September 10, 2018
THE PASTOR’S BURDEN
After listing many of the trials and tribulations he had endured as a church planter, the apostle Paul named the one constant concern that weighed on him–– his burden for the churches. Certainly, the Spirit of the Lord strengthened Paul to carry this burden, yet it was the Lord that gave it to him in the first place.
Just as Jesus had told Peter, “If you love me, feed my sheep.” So, Paul keenly felt this same calling.
It was the apostle Peter who wrote this instruction to pastors: “Care for the flock that God has entrusted to you” (1 Peter 5:2). Paul felt this pastor’s burden. And so does every pastor today that is called of God and seeks to please Him by caring for His sheep.
September 7, 2018
LIVING THE LIFE OF THE OPEN HAND
Why does God give us surplus? Is it so that we can store it up, depending on the surplus, rather than God? Certainly not! Why then? Paul taught the wealthy Corinthians that God had enriched them so they could always be generous, living a lifestyle of continuous generosity. God’s generosity should create generosity in us!
The greatest generosity is found in God, who freely gave us His Son as payment for our sins. The gospel is God’s generosity on display. As Paul wrote to the Romans, “Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else?” (Rom. 8:32).
God’s surplus is for our generosity. As Jesus said, “Freely you have received, freely give” (Matt. 10:8). This is the life of the open hand–– one hand open to God freely receiving, the other hand open to others freely giving.
September 6, 2018
WHO IS THIS GOSPEL PREACHING BROTHER?
Paul told the Corinthians that he was sending Titus and “another brother” to them to collect the Jerusalem offering. Who was this brother whom “all the churches” praised for his gospel preaching? It is impossible to know for sure, but Luke is a likely candidate. He was a constant companion of Paul and he was the author of the Gospel of Luke. His Gospel may have already started to circulate among the churches, making him a renowned member of Paul’s team and perhaps the reason for Paul keeping him anonymous.
John Mark, author of the Gospel according to Mark, is another candidate. Although Paul didn’t want to travel with him after he went home early on their first missionary journey, they were later reconciled as evidenced in Paul’s reference to him in 1 Timothy 4:11.
Other possible well known gospel preachers that were companions of Paul include Apollos and Barnabas. But the truth is, the identity of the brother that Paul sent with Titus remains unknown, as does Paul’s reason for anonymity.
This unnamed brother was highly respected not only for his gospel preaching, but also for his integrity, for Paul went on to say that “he was appointed by the churches to accompany us as we take the offering to Jerusalem” (2 Cor. 8:19). In other words, he was the trustee appointed to verify that the monies collected for Jerusalem were actually delivered as promised.
Whoever this brother was, he was highly respected both for his gospel preaching and his great integrity.
September 5, 2018
FINANCIALLY POOR YET RICH IN JOY AND GENEROSITY!
Paul commended the churches of Macedonia for their amazing generosity. For although they were very poor, they were very joyful and insisted on giving generously to the offering Paul was collecting for Jerusalem.
God often chooses the poor to accomplish great things. For they readily depend on Him and easily give Him all the credit. When people gain even a little wealth, they tend to depend on it, rather than God. Of course, being poor does not automatically make one more spiritual. A poor person can be as grumpy and miserly as a rich one. Yet, riches of any amount, can become idolatrous to the one who depends on them.
Generosity is the mark of one who recognizes God as the source of all they have and depends on Him for all they need. Joy and generosity go together.
September 4, 2018
PAIN PRECEDES REPENTANCE
Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians was the most corrective of all his epistles. He was sorrowful to send it, knowing the pain it would cause. However, when he heard from Titus how the Corinthians had repented and changed their ways, he was overjoyed. He observed a spiritual truth: Pain precedes repentance.
Worldly sorrow comes from having been caught. It does not result in repentance, which is both a change of mind and of conduct. But godly sorrow results in true repentance, so that both mind and conduct are changed.
Paul didn’t want to hurt the Corinthians, but he loved them enough to correct them, causing them a little pain, but with great result. His correction was aimed at their repentance. And he was overjoyed to see their godly response.
September 3, 2018
THE POWER OF ENCOURAGEMENT
Paul told the Corinthians that the encouragement that Titus brought from his visit with them filled him with great joy. In the midst of both external and internal conflict in Macedonia, news of the Corinthians’ repentance and love for him, was just the medicine he needed.
Paul attributed this encouraging news to the Lord, who is the God of encouragement. God doesn’t always relieve the conflict, but at just the right time, when our discouragement seems too great to bear, He sends encouragement.
Have you ever “faced conflict from every direction?” Voices on the outside, tearing your down? Voices on the inside that you can’t escape, keeping you from sleep, so that you get no rest? Anyone in ministry for any length of time has experienced “battles on the outside and fear on the inside.” Yet, the Lord is faithful. He sends encouragement to those who are discouraged. God sends a Titus at just the right time, so that we don’t give up.
Do you need a visit from one of God’s encouragers? Or is God calling you to be a “Titus,” to go and encourage a discouraged brother or sister today? There is great power in godly encouragement.
September 2, 2018
DOES YOUR WAY OF LIFE HELP OR HINDER YOUR WITNESS?
Paul told the Corinthians that he and his ministry team were careful to live in such a way that wouldn’t cause people to stumble. He wanted his life to match his message. He reminded the Corinthians of this because they were so easily swayed by fancy words without considering the character and conduct of the speaker.
The reason the world often accuses the church of being filled with hypocrites is because our way of life does not match our message. If we are to reach the next generation, we must heed Paul’s words. We are not called to be perfect. Only Jesus was sinless. But we can be real. We can be authentic and humble, loving and forgiving one another, so that our way of life points to Christ.
August 31, 2018
WHAT WILL OUR ETERNAL BODY BE LIKE?
Paul encouraged the Corinthians not to give up, for the present troubles of this world are temporary, but the coming glory is forever. He urged them to focus on this coming glory when our “earthly tent” will die, yet we shall live forever in an “eternal body” made by God.
What will this eternal body be like? It will be like the resurrection body of Jesus. For Jesus is the “firstborn from the dead” (Col. 1:18, Rev. 1:5), whose body is the prototype of all who are raised in Him.
So, don’t be overcome by the sufferings of this world, nor the groanings of our earthly tents. For we will one day receive a new and eternal body fit for heaven made by God Himself.
August 30, 2018
MAKING JESUS FAMOUS (AND OURSELVES A FOOL)
Paul didn’t care what people thought of him as long as they heard him proclaim Christ as Lord. But the Corinthians were easily impressed by appearance and eloquent speech. Though Paul had been the one who had first preached the gospel to them, to which they believed and were saved, they were swayed by fancy preachers who came later. In response, Paul reminded them that he and his preaching team sought to make Jesus famous, not themselves. In fact, in Paul’s first letter he told them that “it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe” (1 Cor. 1:21). And further he wrote, “We are fools for Christ’s sake” (1 Cor. 4:10).
If our life’s purpose is to make Christ Jesus famous, then we must give up on making much of ourselves. We proclaim not ourselves, nor our church, but Christ! The world may think us foolish, but we have given up on pleasing men, seeking to please God alone.
August 29, 2018
NOT SELF-CONFIDENCE BUT CONFIDENCE IN GOD
Paul did not want the Corinthian believers to think that his confidence came from any strengths or abilities of his own, but that it came from confidence in God. Paul claimed no self-sufficiency, no self-confidence and no self-empowerment. His calling, message, and authority all came from and continued to be empowered by the Lord. Although Paul claimed the Corinthians as his “letters of recommendation” (2 Cor. 3:1), he wanted to make it clear that the true author was God Himself, and Paul, merely the pen in God’s hand.
Our modern emphasis on self-esteem and self-confidence find little basis in biblical Christianity. In fact, God often allows circumstances to come our way that tear down our self-confidence, so that we might learn to place our confidence in God alone. Didn’t old Paul have to experience blindness on the road to Damascus before he could truly see?
When we esteem Christ above all others, especially ourselves, we find our true identity and value in Him. And when we put our confidence in God alone, we find ourselves qualified for any task or role that He calls us to fulfill.