{"id":17321,"date":"2021-09-07T22:00:46","date_gmt":"2021-09-08T05:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/2corinthians-2_1-11-copy\/"},"modified":"2021-09-03T22:34:16","modified_gmt":"2021-09-04T05:34:16","slug":"2corinthians-2_12-17","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/2corinthians-2_12-17\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Serve God Well"},"content":{"rendered":"

2 Corinthians 2:12-17\u00a0 \u00a0Click here for Bible Verses<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is 2 Corinthians 2:12-17.\u00a0\u00a0Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

2 Corinthians 2:12-13 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n12\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Now when I went to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ and found that the Lord had opened a door for me,
\n13\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0I still had no peace of mind, because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I said good-by to them and went on to Macedonia.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 12-13:\u00a0\u00a0Have you ever anxiously awaited a response from someone \u2013 maybe a text, an e-mail, a phone call \u2013 and found yourself unable to focus much on anything else until you get their response?\u00a0\u00a0That was Paul\u2019s situation.\u00a0\u00a0Paul had gone to the city of Troas to preach the gospel and found that people were responding positively to his message (\u201cthe Lord had opened a door for me\u201d \u2013 v12).\u00a0\u00a0But Paul was distracted because at the same time he was waiting for Titus to give him an update on how the Corinthian church was doing, especially after Paul had written a strong letter rebuking them.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0When he did not Titus in Troas, Paul decided to leave Troas despite the good work that was going on there, and go to Macedonia.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0Because Paul was distracted by the state of his relationship with the Corinthian church, Paul couldn\u2019t really focus on the mission to share the gospel with people in Troas.\u00a0\u00a0The state of our relationships can have a real impact on our ability to focus on our work and do our work well.\u00a0\u00a0It can also affect our ability to bless and lead others.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0It\u2019s no wonder that Jesus tells us to seek reconciliation and peace in our relationships before offering our gift at the altar.\u00a0\u00a0It\u2019s also no wonder that Paul says that an overseer of a church needs to have a good and healthy life at home, for\u00a0if my private life is out of order, I will not last or be as effective as I could be in helping others.<\/strong><\/p>\n

2 Corinthians 2:14 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n14\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 14:\u00a0\u00a0Paul saw that despite Paul being distracted by relationship tensions between him and the church in Corinth, God was still in control and would use him to lead others to God in spite of his weakness and limitations.\u00a0\u00a0Here Paul is alluding to one of the major themes in 2 Corinthians, which is that God loves to reveal His power in and through weak, broken people.\u00a0\u00a0Despite our weaknesses and limitations, God can and does still use us to spread to others the fragrance of the knowledge of him.<\/strong><\/p>\n

2 Corinthians 2:15-16a (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n15\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.
\n16\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 15-16a:\u00a0\u00a0God considers us (\u201cwe are to God\u201d \u2013 v15) to be the aroma of Christ, whether we are among Christians and those who are on their way to faith in Christ (\u201cthose who are being saved\u201d) or among those who are rejecting Christ (\u201cthose who are perishing\u201d).\u00a0\u00a0To some we might smell great, like the fragrance of life, whereas to others we might smell like death.\u00a0\u00a0But what counts is that to God, we are the aroma of Christ.\u00a0\u00a0In other words,\u00a0it\u2019s God\u2019s opinion of you that counts far more than people\u2019s opinions of you.\u00a0\u00a0Who you are \u201cto God\u201d is much more important than who you are to people.<\/strong><\/p>\n

2 Corinthians 2:16b (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n16\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0\u2026And who is equal to such a task?<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 16b:\u00a0\u00a0No one deserves to be used by God.\u00a0\u00a0As Paul says, \u201cwho is equal to such a task?\u201d \u2013 v16).\u00a0\u00a0Rather, it is out of God\u2019s undeserved mercy and grace that He uses us for this purpose.\u00a0\u00a0So whenever God uses you to bless others, don\u2019t let it get to your head.\u00a0\u00a0Remember that no one is equal to such a task and that\u00a0it is ultimately because of God\u2019s mercy and grace that God uses us<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

2 Corinthians 2:17 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n17\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, like men sent from God.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 17:\u00a0\u00a0Here Paul reveals his motives for wanting to share God\u2019s Word and spread the gospel of Jesus to others.\u00a0\u00a0Paul\u2019s motive was not to make a profit but to fulfill a calling, \u201clike men sent from God\u201d (v17).\u00a0\u00a0Notice that while Paul is actively trying to reach people and serve them, he is always conscious of whom he is doing all this for.\u00a0\u00a0Even though Paul is dealing with people, Paul sees himself as speaking \u201cbefore God\u201d, like \u201cmen sent from \u201cfrom God\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0May we have the same attitude when we serve, that even though we are serving and dealing with people, it is the Lord whom we are serving and it is His calling we are fulfilling.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Heavenly Father, thank You that what matters most is what You think and say about me over what people think and say about me.\u00a0\u00a0May I live each day knowing that it is for You that I live.\u00a0\u00a0In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is 2 Corinthians 2:12-17.\u00a0\u00a0Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

2 Corinthians 2:12-13 (NIV)
\n12\u00a0\u00a0Now when I went to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ and found that the Lord had opened a door for me,
\n13\u00a0\u00a0I still had no peace of mind, because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I said good-by to them and went on to Macedonia.<\/p>\n

On verses 12-13:\u00a0\u00a0Have you ever anxiously awaited a response from someone \u2013 maybe a text, an e-mail, a phone call \u2013 and found yourself unable to focus much on anything else until you get their response?\u00a0\u00a0That was Paul\u2019s situation.\u00a0\u00a0Paul had gone to the city of Troas to preach the gospel and found that people were responding positively to his message (\u201cthe Lord had opened a door for me\u201d \u2013 v12).\u00a0\u00a0But Paul was distracted because at the same time he was waiting for Titus to give him an update on how the Corinthian church was doing, especially after Paul had written a strong letter rebuking them.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0When he did not Titus in Troas, Paul decided to leave Troas despite the good work that was going on there, and go to Macedonia.\u00a0<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0Because Paul was distracted by the state of his relationship with the Corinthian church, Paul couldn\u2019t really focus on the mission to share the gospel with people in Troas.\u00a0\u00a0The state of our relationships can have a real impact on our ability to focus on our work and do our work well.\u00a0\u00a0It can also affect our ability to bless and lead others.\u00a0\u00a0It\u2019s no wonder that Jesus tells us to seek reconciliation and peace in our relationships before offering our gift at the altar.\u00a0\u00a0It\u2019s also no wonder that Paul says that an overseer of a church needs to have a good and healthy life at home, for\u00a0if my private life is out of order, I will not last or be as effective as I could be in helping others.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17323,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17321","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17321","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17321"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17321\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17322,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17321\/revisions\/17322"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17323"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17321"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17321"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17321"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}