The Devotional – 1104 – Foot Steps in Second Corinthians, On Going

The Devotional – 1104 – Foot Steps in Second Corinthians, On Going

Some years ago (Is it not funny?) how we who are above seventy years old say; “some years ago” like it was only a few! How about fifty, this may be much closer! The ship I was on harbored near a little village outside of Rome. At the time I was not a believer in Jesus Christ so a bunch of us winebibbers thought it would be good to go and see the Pope. There was a very large crowd and our best shot at seeing him was from that balcony window we see a lot in the news. There was also an opportunity to see this eminent person as he passed by. You see this a lot in the news also, people reaching out to touch him. The group I was with were very close to the front, but with all of the pushing and shoving, I decided to help this woman who was very short in height, so I picked her up and leaning forward she was able to touch the man. For her it was a miracle, for me, I nearly fell because her weight was pulling forward and the embarrassment of falling was all I could think about. So much for male chauvinism when it is applied for all the wrong reasons. 

CHALLENGES & COMMENTS – 2 Corinthians 11:5-15

Knowing one’s position and how to direct it is important. Businesses do not flourish if the person in charge lacks the skills to lead and manage even the smallest of businesses. When it comes to the gospel of Jesus Christ we are mostly unlearned, men and women. We are everyday people and not at all like the apostle Paul. Again, most all of the LORD’s appointed disciples were and are worldly ignorant, see Acts 4:13 and 1 Corinthians 1:20-31.

Paul the apostle, before he was saved was a Pharisee (Philippians 3:5), he was a “learned religious man” and he makes it clear that while he had all of this training in Jewish faith in God, he had neglected training in speech, 2 Cor 11:6. This is a stumbling block even today for many, in fact we see these, or similar words on personnel evaluations all the time, which are: “(he or she) has a good command of the English language.

It is strange to me of the critical nature of people who look at every opportunity to find fault in others. Then when they believe they have found something they stand on it like they have found a pearl of great value, when in fact it is nothing but the shadow of the one who is standing there on the pearl of no value.

The problem is that these folks seem to get a following. I remember a radio program that goes further back in time than fifty years called “The shadow knows” I remember that mystery can always be solved if you find someone who follows the shadow. The shadow knows that when one puts them self-down, it is because they are seeking to cover up truth, again 2 Cor 11:7. Or he is scamming funds from another place since he never asks us for money; 2 Cor 11:8-9.

The heart of this section is found with these words of the apostle: “As the truth of Christ is in me” do you no like that statement? I do, if one looks at the outer man or woman they simply do not see Christ, they see the obvious, the human standing in front of them who is blemished in every human way. They do not see the inner person who is Christ the unblemished Son of the Living God.

So in this truth… no one is able to stop us from this boasting of the “hope” we have in Him. Why is that?

“Why is that”, is critical! Notice 1 John 4:7-11 since it is the love of God that keeps us proclaiming the truth as it cuts off the ability of the anti-christ and false teachers to be regarded as in the same camp with truth. False teaching flourishes in churches throughout the United States of America in our current day. Satan is very cleaver to transform his falseness into light and in doing so he transforms his teachers into self-righteous workers of iniquity. Therefore many churches today fail the test of knowing God through love and seeing God through love; 1 John 4:12-16.

Well we should read the whole of 1 John 4, go ahead, I double-dog dare you! Now I wonder where that statement originated? I seem to remember it from grammar school and where does “double-dog” come from? Certainly not from the “Double Dog chocolate pies” as these were not around in my day as a child. What is the difference except for quantity if you dare the dog out of someone twice, isn’t once enough? Well don’t waste time thinking about it as it is a double waste of time!