Week #34 Insights: August 19-25

Jeff Quint (Monday - Tuesday) and Kristi Meyer (Wednesday - Sunday) bring us this week's blurbs.

August 19 – 2 Corinthians 8: The first step in beginning anything is to give yourself first to the Lord. I know some of you will think of the impossibility of getting anything done if, every moment, you never get beyond giving yourself to the Lord. One solution is to make this giving of yourself a focus of your morning prayers. God knows what you have to face today, and he is happy to hear you ask for his aid as you begin. He will be with you through each moment, strengthening, encouraging, comforting you until your daily tasks are over. And after you thank him in your evening prayers, he will watch over you while you sleep. You can be at peace because he has promised to never leave you. Study question: Why do you sometimes doubt that God will watch over you?
 
August 20 – 2 Corinthians 9: Christian giving amplifies God’s blessings to the world on many levels. The over-used example of expanding ripples in a pond works because the waves (blessings) produced by tossing our pebble (gift) into the water will touch every inch of shoreline around our pond. The world beyond that shoreline will also be touched; not necessarily by the gift itself but maybe just by our act of giving. We never see or hear of every consequence of our gifts, but God ensures it will be used for his purposes. Looking back to chapter 8, if the giving begins when we give ourselves to the Lord – and not, as we suppose, when our offering clears the bank – how much more will our gift be increased, and in what ways? Suddenly, Christian giving in any amount can be seen for what it is: a beautiful way to bring glory to our Lord. Study question: How can the talents you possess benefit the Lord’s work through St. John’s? If you don’t know, talk to one of our pastors and find out!
 
August 21 – 2 Corinthians 10: In these last chapters of 2 Corinthians, Paul vociferously defends his apostolic authority against false teachers. These false teachers questioned Paul’s credibility and asserted that he was not able to back up his forceful writings with an equally forceful personality. Although Paul stands head and shoulders above all these false teachers by the world’s standards (as we will see again in Chapter 11), he instead points to God as the one who gave him his ministry and authority and the one who gave success to that ministry. In engaging in warfare against these false teachers, Paul does not turn to clever arguments or convincing stories. He fights with weapons that are not of this world – divine weapons that we will read more about in Ephesians 6. Study question: Paul commands us to “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (verse 5). How can you use spiritual weapons to carry out this command?
 
August 22 – 2 Corinthians 11:1-15: Paul continues to defend himself against these “super-apostles” (his sarcastic way of referring to the false teachers who had infiltrated the Corinthians church), but he is clearly uncomfortable doing so. He calls such a defense “foolishness” and would likely much rather focus on teaching the Corinthians the things of God rather than spending valuable time explaining why he is qualified to teach them. Every aspect of his ministry has been twisted by the false teachers, even the fact that he personally supported himself rather than being a burden to the Corinthians. The “super-apostles” claimed that if Paul refused to accept payment, then his message wasn’t really worth anything. On the contrary, Paul demonstrates the willingness of other churches – especially at Philippi – to supply his needs, thus reinforcing the favorable reception his message had received elsewhere and refuting these false teachers. Study question: In 1 Timothy 5, Paul advocates proper pay for church workers. Why is his attitude here different?
 
August 23 – 2 Corinthians 11:16-33: If you read this section out loud, you can just imagine Paul getting more and more agitated as he continues to write. He wants to boast only in the Lord, but that isn’t good enough for the false teachers slandering him and questioning his credibility. So he puts it all out there, listing reason upon reason and sharing incident upon incident to demonstrate that he is indeed a servant of Christ. Everything he shares – his lineage, his persecution, his peril and danger, and his concern for the churches – is indeed an indication that he is a servant of Christ. But in the end, none of this matters. Instead, what matters is Paul’s weakness and, by implication, God’s strength. Paul is what he is – a redeemed, blood-bought child of God – because of God’s grace. This is what he desires to boast in. Study question: Think of a situation lately in which you felt weak or out-of-control. In hindsight, how can you see God’s strength even in this difficult situation?
 
August 24 – 2 Corinthians 12: The first half of today’s reading contains much we would like to know more about. Was Paul the one caught up to the third heaven? What inexpressible things did this man hear? What was Paul’s thorn in the flesh? Even though God hasn’t chosen to reveal any of that to us, the message he does speak through Paul is more valuable for our Christian walk of faith than any of these trivialities: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (verse 9). What a switch from how we usually view our weaknesses! In the second half of the chapter, Paul once again reminds the Corinthians that all his actions have been motivated by love and concern for them. His pastor’s heart is clearly on display throughout 2 Corinthians – a letter that contains more autobiographical information than any of Paul’s other letters. Study question: How does our perspective change when we view our weaknesses as opportunities for God to display his divine grace and power?
 
August 25 – 2 Corinthians 13: Paul was forced to deal harshly with the Corinthians in the previous three chapters. Because they listened to the “super-apostles” and questioned Paul’s motives and apostolic authority, they required firm admonition from their pastor Paul. Paul continues his warnings as he closes out his letter, reminding the Corinthians that he will not tolerate sin and dissention among them when he visits them again. These words might have caused the Corinthians to dread Paul’s visit – if not for the closing verses of the book. In spite of his harsh words, in spite of the sin he knows is present in the congregation, in spite of the personal affront meted out by the Corinthians in doubting his status as an apostle, Paul closes his letter on a note of hope. Rather than fearing Paul’s visit, the Corinthians can look forward to it, knowing that he does indeed love them and has only their spiritual best interests at heart, and they can strive to be the people God has called them to be. Study question: How does the close of Paul’s letter provide a blueprint for us (individually or as a church) in dealing with sin today?