Sunday, October 25, 2009 Devotion

Sunday, October 25, 2009

2 Corinthians 4:7-17

⁷But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. ⁸We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; ⁹persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. ¹⁰We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. ¹¹For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. ¹²So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.

¹³It is written: "I believed; therefore I have spoken."With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak, ¹⁴because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence. ¹⁵All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.

¹⁶Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. ¹⁷For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. ¹⁸So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Quick Notes

The events and circumstances of life can really kick us around sometimes. We can get discouraged by what we see. So Paul encourages us to look of what will be, the not yet Kingdom. As we look there, everything else will still be a struggle, but it will be a struggle worth having.

Quick Questions

What is bothering you the most right now in your life? Do you have hope that the Kingdom can reconcile your problems? Why or why not?

Quick Prayer

Almighty God, let your Kingdom come and will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Amen.