13 But we continue to preach because we have the same kind of faith the psalmist had when he said, “I believed in God, so I spoke.”[c] 14 We know that God, who raised the Lord Jesus,[d] will also raise us with Jesus and present us to himself together with you. 15 All of this is for your benefit. And as God’s grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory. I love how the psalmist wrote I believed, so I spoke. Because we believe it gives us a boldness to speak for Christ that we never had before. It's a confidence only gained by believing.
16 That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are[e] being renewed every day. 17 For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! 18 So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever. God has new mercy for us every day. Thank you Jesus. I need it.
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John Burnett: 11 For we who are alive are
always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may
also be revealed in our mortal body. 12 So then,
death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.
13 It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.”[a] Since
we have that same spirit of[b] faith, we
also believe and therefore speak, 14 because we
know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise
us with Jesus and present us with you to himself. 15 All
this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more
people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God. Paul is saying if we believe
we should be sharing/speaking of the gospel to others. It is not easy to
do but we are called to go and make disciples.
16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly
we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by
day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are
achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So
we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is
seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. These verses are beautiful
promises of the things we have in Christ Jesus. I know I look forward to
my new body and spending eternity with Him. I truly believe what is
unseen will be seen soon. Come quickly Lord Jesus.
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Allen Michaels: 13 But just as we have the
same spirit of faith that is in accordance with scripture—“I believed, and so I
spoke”—we also believe, and so we speak, 14 because we know
that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus, and will
bring us with you into his presence. 15 Yes, everything is for
your sake, so that grace, as it extends to more and more people, may increase
thanksgiving, to the glory of God.
Living by Faith
16 So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer
nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. 17 For
this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory
beyond all measure, Our troubles should not
diminish our faith or disillusion us. We should realize that there is a purpose
in our suffering. Our problems and human limitations do have several benefits:
(1) they remind us of Christ’s suffering for us; (2) they keep us from pride;
(3) they cause us to look beyond this brief and temporary life; (4) they prove
our faith to others; and (5) they give God the opportunity to demonstrate his
power. We need to look at our troubles as opportunities. 18 because we look not at what can
be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what
cannot be seen is eternal. Our ultimate hope when we
are experiencing terrible illness, persecution, or pain is the realization that
this life is not all there is—there is life after death. This life is basically
a “dress rehearsal” for our next eternal life. How we perform will determine
where and how we will spend eternity. Knowing that we will live forever with
God in a place without sin and suffering can help us live above the pain and
suffering that we face today.
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Tomorrow's reading for 2 Corinthians 5:1-5
5 For
we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we
die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal
body made for us by God himself and not by human hands. 2 We
grow weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our heavenly bodies
like new clothing. 3 For we will put on heavenly bodies; we
will not be spirits without bodies.[a] 4 While we
live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh, but it’s not that we want to
die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our
new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life. 5 God
himself has prepared us for this, and as a guarantee he has given us his Holy
Spirit.
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