Suffering the Fools

2Co 11:19 For ye suffer fools gladly

Paul, in chapters 10 and 11 of II Corinthians, is having to defend his person, his message and his credentials because slick snake-oil salesmen tended to come in with false messages, drawing the sheep away from the truth.

It has always amazed me how it works. A soul winner brings a lost sinner to the saving knowledge of Christ. That individual follows the Lord in baptism, gets involved in the church and then he or she suffers some fool to bend his/her ear with their lies. The hucksters rarely win their own, they prey on the sheep. Soon, that soul is drawn away into error. Charismatics and cultists make their living off of those who suffered the fools to spew their poison.

But Paul states that it is not slickness, eloquence and bling, but solid teaching taught by flawed, yet solid teachers such as himself.

May God guard and guide His little lambs, that they may see through the sales pitches and not suffer fools to lead them astray.

A Matter of Bounty

2Co 9:5 Therefore I thought it necessary to exhort the brethren, that they would go before unto you, and make up beforehand your bounty, whereof ye had notice before, that the same might be ready, as a matter of bounty, and not as of covetousness.
2Co 9:6 But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.

God's Word is a Book of promises. Literally hundreds of guarantees can be claimed by the contemporary believer, but the one we read about today is a matter of bounty, that is, large, liberal giving and receiving.

Obviously, our wonderful God is a bountiful Lord, lavishing glory and beauty upon His creation, grace and provision upon His re-creation.

According to the promise, we are recipients of largess when we disperse largess, but when we are cheap, we are rewarded in like manner. It is the cyclical law of God that we call the sowing and reaping. It is our option whether the scale is miniscule or massive.

Do we wish to go through life open-handed or tight-fisted? Do we want to be a conduit or funnel? There are Galilee Christians and then there are Dead Sea Christians.

The Sea of Galilee teams with life, abundance and activity as it takes in from above and generously releases on its southern end. The Dead Sea, however, takes in and takes in, but never gives out. Therefore it is, well, dead! It is the lowest spot on earth, there is no life in, on or above its stagnant waters.

I opt to be a blessing to God's word, to missionaries, to the needy and claim God's promise of blessings back on me so I can bless again. What would the world be like if everyone made this choice?

Freely ye have received, freely give.

Affliction and Comfort

2Co 1:3 Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;
2Co 1:4 Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.
2Co 1:5 For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.
2Co 1:6 And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer: or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation.
Clearly, the Lord allows suffering in our lives for the main purpose of drawing nearer to Him, finding comfort and consolation in Him, so that we, in turn, may comfort and console others.

Neil T. Anderson said it well, "God never wastes pain." How wonderfully true this statement is. God fully intends our suffering and sorrows to turn to blessings for us and others. Last time I checked, Romans 8:28 is still in the Book, "And we know that all things work together for good, to them that love the Lord, to them who are the called according to His purpose."

Friend, are you going through some "stuff" right now? I know, we never bargain for pain, but pain usually turns out to be a real bargain, after God has allowed His plan to be unfolded to us.

So live and learn, be afflicted to be blessed and be a blessing.

Unto Caesar

1Co 16:1 Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye.
1Co 16:2 Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.

April 15th is upon us and most have rendered unto Caesar their taxes. Nobody I know pays their share with joy, but with resentment. Never-the-less, it beats sitting in prison.

If you look at the coins and bills you get to keep, you see pictures of presidents passed on to the next life. It is their image, just like the one Jesus held and questioned, "Whose image and superscription is this?" They replied, "Caesar's." "Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's" He directed.

So, Whose image is stamped on you? If it is God's, then render unto God that which is His. We owe Him our lives, our service, our all.

We work for the government all the way up to April, then we get to keep a few shekels for our own needs. Christians ought to work for the Lord January through December and let Him supply all our needs!

To Have and to Hold!

1Co 7:1 Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman.
1Co 7:2 Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband.
1Co 7:3 Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto the husband.
1Co 7:4 The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife.
1Co 7:5 Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency.

Our culture is as up-side-down as possible when it comes to matters of sexual fidelity. Many spouses are extremely uncharitable with their mate due to "issues" they have about what God has intended for their pleasure and emotional proximity to one another. Withholding the wonderful gift which God has given to married couples is hazardous to the relationship.

Many fatal perversions will naturally result from a spouse defrauding his or her mate from marital pleasure.

Here Paul addresses this very issue. Men who are deprived will be tempted to seek satisfaction elsewhere. So Paul instructs the man not to touch a woman who is not his wife. The word "touch" here means to attach oneself to. I think that rendering of the word makes it pretty clear. The Apostle's answer to this temptation is marital fidelity and pleasure. The word “have” in verse 2 means to hold, as in caress.

We must then ask ourselves, "Am I defrauding my spouse in any manner?" If the answer is yes, we must repent of that wickedness which is rending the relationship and allowing temptations to arise which will destroy the marriage. We must then give to our spouse what they signed up for in the beginning, to have and to hold til death do us part.

What a Day that will be!

Rom 16:20 And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.

Since the first temptation in the Garden, the enemy of our souls, the accuser of the brethren, hater of God, lion, dragon, serpent, has been toiling under the impression that he will triumph. WRONG!

Shortly he will be bruised under our feet. Gen 3:15 promises that the Seed of the woman, Jesus, would bruise slew-foot's head. And He did, at Calvary. But another bruising is imminent.

We know that sin is intrinsic to mankind. The wicked one isn't necessary when it comes to evil and temptation. But oh, how much damage he has done and will continue to inflict until the day he is banished to the pit.

What a day that will be!

A Professional Student

Rom 7:6 But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.
Rom 7:7 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.

Have you ever known the type, professional students? They will never be able to get out of the classroom and into the real work-a-day world because school is what they are comfortable with.

Now, quite the opposite is true with most of us. I couldn't wait to hear the 3:15 bell every day. I despised homework. I went to college because it was a necessary evil (too strong of a word, but you understand).

I have played with the idea of furthering my education, but when faced once again with the lingo of academia, tuition costs, etc. I cringe and faint away from such ridiculous notions. Further formal education is not in my foreseeable future. I am enjoying my work-a-day existence, thank you very much.

But is education evil? Not in and of itself. We call it compulsory education, and for good reason. Everybody needs the basics that elementary, secondary and possibly higher education afford. Education should instill study habits, basic knowledge, logic and the discipline needed for life and work. But once the sheep skin has been awarded and the tassel has been moved to the other side of the mortar board, then formal education gives way to real life. GET A JOB!!!

Now, let us relate that to today's passage. The Law of God is not what takes us through life. It is merely the schoolmaster which brings us to Christ.

The fundamentals of Law-learning give way Grace living once salvation has been accomplished by the forgiveness offered by the cross.

I see too many folks who are professional law-livers. They can't get past seeing themselves as justified before God by their own morality and good works. Foolishly they see themselves pleasing God in such a fashion rather than just being a pleasure to Him because they have graduated from "law school" to Grace Academy.

Gal 3:22 But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.
Gal 3:23 But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.
Gal 3:24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
Gal 3:25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.
Gal 3:26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.