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Reflection on 2 Corinthians 12:1-20

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thorn-in-flesh

Scripture
Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.”

Observation
Paul tells of an experience he had in which he was caught up to the third heaven (the place of the very presence of God). He heard there things that no human is allowed to tell.

He could boast about this experience, but he refuses to do so. He will not boast about such revelations because he doesn’t want credit that is not his to have.

The Lord allowed Paul to have a thorn in his flesh, a messenger from satan. He asked God to take it away, but the Lord said, “My grace is all you need.”

Paul will soon come to Corinth and he will not be a burden to them as some have accused. Rather he will spend himself for them.

Application
Our revelations, giftings and experiences of the Holy Spirit do not validate who we are as christians. What matters is our walk with Christ- how His grace is working in our daily lives.

Likewise a tormenting spirit or physical weakness is not necessarily a sign of spiritual inferiority. What matters is how we seek the Lord daily in adversity and in blessing.

Many signs and wonders were performed at Paul’s hands, but he refused to boast about them. Paul’s life was about love for people and faithfulness to Christ not about superior revelations.

Prayer
Lord please help me to serve you in all the things I do today. May your grace be seen in my actions and heard in my words. Amen.

Reflection on 2 Samuel 5:1-10

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Scripture

David became more and more powerful because the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies was with him.

Observation

The tribes of Israel come to David and anoint him as their king. He had already been king of Judah for seven and a half years and he would reign over the united kingdom for another 33 years.

David then goes to Jerusalem and captures it from the Jebusites. David makes the fortress his home and calls it the City of David.

David becomes more powerful because of the blessing of God.

Application

The blessing of God brings a particular favour to move forward in our work, relationships, finances, indeed every part of our life.

In many ways there was nothing our of the ordinary about David. His success was entirely due to God’s favour.

How do we experience God’s favour? For David, the key was an intimate relationship with the Lord. He was known as a worshipper who was passionate in his love for the Lord.

When we worship God with our whole heart and devote ourselves to a passionate, intimate relationship with Him, obeying Him in all things, then we know God’s favour.

Prayer

Lord help me to set you at the centre of all things so that I can walk in your favour. Amen.

Reflection on Mark 5:21-43

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Scripture
And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace. Your suffering is over.”

Observation
Jairus, a leader of a local synagogue, comes to Jesus and asks Him to come and heal his dying daughter.

As Jesus goes with Jairus, the crowd pushes in around Him. A woman in the crowd who had suffered bleeding for over 12 years, comes and touches the hem of His robe. She thought to herself that just to touch the hem of His garment would be enough to heal her. The bleeding stops and she knows that she is healed.

Jesus turns around and asks who touched Him. Trembling in fear, the woman tells Him what she has done. He says, “Your faith has healed you.”

Meanwhile Jairus’ daughter has died. Jesus goes anyway, taking Peter, James and John with the child’s parents. He commands her to get up. Immediately she stands up and walks around.

Application
Faith in Jesus changes everything. For the nameless woman it brought healing, relief from physical weakness and an end to social and religious exclusion. For Jairus, faith restored his daughter, binging life from death.

Faith is reaching out to Jesus, knowing that if we can just touch the hem of His garment, things will change- salvation, healing, restoration, resurrection.

It’s in the darkest times when God seems distant that we need to reach out more urgently, trusting Him to bring His light.

Prayer
Help me Lord to trust you, to reach out to you and touch you. Bring light into my darkness. I trust you to do this. Amen.

Reflection on 2 Corinthians 8:7-15

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Australian_banknotes_in_wallet

Scripture

But just as you excel at everything- in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in you love for us- see that you also excel in this grace of giving.

Observation

Paul notes that the church in Corinth excels in many things and he now encourages them to excel in the grace of giving generously.

Christ put aside His riches to become poor so that though His poverty we can become rich. The Corinthians had been the first to give, now Paul encourages them to finish the work of generosity.

His desire is for equality. At this time the church in Macedonia needs help so that the Corinthians’ plenty can help them. But later the Macedonians’ plenty will be able to help the Corinthians in a time of need.

Application

The world encourages us to hold tightly to what we have because resources are scarce and there might not be enough to go around.

Christians are to share for precisely the same reason. This is not a communist approach where the state determines who gets what. Rather it is a spirit of generosity where those who have plenty share with those in need.

In practical terms, I have discovered that as long as we keep sharing what we have and keep money circulating, nobody ever notices that there isn’t enough to go around. Somehow God takes the little that we have and multiplies it in the process of generous giving.

Prayer

Lord, give me a generous heart so that I see all the things in my possession as opportunities to bless others. Amen.

Christology and Sexology

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From Ministry Matters:

REUNITING CHRISTOLOGY AND SEXOLOGY

June 23rd, 2015
 By Talbot Davis
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Don’t you hate it when your strongest disagreement is with your closest friends?

Here’s how that’s working in my life. In the same-sex relationship, intimacy and marriage debate that is currently dominating United Methodist news, I have a collection of colleagues with whom I am in substantial agreement on almost every theological issue.

That is, we hold to a high view of the authority of Scripture, an ongoing concern for the salvation of all people, a belief in the continuing work of the Holy Spirit, and most essentially, a commitment to what is commonly called a “high Christology.”

By “high Christology” I mean an understanding that Jesus is not godly. He is God. He is not a great man. He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. He is not one of many. He is the one and only. Along with my friends, I treasure the truths we read in John 1:1-4, Colossians 1:15-20, Hebrews 1:1-4 and Philippians 2:5-11. Every knee really will bow and every tongue really will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

And yet a number of those same “high Christology” colleagues also embrace a new relational ethic in which same-sex marriages would ultimately be approved by and occur in United Methodist churches. With great passion and convincing articulation, they claim that you can at the same time affirm the historic creeds of the Christian faith and an evolving understanding of human sexuality. The list of these friends includes people likeSteve Harper, one of my seminary professors,Adam HamiltonandMichael Slaughter, Methodism’s highest profile voices, and the voices you hear among the new cadre of colleagues from theVia Media Methodistssite (an organization which, to be clear, has taken no official stand on changing the language in the Book Of Discipline.)

So I want to share a few lines with you on why I believe such a view is both intellectually and biblically untenable. In short, why a high Christology must be reunited with an ancient sexology. My points below will center primarily-though-not-exclusively on Paul’s texts, as he is the source of both the strongest language and the greatest disagreement in the same-sex marriage debate. 

Read the rest of the article here

Reflection on 2 Samuel 1:1-27

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Scripture
Oh how the mighty heroes have fallen! Stripped of their weapons, they lie dead.

Observation
After the death of Saul in a battle against the Philistines, David returns from his own victory over the Amalekites.

A man who escapes from captivity in Saul’s camp comes to David’s camp with the news of Saul’s death. He is an Amalekite who, as he tells the story, killed Saul who had requested him to put him out of his misery.

David and his men are devastated by the news. David has the Amalekite put to the sword for killing the Lord’s anointed man.

David then composes a song of lament for Saul and Jonathan.

Application
David had been on the run from Saul for years. He had been anointed by Samuel to be the king and was seen by the people as the natural successor to Saul.

It would have been entirely natural for David to delight in the news of Saul’s death.

Yet David mourns the man who had repeatedly tried to kill him. Despite their enmity, David recognises Saul as the Lord’s anointed one and is convinced that it is wrong to go against him.

There is a principle here about our attitudes to fallen leaders, or those with whom we have a disagreement. Regardless of their sins and failings, they are still the Lord’s anointed.

Too many christians derive pleasure from the faliings of leaders. Rather than rejoicing when people fall, we should mourn the fall of someone who was called by the Lord for a role of leadership.

This is not to suggest that pastors are above criticism, disciplinary action or even legal consequences for their actions. But when it happens we should mourn as David mourned.

Prayer
Father, too many pastors and leaders fall into sin and betray their calling. Help me Lord t mourn when this happens and not to cheer the downfall of another. Amen.

Reflection on 2 Corinthians 6:1-13

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2 Cotinthians

Scripture

For God says, “At just the right time I heard you. On the day of salvation I helped you.” Indeed the right time is now. Today is the day of salvation.

Observation

Paul urges his readers not to ignore the gift of grace. Now is the hour of salvation.

Paul works to avoid causing people to stumble or to find fault with him. He has faced hardships of every kind.

Paul proves his faith by letting the Holy Spirit fill him with love, understanding and purity. He serves God regardless of the response of people.

Therefore, because Paul overflows with love to the Corinthians, he asks them to open their hearts to him.

Application

There are times when serving God is welcomed by the people around us. At other times our work for the Lord is despised and mocked- even by other christians.

How should we respond? Like Paul we must keep our eyes on Jesus. We know that His love never fails. Even if the world rejects us, still Christ’s love sustains us. It is His approval that matters, not the world’s.

Prayer

Father, help me to stand firm in you when fmaily and friends despise me for your sake. Amen.

Reflection on 1 Samuel 18:1-16

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Scripture
But all Israel and Judah loved David because he was so successful at leading his troops into battle.

Observation
Soon after David kills Goliath, he meets Saul’s son Jonathan. There is an immediate bond between the two and they make a covenant friendship.

Saul has David join his forces, and David does all that Saul asks of him. Saul makes David commander over all the army.

On their way home from the victory over the Philistines, some women meet them in the street with tambourines and cymbals, extolling Saul for killing thousands and David for killing tens of thousands. Consequently Saul becomes jealous of David.

The very next day Saul is overwhelmed by a tormenting spirit. On at least two occasions, Saul tries to kill David with a spear.

Application
Jealousy of someone on our own side, even a friend, is a very debilitating thing. For Saul this resulted in a tormenting spirit that drove him mad.

David was a man of great faithfulness, and Saul had nothing to fear from him. Instead of being jealous, Saul could have harnessed David’s talent and popularity to build up the nation. Instead he gave in to fear and jealousy.

We must be very wary of thoughts of jealousy, envy, coveting the gifts or abilities of others. This is a big gateway for through which satan can get in and ruin lives, churches and even whole nations.

Prayer
Father God, please protect my heart from jealousy. Let me always have a pure heart before you. Amen.

Reflection on Mark 4:26-34

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mustard-seed

Scripture
He did not say anything without using a parable. But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything.

Observation
The kingdom of God is like a seed scattered on the ground. The seed sprouts and grows by itself- first the stalk, the the head and then the kernel.

The kingdom of God is like a mustard seed which is tiny, but when planted it becomes the largest of garden plants so that the birds shelter in it.

Jesus taught the word with many parables, but when He was alone with the disciples, He explained their meaning.

Application
God’s kingdom is something that grows without human understanding. Starting with just the seed of God’s word, it grows without restraint.

We can have all the church growth, church planting, evangelisation strategies the human mind can invent, but it is God who causes the kingdom to grow.

From the beginning, the church started with a handful of people and grew to cover the whole earth. Even today, the fastest expansion is taking place in countries considered untouched just a decade ago.

We don’t need to fear the darkness because the light is in the world and has overcome the darkness.

Prayer
How does your kingdom grow Lord? It seems like a mystery. Help me to live in obedience to you every day so that I do my part in your world-changing plans. Amen.

Reflection on 2 Corinthians 5:6-17

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Scripture
To those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom. But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume.

Observation
The man in Corinth who had opposed Paul was resisted by the church, and for Paul this is enough. He urges forgiveness and comfort for this man so that he is not overcome by discouragement.

God has made us His captives and leads us in Christ’s triumphal procession. Our lives are like a fragrant offering to the Lord. To those who are saved this is a sweet fragrance of life, but for those who are perishing it is the smell of death.

Application
We are like captives in Christ’s procession of triumph. Yes we are free because of Christ, but our freedom comes by submitting ourselves to the rule of Christ. We are trophies of His grace, signs of His victory over sin.

Our lives are like a fragrant incense offering to the Lord. Those who are being saved perceive this to be a sweet smell, but those who are lost in sin perceive it to be a reminder of the judgement over their lives.

We should not be surprised when the world reacts harshly to the gospel or to the lives of Christians because it is reacting against Christ in us the hope of our glory.

Prayer
Lord, I thank you for the privilege of being your trophy of grace. Amen.