Daily Grace
Look at Life the Right Way
“Sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything” (2 Corinthians 6:10). Paul’s point was that we can look at life in one of two ways. Though we face times of sorrow, we can still rejoice. Though we may have...
Don’t Ignore God’s Offer of Grace
“As God’s co-workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain. For he says, ‘In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.’ I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:1-2). If I go...
God Makes Us Righteous
“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Jesus had no sin, but God placed on Him the sin of the whole world. In His death our sin was judged. That means that our sin has already been...
Mortality Swallowed by Life
“For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life” (2 Corinthians 5:4). When I read these words I confess that I...
God Gets the Glory
“But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us” (2 Corinthians 4:7). When we have something valuable we place it where it is safe and protected. We park expensive cars in locked garages. We store jewelry...
We Are Being Changed
“And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18). The good news is that this change is permanent and makes us more...
We Are the Letters Others Read
“You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone” (2 Corinthians 3:2). Paul had been accused by his adversaries of self-commendation. He did write this letter as a defense against personal attacks. Yet, he explained that he didn’t need...
Sincerity
“Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as those sent from God” (2 Corinthians 2:17). The apostle Paul recognized that there are some wrong motivations connected with sharing the...
We Help Others Know God
But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ's triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere” (2 Corinthians 2:14). Paul was referring to the Roman triumphal procession. They had mastered the art of the...