I am convicted
“You say, “I know I am right with God”— yet the “high places” still remain in your life. There is still an area of disobedience. Do you protest that your heart is right with God, and yet there is something in your life He causes you to doubt? Whenever God causes a doubt about something, stop it immediately, no matter what it may be. Nothing in our lives is a mere insignificant detail to God.”
Reading from Oswald Chambers’ My Utmost for His Highest today. 
2 Corinthians 12:9
And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
This is the season I am in right now.
But more about that later.
I read this recently.
The fact is that most fear is not based on fact. Much of what we fear is based on a feeling. According to an old saying, “Fear and worry are interest paid in advance on something you may never own.” And Aristotle explained, “Fear is pain arising from anticipation of evil.”
So true.
So what do I fear?
Earlier, at the Sunday Service, the preacher spoke about Honouring God and touched on the topic of fear. We serve what we fear.
Again, so true.
Time to re-examine my own life. A good start to the New Year.
2 Corinthians says “Therefore, since we have such hope, we use great boldness of speech”
What a packed sentence!
The earlier “Therefore” implies the preceding sentences are pivotal. The preceding verses are what the rest hinge on. This part is crucial to grasp before embarking on the next.
“Since” – another emphasis on the parts before.
“We” – that’s you and I who have chosen to follow Jesus Christ. Yaay!
“Have” – what certainty. It’s already obtained.
“Such hope” – not a wishy-washy “I hope it will not rain even though it is cloudy”, or “I hope that I can find a parking space”, or even “I hope this tastes nice”. Rather, it is certain hope. The hope that there IS a new covenant in Christ.
On such basis, we can “use” – i.e. a proactive action is required. There is a sense of wielding something. Something that has to be picked up.
And at the end of the sentence we see it – great boldness of speech.
Boldness indicates Courage; bravery; intrepidity; dauntlessness; hardihood; assurance. Reminds me of this picture.
Hmmm Not sure if the cat was bold or foolhardy but the dogs are certainly well trained! For the sake of this study, let’s say the cat is bold!
It reminds me of the boldness of a lion, as found in Proverbs 28:1b “the righteous are as bold as a lion”.
So secure in the knowledge that we have a hope, we can speak boldly….
Not just when standing in public or when we are put in a position where we have to defend our faith. But also when we are in a difficult situation, as were my friends whose toddler died. They spoke boldly of their faith without reservation, and did not fear who their listeners were.
By the way, boldly doesn’t necessarily mean loudly.
Recently I was asked twice to write some testimonials.
For the first one, I gave a rough draft with outlines. For the second one, I wrote an even more general one, leaving parts to be filled in and others to be deleted.
Why didn’t I do a proper testimonial?
Simple. I didn’t know the people concerned. I didn’t know if they were male or female. I was merely being asked to help to write. So I couldn’t be more specific.
Paul in 2 Corinthians 3:1-3 asks a different question about testimonials. He asks a rhetorical question here – “Did they need letters of recommendation to show their suitability?”
1Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you? 2You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody. 3You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.
No. The results of their ministry among the Corinthians was sufficient. This result was evident in Christ-centeredness. It was of the Spirit and from the heart.
How did this come about?
When Paul ministered, he had them in his heart. “Written” on his heart gives an indication of the depth and intensity of his care and concern for them.
I am reminded of a few verses in Proverbs which talk about how our own testimony of ourselves versus other people’s commendation of us.
Proverbs 25:27 “It is not good to eat much honey; so to seek one’s own glory is not glory“
Proverbs 27:2 “Let another man praise you and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips.”
In fact, Proverbs 18:16 goes on to assure us that “A man’s gift makes room for him, and brings him before great men.”
There is a difference between knowing someone and knowing about someone. It is only when you truly know someone that you can speak about that person so that others might know about that person.
And the only way you can know the person is when you have interacted with them, spent much time with them, gone through thick and thin with them….
I suppose, it’s like when my friends went through their recent crisis. Three families came alongside and helped. We went through a most difficult time with them. At the end of that, when they said how much their faith was strengthened and how we had helped, those words carried weight for us. We were blessed even as they were, despite the tumultuous time.
When they speak of us, even as we speak of them, the words carry weight.
2 Corinthians 2:14-17 Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one, we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. And who is sufficient for these things? For we are not, as so many, peddling the word of God; but as of sincerity, but as from God, we speak in the sight of God in Christ.
To different people, we will evoke different reactions. Our lives, lived as we ought to as Christians, diffuse, or manifest (as the Greek implies) the fragrance and aroma of Christ. People around us will react. We should expect it if we are living as we ought. Strong reactions too!
How should we live? Well, Paul uses a another strong image here – peddling.
What is a peddler? When I checked the synonyms, I got this – transient, sells cheap things, itinerant. Another gave this definition – adulterating for gain! Wow! What pictures!
Paul says that he is not peddling the word of God. Rather, out of sincerity, as from God, he speaks. His audience is God Himself. The audience of ONE.
When we go about our daily lives, let’s remember this too. We are not in this world for our own pleasure and self-gratification.
More about that in my next post.
Trust – A primitive root; properly to hie for refuge; figuratively to trust, be confident or sure:—be bold, confident, secure, sure, put confidence, to hope.
Lord – the self-existent, eternal One
All – properly the whole – nothing left out!
Heart – the heart; the feelings, the will and the intellect; the centre of anything
Lean – to support one’s self; to lie, rely, rest (on, self), stay.
Understanding – knowledge, meaning, wisdom.
Ways – figuratively a course of life or mode of action
Acknowledge – A primitive root; to know; to properly to ascertain by seeing; used in a great variety of senses, figuratively, literally, euphemistically and inferentially, including observation, care, recognition; and causatively instruction, designation, punishment, etc, comprehend, consider, discern, discover, perceive, privy to, , have respect, skilful, shew, understand.
Direct – A primitive root; to be straight or even; figuratively to make right, pleasant, prosperous:—direct, fit, seem good, please, well, be esteem, go right, bring (look, make, take the) straight (way), be upright.
Paths – a well trodden road (literally or figuratively); manner.
When you are in a formal gathering or a dinner function, the Guests of Honour are always acknowledged by name.
When you have completed a drama, a book, an important task, you would acknowledge those who have played a part in helping you.
Acknowledging someone is crediting someone as having played an important role during the process, the journey, the event.
We are encouraged to
acknowledge GOD
in ALL our ways.
I decided to read through 2 Corinthians. It’s the second of two letters that Paul the Apostle wrote to a church that had been swayed by false teachings.
But I am not going to touch on false teachings and doctrines. Rather, I noticed that in this epistle, Paul had spent a fair bit of time on his character and conduct. I felt I could learn from that. In my temerity, I decided that I would share with you what I discover!
So let’s start with Chapter 1.
Immediately I am arrested by these verses 3 to 5. NKJV puts it, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of all mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”
What a packed trilogy of verses!
Let’s go backwards. Looking at verse 5, it is obvious that we too will face difficulties and obstacles in our lives. None of us are immune. 
How often we have heard that phrase, “I know how you feel” and wonder if the speaker really knew. Well he/she won’t, unless they have walked that same path of suffering and difficulty. Only then can we appreciate v4. After we have walked that path, we need to remember to look back and see those who are still making that journey.
The only way we can make through this journey is if we learn to lean on this God of all mercies and Father of all comfort. We ourselves need to learn to draw comfort from God, so that we can learn to share that comfort with others.
I once read somewhere someone once said that we would never know that God is all we need until God is all we’ve got.
So when it seems that the going is tough, when it seems like even God isnt there anymore, don’t despair. He IS there. And one day, we’ll be able to say to someone else, “I know how you feel”.
Let’s walk that journey together.
God’s Word is a Lamp to my feet, a Light to my path. (Psalm 119:105)
Lamps and lights illuminate. They shine into the darkness and the darkness cannot resist. It has to flee. Darkness is the absence of light.
Lamps and lights show the way. They help to make sure we are on the right track.
Lamps and lights brighten up the dark space. They help to show what the potential pitfalls are.
Similarly the Word of God. There are many promises attached to us keeping the Word of God. This blogsite is dedicated to sharing more (short) insights and discoveries to the Word of God, as well as to encourage one another in our walk of obedience.
Today, ask the Holy Spirit, the best Counselor, Teacher and Guide, to show you insights into His Word unlike anything you have had before.
May you be blessed with the reading of His Word.
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