The PASSION Blog

In 2 Corinthians chapters 4 and 5 we the Apostle Paul talks about some of the imperative things we should do as Christians and some of the personal inadequacies we face as Christians as we preach the Gospel of reconciliation. The NIV breaks these two chapters into three sections.

Treasures in Jars of Clay (2 Corinthians 4:1-18)

In this section Paul tells us that as Christians we have been given the task of preaching the Gospel (v1) and the struggles and inadequacies we have in fulfilling this task. He likens Christians to fragile jars of clay (v7). Paul goes on to say that while we are under pressure, perplexed and in despair at times, we are not crushed (vv8-9) and he encourages us that while our outer bodies are wasting away, inwardly we are being renewed day by day (v16). He concludes by reminding us that our troubles are short in comparison to eternity (v17) and that we need to keep our eyes on that which is unseen (v18), so we do not lose heart (v16).

Our Heavenly Dwelling (2 Corinthians 5:1-10)

In chapter five Paul starts by saying our bodies are like earthly tents that cover us for a time (v1). He goes on to say that while we are here on earth “we groan and are burdened” and that we long for our “heavenly dwelling” (v4). This section tells us that while we face troubles and pressure in this life, Paul’s ultimate hope is to be with the Lord. In the meantime Paul realises that we are here for a task that he introduces in the next section.

The Ministry of Reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:11-21)

In the final section of chapter five Paul charges Christians with playing their part in reconciling people to God. Paul understood that the call to preach the gospel was about being one of “Christ’s ambassadors” and that when they spoke it was actually God “making his appeal through” them (v20). It involved imploring others to “be reconciled with God” (v20),  it arose out of a fear of the Lord (v11) and a knowledge of “Christ’s love” (v14). In this section we see God calls the reconciled to become reconciler’s and that our task is to reach out to those around us with God’s love and saving message in Christ Jesus.

Conclusion

What are the imperatives and inadequacies of these chapters? The imperative is our task of preaching the Gospel and helping people to become reconciled to God through Christ Jesus. The inadequacies we face are the strains and pressures of life that often crowd in on us and the fact that our outer earthly bodies are wasting away daily.

However, in the midst of all of this, God is right there with us. He is empowering us and renewing us inwardly day by day. And as we go about our work, we must never forget that we have the great hope of spending eternity with Him.

In Second Corinthians chapter one there are some verses that can give us great comfort in our times of suffering. The section heading in the NLT is titled, “God offers comfort to all”. In verse 3-4 it says…

All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort.  He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.

In these two short verse we find that the source of all comfort comes from God. Initially God comforts us in our struggles that we face in this life. He helps us to get through to the other side. He walks with us like the story Footsteps talks about. Then as we have come through the other side, He enables us to comfort others.

I find great strength in knowing that the King and Creator of the Universe is in my corner. He is with me when I go through times of suffering. I am not alone. He tells me that He will never leave me or never forsake me.

I also find great comfort in knowing that once my suffering has passed, I will be able to comfort and support others the way God has comforted me. That is great news and gives me hope in the midst of suffering.

I hope and pray that if you are going through a time of suffering today, that you know the peace and comfort that only God can bring.

God Bless,

Dave

One of the blogs I follow is Mark Wilson’s  “Revitilize your church“. In the last few days he has done a couple of posts I really enjoyed and got something out of.

1. Take resposibility
2. Put your dream to the test
   

I have been blessed by these and I thought I would share them both.

God Bless,

Dave

As I have shared a number of times before on this blog, one of the main callings on my life is to pray and intercede for others. Sometimes this call to prayer comes from God as he lays somebody on my heart. At other times I hear of a situation and it touches my heart so much that I take it on board to pray.

Recently my heart has been full for a number of farmers I know. I have been praying so hard for rain for them. Because for the last month or so many farmers have been seeding their crops. Some have been dry seeding due to little or no rain. When you sow seed dry you do it in faith hoping the rains will come. They are truly amazing people!

Early last week the burden grew to a new level as I knew rain was desperate for some. As the level of burden rose I felt the level of connection with the families rise too. Rather than praying for a friends farm to receive to rain, it was like I was praying for my own farm to receive rain!

When I heard the rains did come and in some cases over 40 mils, it actually brought tears to my eyes. I was overcome with emotion and joy for the families and farms I had been praying for. It is amazing the connection that gives God us as we pray for those around us and especially for those God lays on our hearts.

God Bless,

Dave

I have just finished reading the New Testament book of 1 Corinthians. I have been reading it for the last week or so as a part of my daily devotions.

The Book of 1 Corinthians really touches on some difficult areas. Just a quick scan of the chapter headings in the book show it talks about disunity in the church, spiritual pride, lawsuits among Christians, marriage problems, sexual sins, food sacrificed to idols, warning against idolatry, orderly public worship, the right use of spritual gifts and the resurrection of Christ. As you can see it covers some pretty heavy stuff!

Now on the surface you might think that this church is pretty messed up. It sure shows there is a lot going on! However when we do some background reading about the City of Corinth we find out why Paul is addressing these issues and why the church is in this place.

Corinth was one of Ancient Greece’s most important trade cities. It was located on the Isthmus of Corinth between the Ionian and Aegean Seas and was a connecting link between Rome and the East. Although Corinth was an ancient city it had been destroyed by Roman armies in 146BC and only had a small number of people who survived. In 44BC it was odered to be rebuilt under Julius Caeser.

Once rebuilt Corinth became a melting pot for more than 500,000 people from all walks of life. It was made up of merchants, sailors, professional gamblers, athletes who competed in the Isthmian Games, freed slaves and thousands of male and female prostitutes who served in one of the “temples”. Many people flocked to this city because of its freedom from rules and hedonistic lifestyle.

Most scholars agree that Paul planted the church at Corinth in 51BC with the help of Priscilla and Aquilla (Acts 18). He did this with the mix of the wide variety of people mentioned above.  Part of his work was to try and get the people to live together in harmony despite their national, social, economic and religious backgrounds. A truly huge job indeed!

When we understand a little of the context and background of the Book of 1 Corinthians we start to understand why Paul was quite direct on a number of issues and gave clear instructions. He was trying to bring people together from all backgrounds to truly follow Christ in unity.

After reading through the book over the last few weeks I have come away with a renewed sense of the huge task that faced Paul in bringing this diverse group people together as one under Christ.

I am also very aware of the importance of believing in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, that we have good Biblical teaching in place and that we all need to love and serve one another from our hearts. When we do these things all the rest seems to fall into place.

God Bless,

Dave

This morning I was reflecting on commitment. For many people commitment is very hard to make. Whether it is going to church regularly, getting married or to a long term job, some just find it hard. Then I thought about the the four types of commitment I like to see at church.

1. Commitment to Jesus – I love to see new people committing their lives to Christ for the first time. For me there is nothing like someone coming to Christ and committing to following Him.

2. Commitment to Growth – I love to see people learning the basics of the Christian faith and committing their lives to prayer, Bible reading and fellowship. Committing to these things bring spiritual growth in oursleves and in our relationship with God and others.

3. Commitment to Service – I love to see people committing themselves to serving in some area of the church. When we come to Christ and start to grow in our faith, commitment to serving in God’s house should be a natural outworking of our faith.

4. Commitment to Ministry – I love to see people come to the point where they want to spend the rest of their life in God’s service in Ministry. When someone makes the commitment to attend Bible college I get very excited and encouraged.

So there you have it. Four commitments I like to see happening at church. May be see them at all of our churches.

I came across this one today as I was reading about Pastors and home visitation. As I haven’t put anything in my “for fun” category for a while I thought I would put this in…

“The pastor went to call on one of the elderly widows of the church. While visiting with her, he noticed a bowl of shelled peanuts on the coffee table. During the conversation he began nibbling on them and soon the bowl was empty. He then apologized to the woman for eating all of her peanuts.

She replied, “That’s OK, Reverend. It’s no bother. You see, three weeks ago I had all my teeth pulled. Since that time, I’ve just been sucking the chocolate off the peanuts and putting them in that bowl.”