Month: October 2024

Adoring God thru Thanks & Praise

The purpose of 2nd Corinthians
is to affirm Paul’s ministry, defends
his authority as an apostle and to
refute the false teachers in Corinth.
After his first letter, Paul’s teaching,
character and motives were then
brought up under attack by some.
Paul writes to present his credentials
and vindicate his conduct; thanking
those who support him as well as appealing to the rebellious minority.

On Monday, we learn from 2 Cor 1
that God of Compassion Delivers Us.
On Tuesday, we learn from 2Cor 3
that Spirit of the Lord Enables Us.
On Wed, we learn from 2 Cor 4
that Spirit of Faith Empowers Us.
On Thu, we learn from 2 Cor 5
that God Made Us New Creation.
On Fri, we learn from 2Cor 10 that
God Provides Spiritual Resources.
On Saturday, we learn from 2Cor 12
that God Strengthens In Weakness.

Let us humble ourselves and pray
and seek His face. Help us O God
be Christ’s disciples who Adore You:
For You are worthy of our Praise
as God made us New Creation and
the Spirit of the Lord Enables Us.
For You are worthy of our Thanks
as God of Conpassion Delivers Us
and the Spirit of Faith Empowers Us.
For You Provide Spiritual Resources
and Strengthen Us In Weakness.
In Jesus’ precious name, Amen.

God Strengthens In Weakness

Paul defended his ministry by
showing how individuals can be
reconciled to a loving God. And he
pleads with the Corinthian church
to be reconciled to him as their
spiritual father. In his final words,
Paul draws upon his authority as
an apostle to exhort the rebellious
to repent so that his approaching
visit can be a time of rejoicing.

Lord, we will be Enabled by You:
Three different times I begged
the Lord to take (a thorn in my
flesh) away. Each time He said:
My grace is all you need.
My power works best in weakness.
So now I am glad to boast about
my weaknesses, so that the power
of Christ can work through me.
That’s why I take pleasure in
my weaknesses, hardships and
troubles that I suffer for Christ.
For when I am weak, then I am
strong (2 Cor 12:8-10). Amen.

Lord, teach me the art of looking
to You God instead of being
immersed at my problems.
Remind me Lord that anything
of lasting value in life is really
because of You and not me;
for success come from You.
Give me eyes of faith for Yr grace
that I may press on even when
I feel being overwhelmed. Amen.

Lord, I have much weaknesses
to give You; and You know all
my frailties that keep me feeling
insufficient. But You are my
sufficiency and my strength.
I fully depend on You Lord and
surrender my frailties over to You.
Please step Lord into my gaps
and weaknesses with Yourself
and Your help. In Jesus’ name.

Lord, You promise in Your Word
that Your power works best in
our weaknesses. So Lord work
in and thru all my weaknesses.
I am thankful and grateful Lord
that I don’t have to be perfect
so that I can be useful to You.
Help me trust Your strength to work
in my weaknesses; and You’ll raise
me up to more than I can be. Amen.

God Provides Spiritual Resources

Paul defended his ministry by
showing how individuals can be
reconciled to a loving God. And
he pleads with the Corinthian
church to be reconciled to him
as their spiritual father. In his
final words, Paul draws upon
his authority as an apostle to exhort
the rebellious to repent so that
his approaching visit can be a time
of rejoicing rather than rebuke.

Lord, we’ll use Yr mighty weapons:
We are humans but we don’t wage
war with human plans & methods.
We use God’s mighty weapons,
not mere worldly weapons to
knock down the Devil’s strongholds.
With these weapons we break
down every proud argument that
keeps people from knowing God.
With these weapons we conquer
their rebellious ideas & teach them
to obey Christ (2Cor 10:3-6) Amen.

Lord, thanks for providing resources
including Word of God and Prayer
which are “God’s mighty weapons.”
And thank You that our arsenal are
more powerful than Satan’s & open
the way for God’s spirit to work.
Help us use these spiritual weapons
effectively as we trust in Your power.
Remove the mountains in our lives &
make the impossible possible. Amen

Lord, praise You for the power
of Your Word; for it can penetrate
hearts in ways no amount of human
reasoning and philosophy can do.
Trust that Your Word will speak
to the hearts of even the most
atheistic people and convict them.
For You have clearly promised that
Your Word will achieve its purpose
of telling the world the truth. Amen.

Lord, praise You for Your weapons
of warfare are mighty & supernatural
and will conquer rebellious ideas.
Teach us Lord to wield them even
as we stand against the enemy,
interceding for pre-believers.
Lord, pray that You will demolish
the devil’s dark strongholds and
establish Your kingdom of truth
and light. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

God Made Us His New Creation

Paul opens his 2nd epistle to the
Corinthians by establishing his
authority & source of his revelation.
He then praises God for what
He has done. In contrast to the
old covenant which condemned,
the glorious new covenant sealed
by Jesus’ own blood, makes
God’s ministers effective in
calling people to repentance.

Lord, we are Your Ambassadors:
God… has given us the Spirit
as a guarantee… Therefore
we are always confident…
We live by faith, not by sight…
We make it our point to please Him…
For we must all appear before the
judgment seat of God that each
one may receive… according to
what he has done (2Cor 5:5-10).
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ
he is a New Creation; old things
have passed away; behold all things
have become new (2 Cor 5:17).
God… has given us the ministry of
reconciliation. God was reconciling
the world to Himself in Christ, not
counting people’s sins against them.
And He has committed to us the
message of reconciliation. We are
therefore Christ’s Ambassadors,
as though God were making
His appeal through us (v18-20).

Father, Thank You for giving us
the Spirit as a guarantee, so that
we can always be confident.
Praise You for being wise judge and
reigning over affairs of this world;
for nothing is hidden fr Your sight.
Grant us the grace to walk faithfully
and to do what’s pleasing to You.
And trust that You will restore and
bless Your people abundantly. Amen

Lord, Thank You for giving me new
life – a full life that will never end.
Thank You Lord because I am
In Christ, the old me is gone
and I am empowered not to sin.
For because of You Lord,
I have become a brand new
person; and I have the capacity
to change and grow into the image
of Christ. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Father God, through Christ You
forgive sins and bring sinners back
into relationship with Yourself.
Thank You Lord for drawing me to
Yourself and saving me eternally.
You have given the gospel to me
so that I might share it with others.
As Your ambassadors, make us
be more engaging to those who
yet to know You. In Jesus’ name.

Spirit of Faith Empowers Us

Paul opens his 2nd epistle to the
Corinthians by establishing his
authority & source of his revelation.
He then praises God for what
He has done. In contrast to the
old covenant which condemned,
the glorious new covenant sealed
by Jesus’ own blood, makes
God’s ministers bold & effective
in calling people to repentance.

Lord, we will Tap to Your Power:
This light & power that now shine
within us is held in our weak bodies.
So everyone can see that our
glorious power is from God and
not our own. We are pressed on
every side by troubles but we are
not broken. We are perplexed but
we don’t give up and quit… God
never abandons us (2Cor 4:7-9).
And since we have the same
Spirit of Faith… we also believe
and therefore speak, knowing that
He who raised up the Lord Jesus
will also raise us up (v13-14).
Our present troubles won’t last very
long. Yet they produce for us an
immeasurably great glory that will
last forever! So we don’t look at
the troubles we can see right now;
rather we look forward to what we
have not yet seen. For the troubles
will soon be over; but the joys
to come will last forever (v17-18).

Lord, Thank You for designing me
to be a clay jar with an amazing
treasure inside. Although the
circumstances may press me
down, You never abandon me.
May others see Your power and
light through my life. And may
You be glorified in my weakness in
this earthen vessel that I am.Amen

Lord, I recognise opposing forces
and troubles can press me down.
Restore my hope in You O Lord and
help me take my eyes away from
problems as I wait patiently on You.
Grant me the faith, courage and
perseverance to keep following You.
For I purpose to keep going Lord
to do Your will and have an eternal
impact on those around me. Amen.

Lord, focus my eyes clearly on the
eternal, for that will put my present
troubles into a proper perspective.
Help me to see You as You are,
to perceive You with my spirit
and not just with my mind.
And help me Lord to realise that
You are in me and I am in You.
In Jesus’ precious name, Amen.

Spirit of the Living God Enables Us

Paul opens his 2nd epistle to the
Corinthians by establishing his
authority & source of his revelation.
He then praises God for what
He has done. In contrast to the
old covenant which condemned,
the glorious new covenant sealed
by Jesus’ own blood, makes
God’s ministers bold & effective
in calling people to repentance.

Lord, You Will Make Us Able:
You are our epistle… known and
read by all men… you are an epistle
of Christ… written by the Spirit
of the living God (2Cor 3:2-3).
Such confidence we have through
Christ. Not that we are sufficient
of ourselves to think of anything
as being from ourselves but our
sufficiency is from God (v4-5).
Whenever someone turns to
the Lord, the veil is taken away…
So all of us who have had the veil
removed can see and reflect the
glory of the Lord. And the Lord…
makes us more and more like
Him as we are changed into His
glorious image (v16-18). Amen.

Lord, teach me the art of looking
to You instead of the problems.
Remind me anything of lasting value
in my life is because of You, not me.
I am Your living epistle Lord and
power & success come from You.
Give me Lord eyes of faith
so that I might press on even
when I feel the challenges
are so overwhelming. Amen.

Lord, I realise the areas which
I feel inadequate or struggle,
draw me to You. And that I am
able to accomplish what You ask
of me only through Your power.
Thank You for Your Word for in it
I learn that You are my sufficiency.
May my confidence always be
in You thru Christ Jesus; and then
You will receive all praise. Amen.

Lord Jesus, thank You for
loving me enough to work in me.
Make me aware of Your presence
and cooperate with Your Spirit.
Give me unveiled encounters; for
there’s no limits in knowing You.
I want to reflect as much of Your
grace and glory over time. And
though I may not always see signs
of change but pray others can.Amen