Old Jerry

The thing that grace has to do with giving is that we understand where the money came from and it was from the grace of God. So when we give we are passing on that grace to others. Giving looks like a chore or a grudging necessity in life that has to be done but when grace prompts my giving I can give generously.

I think that it is so difficult to give when we are stressed by circumstances, bills and pressures because we don’t fully trust God. We think that we can trust him when things are going well but it us up to us to get us out of the circumstance we are in at the time. The things that we can learn from the example of the Macedonians and the poor widow is that we can trust God at all times. He does care for us.

The distinction between fear, faith, and courage is that we are all hard wired for fear. This will keep us safe. But if we let faith take over then fear will be run out. Courage is doing the things that need to be done even though the consequences may be bad. Being honest about our fears is better than pretending we don’t have any because it will encourage others to let go of their fears. Paul dealt with his fears by turning them over to God.

The kind of separation that Paul is calling the Corinthians to is that of separating from those that will entice them back into sin. I think that the way we can strike a balance between separating ourselves from sinful practices that mess up their lives is not to be with them when they perform those practices. We can still be their friends by helping them when we can.

The reasons that Paul gives us – both in his letter and by quoting Old Testament scriptures –that we should live holy lives is because we are a temple of God. We are to maintain this temple by keeping it holy. The temptations that the Corinthians faced in their notorious city were that of sexual sin and idolatry.

The reason that I think that Paul shares so much about his various struggles with the Corinthians is that they were his friends and he loved the much. When we have friends we usually do share the things that are bugging us. This helps them to accept his apostleship as authentic because they know all about him and they know that he is their future in his mind. Sometimes I do complain about the things I have to put with in my ministry but it is nothing as to what Paul had to put up with. I haven’t been through anything compared to Paul.

Since I am called to be an urgent agent of reconciliation these effects my life in that I should be telling other about Jesus. I should not do things that would embarrass Jesus so that others can see that Jesus is in me. This will affect how people perceive me because that can see Jesus in me and as always God will perceive me as usual. I don’t think that God ever perceives me different because He knows me.

The sense that Jesus “became sin” on my behalf is that he died on the cross and had my sins lain upon him. He was our sacrificial lamb. The only way that we can “become righteousness” is because He did die on the cross. We are not righteous with this sacrifice.

We humans have been reconciled to God by the blood of Jesus. God sacrificed his Son so that reconciliation could take place. The sense that I am an Ambassador of the Kingdom of God is that I should be telling others about His love for us and how He sacrificed His Son for us.

Verse 7 teaches us that the old has passed away and there is a new person. The change in a person when he puts his faith in Christ is everything. He has a complete paradigm shift. We are still human creatures and still have the same wants it just that our way of looking at things have changed.

Paul’s mention of the Judgment Seat of Christ fits the context here because he was talking about us judging others and he is saying that it wasn’t our job we are to let the Lord do that. My belief that when Christians will appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ to be judged for our works is that we are trying to please him. Our salvation has been taken care of so now we are just trying to please him like we do when we please our parents. The motivation to persuade people to receive Christ will also please Christ.

The meaning to walk by faith, not by sight is to trust in something that you can’t see but know that it really and truly is there. The nonbelievers don’t understand this kind of living because they are afraid of the unseen things. They have to have physical proof that things are the way that they see them. I can’t think of any aspects of my life that is guided by my senses rather than by my faith. I think that even some of my instincts are guided by faith.

The way that Paul’s words comfort me when I consider my death is that I know that I will be with the Lord when I die. My soul will depart from the body when it dies and will be with the Lord. The thing that happens if I die before Christ is that my soul will be with Him and then I will be resurrected when the Lord returns.

The sense that our bodies are like tents is that when we die they decay and go away. So that makes our bodies only a temporary place to stay like a tent. I think that we were to truly look forward to our “house not made with hands”, and then we wouldn’t let this worldly thing really get to us. We would be more relaxed and not try to challenge a lot of things that we do.

I think that the way problems and physical deterioration help us toward “an eternal weight of glory” is that I have started to focus more on the Word of God. I seem to understand more and more what God via the bible is trying to tell me. The way that it is easy to focus on temporal matters to the exclusion of eternal things is because that is what brothering us right now is. Our brain is telling us to fix these things right now. But the reason that it is important to focus on eternal things is because it does bring spiritual growth. Studying the bible and reading commentators help us understand the bible and brings us to a better standing of God.

The effect that Paul’s sufferings had on the way people could see Christ in Paul is seeing the punishment that he received and still believed in Jesus Christ. I think that pain is necessary to spiritual growth so that you can talk about how Christ has interceded in your life. If people see the pain that you are going through and still have the faith, then they will know that you really and truly belief in Jesus Christ.

I think that the truth that Paul is seeking to communicate by this analogy of a treasure in a pottery jar is it is not about us but about Him. The clay jar represents us and the treasure represents Jesus Christ. The Paradox is that we have this great treasure in the weak vessel that we carry around with us.

Even though Satan has blinded people’s eyes to the truth there is still hope for them. It is through prayer and if the Lord gives you a chance, you can also tell them the Good News. But without intercessory prayer we won’t be able to show them Christ. It is our responsibility to show Jesus to them through our actions, but it is God’s job to call them.

The way that questionable ethics and ministry practices hurt the work of Christ is that when that person is found out he will not be trusted again. People who do not believe we think that all the preaching is deceptive and will not come to repentance. Paul’s alternative to verse 2b is to tell the truth plainly.

Character change is directly related to time deliberately spent in God’s presence because He is influencing me. This is true with the friends that you keep. If you are in their presence you change, maybe like they are but you will still change. The theological word for the process of a maturing in Christ is transformation. I have noticed a change in the “degree of glory” I am experiencing now compared to a few years ago. I am taking the bible more serious and the preachers that I listen to seems to make more since to me. I let the things that really irritate me just roll of my back.

We can get the similar flow of Moses in the Spirit of our lives we spend time with Him. The way that meditating on the Scripture is beholding to God is that we are thinking about the things that He has said. We are putting them in our heart and acting on His word. I believe that the low plane of Christianity is related to the time we spend in communion with the Lord. I know when I am doing the things that I think God is calling to be that makes feel the greatest.

The reason that the Holy Spirit is essential to help people see the truth clearly and be able to grasp it is because He is in us. He is the one that is interrupting God’s instructions to us. He also interrupts our groans to God. The thing that enables people to come to Christ at is Christ himself. Only He can call us. The freedom that the Spirit gives us when we become Christians is freedom from the laws of the Old Testament.

Moses’ face glowed because he had been in the presence of God. He covered it when he was out with the people because they were afraid of him. I think that more people’s faces didn’t glow in Moses’ time because they weren’t in direct contact with God. The difference between the spread of God’s glory in Moses’ time as compared to our own time is because the veil has been removed and we can all talk to God. When Jesus died on the cross the curtain that had separated the Holy of Holies had been torn in half making it possible to go too directly to God.

The reason that the Christian’s spiritual health is so closely related to his or her involvement in the ministry is that they are thinking about it more often. If you don’t take your ministry seriously then you aren’t trying new ways to make your ministry effective. We also need the fellowship of like persons to be able to discuss the things that we have learned or to talk to others about what they are learned. The consequences of dropping out of church is that you don’t have that sounding board to take you ideas to and see if they really are good or not. And for Christ’s Kingdom not only does you not have somebody encouraging you but you will not be able to encourage others. That will probably make some others also drop out and the Kingdom will not be advanced.

The balance between the need for training in ministry and personal submission to the Spirit of God is that training is needed for the intellect and the Spirit of God is needed for the spiritual side of our being. We should not let the intellect guide the Spirit because we are thinking we know more than the Spirit. I am able to “listen to the Spirit’s voice” in my own life. The only problem is that I try to shut it out when I don’t like what I am hearing. I think that this ability is so important not only in the competent minister but also in the lay person. We have all got to be listening to the Spirit but it is more important for the minister because he is the one that is guiding us and he can only guide us with the Spirit’s help.