2 Corinthians

Going From Glory To Glory {2 Corinthians 3:5-18}

4:44 PM





Monday Nov. 25


One of my heroes in the Bible has always been Paul. He is the perfect example of how no one is beyond God’s reach. Previously known as Saul of Tarsus, he was a respected and highly educated Pharisee (Acts 22:3,23:6) who not believing Jesus to be God, saw Christians as blasphemers; deserving of persecution and death. So it should come as no surprise when we learn in Acts 9:1-2 that Saul asked for letters from the high priest that he could present to the synagogues in Damascus, allowing him to take all followers of Jesus as prisoners. (Acts 9:1-2). Once he got those letters, Saul set out to round up believers and dole out his punishment. It was while he was on the road to Damascus, that God got a hold of Saul and “used temporary blindness and humiliation to transform the zealous Pharisee named Saul into the powerful Apostle and missionary named Paul who spread the gospel and planted churches across the Roman world.” (Dr. Charles Stanley) (Acts 9:1-20)

Now here in 2 Corinthians we find the transformed Paul who, after establishing the church in Corinth, is having his credentials questioned by some false teachers in the church. They’re looking for his letter of commendation. Letters of commendation were usually sent with traveling Christians in the early church to weed out false teachers or those claiming to be apostles. Paul lets these doubters know that his letter is the church itself with Jesus as its author. The proof could be seen through the transformation of both Paul, and the members of the church themselves. A transformation possible because of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. So now, unlike the veiled faces of those who reject Jesus as their Savior and continue to live in darkness, for those who turn to Jesus, “the veil is taken away” (vs. 16). This allows Christians to not only see the glory of God, but to become, “transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.” (vs. 18)

But what does it mean to be transformed from glory to glory? “Glory to glory is not moving from one state of euphoria to another. It is not going from one state of being lost in the spirit to the other. To go from glory to glory, to be ever-increasing in glory, is to continually be changed into what you were created to be. It is to be conformed to His likeness. It is increasing in the character and nature of God.” (Pastor Harold Martin) Our God is so loving that He never wants to leave us as He found us. And so He gives us of the gift of the Holy Spirit who, if we let Him, will take our sinfulness, wickedness, brokenness, and hardheartedness, and through God’s saving grace, transform us from a Saul to a Paul. 

This isn’t to say that our transformation will come easy. For the Christian walk rather than a weekend getaway, is a lifelong journey of growth and change. There will be times when that change will be hard, frustrating, and painful. And there will be days when it may be two steps forward and three steps back. But if we keep seeking God, allow the Holy Spirit to work both in and through us, change will come. We are all God’s glorious works in progress, and one day when we dwell with Him forever, we will be perfect reflections of His image and glory. Until then keep trusting God, keep moving forward, and remember this quote by Joyce Meyer which says, “I may not be where I want to be, but thank God I’m not where I used to be!” 



Forgiveness

Forgiveness {Daniel 9:1-19}

12:00 AM


Tuesday, February 12, 2019

Please Read Daniel 9:1-19

Last week we looked at being content in the Lord – nothing other than our relationship with God will satisfy us.

Contentment is difficult for many of us and following contentment with forgiveness just seems so appropriate.  You see, God did a number of things when He led me to Daniel 9.  First, He opened my eyes to see my own lack of praying for the forgiveness FOR others (not of others).  We sometimes get wrapped up in wondering how we can help other people, especially when they are stuck in sin. 

Two weeks ago I shared some prayers for when our loved ones are stuck in sin, and I had asked a few friends to pray with me.  Something amazing happened – God answered one of my prayers!

Daniel’s prayer is another fantastic prayer for when we (and others) are stuck in sin.  But for me, this prayer made me realize how I was not content in the Lord.  Not only was God using this prayer and these to open the eyes of some of my own loved ones, but on me.  Sometimes the truth hurts.  We would rather hear words that soothe, even if they are false.  And when God performs surgery on your own heart, you get to experience just how merciful and forgiving He is, despite our rebellion (v. 9).

Affliction is meant for us to turn to God.  When we face difficult circumstances, we should ask ourselves if God has reason to send judgment.  If we think so, we must urgently seek His forgiveness.  Then we can ask Him to help us through our troubles. 

“The LORD did not hesitate to bring the disaster on us, for the LORD our God is righteous in everything He does; yet we have not obeyed Him.”  (v.14)

Daniel spoke about how God continually tried to bring Israel back to Himself.  Yet even after disaster struck them, they refused to obey Him.  God still uses circumstances, other people, and most importantly, HIS WORD, to bring people back to Him.  What would it take for God to get your attention?  If you are unwilling to accept God’s message, maybe you are trying to avoid making a painful change.

Are you serious?  Is your heart really ready for a transformation?  Because if you truly are, these prayers will cut to the core and remove the stony parts of your own heart. 
God pointed out just how lukewarm I was.  And how I lacked a real desire to be transformed.  He showed me truly how weightless my words are and just how powerful His words are!

God sends help, not because we deserve it, but because He wants to show great mercy.  God could refuse to help us because of our sin and how could we complain?  But when He sends mercy when we deserve punishment, how can we withhold our praise and thanksgiving?

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17 “Now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of your servant. For your sake, Lord, look with favor on your desolate sanctuary. 18 Give ear, our God, and hear; open your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears your Name. We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy. 19 Lord, listen! Lord, forgive! Lord, hear and act! For your sake, my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name.”

Isaiah

Here I am. Send me! {Isaiah 5:1-7:25}

11:00 PM



The Bible teaches about many prophets. Men and women blessed to be used by God in awesome ways. But far from enjoying peaceful easy living, God’s prophets were often despised, persecuted, and imprisoned; the messages they brought, hated and disregarded. Even though many came to tragic, violent ends, they still stayed true to revealing God’s messages. Why? Because of divine encounters with the Lord. Encounters that transformed both their hearts and their lives.

This was the case with one the greatest prophets, Isaiah. When God was looking for someone to deliver a message to Israel He said, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” (vs. 6:8) Isaiah stepped right up saying, “Here am I. Send me!” (v. 6:8) Why was Isaiah so eager to serve God? The Bible tells us that in the same year the king of Judah, Uzziah, passed away, Isaiah received a prophetic vision. “I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of his robe filling the temple. Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings; with two he covered His face, and with two he covered His feet, and with two he flew. And one called out to another and said, ‘Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is filled with His glory.” (vs. 6:1-3) 

Surrounded by the glorious majesty and holiness of God, Isaiah is convicted by the filthiness of his own life in comparison and cries out in despair, “Woe is me, for I am ruined. Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.” (vs. 6:5) In response, God sends a seraphim to place a burning coal on the lips of Isaiah allowing his iniquity to be taken away and his sin forgiven. (vs. 6:7) Transformed, cleansed, and ready for service, Isaiah humbly volunteers to carry out God’s mission.

Have you ever thought you washed a window to crystal clear perfection only to find it full of streaks when the rays of the sun shined on it? That’s how it is with us. No matter how hard we try, or how clean we think our lives are, they are nothing more than dirty, streaky windows compared to the perfect goodness of God. But because of His boundless love, just like He did for Isaiah, God provides a way for our iniquity to be taken away and our sin forgiven. That way is Jesus Christ. Through His work on the Cross and the shedding of His precious blood the minute we receive Him as our Savior, the Holy Spirit goes to work. First he humbles and convicts us about the filthiness of our lives, then begins transforming, cleansing, and getting us ready for God's service. No longer unworthy, and like the prophets before us, we can be eagerly obedient to God’s calling. And after our own life changing encounter with the Lord, with a thankful heart we too can say to God, “Here am I. send Me!”

2 Corinthians 3

Unveiling Glory {2 Corinthians 3}

12:30 AM

2 Corinthians 3 has had me stirred up for a while.  I can’t seem to get this song out of my head:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuNwOSDGvuo

Are you desperate for the Holy Spirit?  Are you desperate for the Glory of God? 

Recently, I was reminded of Exodus 33:12-19 where Moses felt like he could not lead the Israelites without knowing how it was all going to work out.  God would not give Moses the picture he wanted, God instead told Moses that His presence would go with them.  And Moses wanted to see God’s glory.  He was desperate for God’s glory.  He had already brought the Law, written on stone down the mountain to this stiff-necked people and the tablets were broken, now Moses had to go back up the mountain and write the Law again.  (Exodus 34)  This second time Moses’ face shone – he reflected God’s glory.  (v. 34:29-35).

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2 Corinthians 3:3 says, “You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.”  The old covenant was written on stone; the new covenant is written on our hearts.  

Paul uses powerful imagery from famous Old Testament passages predicting the promised day of new hearts and new beginnings for God’s people.  Take a look at Jeremiah 31:33. 

“This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time”, declares the Lord.  I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts.  I will be their God and they will be my people.

And Ezekiel 11:19

“I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh.”

And Ezekiel 36:26

“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.”


The Law, written on tablets, relies on external regulations.  The New Testament teaches the law was good.  The only problem was, people were not able to keep the law.  Before the law had even made it down the mountain, they were already breaking all the laws.  Even when God gave the law a second time, they were still breaking the law. That’s the history of God’s people throughout the Old Testament – they are breaking the law over and over again.  They can’t live up to these external regulations that are written down. 
This is exactly what Paul is opposing in 2 Corinthians 3 because there were a lot of people in the New Testament who were Jews, who were telling people that they could come to faith in Christ, but they still had to do all the laws in order to be saved.   And Paul was letting them know that was not true.
The law demands that you follow it perfectly, so when you can’t keep the demands of the law, then the law condemns you. The law itself sentences you to death. This is what Paul is talking about in 2 Corinthians 3:7. He says it’s the ministry that brought death. In verse 9, it says it’s the ministry that condemns men. The law pointed out man’s inability to obey it, and as a result, condemned him and sentenced him to death. They couldn’t keep it. That was the point.
So what can you do to please God?  Absolutely nothing!  I think we in the 21 century are still consumed with pleasing God.  We pray a prayer, get involved in a bible study, start going to church, get involved in church activities – we mark off the list of ‘What a Christian must do’, and we fail.  We cannot keep the rules. 
So, are you desperate for the Holy Spirit?  Are you desperate for the Glory of God?   What is it that you need? 
You need a new heart!  And only the Spirit of God can give you a new heart. You can’t manufacture that. It’s an internal transformation. This is what both Jeremiah and Ezekiel says. “I will give you a new heart. I will give you a new spirit.” It’s what Romans 8:8-9 says, “Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you.”  The difference is whether you have the Spirit or not. Has your heart been changed or not?  It does not mean that the picture in Exodus 34 was bad; Paul says this was glorious, but it’s even more glorious because now it’s the Spirit in your heart. 
Do you know why Moses wore the veil?  Paul tells us that the veil kept the people from seeing the radiance fade away.  Moses and his veil illustrate the fading of the old system and the veiling of the people’s minds and understanding by their pride, hardness of heart, and refusal to repent.  The veil kept them from understanding the references to Christ in the Scriptures.  When anyone becomes a Christian, Christ removes the veil (3:16), giving eternal life and freedom from trying to be saved by keeping the laws.  And without the veil, we can be like mirrors reflecting God’s glory!
God called you by name and created you to be a reflection of His glory.  You are a blessing as Jesus is reflected in your life.  You are being transformed into His image with every-increasing glory.  You are created for a purpose – to do good works (Ephesians 2:10).  You are a masterpiece, crowned with glory and honor (Isiah 54:5; Psalm 8:5).  You are to shine with the uniqueness He created you with.  Our reflection is of Christ, not your teacher, or neighbor or preacher.  Christ is in you – reflect Him. (taken from Seek Him.  Meet Him)

When we trust Christ to save us, he removes our heavy burden of trying to please Him and our guilt for failing to do so.  By trusting Christ we are loved, accepted, forgiven and freed to live for Him.  “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”  (v. 17)  You are free to pray, to study the bible, go to church and get involved in church activities.  The Spirit of the Lord moves you to do these things!  Through learning about Christ’s life, we can understand how wonderful God is and what He is really like.  As our knowledge deepens, the Holy Spirit helps us to change.  Becoming Christlike is a progressive experience.  The more closely we follow Christ, the more we will be like Him.

 By Lisa Thayer

Becky Bramlett Austin

Conform or Transform? {Romans 12}

11:30 PM



By Becky Austin

This is a chapter that holds incredible application for a Christian in every verse.  It challenges us to examine the motives of our hearts, the sincerity with which we love and the humility with which we serve God and all of mankind. 

In v 1 Paul calls us to be "Living Sacrifices".  In the OT, animal sacrifices were offered. Jesus, however, became the perfect sacrifice that did away with the need for animal sacrifices.  Biblically, a sacrifice was something of value given as "dedicated and consecrated to God".  Our worship today is a form of sacrifice to God in that we choose to give up our selfish pursuits and live our lives wholly dedicated to Him. 

V2 tells us how to do that: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”  Every second of every day, we make choices in how we think, what we pursue, how we react and interact. We are continually having to choose: Will we adopt worldly wisdom and conform to what comes natural to the millions of people surrounding and influencing us or will we let God work within us, transforming us into the image of Christ?

The remainder of this chapter takes a closer look at how we can choose to be transformed and not conformed. Paul reminds us in vs 3-8 to remember God's grace makes us all equal.  Without that grace we are nothing, and that should keep us humble.  “For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.” (v3) Instead of comparing ourselves to others, our focus should be on contributing as "members of one body" by using the God- given gifts and resources we have for the greater good of all. 

In verses 9-21 Paul challenges us to show "genuine love". He lists out some of the things that should characterize a follower of Christ:
-show brotherly love
-show honor to others
- have spiritual zeal and motivation
-rejoice in hope
-be patient in tribulation
-be constant in prayer
- contribute to others needs
-be hospitable
-bless your persecutors
-rejoice with those who rejoice
-weep with those who weep
-live in harmony
-associate with the lowly, don't be haughty
-leave vengeance to God
-show kindness to your enemies

Did this list challenge you? It should, because we must be dependent on the work of the Spirit transforming us to live out a love this genuine. 
Perhaps if you think of bestowing acts of love on those that can easily be deemed  worthy or  that you can feel sympathetic to, it seems reasonable and easy.  But what about the "unlovable", the cruel, the hateful, the ones we want to turn away from, reject or maybe even retaliate against? Paul challenges us by saying...Yes, even these.  We have to love as Jesus loved and Jesus loved his persecutors and enemies.  In fact, he died for them. 

What about you?  Today, you must make many choices. What will you choose?
Will you "Conform" or be "Transformed"?