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Serving Faithfully in the Ministry You have Received

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Serving Faithfully in the Ministry You Have Received. These precious, flawlessly distributed gifts are to be used in community, through the power of the Spirit who gives them, to build up our brothers and sisters and to grow the church as a light shining in a dark world. Word-Filled Women’s Ministry We’ve reached 2 Corinthians 4, where Paul begins by telling the Corinthians that he and his companions have received mercy and a ministry from the Lord and they do not give up, “Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we received mercy, we do not lose heart” (2 Corinthians 4:1). The word ‘ministry’ caught my attention because I’ve also been in Colossians where Paul tells them, “And say to Archippus, ‘Take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord that you may fulfill it’” (Colossians 4:17). Ministry is a service. It means to serve or labor for the benefit of another. Paul often uses it of himself and those with him as ministers of the gospel. But in a broader sense, every ...
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Becoming What We Behold (2 Cor. 3:18)

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Becoming What We Behold 2 Corinthians 3:18 The change is progressive, so that willing exposure to the sunlight of God’s presence will burn his image ever deeper into our character and will. Kent Hughes “You become what you behold.” “Oh, be careful little eyes what you see…” “Good company corrupts good morals.” We’ve all perhaps heard these songs and sayings throughout our lives. We’ve heard them so often that the driving truth behind them is glossed over. We consume without regard to consequence. We watch, listen, and scroll taking in copious amounts of transformative information without careful discernment. We are being changed. As believers, we ought to be concerned about which direction that change is heading. We have an eternal home and a glorious Father to whom we are headed. Our gaze should be fixed on the unseen, eternal things. And where we fix our gaze has an impact on the progressive transformation that God is performing in us. In 2 Corinthians, Paul encourages them saying, “...
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In What Do You Delight? Psalm 1

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In What Do You Delight? Psalm 1 Humble purpose-like reading of the word omitted. What plant can be unwatered and not wither? Robert Murray M’Cheyne  Trees have long been a symbol of stability, longevity, resiliency, and strength. The Scriptures often use the picture of a tree to communicate a person who is strong in the Lord, trusting Him. Psalm 92 says the righteous man will “flourish like a palm tree, He will grow like a cedar in Lebanon” and these flourishing trees will “still yield fruit in old age; they shall be full of sap and very green” (92:12-14). Isaiah declared of God’s people that “they will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified” (Isaiah 61:3). Jeremiah also pictures the one who trusts the Lord as a tree planted by streams of water, without fear or anxiousness, with green leaves and yielding fruit (Jeremiah 17:7-8). Psalm 1 uses this imagery as well, saying that he who delights in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day an...
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He leadeth me. Will I be a faithful follower?

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The first time I heard the song He Leadeth Me we were in a church that I loved. I loved the people, the preaching, the shared love for the Word, and as we sang this song, which points faithfully to the sovereign leading of God in our lives, the words were sweet truths that I sang heartily, and it quickly became a favorite hymn. There have since been moves and job changes that have led us various places, and a couple in particular that were more challenging. In two such places, the first Sunday after a significant change, the hymn that was sung was this one. I do not believe in coincidence, so I saw this as God’s kindness to encourage me that even when changes have been difficult, moves hard, and I have wrestled with contentment, He is in fact leading.  He leadeth me: O blessed thought! O words with heavenly comfort fraught! Whate’er I do, where’er I be,  Still ‘tis God’s hand that leadeth me.  As believers, we do not navigate this world alone. We do not direct our own ste...
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The Spirit Gives Life: Persevering in Prayer for Our Children (2 Corinthians 3:5-12)

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  The Spirit Gives Life Persevering in Prayer for Our Children Never never let us forget that children for whom many prayers have been offered seldom finally perish…such prayers are heard on high. Such prayers will often bring down blessings…Let us pray more for our sons and daughters. J.C.Ryle Perhaps the greatest longing of the heart of a Christian mother is that her children will one day walk with her in eternity alongside our Savior. Phil Wickham recently released a new song  Homesick for Heaven  and in it he sings, “I want to see my children run to Your arms,” and as a mother it resonates deeply with me. We have been made sharers in the inheritance of the saints in light. And having tasted such sweet communion and joy with our Savior, we plead with the Lord that our children too would be made sharers of this joy. Our hearts ache and yearn for an eternity of everlasting joy and delight shared with our children in the presence of our Savior. In 2 Corinthians 3, Paul de...
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Living with Confidence: 2 Corinthians 3:1-6

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Living with Confidence Our confidence in Christ does not make us lazy, negligent, or careless, but on the contrary it awakens us, urges us on, and makes us active in living righteous lives and doing good. There is no self-confidence to compare with this.  Huldrych Zwingli Living with confidence means living in such a way that shows “my strength and my value come from God”[1]. Our confidence and trust in God leads to a Spirit-led confidence, not in what I can do or be, but what I can do or be because of Christ’s strength at work in me and for me. But is this the confidence I live with day in and day out? Or do the pressures from others, the number of tasks that fill my day, or others’ approval lead me to dwell too much on my inadequacies? Paul had an opportunity to be discouraged and give too much attention to the opinions of others. Some men had come into the church at Corinth, they had talked poorly about Paul and led some of the Corinthians against him. They had called into quest...
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The Aroma of My Life

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  The Aroma of My Life …a sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. 2 Cor. 2:14 It seems in my adult years that I have had a very strong sense of smell. When I’ve been pregnant, my sense of smell has been heightened even further, much to my dismay. There have been times during pregnancies when I have prayed that my sense of smell would be dulled. A couple of years ago, when I lost my sense of smell due to Covid, I honestly didn’t complain. I laughed to myself that my prayers had finally been answered. I don’t want to make light of the struggle that some face without a sense of smell, and I have since regained my ability to smell all things, but to illustrate the power of fragrances, whether good or bad. We’ve probably all been unfortunate victims of stepping into a room, only to be hit with an overpowering stink. We try not to breathe through our noses while we complete whatever task we have so as to leave the stinky room as quickly as possible. On the flip side, we know ...
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