riches within rags

Posted on October 10, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

Oct 2017 (10)

devotional post # 2165

2 Corinthians 4:7-9

2Co 4:7 But we have this treasure in earthen containers, so that the excess of the power will be of God and not from ourselves;
2Co 4:8 we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing;
2Co 4:9 persecuted, but not deserted; struck down, but not destroyed;

riches within rags

Some of the Corinthians assumed that Paul was under some kind of curse, because bad things kept happening to him and his team. But Paul said that the tough times he was facing was proving what he said about the gospel. It is God’s grace, not our performance that matters. The tough times we face while trying to live out the truth of the gospel show that God is doing something in us that cannot be explained by mere good fortune. He has given us a treasure to carry around in beat-up earthen containers.

LORD, show us how to display your riches within our rags.

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a flash on a face

Posted on October 9, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

Oct 2017 (9)

devotional post # 2164

2 Corinthians 4:5-6

2Co 4:5 Because we are not proclaiming the brightness of ourselves, but the brightness of Lord Jesus Christ, but we ourselves have become your slaves because ofJesus.
2Co 4:6 Because God was the one saying, “Out of darkness a light flashed,” This light flashed in our hearts revealing by illumination the knowledge of the brightness of God in the face of Christ.

a flash on a face

Paul spoke of that brief glance he had of the brightness of God’s face shown on Christ’s face. For Paul, the light was blinding, but he recovered. But he never forgot the glory of God he saw in his vision of Christ on the Damascus road. From then on, his goal and objective in life was to serve cHrist and to serve others for the sake of Christ.

LORD, flash your face before us, and give us the ministryt of revealing you to others.

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openly stating the truth

Posted on October 8, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

Oct 2017 (8)

devotional post # 2163

2 Corinthians 4:1-4

2Co 4:1 For this reason, since we are serving by the mercy of God, we do not give up.
2Co 4:2 But we have renounced shameful, corrupt ways. We refuse to trick people or to tamper with God’s word, but by openly stating the truth we reccommend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God.
2Co 4:3 And even if our gospel is covered by a veil, it is veiled only to those who are perishing.
2Co 4:4 In their case the god of this world has blinded those unbelievers’ minds, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the brightness of Christ, who displays the image of God.

openly stating the truth

Paul’s missionary strategy was openly stating the truth. He suffered a great deal during his ministry, but he refused to hide that fact. His opponents in Corinth used his troubles against him, claiming that he could not be blessed by God, since he was always in trouble. But Paul believed that the gospel about Christ is what matters, not the prosperity or peace of its messengers.

LORD, show us how to proclaim your truth openly, in spite of our current circumstances.

 

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turn, see, be transformed

Posted on October 7, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

Oct 2017 (6)

devotional post # 2162

2 Corinthians 3;15-18

2Co 3:15 But, even today, a veil rests over their hearts whenever Moses is read.
2Co 3:16 But when someone turns to the Lord, that veil is removed.
2Co 3:17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, freedom is.
2Co 3:18 And we all, who have had that veil removed, noticing the brightness of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one shade of brightness to another. Because this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

turn, see, be transformed

Paul is describing people who read the scriptures. There are two types. Those who read with a veil over their faces, who are not changed, stay in bondage. But those who turn to the Lord lose the veil. The result is freedom from the bondage, a vision of the brightness of the Spirit of God, and transformation into the same image — from one shade (not of gray, but of brightness) to another.

LORD, we see a beautiful image of a free, glorious being. Change us into what we see in Christ.

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an unveiling service

Posted on October 6, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

Oct 2017 (6)

devotional post # 2161

2 Corinthians 3:12-14

2Co 3:12 Since we confidently expect this, we serve very openly,
2Co 3:13 not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites would not gaze at the product of a service that was being destroyed.
2Co 3:14 But their minds were hardened. Because to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil is still unlifted, because is it destroyed only by Christ.

an unveiling service

When Moses served the LORD by mediating the old covenant, one of the products of his service was that his face glowed with a brilliant shine. He veiled his head to prevent others from seeing that effect. Paul told the Corinthians that he had no intentions of veiling the gospel. In fact, he and his team serve the new covenant very openly. They know that Christ can remove the veil from people’s hearts, and anyone can freely shine brightly with God’s love and power.

LORD, give us the courage to openly confront the ignorance that keeps people from your gospel, and the freedom they can have in you.

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lasting shine

Posted on October 5, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

Oct 2017 (5)

devotional post # 2160

2 Corinthians 3:9-11

2 Cor 3:9 Because since the service that brought condemnation had a brightness to it, the service that produces a right standing with God overflows with brightness.
2 Cor 3:10. Since the former bright service has at this time no brightness because of the brightness that currently surpasses it.
2 Cor 3:11. Because if that which was destroyed by the veil still had its own brightness, that which continues on is much more bright.

lasting shine

There was a brightness, a glory, a shine to the Old Covenant, because God acted to intervene in the affairs of a people and that shone through in spite of the veil which covered Moses’ face. But this new covenant founded on the content of the gospel has a lasting shine that can never be covered up. It does not temporarily excuse the sins of the sacrificer. It nails the sins of the repentant to the cross permanently.

LORD, thank you for your lasting brightness, which we can have in Christ.

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the brightness of his imprint

Posted on October 4, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

Oct 2017 (4)

devotional post # 2159

2 Corinthians 3:7-8

2 Cor 3:7 Now given the fact that the service of death came with brightness, with its writings engraved on stone, with the result that the sons of Israel were not able to stare intently into the face of Moses, because of the brightness of his face, which is now destroyed.
2 Cor 3:8 How much more bright will the ministry of the Spirit be?

the brightness of his imprint

The ministry of Moses produced written tablets of stone, and the miracles associated with it led the people to respect the commands of God. Now there is a new ministry, the preaching of the gospel around the world. The same Holy Spirit who empowered the first ministry will empower this one. But Paul calls the ministry of the new covenant the ministry of the Holy Spirit, because now the Holy Spirit directly imprints himself on human hearts. We should expect that ministry to be ever more so glorious and bright.

LORD, imprint yourself on our hearts.

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Spirit given confidence

Posted on October 3, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

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devotional post # 2158

2 Corinthians 3:3-6

2 Cor 3:4 We have confidence like this before God because of who Christ is.
2 Cor 3:5 Not because we are adequate in ourselves to even imagine anything from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God,
2 Cor 3:6 who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not enacted by what is written but by the Spirit; because the letter is killing people, but the Spirit is giving them life.

Spirit given confidence

Paul and his missionary team have learned that their adequacy to do what needs to be done to serve under the new covenant comes from who Christ is. Christ has given them the Holy Spirit (pneuma) which is bringing life through the gospel. He is much more powerful than the laws that are written (gramma), which are only killing people. This Holy Spirit gives them confidence for any ministry Christ calls them to do.

LORD, thank you for our confidence in Christ.

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second resume

Posted on October 2, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

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devotional post # 2157

2 Corinthians 3:1-3

2 Cor 3:1 Do we have to demonstrate our qualifications again? Or do we need, as some do, letters of introduction to you or from you?
2 Cor 3:2 You are our letter, written with our hearts, known and read by all men
2 Cor 3:3 because it is being made clear that you are a letter about Christ, delivered by us, written not by ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

second resume

Paul appears to be shaking himself, frustrated at the apologetic tone that he has taken in his letter. If anyone wanted proof of his authenticity and authority as a missionary, they need only look at the Christians in Corinth themselves. Their existence is Paul’s resume. No matter how many degrees we accumulate, no matter how many books and articles we write, no matter how many titles we hold. It is the people we influence who authenticate us.

LORD, thank you for the hearts we touch with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

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a triumphal procession

Posted on October 1, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

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devotional post # 2156

2 Corinthians 2:12-16

2 Cor 2:12 Now I had previously gone to Troas for the purpose of spreading the gospel of Christ
and a door had been opened for me in the Lord,
2 Cor 2:13 but my spirit could not relax, because I did not find Titus my brother; instead, after getting away from them, I went on to Macedonia.
2 Cor 2:14 But thanks be to God, who always leads us in a triumphal procession in Christ, and manifests through us the smell of the knowledge of Him in every place.
2 Cor 2:15 Because we smell like Christ does to God among those who are being rescued and among those who are perishing;
2 Cor 2:16 to the one we are a dead smell which is leading to death, to the other we are a living smell which is leading to life.

a triumphal procession

Here’s the thing about triumphal processions: if you are being led in one, that means you are a captured prisoner, and just might be being led to your death. But Paul was okay with that analogy, because the purpose of a triumphal procession is to show respect to the conquering king. As a missionary, seeking to spread the gospel wherever he went, Paul knew what he smelled like. He smelled like Christ does to God. He might encounter those whom God is rescuing with that gospel, or he might encounter the spiritually dead. The difference was not him, but his audience. We do not know whether Paul found Titus in Macedonia, but maybe he found some people who were anxious to hear the gospel. That would be enough for him.

LORD, open our hearts to the Spirit’s leading, so that we can find those who are seeking Christ.

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