Nothing to hide

Posted on September 30, 2019 by jwfisch

Day 9

Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold. We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to prevent the Israelites from seeing the end of what was passing away. 2 Corinthians 3:12-13

Last Friday was Marti’s birthday and I cruised right on by it. Not that I forgot, but I didn’t plan far enough ahead so as to be ready for it. So when it came, there wasn’t enough time or money to pull anything off, so it went by with something from her children and a Happy Birthday song from her granddaughter, but nothing from me. And on the next day, I tried to veil my knowledge of her disappointment and go on with business as usual — even had a little time of prayer in the morning, like I was some spiritual giant, a good evangelical veil for cover-up. But it didn’t work. My veil came down when she broke down about how sad and hurt she was that I hadn’t seen her as important enough to celebrate. Add to this the fact that I know birthdays and Christmases are a big deal to her. This was a major mess-up and I thought I could slip by unscathed.

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Two ways to the glory of God

Posted on September 27, 2019 by jwfisch

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The old way, with laws etched in stone, led to death, though it began with such glory that the people of Israel could not bear to look at Moses’ face. For his face shone with the glory of God, even though the brightness was already fading away. Shouldn’t we expect far greater glory under the new way, now that the Holy Spirit is giving life? If the old way, which brings condemnation, was glorious, how much more glorious is the new way, which makes us right with God! In fact, that first glory was not glorious at all compared with the overwhelming glory of the new way. So if the old way, which has been replaced, was glorious, how much more glorious is the new, which remains forever!  2 Corinthians 3:7-11NLT

After two days of trying to define glory I’m giving up. Its something that belongs only to God, but He for some incredible reason has decided to share it with us.

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Stand by

Posted on September 26, 2019 by jwfisch

The old way, with laws etched in stone, led to death, though it began with such glory that the people of Israel could not bear to look at Moses’ face. For his face shone with the glory of God, even though the brightness was already fading away. Shouldn’t we expect far greater glory under the new way, now that the Holy Spirit is giving life? If the old way, which brings condemnation, was glorious, how much more glorious is the new way, which makes us right with God! In fact, that first glory was not glorious at all compared with the overwhelming glory of the new way. So if the old way, which has been replaced, was glorious, how much more glorious is the new, which remains forever!  2 Corinthians 3:7-11

 

Stand by. I’m not prepared to teach this yet.

In the meantime, answer this question. If you saw glory on someone’s face, what would it look like?

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The key to the Spirit

Posted on September 24, 2019 by jwfisch

Such confidence we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. 2 Corinthians 3:4-6

Stick the key in and turn it. Push the button, Start me up. Turn on the switch. Click here. Activate the voice. These are the verses that make the Christian life work. They provide the key. This is what activates the power. Without this at work, we are just spinning our wheels.

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Who’s going to read your letter?

Posted on September 23, 2019 by jwfisch

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Are we beginning to praise ourselves again? Are we like others, who need to bring you letters of recommendation, or who ask you to write such letters on their behalf? Surely not! The only letter of recommendation we need is you yourselves. Your lives are a letter written in our hearts; everyone can read it and recognize our good work among you. Clearly, you are a letter from Christ showing the result of our ministry among you. This “letter” is written not with pen and ink, but with the Spirit of the living God. It is carved not on tablets of stone, but on human hearts. 2 Corinthians 3:1-3

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Those First Century televangelists

Posted on September 20, 2019 by jwfisch

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Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as those sent from God. 2 Corinthians 2:17

The key to this verse, indeed the key to the whole New Covenant ministry, is sincerity. As you can tell from this verse, peddling the word of God for profit was already going on in Paul’s day. It’s almost as if he’s warning the Corinthians about First Century televangelists. Sincerity was in short supply then, too.

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“Death and doom” or “a life-giving perfume”

Posted on September 19, 2019 by jwfisch

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To those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom. But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume. And who is adequate for such a task as this? 2 Corinthians 2:16

You’re at a party and you strike up a conversation with someone you haven’t met before. In the process you share briefly about a hardship you recently went through and how the Lord brought you through to a new realization. The person you’re talking to is genuinely interested and asks other questions to probe your experience more deeply. Later on, in another conversation with someone else, you share something similar and this time, the person gets fidgety, starts looking around the room and excuses himself as he finds someone else he needs to talk to. You might have an idea what’s going on here.

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It’s entirely a God thing

Posted on September 18, 2019 by jwfisch

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But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are an aroma that brings death; to the other, an aroma that brings life. And who is equal to such a task? 2 Corinthians, Chapter 2:14-16

It’s all entirely a God thing. God has got something going on in our lives that we are mostly unaware of. We are the means by which God receives pleasure in the midst of the craziness of this mixed-up world. God is a major player in our lives and most of the time we are pretty oblivious to it. That’s because we have little to do with it. It goes on all the time in us, through us, and in spite of us. It does not depend on us in any way. All three manifestations of God — Father, Son and Holy Spirit — have a role in this effort that uses us as receptacles of something deliciously sweet, and it’s first and foremost all for God.

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Captives to victory

Posted on September 17, 2019 by jwfisch

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But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. 2 Corinthians 2:14

I think it’s the most important “but” in the Bible. No, I’m not talking about anyone’s posterior; I’m talking about the conjunction. Paul has just confessed his anxiety that led to a blown opportunity for the gospel and forced him to leave town because he had no peace of mind.

“But …” he says, “thanks be to God!” Why is that? What turned this around so fast? Did he get news of Titus? Did he thank God when he finally found him and relieved his anxiety? No. So what turned a failure so quickly into a victory celebration? Here is precisely why Paul chose to reveal his story this way. He wanted to show us that his thanks to God had nothing to do with resolving the situation; the thanks had to do with the fact that whatever happens, including our mistakes and human limitations, God is still leading us in a victory celebration and still using us to get His work done in the world.

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Open doors and blown opportunities

Posted on September 16, 2019 by jwfisch

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When I came to the city of Troas to preach the Good News of Christ, the Lord opened a door of opportunity for me. But I had no peace of mind because my dear brother Titus hadn’t yet arrived with a report from you. So I said good-bye and went on to Macedonia to find him. (2 Corinthians 2:12-13)

Who in his right mind would begin a letter whose main purpose was to establish his credentials as a minister of the gospel with a confession? Who would share about a blown opportunity in the process of revealing the secret of his success? Who would admit to his own personal anxiety as keeping him from walking through a door the Lord had opened for him? Those are things you try and forget when talking about your successes and establishing some authority.

“Who? Who?” asks the owl of truth.

I’ll tell you who — and if I could somehow shout these next words in print I would, so I will borrow a trick from John Irving in his novel Prayer for Owen Meany and put it all in caps:

SOMEONE WHO WANTS TO MAKE PERFECTLY CLEAR FROM THE START, THAT SUCCESS IN THE MINISTRY HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THEM AND EVERYTHING TO DO WITH GOD!

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