September 8 - 2 Corinthians 10:1-18 - Battle Fronts

In April of 1942, America was being stretched to its limit as she strove to turn back enemies on two fronts. Simultaneous campaigns in Europe and the Pacific tested the will and resources of our nation. President Roosevelt showed his understanding of the toll of war in all its dimensions when he said, “One front, where everyone in the United States is in action – every man, woman, and child. That front is right here at home, in our daily lives.” Yes, the war had its domestic impact and no one was immune. It was a war on three fronts.

Paul appears to be waging a war on many fronts during the time of his writing to the Corinthians. He wages a spiritual war as he presses the gospel of Christ into uncharted territory. He was assigned a mission field by God, and as he found success in one city, his vision was to expand that faith-base into the surrounding regions. This was a war against prevailing theologies, philosophies and superstitions; “arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God.”

A battle raged on in the mind of Paul. Each of his thoughts would have to be captured, like a thousand insurgents turned POWs, and made to surrender to Jesus. Thankfully, he had an arsenal of divine origin and power.

Then there was the most unfortunate war of all – the combat with his own brethren. The third front. The war at home. Accused of being a coward, Paul was labeled as ‘bold’ when away, but ‘timid’ face-to-face. “His letters pack a wallop, but he is impotent in person.” Paul denies the accusation. There is no cowardice, and there is no inappropriate boldness. When he boasts, he boasts in the Lord. And in spite of all the judgment from his myopic brothers, he knows that all that matters is the commendation of Christ.

Devoted Christian, church leader, do you tire of waging war on multiple fronts? When running against the grain of the world system, do you wish that you had better encouragement from fellow believers? When trying to cope with the “eastern and western theatres,” do you wish your thoughts wouldn’t lead you astray? This is why it’s so important that we be in association. We must have comrades in arms. We must have someone to help bandage our wounds; someone to lean on, so that even when we are weary we may move forward. We must have someone to remind us that our weapons are forged and honed in heaven; that we ourselves are tools of triumph wielded by the Everlasting Arm.

Pray: God, my Rock, my Fortress, Defender and Shield , give me peace amidst the battle. I am weary of warring. I encounter resistance at every turn; even in my own mind and heart. Make me a soldier of the cross, earning Your commendation through unrelenting obedience.

September 7 - 2 Corinthians 9:1-15 - Thank God for Generous People

Sometimes God does a similar thing over and over in your life and establishes a signature. Each time it happens, you see the handwriting of God, you look up to heaven and He winks at you. He softly sings in your ear the first line of “your song” and you feel a fresh swirl of faith in your soul.

God established a signature with my family through generous people.
It happened for the first time early in our ministry in Peabody, MA.
A partnership between New England Baptists and South Carolina Baptists had been struck, and Sandie and I were privileged to sit with a key representative from Greensboro. As we answered his question about what we needed for our ministry, he interrupted.

            “I appreciate your humility and your intentions not to be greedy, but Bob and Sandie … what do you really need for your ministry?”

            “Honestly, we need another car.”

            “We’ll put that on the list.”

Well, not only did he put it on the list, but a month later he parked it in our driveway! What a generous blessing! Thank you, South Carolina, and thank you Father of the universe.

The Lord did this again a few years later, when our mini-van was stolen from a T-station parking lot. Friends we had made in Georgia years earlier, and who were now living in a nearby state, heard of our loss. They invited us down for some retreat and relax time, and in the midst of their hospitality, extended their generosity. “You need our van more than we do. It’s yours.”

This has happened three more times; most recently at my surprise 50th birthday party thrown by church family and friends. Now I know what it’s like to be on a TV game show when they say you’ve won a new car. How do you respond when somebody hands you a set of keys? You’re just dumbfounded by the generosity of God and His servants. “Thank you! Thank you, all. Thank you very much!”

Today’s text says that enthusiastic giving stirs others to generous action and praise of God. It reminds us of the simple, profound truth that those who sow a bunch, reap a bunch. It reminds us that reluctant or forced giving is not what God enjoys. Just decide what you can give and then have fun giving it. (The word “cheerful” in verse 7 comes from the same Greek root that we get the word “hilarious” from.) God loves people who have a blast giving things away. And the sweet thing is, God gives to the giver who gives. He fills in behind, so that every dip into your seed bag for sowing is replenished, and every harvest becomes high-yield.

Don’t have much to give? We’re not talking only about material giving. The text says, God will make you rich in EVERY way so that you can be generous on EVERY occasion! How well do you sow the intangibles? Love. Hope. Faith. Are you generous with patience, forgiveness and joy? These are even more important to sow than materials. Four of my five gift cars are in the junkyard. But the faith, hope and love they sowed in my heart are still producing a harvest.

Pray: Source of all good gifts; help me to be generous like You. Help me to value giving to the point of hilarity. Teach me that reaping only comes after sowing. I must take the initiative. Show me how rich I already am in You, and move me to start giving it all away. If I’m sowing from Your seed bag, I will never reach in and find it dry.

September 6 - 2 Corinthians 8:16-24 - Bring Out The Best

Don’t you love it when you recommend a restaurant or a service to a friend and it delivers? Sandie and I went out to dinner with friends last night, and their recommendation came through with flying colors! If you’re ever in Marin, make your way to Bolinas Road in Fairfax, CA and eat at Sorella Caffe.

As is often the case, when you’re out to dinner, you talk about food. We got nostalgic and talked about what meals were like in our childhood homes.  At my house, food quality was never compromised. Technology was ignored, but food was king. My sister and I listened to 45s played on a Victrola that had a setting for 78-speed vinyl. (Some of you young people have no idea what I just said.) My folks were still watching a black and white console television when I moved out in 1978. But during all our record-spinning and TV watching, we always ate the best foods. A peek in the fridge or in the cupboard revealed nothing but the #1 brand of everything. No generics; no store labels; no local vendors; only the best. Reminds me of the Hellmann’s mayonnaise jingle –  “Bring out the Hellmann’s, and bring out the best!” (Known as Best Foods Mayonnaise west of the Rockies.)

My Mom brought out the best. The staff at Sorella brought out their best. Paul writes in today’s text to the Corinthians to bring out their best. Paul says, ‘We’ve been bragging on you to our friends, and now they have the opportunity to visit you, so show them the reason we have so much pride in you.’ Or, considering the kinds of corrections and rebukes Paul has been sending the Corinthian church’s way, maybe he was saying, ‘Just a little warning – don’t embarrass me.’

In these brief nine verses, Paul gives us a list of what he considers some of the finer qualities of a Christian compatriot. Great partners in ministry have hearts that are tuned to the same concerns. Their values and affections run in tandem. They also welcome appeals and challenges instead of walking the other way. When you say, “Hey, this will be hard work, but let’s do it anyway,” your partner says, “As long as we’re doing it together; let’s hit it!” Great partners have ‘much enthusiasm’ and take initiative. They are known and recognized for their service, and they take pains to do the right thing, and to do things right.

What kind of partner in ministry are you? Do you run with a team that’s joined at the heart? Are you a hard-working challenge-taker? Are you a passionate self-starter? Do people like to see you and your posse coming because of your servant reputations? Are you self-critical about your policies and practices, showing wisdom in the way you handle your work? Are you bringing out your best? What sort of recommendation will you come with?

Paul says, ‘My guys are my partners, co-laborers, family. They represent their churches well and they bring honor to Christ.’ That’s how I want to be as an associational DOM, and that’s what I want to inspire my partners in ministry to be. How about you?

Pray: Most High God, we revere You. We ask that your Spirit in us would bring the best out of us. Help us to gain the respect and admiration of others as we represent your people and bring honor to Your Name. Persevere with us, Jesus, as you did with your first disciples. Refine us and wield us for your glory.

September 5 - 2 Corinthians 8:1-15 - Leveling the Load

My family has changed residence quite a bit in the last thirty years or so. Since getting married, we’ve lived in Lake Ronkonkoma, Huntington Station, and Whitestone, NY; Jonesboro, Morrow, and Riverdale, GA; Mill Valley, CA; two locations in Peabody, MA, and two locations in Vacaville, CA. Those of you who have had a similarly mobile history have probably learned a thing or two about packing. I have. I don’t play that ‘Tetris’ video game too well (you know, the one where you turn and slide various shaped blocks together so there’s no empty space left over) , but I can pack a U-Haul with great efficiency. One of the first things I keep in mind is ‘leveling the load.’ I try to distribute the weight evenly from side to side. And I don’t pack the front of the truck high and tight and then end up with empty space in the back. Once you start driving, you can count on the stuff in the high space finding the low space. The load needs to be level in that way, too.

The heavy loads of sister churches don’t ever come in exactly the same intensity at exactly the same time. A burden weighs down on one and not another. Since my primary audience is the team of pastors and leaders of the Redwood Empire Association of churches, today’s text is quite relevant. Paul’s missionary work had created a widespread association of churches. He and his itinerating teammates were the links that held the congregations together. Today, our churches can link up so much more easily – we can phone and text, email and Skype, Facebook and twitter and blog. Hopefully we are learning to use these new media to stay connected and informed. Paul could only visit or write to the Corinthian church, located in the province of Achaia. In this letter, he refers to churches in the province of Macedonia (Philippi, Thessalonica and Berea.) One reason Paul was coordinating these churches was to raise a financial gift for the needy church at Jerusalem. Jerusalem's load was heavy and so, there was a need to level that load.

The Macedonian churches were praised because they gave sacrificially and not out of any surplus. They gave out of an urgent commitment to the idea of leveling the load. They didn’t just give lip service to the idea, but they followed through on their pledge. Paul and Titus were attempting to move the Corinthians to do the same. “Finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it.” “Excel in this grace of giving.”

Giving is a grace; an act of merciful service. Paul illustrates with the ultimate example – “[Jesus] was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, so that through His poverty you might become rich.” No leveling there – Jesus took the full weight all by Himself! So, if Jesus is willing to take on everything for sinners, shouldn’t we be willing to take on something for the saints? Just level the load, Paul explains. With what you do have, supply the one who doesn’t have. Then when you have a need, they will turn around and supply you. This is the concern for equal advantage that should typify the churches of Christ.

Friends, participate in the life of the church and in the life of the association through giving. Give money. Give time. Give talent. Cheerfully and regularly give for the building up of every local Body. Have a sense of unity and mutual concern. May we all rise together as we level every load.

Pray: Inexhaustible God of blessing, help me to be generous like You. Everything of worth in my life came from You. Help me not to be selfish or stingy with my gifts. If I am strong, move me to apply that strength to another who is weak. Help me discover the joy of giving.

September 4 - 2 Corinthians 7:8-16 - Sorry!

Do you have game night at your house? My family is a game-playing family. Word games, card games, board games – we love ‘em all. Gaming at the dining room table provided hours of fun and family memories, and some education to boot. How could you not learn some history from Trivial Pursuit? Calculating probabilities from Yahtzee? Or how to spell from Scrabble?

But I have my regrets about one of those games. The one I now call, ‘the Insidious Menace.’ The game of Sorry! So simple, a kindergartner can play it. So sensate, with its colorful pawns, chunky and wooden, snugly set into plastic receptacles, urged on by the crackle of Pop-o-matic dice! Yet, what did we learn from this most basic of board games? Alas, we learned to say “sorry” with a smirk. We couldn’t spell ‘facetious’ in Scrabble, but we sure could be it in Sorry! The game should really be called, “Sarcasm!” “Oh, gee, I landed on your pawn. Now I get to take your place and you have to go all the way back to the beginning. ------- SORRY!” (Hasbro later tipped its hand when it named its Sorry! Card game, Revenge.)

Paul reveals in today’s text that he had written a previous letter to the Corinthians where he was definitely not playing games. He called them to account. His communiqué had hurt them, and for a short while he was sorry he had written it. He had made them sorry regarding some issue in the church. But Paul’s regret turned to happiness. And the church’s sorrow came with conviction from Paul’s expressed concern and led to a change of mind and a healthier state. “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret …”

Because we are familiar with theology and church jargon, we tend to hear words like ‘repentance’ and ‘salvation’ in one particular way. But these two words can have common, more literal and less technical usage. Metanoia, translated ‘repentance,’ can mean ‘to change one’s mind,’ or to ‘think differently’ about something. Soteria, translated ‘salvation,’ also carries simpler concepts of ‘healing’ or ‘soundness.’ Paul was saying, “God gave me some hard truth to confront you with, and I know that it hurt you to hear it, but it made you re-think your position and change your mind about the issue and you’re better for it. I don’t regret saying it and you don’t regret the changes you’ve made.”

Paul is quite something; a very healthy person. He is able to both love and confront. He can encourage and hold accountable. He retains a level of trust, even with those who have caused him trouble. Playing a game with your family is fine, if it comes out of a box on Friday nights and sprawls on the table between the M&Ms and the pretzel sticks. But otherwise, don’t play games with your relationships. Be honest, empathetic – and learn how to say, “I’m sorry.”

Pray: God of all wisdom, help me to learn how to love and confront. Help me to receive loving confrontation, and give me a humble mind; a mind willing to consider another point of view and to change at the prompting of your Spirit. Let healing and wholeness be the driving force behind the truths we share. Let confidence and encouragement be the results.

September 3 - 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:7 - Abandoned at the Carousel

The flight attendant wishes you well. You scoot out into the jetway, across the terminal and down to baggage claim. Just a couple of bags squirt out the chute onto the carousel. Wrong size; wrong color. Definitely not your luggage. You watch carefully as more suitcases and backpacks emerge. And that green one, that very first bag out of the chute, just keeps going around and around. Why hasn’t anybody claimed that one yet? We’re three deep all the way around this conveyor. Surely all passengers are present. Why doesn’t somebody snatch up that first bag and be on their way?

Well, what if it’s been left there on purpose? What if that bag contains the articles of a life someone has decided to turn away from? Couldn’t someone, in that moment, choose to start anew and abandon the baggage of their past?

Paul suggests that the Corinthians’ devotion to God and affection for the apostle ebb and flow because of ‘baggage.’ There was a time when the Corinthians had been a comfort to the company of missionaries. Once, there was longing, sorrow and concern for Paul. But now their hearts have slammed shut. Their affection has ground to a halt like a conveyor broken under the weight of too much ‘baggage.’ Unclean behavior, impure pursuits and unequal partnerships – that’s the baggage that needs to be abandoned at the carousel.

Every new believer coming out of the world and into the church has baggage. Habits, old behaviors that contradict the new call to holiness. Connections, old friendships that stand in stark contrast to the new friendship with Christ. Because of the transformation that Christ initiates in the heart, the saved lose their commonality, harmony, and agreement with the lost. But the transformation isn’t instantly complete. The spirit and the flesh will struggle in the pursuit of purity. So, how do we tilt the scale for the spirit to triumph over the sin nature? The text tells us – Remember who you are, and be separate.

You are righteous; you are light; you are a believer in Christ; the temple of the living God; a child of the Lord Almighty. Honor God with the connections you make. Live like you were tied to Jesus. And break ties with the ones who would set you back. Separate yourself from them. Identify your baggage, and then leave it running on that monotonous circuit to nowhere.

From now on, you are traveling light.

Pray: Father, help me to be patient with new Christians. They are still trying to leave their baggage behind. Help me to be genuine; admitting my own struggle to be pure, while demonstrating a consistent commitment to godly living. Help us all to prioritize holiness out of reverence for You.

September 2 - 2 Corinthians 6:1-13 - Chill Wind; Warm Heart

My family lived in Peabody, Massachusetts for a little over ten years. Not Pea-BAH-dy. PEEbuhdee. And sometimes we had to pronounce it with frozen lips. I have experienced wind chill of minus thirty degrees in Peabody. Some days, heavy snows fell in the afternoon and piled up into the evening. After dinner, we’d pack ourselves in down one more time and go sledding in the moonlight. Warming back up with steaming cocoa in front of the fireplace brought an idyllic end to the day.

But, ohhh, the morning! When twenty inches of snow falls between noon and midnight, the super-caffeinated plow-drivers work all night to clear the roads – and plug your driveway! Since the roads are open, so are the schools. Now we have to get up extra early and shovel, shovel, shovel. (only by experience can you appreciate the onomatopoeia of the word ‘shovel’) The kids got to stay up later than usual for moonlight madness, so we let them sleep until the regular alarm goes off. When they’re ready to go, the car has been excavated and pleasantly warmed and the driveway is once again a ‘thru way.’ More than the warmth of the car, we hope our children appreciate the warmth of our hearts for the last twelve hours of blessing.

In today’s text, Paul lets us know that much of the blessing of his hard work is being met with a chill blast of indifference from the Corinthians. “We are not withholding our affection from you, but you are withholding yours from us.” This is extremely ungrateful when you consider the labors of Paul and his missionary band. They shoveled, shoveled, shoveled, and shoveled some more! “We put no stumbling block in anyone’s path …” As your servants, we opened wide the way for the grace of God to flow favorably into your hearts. Even now is a time of favor with God. He will shine on you with His concern and wrap His downy aid around you, so why the thirty-below cold shoulder? Your heart is like ice!

Have you ever served the people of God and received only a chill wind in return? The natural approach is be outcome driven. If I put something in and I get very little out, I move on. But Paul helps us to understand that it’s not about what we gain, it is about the ministry itself. He conducted himself in a way that would not allow the ministry to be discredited. In the long run, others would see that he endured trouble, hardship, distress, imprisonment, sleepless nights, hunger... They would see that he ministered in purity, patience and kindness.

In your own ‘running against the wind,’ strive to be like Paul. When you’re receiving little in return, know that you already possess the Kingdom, and expect that there is joy to be found – even in pre-dawn shoveling. The blizzard of blessing is on the way!

Pray: God of grace and favor, help me not to receive your grace in vain. Help me serve others as a function of serving You. Let my attitude, words, and actions always be a credit to the One I serve. Help me build Your reputation as the Lord of enduring love. Give me endurance like the Christ of the cross, with a vision of joy set before me. By the power of the Spirit, help me to open wide my heart.