what others think

Posted on November 9, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky devotions pics November 2017 (9)devotional post # 2195

2 Corinthians 9:4-6

2Co 9:4  If you are not ready, some Macedonians might come with me and find that you are not ready, we would be shamed– to say nothing of you– for being so confident.
2Co 9:5  So I thought it necessary to encourage the brothers to go on ahead to you and arrange in advance for the gift you have promised, so that it may be ready as a willing gift, not as something you grudgingly give.
2Co 9:6 But consider this: whoever plants minimally will also harvest minimally, and whoever plants amply will also reap amply.

what others think

Paul warned the Corinthians that if they did not make good on their promise to contribute to the Jerusalem relief fund, it would shame him and them. They lived in an honor/shame culture, and it mattered to them what others thought of them.

It also mattered what God thought of them. If they were to scrimp on this charitable act, perhaps God would see to it that others are just as stingy when they have a need. 

It matters what others think of us, because we identify with Jesus. Jesus is a generous giver. It also matters what God thinks of us, because he is a just God, and repays evil, and rewards good.

LORD, show us how to honor you in what we do, and not to shame you or ourselves.

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prove me right

Posted on November 8, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky devotions pics November 2017 (8)devotional post # 2194

2 Corinthians 9:1-3

2Co 9:1  In one sense, it is redundant for me to write to you about this service to the saints,
2Co 9:2  because I know how eager you are; I brag about you to the people of Macedonia, saying that Achaia has been ready since last year. And your fervor has stirred up most of them.
2Co 9:3  But I am sending the brothers so that our bragging about you may not prove empty concerning this project, so that you may be ready, as I said you would be.

prove me right

Paul has assured other regions that there would be no problem getting funds from Achaia. So, now he sends a gentle reminder to the Corinthians to prove him right. Relief funds are needed, so now it is time to make good all that stuff about loving our neighbors as ourselves. Christianity is a profession, but there comes a time when we have to demonstrate what we profess.

LORD, prepare us for proving our faith in you, and our faithfulness to you and to each other.

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I like to prove it

Posted on November 7, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky devotions pics November 2017 (7)devotional post # 2193

2 Corinthians 8:22-24

2Co 8:22  But with them we are sending our brother whom we have often tested and found eager to accomplish many tasks, but who is now more eager than ever because of his great confidence in you.
2Co 8:23  As for Titus, he is my partner and coworker in your region. And as for our brothers, they are missionaries from the churches, shining with Christ’s brightness.
2Co 8:24  So prove to the churches that you love them, and show these men that our claims about you are true.

I like to prove it

A reputation is a good thing, but a proven reputation is what I want. Paul wanted the Corinthians to prove that they were supporters of the mission and church as a whole. It means nothing to say that you support missions if you do not support missionaries. This team coming to Corinth would be an opportunity for the missionary band to show their support for Corinth, but also an opportunity for the Corinthians to prove their relationship with the mission.  It is one thing to say that “these are our missionaries.” It is another thing to prove it by listening to them, praying for them, and giving to the needs they inform you about.

LORD, show us how to prove our reputations.

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mature money management

Posted on November 6, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky devotions pics November 2017 (6)

devotional post # 2192

2 Corinthians 8:20-21

2Co 8:20  We are being careful to do this; we don’t want anyone to criticize us about this large amount that we are transporting,
2Co 8:21  because we want to do what is right — not only as the Lord sees it, but also as a man might see it.

mature money management

Paul could have carried large sums of money around himself, doling it out to whomever he wished. He was the head of the missions team, and he had been tasked with transporting the funds. But he decided to pass on this responsibility to a team that he could trust, which also had the trust of the churches.  That was a mature, practical and wise decision. It protected the purpose of the mission, and it avoiding the appearance of evil.

LORD, help us to make decisions which protect us from potential conflicts, and keep us focused on our primariy mission.

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church business

Posted on November 5, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky devotions pics November 2017 (5)

devotional post # 2191

2 Corinthians 8:18-19

2Co 8:18  Accompanying him we are sending that brother who is famous among all the churches for his proclamation of the gospel.
2Co 8:19  And not only for that, but he has been appointed by the churches to travel with us as we carry out this act of grace that is being accomplished by us, to demonstrate the brightness of the Lord himself and to show our integrity.

church business

One of the dangers of doing missions work is that churches often lose sight of the fact that it is also church business. Paul wanted to avoid that danger by assigning relief funds collectors who were appointed and well known by the churches themselves. Missions business is church business. Anything that appears to separate missions from the work of the church itself sends the wrong message to believers.

LORD, keep us from fostering an unhealthy disconnect. Show us how to stay close to our churches as we serve them — and you.

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very eager volunteering

Posted on November 4, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky devotions pics November 2017 (4)

devotional post # 2190

2 Corinthians 8:16-17

2Co 8:16  But thanks be to God, who placed into the heart of Titus the same eager concern I have for you.
2Co 8:17  Because he not only accepted our appeal, but being himself very eager he is volunteering to go to you.

very eager volunteering

As I write this, I am beginning several months of home service this morning. I am jet-lagged, just moved into a new house and neighborhood yesterday, had to get up early and find a service station that serves coffee, then I proceeded to spill the coffee all over myself, so I had to change. I do not feel like Titus did — eager to go to new places and tell them about our mission and its mission. But I want to feel that way.

LORD, give us the heart of Titus. We want to serve you, and we want to want to serve you.

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helping without hurting

Posted on November 3, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky devotions pics November 2017 (3)

devotional post # 2189

2 Corinthians 8:12-15

2Co 8:12 Because if the willingness is there, it is acceptable based on what a person has, not based on what he does not have.
2Co 8:13 Because I do not mean that others should be relieved and you burdened, instead, that as a matter of fairness
2Co 8:14 your abundance at the present time should supply their need, so that their abundance may later supply your need, that there may be fairness.
2Co 8:15 Like what is written, “Whoever gathered a lot had nothing left over, and whoever gathered a little had no lack.”

helping without hurting

Paul and his team had been tasked with the role of collecting relief funds. He explained to the Corinthians that the goal was simply to balance out things. Other Christians were suffering, and the Corinthians had an excess at the present. The relief funds were not meant to become a standard tax. The collection was not to become a ritual to test the charity of the Corinthians. After all, the Corinthians themselves might need relief someday. Indiscriminate giving can often hurt more than it helps.

LORD, show us how to help others in need without hurting them by creating long-term dependence.

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matching gifts

Posted on November 2, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky devotions pics November 2017 (2)

devotional post # 2188

2 Corinthians 8:9-11

2Co 8:9 Because you are aware of how our Lord Jesus Christ blessed us, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that by his becoming poor you might become rich.
2Co 8:10 And in this matter I give my opinion: this benefits you, who a year ago started not only to do this work but also to want to do it.
2Co 8:11 So now finish doing it as well, so that your eagerly desiring it may be matched by your completing it from what you have.

matching gifts

Paul encouraged the Corinthians to make good their intentions to give. He told them that giving benefits them, that it is an exercise in being Christlike. After all, it was Christ who took the ultimate pay cut by descending to earth to become one of us — and he did it for our sake.

LORD, make us eager to love as you loved, by sacrificial giving out of compassion.

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success markers

Posted on November 1, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky devotions pics (of Hamilton NZ) August 2017 (9)

devotional post # 2187

2 Corinthians 8:5-8

2Co 8:5 and this did not happen as we expected it to, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then –because it was what God wants — to us.
2Co 8:6 For this purpose, we urged Titus that just like he had started, so he should complete among you this blessing.
2Co 8:7 But since you succeed in everything– in believing, in speaking, in knowing, in every kind of enthusiasm, and in being loved by us– make sure that you succeed in this blessing also.
2Co 8:8 I am not saying this as a command, but to prove that your love also is genuine compared to the enthusiasm of others.

success markers

It looks like Paul and his team proved better at fund raising than they thought they would. The Macedonians gave more than the team expected. So, now Paul tells the Corinthians that they should give as well — not because of the extremity of the need — but because giving is a success marker for missions. when the missions target choses to believe, chooses to speak its gospel testimony, and chooses to know the Lord and his word better, and, finally, chooses to give as an expression of Christ’s love — then you can count your mission work a success.

LORD, help us to succeed in everything, including giving to express your compassionate love.

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begging to give

Posted on October 31, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

Oct 2017 (31)

devotional post # 2186

2 Corinthians 8:1-4

2Co 8:1 We want you to know, brothers, about the blessing from God that has been given by the churches of Macedonia,
2Co 8:2 because during a severe test of suffering, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity from them.
2Co 8:3 Because they gave according to their ability, as I can testify, and beyond their ability, voluntarily,
2Co 8:4 with much encouragement, they begged us for the blessing of taking part in the relief of the saints–

begging to give

Even though they were going through a severe test of suffering themselves, the Macedonian Christians had begged Paul and his team to take up a collection from their churches. They understood that needs presented among the churches was a way of participating in a blessing. It was not that they expected to be blessed or enriched in return for their gift. No, that investment mentality is often just a different form of greed. No, they begged for the blessing of giving itself. It is a tangible way of expressing love to the needy, of passing on God’s blessing to others. The Macedonians would have been ashamed not to give.

LORD, warm our hearts to the needy among us, and around us, so that we can be a source of your blessing to them.

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