Category Archives: 2 Corinthians

2 Corinthians 10:17-18 But, “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.” For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends. 
Dear God, all of us need to work on our humility. I need to work on my humility. I went back and looked for the reference for Paul’s quote in verse 17. It gave me Jeremiah 9. Here’s verses 23 and 24:

Jeremiah 9:23-24 NIV

[23] This is what the Lord says: “Let not the wise boast of their wisdom or the strong boast of their strength or the rich boast of their riches, [24] but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the Lord.

So if I want to brag about anything it should be that I had the sense to submit my life to your Lordship, and I continue to pursue you as best I can. 

Father, help me to draw others to you through humility. I visited with a woman yesterday who needs your help. Give her a sense of your purpose for her. Help me, my wife, our children, our family members, our coworkers, our friends, and all who I know somehow have their lives touched by you simply through my acts of obedience to you. 

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

2 Corinthians 7:1 Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God. 
Dear God, why is it that my first instinctual reaction to this passage was to reject the idea of being too holy? I think I’ve always feared that being too holy–either in actions or attitudes–would take me too much out of the world and I would lose my saltiness. I would lose any credibility I need to be your representative. 

I guess it comes down to what we mean by holiness and how that gets demonstrated to the world. For example, how will my relatives who are struggling with different life situations right now see me if I act too holy? Will they be repulsed? Will they see something they want?

Father, I suppose it comes down to pursuing you, trying to keep my focus on you and rejecting things that reject you, and then letting you guide my actions from there. I just don’t want to be “holier than thou” when I am with those who are struggling. What I really want to be is their fellow sojourner who can encourage them into deeper relationship with you. And I want to always be deepening my relationship with you too. 

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen