2 Corinthians 6:3-10
We put no stumbling block in anyone’s path, so that our ministry will not be discredited. Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.
What can I say? These scriptures leave me speechless. They definitely remove our pity party platforms don’t they? Can you imagine the life the apostle Paul led? I can’t fathom such love and dedication. I pray God would find me loyal even after such hardship.
I wish I could say that I’ve never placed stumbling blocks in anyone’s path. Hindsight is 20/20 and I can see many BLARING ministry mistakes that I’ve made in the past. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could get a “do-over” and erase those times?
I love the way Paul says they have weapons of righteousness in the right hand and left! What do those weapons look like in the spirit? Like a shield in one hand (Shield of faith) and a sword (sword of the spirit) in the other? Our weapons are not carnal.
2 Corinthians 10:4
The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.
This is such meat. I could write a blog on each verse. What about dying, yet we live on? Many of us have not experienced this in the physical realm, but hopefully we have all started dying to SELF. Sorrowful, yet always rejoicing! That speaks volumes to me.
Finally, I’ll leave you with this to ponder: POOR, YET MAKING MANY RICH! HAVING NOTHING YET POSSESSING EVERYTHING!
Do you feel the weight and meat of these scriptures? So many of us in America are concerned with the economy, but none of us have been in the shoes of Paul. Yet — look at his report. Amazing! I pray we will learn from his example.
This was a good reminder to put on our armor every day, and not forget we have it at our disposal. So often we forget and fall into depending on ourselves to “right” us again.
Thanks~
a great reminder Beth!
(loved your wfw too!)
Beth,
How you have touched my heart with your sweet Spirit today and this heartfelt post!
((hugs)) to you and may the Lord bless you today, my sister.
Hi Beth!
Thanks for stopping by my blog! Your daughter is a cutie pie!! I LOVE the abortion/adoption “sign” in your right sidebar…I have never seen that before! Such a perfect way to put it simply…
Hugs,, Jill
Great wisdom, bless you.
I can’t tell you the times I have cried out 2 Corithians 10:3-6….I actually was doing this at 5:30 a.m. this morning..so it’s a blessing to see the verse 4 at the bottom…confirmation to my spirit from God…((hugs)) Thanks for feeding me the Word of God beloved sister.
PRAISE THE LORD BETH!!!
There is so much I want to say but a book it would look like for sure so let me just say ditto on the MEAT, THE MEAT, THE MEAT of not only those Scriptures but the WORD! God has laid a banquet out before us to feed from to our full and to overflow into the lives of others.
In addition, we have no complaints when we see what people like Paul endured for the sake of Christ. His faith stood firm in Christ — dying to self each day but also realizing that often he’d do that which he didn’t want to do and that which he wanted to do he often would not do. Isn’t that much like we are?
We want to do what is right and pleasing unto the Lord and often we find our flesh leading the way rather than dying to flesh through surrendering to the leading of the Holy Spirit. That is why Romans chapter 7 and 8 are so powerful for my own life.
I was blessed by the Scriptures you shared and the message. Love ya. Have a great weekend!
Beth you have gotten to the point of the matter with amazing heartfelt words!!
What beautiful scripture! I would SO love some do-overs, but then again, I may not be where I am today in my faith walk had I not done some messing up in the first place. Thank you!
Thank you for sharing this message!
Hello, and thank you for stopping by!
Times like these are meant to remind us of what is really important in our lives. They are meant to make us appreciate our true riches, namely our relationship with God, the purity and comfort with which He blesses our lives.
And yes, they are meant to show us that others before us and even now while we comfortably write and often complain about everyday trivia, have suffered for what we take for granted: our freedom.
Glory to God for all His blessings, our lives, our families, and the hope He has placed in our hearts.
Have a beautiful weekend.
AMEN sister!! great words!
Hugs!
Beth, thank you for your thoughtful note.
Let me add something from a few ‘lines’ prior to the scriptures you quoted:
“We want you to be aware of the difficulties we experienced in the province of Asia. Our stress was so great that we felt we could snap at any time; actually, it would have been easier to die. It was as though we were under a death sentence and had no power to overturn it. Having reached our limits and beyond, we could only trust in God. And god freed us to live, He continues to free us, and we believe He will free us in the future.” (2 Corinthians 1: 8-10 from “The Heart of Paul” Ben Campbell Johnson).
I feel every single person has a different and unique threshold of pain, or grace to endure it.
The good news is that we have the Comforter and the Father of all comfort.
Dying to self…wow. How easy it is to push that aside. Thank you for this scripture today. I needed to hear it.
So true, sweet sister. We are fighting in a battle and our armor is Jesus. I love verse 5 that tells us to take our thoughts captive for Christ.
I’m glad you had fun racing the timer. It’s amazing how much we can do!
What a terrific post!
I’ve been to third world countries. I have seen poverty up close and personal and it has a name because it is not an it. Poverty’s name is women live Nanu; a boy named Joseph, a man name Samru. Once you can put a real name to the faces, when you’ve walked with them and looked into their eyes, you will never be the same. Life gets put into perspective in a real hurry. You realize how little we truly need and how all we have is His.
Thank you, Beth.
Have a blessed weekend.
Yes Lord! Thank you for Your Word!
~~~~and thank you Beth for being such a sweet encourager over at my blog! — no I don’t own a ‘my husband rocks t-shirt, but I’ve been looking at one online that says, “i love my husband”, but it is around $30.00 ~~ crazy. if I can’t find one cheaper, then I just might make my own- I REALLY want one!! :O)~~~ where did you get yours?
luv,
Deanna