Latest / A Chapter a Day Bible Reading / September 18 - 2 Corinthians 11

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September 18 - 2 Corinthians 11 · A Chapter a Day Bible Reading

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  Hello friends, it's Shawn. Here it is, Wednesday the 18th
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  of September, Hump day, middle of the week.
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  Hope you're going well. Thank you for tapping on play
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  and inviting me into the busyness of your day or maybe
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  the calm of your day. Either way, glad to be able to
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  share this moment with you as we are going to crack open God's
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  word on today which is actually the international equal payday.
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  Today is the day that United Nations says we would like
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  everyone to be cognizant of the fact that at the moment in our
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  world, there are many people that do a hard day's work and
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  really don't get paid equally for the work they do and are
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  exploited. And I know like me, many of you
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  probably think, what can I do? I live in a developed country
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  where everything comes to me in a grocery store or a, or a, or a
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  rack on a clothes shop. And I don't know how to, to make
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  informed decisions. Well, there are lots of ways
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  that we can actually amazingly things like, did you know that
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  if you buy an item of clothing that has all the way through the
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  supply chain paid people a living wage, it only costs about
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  $0.80 more than if people were exploited through that chain.
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  So I would encourage you as I have done, to think what can I
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  do to make a difference? Perhaps even just choose one
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  thing that you consume each day, like like your coffee?
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  Is it fair trade coffee or do some reading about your
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  favourite brands to see if they ethically source the things that
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  they use to make their products. Just little things we can do to
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  make sure that people around the world are treated with the
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  dignity that God created them with.
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  Just something to think about on this day when the United Nations
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  says this is still something in our world that needs our help.
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  So I commend that to you, friends.
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  And of course, the gold standard and ethical treatment of others
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  is our incredible God who loves all of us whether we deserve it
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  or not. So we are going to settle down
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  and hear God's word to us, as captured by Paul as he writes to
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  his friends in Second Corinthians Chapter 11.
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  I hope you were put up with a little more of my foolishness.
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  Please bear with me, for I am jealous for you with the
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  jealousy of God Himself. I promised you as a pure bride
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  to one husband, Christ, but I fear that somehow your pure and
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  undivided devotion to Christ will be corrupted, just as Eve
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  was deceived by the cunning ways of the serpent.
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  You happily put up with whatever anyone tells you, even if they
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  preach a different Jesus than the one we preach, or a
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  different kind of spirit than the one you received, or a
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  different kind of gospel than the one you believed.
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  But I don't consider myself inferior in any way to these
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  super apostles who teach such things.
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  I may be unskilled as a speaker, but I'm not lacking in
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  knowledge. We have made this clear to you
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  in every possible way. Was I wrong when I humbled
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  myself and honoured you by preaching God's good news to you
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  without expecting anything in return?
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  I robbed other churches by accepting their contributions so
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  I could serve you at no cost. And when I was with you and
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  didn't have enough to live on, I did not become a financial
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  burden to anyone, for the brothers who came from Macedonia
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  brought me all that I needed. I have never been a burden to
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  you, and I never will be as surely as the truth of Christ is
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  in me. No one in all of Greece will
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  ever stop me from boasting about this.
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  Why? Because I don't love you.
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  God knows that I do. But I will continue doing what
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  I've always done. This will undercut those who are
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  looking for an opportunity to boast that their work is just
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  like ours. These people are false apostles.
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  They are deceitful workers who disguise themselves as apostles
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  of Christ. But I'm not surprised.
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  Even Satan disguises himself as an Angel of light.
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  So it is no wonder that His servants also disguise
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  themselves as servants of righteousness.
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  In the end, they will get the punishment their wicked deeds
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  deserve. Again, I say, don't think that
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  I'm a fool to talk like this. But even if you do, listen to me
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  as you would to a foolish person.
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  While I also boast a little, such boasting is not from the
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  Lord. But I am acting like a fool.
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  And since others boast about their human achievements, I will
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  too. After all, you think you are so
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  wise, but you enjoy putting up with fools.
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  You put up with it when someone enslaves you, takes everything
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  you have, takes advantage of you, takes control of
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  everything, and slaps you in the face.
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  I'm ashamed to say that we've been too weak to do that.
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  But whatever they dare to boast about, I'm talking like a fool
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  again. I dare to boast about it too.
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  Are they Hebrews? So am I.
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  Are they Israelites? So am I?
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  Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I?
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  Are they servants of Christ? I know I sound like a madman,
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  but I have served him far more. I have worked harder, been put
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  in prison more often, been whipped times without number,
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  and faced death again and again. Five different times the Jewish
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  leaders gave me 39 lashes. 3 times I have beaten with rods.
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  Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked,
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  Once I spent a whole night and a day adrift at sea.
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  I've travelled on many long journeys.
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  I've faced danger from rivers and from robbers.
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  I've faced dangers from my own people, the Jews as well as from
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  the Gentiles. I've faced dangers in the
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  cities, in the deserts and on the seas.
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  And I have faced danger from men who claim to be believers but
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  are not. I have worked hard and long,
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  enduring many sleepless nights. I have been hungry and thirsty
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  and have often gone without food.
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  I have shivered in the cold without enough clothing to keep
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  me warm. Then, besides all this, I have
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  the daily burden of my concern for all the churches.
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  Who is weak without my feeling that weakness?
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  Who is LED astray? And I do not burn with anger?
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  If I must boast, I would rather boast about the things that show
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  how weak I am. God, the Father of our Lord
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  Jesus, who is worthy of eternal praise, knows I am not lying.
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  When I was in Damascus, the governor under King Aretas kept
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  guards at the city gates to catch me.
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  I had to be lowered in a basket through a window in the city
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  wall to escape him. Our Lord, thank you for the
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  reminder in this passage that our comfort is not our life
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  goal. It can feel like it as we try to
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  make ourselves comfortable. That seems like such a priority.
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  But here Paul speaks about all those terrible situations he has
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  found himself in without regret because it's you, and it's your
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  mission that he holds up first and foremost as important in his
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  life. What a lofty goal for us to
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  aspire to. So I pray that in small ways you
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  would shift our heart, that we would think more about the
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  spiritual needs of others who need to know of your love and
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  provision more than what what would seem important to our own
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  comfort. Ah, change our hearts, renew our
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  minds, continue to align us with your heart and your will for our
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  lives. We pray all of this in the
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  saving name of Jesus, Amen.