history.

Visiting this place, no it wasn’t actually built by Titus, but I could imagine Paul and Titus preaching to the people in the open air of the plaza. There proclaiming to them the good news of Jesus Christ. My heart was filled with reverence as I sat and prayed.

“Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” II Corinthians 3:17 NKJV

It was a perfect day…because the presence of the Lord was here!

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Added Strength

The older I get I have to face the fact that I don’t have as much strength as I used too. It’s hard to admit something like that because I would be the first to jump in on hard tasks and stay with it until the project was done.

Now I take time to rest.

This morning I was really encouraged by a verse I have known and quoted for years.

“My gift of undeserved grace is all you need. My power is strongest when you are weak.” So if Christ keeps giving me his power, I will gladly brag about how weak I am. 10 Yes, I am glad to be weak or insulted or mistreated or to have troubles and sufferings, if it is for Christ. Because when I am weak, I am strong.” II Corinthians 12:9-10 CEV

Paul knew about being stretched beyond his natural strength. It seems everywhere he went there were people who wanted to imprison him, mistreat him and even kill him. He would overcome in one situation only to face another one.

God gave him amazing insight and he shared it with us.

It’s important to keep a proper perspective when going through a tough time. If we begin to look to closely at the situation it will begin to seem overwhelming. It’s important to pull back and look at things the way God’s see them.

The children of Egypt saw a sea too big to cross; God saw a stream and damned it up. Saul’s soldiers saw a giant too big to conquer; David saw a man who was no match for God. Noah saw a world filled with corruption and a devastating flood; God saw a cruise ship of salvation. Paul saw persecution and God saw an opportunity to show up with strength and provision.

Do you see things as hopeless, do you see defeat?

I really liked this picture of father and son flexing their muscles. It’s an image of proper perspective. I know the son probably thinks he’s strong and he can handle things on his own but once he sees dad’s muscles, he realizes that it’s better to get help from someone who loves him and has the greater strength.

“ Christ gives me the strength to face anything.” Philippians 4:13 CEV

What the Lord revealed to Paul was he wasn’t on his own. Neither are we. We have the Father’s promise to never leave us or abandon us. Jesus told his disciples to “ask and it shall be given to you, seek and you will find”.

“ Finally, let the mighty strength of the Lord make you strong. 11  Put on all the armor that God gives, so you can defend yourself against the devil’s tricks.” Ephesians 6:10-11 CEV

What has you feeling weak and disabled this morning? Let the Lord give you what you need to be strong.

Remember, Satan saw Jesus as a dead man, buried in a tomb but God saw the resurrection and that same power, resurrection power has been placed within us.

“The Lord is my strength and shield.  I trusted him with all my heart. He helped me, so I am happy.  I sing songs of praise to him. 8 The Lord protects his chosen one. He saves him and gives him strength.” Psalm 28:7-8 ERV

No matter the obstacle, no matter the circumstance, our Father will be there to give us the added strength we need!

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Love to Give

What is it that gives you joy? I mean, what do you really like to do?

I love to cook, bake, be in the kitchen and I love to share what I make with others. It’s what I do.

This morning Paul is talking to the Christians in Corinith about what they love to do. Give.

“Each one of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give. You should not give if it makes you unhappy or if you feel forced to give. God loves those who are happy to give. 8 And God can give you more blessings than you need, and you will always have plenty of everything. You will have enough to give to every good work. 9 As the Scriptures say,

“He gives generously to the poor; his goodness will continue forever.”

10 God is the one who gives seed to those who plant, and he gives bread for food. And God will give you spiritual seed and make that seed grow. He will produce a great harvest from your goodness. 11 God will make you rich in every way so that you can always give freely. And your giving through us will make people give thanks to God.

12 The service you are offering helps God’s people with their needs, but that is not all it does. It is also bringing more and more thanks to God. 13 This service is a proof of your faith, and people will praise God because of it. They will praise God that you freely share what you have with them and with all people. They will praise him to see you following the Good News about Christ that you openly accepted. They will praise God because you freely share with them and with all people. 14 And when they pray, they will wish they could be with you. They will feel this way because of the great grace that God gave you. 15 Thanks be to God for his gift that is too wonderful to describe.” II Corinithians 9:7-15 ERV

Giving should be done because we love to do it not because someone has made us feel guilty or coerced into it. When we give from what we have we bless others and bring glory to God.

Our gift is a seed that brings a harvest and provides more for future giving. Don’t be grudge the size of the gift. To someone who has nothing a gift of a $1 is great; to someone with little an extra $10 seems like a fortune.

I remember a time we were given a freezer full of ground beef by a local dairyman. We had more than our freezer could hold so I called a friend to see if they would like some beef. I wanted to share our blessing.

She was nearly in tears. I put some meat in the car and headed to her place. She had been praying for some meat for dinner, so we were both blessed by a gift and blessed by giving.

Let the Lord show you today what you have to give and then if He prompts you, give it from a cheerful heart.

God has given us SO much it’s a joy to give to others on His behalf!!

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God Is Bigger

The last few days I have been frustrated by a hatch of small beetle-type insects. This may be a common occurrence this time of year but they are annoying.

They are everywhere and get into everything. They are black with a little bit of red on their sides, they have wings but they don’t fly much. They crawl and of course are drawn to the light. Dave reminded me yesterday, “don’t worry, they’ll be gone just as quickly as they came”. It can’t be soon enough for me!

While I was muttering about these little pests, I almost missed the gorgeous sunrise that was appearing through my window. Isn’t that how it is so often? We make mountains out of molehills and we miss out on the beauty that God provides.

God is bigger than our problems, bigger than our annoyances!

King Solomon made a simple statement that I have learned to rely on in times like these.

“Catch the foxes for us— the little foxes that spoil the vineyard. Our vineyard is now in bloom.” Song of Solomon 2:15 ERV

This verse is right in the middle of a love sonnet. How strange! But I think it’s a reminder, a caution that we should deal with the little things of life, not letting them create stress and go on.

“We have small troubles for a while now, but these troubles are helping us gain an eternal glory. That eternal glory is much greater than our troubles. 18 So we think about what we cannot see, not what we see. What we see lasts only a short time, and what we cannot see will last forever.” II Corinthians 4:17-18 ERV

The “small troubles” in Paul’s life were things like ship wrecks, beatings, imprisonment, stoning, constant harassment. Little foxes — small troubles.

God is bigger!

Just now as I am writing this one of those small annoyances just crawled across my keyboard. So, what do we do when the stress starts to build and the annoyances come?

“I look to the hills! Where will I find help? 2 It will come from the Lord, who created heaven and earth. 3 The Lord is your protector, and he won’t go to sleep or let you stumble.” Psalm 121:1-3 CEV

With that I’m on my way out to enjoy the sunrise and the majesty of the Father. My God is bigger than anything!

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Success In Life

Yesterday I shared with you about our great inheritance. I hope you are able to understand how amazing this is.

With most inheritances the person making the bequest has to die to put the will into effect. Our heavenly Father has always been and forever will be, He will not die, so how does the inheritance come in to being.

Through Jesus.

Yes, Jesus came to earth, lived as a man and then died an earthly death so that we would be heirs and joint-heirs with Him to all the Father has promised. In fact, just hours before His death Jesus took the Passover supper with His disciples and he said to them:

“Jesus picked up a cup of wine and gave thanks to God. He gave it to his disciples, and they all drank some. 24  Then he said, “This is my blood, which is poured out for many people, and with it God makes his agreement. ” Mark 14:23-24 CEV

It was Christ’s blood, His death, that enacted the last will and testament and made us heirs. This is why it’s so important that we don’t treat the communion service as ritual or religious tradition.

God’s word is the testament that sets forth all the specifics of our inheritance. To fully understand and appreciate what we’ve been given we need to read it and apply it.

” Christ says ‘Yes’ to all of God’s promises. That’s why we have Christ to say ‘Amen’ for us to the glory of God. 21 And so God makes it possible for you and us to stand firmly together with Christ. God is also the one who chose us 22 and put his Spirit in our hearts to show that we belong only to him.” II Corinthians 1:20-22 ERV

I have learned from applying God’s word in the small areas of my life that He is more than capable of handling those larger issues that seem to be completely out of control. When Christ was here on earth He proved that all of God’s promises are true; He lived in the faithfulness of His father. And because He lived by the Word of God in victory so can we.

  “Jesus answered, “The Scriptures say: ‘No one can live only on food. People need every word that God has spoken.’” Matthew 4:4 CEV

God didn’t make empty promises, nor did He make them unattainable. He desires for us to be victorious and so He has given us His promises because He loves us and wants our lives to be abundantly blessed.

Enjoy the promises that God has for you today. They are yes and amen to those who love God.

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Make Over – Made New

At one point or another you have probably seen at least one episode of a “Make Over” show on television.

You know the ones – the DIY shows where they completely remodel a home. Some of them make over the person; new haircut, makeup, weight loss and wardrobe. There have been times when I’ve thought it would be nice to have someone create a hairstyle just for me and/or help me find a wardrobe that minimizes the faults and accentuates the strengths.

That my friends is a makeover.

But what about making something new? A new home or a new car, one that no one else has lived in or driven. What’s even more special is when it’s not only new, but custom. The floorplan, cabinetry, countertops, windows, room size, and the view have all been designed specifically for you. No room for complaint – it’s new.

Our Christian lives are like that, made new!

“ Anyone who belongs to Christ is a new person. The past is forgotten, and everything is new.” II Corinthians 5:17 CEV

Everything is new.

“Stop being bitter and angry and mad at others. Don’t yell at one another or curse each other or ever be rude. 32  Instead, be kind and merciful, and forgive others, just as God forgave you because of Christ. 5 Do as God does. After all, you are his dear children. 2  Let love be your guide. Christ loved us and offered his life for us as a sacrifice that pleases God.” Ephesians 4:31-5:2 CEV

We are to have the same character as our heavenly Father. We are new in Him. He has placed His nature in us. For a long time, I didn’t see myself as new in Christ; at best, I saw myself as remodeled and truth be told, I saw the remodel as incomplete. Still struggling and dealing with old issues that would never really be fixed this side of heaven.

“Christ died, and we have been joined with him by dying too. So we will also be joined with him by rising from death as he did. 6 We know that our old life was put to death on the cross with Christ. This happened so that our sinful selves would have no power over us. Then we would not be slaves to sin. 7 Anyone who has died is made free from sin’s control.

8 If we died with Christ, we know that we will also live with him. 9 Christ was raised from death. And we know that he cannot die again. Death has no power over him now. 10 Yes, when Christ died, he died to defeat the power of sin one time—enough for all time. He now has a new life, and his new life is with God. 11 In the same way, you should see yourselves as being dead to the power of sin and alive for God through Christ Jesus.” Romans 6:5-11 ERV

Dead to sin and alive for God!

Made new!

Dead to the power of sin – dead to temper, lying, a critical spirit, gossip, self-pity. Dead.

“ But God treats us much better than we deserve, and because of Christ Jesus, he freely accepts us and sets us free from our sins.” Romans 3:24 CEV

A makeover is something we try to do, made new is something only God can do. I like His way better!

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What’s That Annoying Sound?

Roaring lion or barking Chihuahua, which one is the devil dressed like today?

“6 Be humble in the presence of God’s mighty power, and he will honor you when the time comes. 7 God cares for you, so turn all your worries over to him. 8 Be on your guard and stay awake. Your enemy, the devil, is like a roaring lion, sneaking around to find someone to attack.” I Peter 5:6-8 CEV

Satan comes as a roaring lion. He isn’t a lion but he does a good job imitating one. He roars and the intense sound can shake us to our core. His roar sounds different to all of us. To some the roar is cancer, to others it’s divorce or financial devastation. It can be death of a loved one or loss of a job. That awful roar is intended to paralyze us with fear.

“But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” I Corinthians 15:57-58 NKJV

Roaring Lion conquered but now for the Chihuahua.

Years ago, we were holding a Camp Meeting at a ranch in Northern Arizona. When we arrived at the ranch, our friends weren’t home and we were greeted by their little dog that lived under the porch. He came out with the most ferocious bark he could muster. As I took a step toward him, he ran back under the porch.

This was a scene that repeated itself a number of times over the next 20 minutes. Finally, frustrated I scolded him and told him to hush. He ran back and stayed under the porch until his owners came.

I heard the Holy Spirit speak to my heart. He said, you know that little dog is a good example of the devil. He’ll yip and bark and annoy but he can’t win. The victory has been given to you through Christ Jesus! Don’t let him distract you from what you were called to do.

Annoying little distractions.

Currently, we are doing some site improvements and we have a list of things that need to be done. The list seems endless and there is an order, some things can’t be done ahead of others.

Yap, yap, yap. I hear that little Chihuahua of distractions barking and trying to frustrate Dave and me.

This morning I’m stomping my foot and sending the adversary running. God knows every detail and step that we need to take and I’m not going to be distracted, worried or frustrated by the enemy’s yapping!

“I am grateful that God always makes it possible for Christ to lead us to victory. God also helps us spread the knowledge about Christ everywhere, and this knowledge is like the smell of perfume.” II Corinthians 2:14 CEV

Listen. The roaring and yapping have stopped. What you hear now is the sound of victory!

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