Latest / A Chapter a Day Bible Reading / September 12 - 2 Corinthians 8

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September 12 - 2 Corinthians 8 · A Chapter a Day Bible Reading

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  Hello, friends. It's Sean.
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  Here it is, Thursday. It's the 12th of September.
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  And thank you for tapping on play.
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  Thanks for inviting me into your day.
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  No matter where this is that I find you, I hope you're going
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  well. Whether you are being very
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  active right now, whether you are not being active, whether
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  you are driving somewhere where you are working, sitting at a
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  desk, lying in your bed. Great to have your company.
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  Thank you that we can continue reading through God's word
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  together. This is such a great thing to
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  do. You know, we're not going to
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  talk about politics because boy, that is just a can of worms that
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  no one really needs to open right now.
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  But what I am aware of is that in politics and so many things
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  in our lives, we just have this increasing polarity where people
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  choose one side or another and find it harder and harder to
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  engage with people with different ideas or views.
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  So what a wonderful thing that we get to do, which is come
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  together in all of our differences, but to unify this
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  community through God's Word and God's word that actually
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  encourages us to speak with kindness and compassion and
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  inclusivity to others, sharing the good news that we have.
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  So what an antidote to the way that the world is crumbling and
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  cracking at the moment, that we can come and hear God's
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  encouragement, that we are to be a balm of healing and a unifying
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  presence. So let us be inspired.
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  And that is not going to be by my words, but certainly by the
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  words of our living God as we read together Second Corinthians
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  chapter 8. Now I want you to know, dear
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  brothers and sisters, what God in His kindness has done through
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  the churches in Macedonia. They are being tested by many
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  troubles, and they are very poor.
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  But they are also filled with abundant joy, which is
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  overflowed in rich generosity. For I can testify that they gave
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  not only what they could afford, but far more.
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  They did it of their own free will.
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  They begged us again and again for the privilege of sharing in
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  the gift for the believers in Jerusalem.
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  They even did more than we had hoped for.
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  Their first action was to give themselves to the Lord and to
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  us, just as God wanted them to. So we have urged Titus, who
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  encouraged your giving in the 1st place, to return to you and
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  encourage you to finish this ministry of giving.
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  Since you excel in so many ways, in your faith, your gifted
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  speakers, your knowledge, your enthusiasm, and your love from
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  us, I want you to excel also in this gracious act of giving.
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  I'm not commanding you to do this, but I'm testing how
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  genuine your love is by comparing it with the eagerness
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  of the other churches. You know the generous grace of
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  our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was rich, yet for your
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  sakes he became poor so that by his poverty he could make you
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  rich. Here is my advice.
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  It would be good for you to finish what you started a year
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  ago. Last year you were the first who
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  wanted to give, and you were the first to begin doing it.
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  Now you should finish what you started.
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  Let the eagerness you showed in the beginning be matched now by
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  your giving. Give in proportion to what you
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  have. Whatever you give is acceptable
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  if you give it eagerly and give according to what you have, not
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  what you don't have. Of course, I don't mean your
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  giving should make life easy for others and hard for yourselves.
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  I only mean that there should be some equality.
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  Right now you have plenty and can help those who are in need.
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  Later they will have plenty and can share with you when you need
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  it. In this way, things will be
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  equal. As the Scriptures say, those who
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  gathered a lot had nothing leftover, and those who gathered
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  only a little had enough. But thank God, he has given
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  Titus the same enthusiasm for you that I have.
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  Titus welcomed our request that he visit you again.
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  In fact, he himself was very eager to go and see you.
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  We are also sending another brother with Titus.
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  All the churches praise him as a preacher of the good news.
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  He was appointed by the churches to accompany us as we take the
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  offering to Jerusalem, a service that glorifies the Lord and
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  shows our eagerness to help. We are travelling together to
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  guard against any criticism for the way we are handling this
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  generous gift. We are careful to be honourable
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  before the Lord, but we also want everyone else to see that
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  we are honourable. We are also sending with them
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  another of our brothers who has proven himself many times and
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  has shown on many occasions how eager he is.
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  He is now even more enthusiastic because of his great confidence
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  in you. If anyone asks about Titus, say
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  that he is my partner who works with me to help.
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  You and the brothers with him have been sent by the churches
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  and they bring honour to Christ. So show them your love and prove
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  to all the churches that our boasting about you is justified.
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  Jesus, thank you for the generosity with which you bless
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  us. Ah, you bless most of us with
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  homes that keep us warm, with pantries that fill our bellies,
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  with opportunities to go and to earn an income, with friends and
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  family who love us and care for us.
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  Lord, in so many ways we are incredibly blessed people.
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  Lord, when we have opportunity to give generously from the
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  generosity that you have shared with us, transform and soften
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  our hearts so that it's not the worldly greed that might shape
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  our behaviour, but your generosity of spirit.
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  And Lord, not just with money and resources, but with our time
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  and our energy, may we be generous in the way that we
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  spend time with others and the way that we love and uplift
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  others, just as you have done more generously than we will
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  ever be able to emulate. So we thank you for your
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  generosity. We thank you for giving us your
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  Spirit and for loving us more than we will ever understand
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  until we land an eternity in your embrace, and then we'll
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  finally get it, and we will know your love fully, and it will be
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  overwhelming. And we pray all of this in your
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  loving name, Jesus, Amen.