Has
God ever made a promise to you? Have you spent years waiting for God to keep
his promise, begging him to reassure you that the promise was from him? Have
you tested God’s promises repeatedly? Many of us have waited for God to keep
his promises. We must simply sit in his presence and sit and soak in his love.
He calls to us in the silence.
In
the reading from 2 Corinthians 1:12-22, Paul tells us that God has said, “Yes!”
to each and every one of us from the beginning of time. It has been spoken to
every generation through promise after promise, and the answer has always been
“Yes!” That “Yes!” is summed up in one word-Jesus.
Every
person’s life emits a scent that either repels or attracts. For Christians,
that fragrance should be that of Christ-the sweet, lingering aroma of life,
love and salvation. It’s sweeter than any mint we’ll ever get from staying in a
high class hotel. Because we are living testimonies of Christ’s love, we must
present the word of God in a responsible manner. To do otherwise hinders the
spread of the Gospel.
Paul
presented the Gospel simply, without boasting. He was able to do this because
of God’s grace. Because of God’s grace, we are set free to meet the needs of
others. Because of God’s grace, we are anointed. We are set apart and gifted by
God for the calling he has given each and every one of us.
Every
day we have to sift through the muck and mire of empty words to find some real
substance, integrity and faith. Paul hah to defend his decisions in 2
Corinthians 1 by claiming he was a man of his word because of the integrity
found in being a follower of Jesus. Can God trust us when we are alone with the
door closed and shades pulled? Integrity means that we are the same people in
or outside the spotlight. It doesn’t mean perfection. It means authenticity,
consistency and an undivided life.
Paul’s
answer to the Corinthians’ criticism is a picture of how we as Christians must
have integrity in our ministry. They criticized him for changing his travel
plans, but they forgot that in 1 Corinthians 16:7, Paul qualified his plans
with the words, “if the Lord permits.” They forgot (as we sometimes do) that as
Christians God’s will has to take priority in our lives and in our plans. We
must make sure that our integrity shows in everything we do, say or think.
We
have a warning system that kicks in when we do something wrong. It’s called a
conscience. It allows us to consider our motives and actions and make moral
evaluations of what is right and wrong. In order for it to work as God designed
it, it must be informed to the highest moral and spiritual level and best standard.
That means submitting our conscience to God’s Word. The life of every genuine
believer is verified by the divine works we are able to do because of our
conscience.
God
sent the Holy Spirit to live with us as a down payment on the whole package of salvation.
Once he starts the work of salvation, he will complete it. We can take God at
his word. When he makes a promise, he keeps it! God is always for us. He loves
us and cares for us. He knows the problems we face. He has a great plan for
each of our lives, but in order for us to follow the plan, we need to have the
Holy Spirit.
When
you were children, were you fascinated with “invisible” writing? That was a
time when children got some tissue paper, dipped pens in citric acid, and
scribbled what seemed to be invisible lettering. When the tissue was held close
to a light bulb, the writing was visible briefly. After a short period of time
the writing disappeared.
Christ
is our eraser. We write the sorry, shabby records of our lives on the thin
tissues of life. We hope that they are invisible to our neighbours, but they
are still there. Who will take it away? Christ will. There is warm heat in his
light. All that is written is clearly visible. Nothing can blur what we have
written, but the warmth of Christ’s light dries up this writing. God makes it
possible for us to believe in him. He gears his self-disclosures to our levels
of intelligence, needs and acceptance.
Religion
without the Holy Spirit is fruitless. God doesn’t force us to obey him. He
wants us to obey him willingly. The Holy Spirit comes in and empowers us to
obey him in every way. When we are genuinely submissive to him, he
supernaturally reshapes and redirects our lives, and we will be lead into
conformity to his will. God’s “Yes!” can only be received with thankfulness and
joy. It is given to us freely and without preconditions like a giant Christmas
present wrapped in rainbow coloured paper. Once we receive it, there is
something expected of us. Stewardship is the beginning of that response.
The
main part of that response is to believe God, not just believe in God. God wants us to believe his
promises through Christ and to trust in God’s generosity of grace, mercy, love
and forgiveness every day of our lives. God doesn’t want out part time love and
obedience. He wants our full time
love and obedience.
Thanks be to
God, AMEN
Bibliography
1.
Jeremiah, Dr.
David: The Jeremiah Study Bible, NKJV (Brentwood,
TN: Worthy Publishing; 2013)
2.
Chafin, K.L.
& Ogilvie, L.J.: The Preacher’s
Commentary Series, Vol. 30: 1,2 Corinthians (Nashville, TN: Nelson Bibles;
2005)
3.
Stanley,
C.F.: The Charles F. Stanley Life
Principles Bible, NKJV (Nashville, TN: Nelson Bibles, 2006)
4.
MacArthur,
J.F. Jr.: The MacArthur Study Bible, NASV
(Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2006)
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