by Jesse Abel
Thoughts from Papa “J”
We can get emotional over just about anything that enters the heart. Sometimes we set these things aside and our heart is hardened (sick even). Too much emotion is also not wise so where do we draw the line? Proverbs 13:12 Not before or after but when the need springs up.
Good Morning
When I was a teenager I caddied almost every day in the summer months while school was out. On mornings just as the sun was popping up I would leave the house on my bike and meet up with a friend and off we would go to the local course which was fifteen miles away. Sometimes when I would make the trip alone, I was more focused on the country side; noticing things that are always there every morning but not in focus when someone is with you.
I find a parallel in this; in that when two or more people are reading the Holy Bible a distraction is there too. It could be most anything, a desire to get through the passage and on with the commentary or any number of things, like noises or the lack of noises. So, here is the point! When I get alone with the Living Word of God and allow fellowship with God to take place, all sorts of wonder and joy develop. Much of what I am seeking to say here is found in 1 Peter 1:3-12, especially verse 8.
2 Corinthians 8:16-24 – I reckon that one of the hardest subjects to understand in the Word of God is the subject of giving. I believe the percentages of those who give as unto the LORD are still less than ten percent in any given congregation. This tells me that church leaders do not understand themselves this very important promise. A promise which most church denominations have developed into a doctrine (tithing or not to tithe, the question but not the answer).
We are two-thirds the way through this chapter and while the subject appears to be giving and along with the commentaries of like-minded people we never step outside that framework. As such we could be missing the very reason that makes “giving of one’s self; first” the key to the joy of giving; a promise of 1 Corinthians 9:6-15 coming up soon. Now in our highlighted section this morning we see that the giving of self is still the content of Paul’s conversation to the Corinthians.
For me, Titus is a strange individual, someone who the apostle Paul is seeking establish or reestablish as a brother and fellow laborer in the church at Corinth and in the gospel of God. Throughout this epistle the apostle seems to be justifying the work of Titus. This justification actually began in his first epistle, 1 Corinthians 16:3 here no names are mentioned since at that time, those who would take the trip to Jerusalem with the money was not yet known.
If you take the time to study this event in chapter 8 you will see that this is no small undertaking of the apostle. You will find that the apostle Paul has for at least one year travelled from city to city to collect money for the Jerusalem church which was suffering extreme persecution at the time. I believe that a delegation of men (one or more) was selected from each church. Faithful men who demonstrated to their church leadership that they, first and foremost had given of them self to the gospel, thus they were qualified for further ministry work.
Remarkably, Titus is the only one mentioned to the church at Corinth by name at this point. So my point is that; at the least, Titus is and has been a focal point with Paul and the church. Someone who at one time may have been untrustworthy but now is trustworthy; do you know anyone like that? Now if you named a name other than starting with yourself, you are already in trouble with James 4:7-12. Something that the unbelieving pick up on, very quickly.
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