Affliction but overjoyed

I am acting with great boldness toward you; I have great pride in you; I am filled with comfort. In all our affliction, I am overflowing with joy.- 2 Corinthians 7:4

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Reflecting on 2 Corinthians 7:1-8, focus verse 4. St. Paul speaks of his pride and consolation at the repentance of the believers in Corinth. This bustling coastal city filled with a myriad of pagan gods and goddesses, including Poseidon (god of the sea) & Aphrodite (goddess of love & fertility). It was in such a challenging spiritual climate that the early believers came to believe in the good news preached by the apostle to the gentiles. St. Paul, echoing the joyful exclamation of the father in the Parable of the Prodigal Son:  "for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!' And they began to celebrate." (Luke 15:24), upon the return of his younger son. 

In this Holy Week leading up to Resurrection Sunday, let's take a moment to quiet our hearts to pray for the salvation of souls, especially among our loved ones and friends.

I'll close with this beautiful hymn that reminds us of our Heavenly Father's Love, and the Immense Price paid by Jesus at Calvary. 

How Deep the Father's Love For Us 

Verse 1 

How deep the Father's love for us, how vast beyond all measure 

That He should give His only Son, to make a wretch His treasure 

How great the pain of searing loss, the Father turned His face away 

As wounds which mar the Chosen One, bring many sons to glory 

Verse 2 

Behold the man upon a cross, my sin upon His shoulders 

Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice call out among the scoffers 

It was my sin that held Him there until it was accomplished 

His dying breath has brought me life; I know that it is finished 

Verse 3 

I will not boast in anything: no gifts, no power, no wisdom 

But I will boast in Jesus Christ; His death and resurrection 

Why should I gain from His reward? I cannot give an answer 

But this I know with all my heart: His wounds have paid my ransom 

YouTube Link: https://youtu.be/tzQj7XvKFmA?si=2-RJxget13YHhrwC 

© 1995 Thankyou Music (PRS)(admin. worldwide by EMI CMG Publishing excluding Europe which is admin. by kingswaysongs.com)

Reflection on 2 Corinthians 7:1-8 by Chris Tan

The grace of God

We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain – 2 Corinthians 6:1

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 In the second epistle to the Corinthians, the apostle Paul speaks with urgency and honesty about what it means to live as God’s people in the real world. His message is both a warning and an encouragement: “Do not receive God’s grace in vain.”

God’s grace through salvation is His free gift of forgiveness and new life, made possible through our Saviour and Lord Jesus Christ, received by faith.

The Apostle Paul reminds us that to receive grace “in vain” is to never allow it to transform how we live. Paul urges us to recognize that now is the time to respond. Not when life is easier or less busy, but today.

We can look to Abraham for an example. Abraham did not simply follow the traditions he inherited. Instead, he chose obedience to God over cultural expectation. He left behind the familiar world of Ur. He left behind its customs, its way of life and stepped out into the unknown. 

Tradition and routine can become so familiar that we stop questioning whether they truly align with God’s Word. Like Abraham, we must be willing to leave behind anything that stands in the way of following God. Therefore, we must never allow habits or traditions to cause us to dismiss God’s truth.

Abraham’s journey was not comfortable. Paul’s life as a missionary was also not comfortable. In today’s passage from 2 Corinthians 6, we read about many ways how Paul suffered. Following God means breaking away from patterns, habits, or even traditions that hold us back spiritually.

There is also a vital truth we must face: we can be wrong about many things in this life and still go on living. But if we are wrong about who we are trusting for salvation, the consequences are eternal. This is not something we can afford to ignore or delay. We must ask ourselves honestly where is our trust placed?

Like Abraham and Paul, we are called to remain faithful even when the path is difficult. Be sure of where your trust truly lies. Trust God in the unknown.

 

Reflection on 2 Corinthians 6:1–10 by Hanne

 

Aroma of Christ

But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads in every place the fragrance that comes from knowing him. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing  - 2 Corinthians 2:14-15

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Reflecting on 2 Corinthians 2:10-18, focus verses 14-15, and St Paul's use of the triumphal procession of Roman general after their victorious conquests, to illustrate the point that our victory is already won through Christ and in Christ alone. Also our lives should exude the fragrance of His Grace in our thoughts, words and deeds. This is only possible if I take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 

Reflecting on the passage and my own struggles with venial habitual sins, I thank God for His Sacrament of Reconciliation and the countless times that I've received absolution through the actions of the priest (in persona Christi) ie. the power to forgive sins came from Christ, who had instituted this Sacrament after His glorious resurrection in John 20:22-23: When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." 

I will close my short sharing with the words of this hymn, "Turn Your Eyes" by Sovereign Grace Music. My prayer is that all of us here will turn our eyes unto Jesus in moments of human weakness and fiery trials to truly exude His fragrance in our own earthly lives, to a world that is descending into godlessness and endless fears (of wars and calamities).

Verse 1 

Turn your eyes upon Jesus 

Look full in His wonderful face 

And the things of earth will grow strangely dim 

In the light of His glory and grace 

Verse 2 

Turn your eyes to the hillside 

Where justice and mercy embraced 

There the Son of God gave His life for us

And our measureless debt was erased 

Chorus 

Jesus, to You we lift our eyes 

Jesus, to You we lift our eyes

Jesus, our glory and our prize 

We adore You, behold You, our Savior ever true 

Oh Jesus, we turn our eyes to You

Verse 3 

Turn your eyes to the morning 

And see Christ the Lion awake 

What a glorious dawn, fear of death is gone 

For we carry His life in our veins

Verse 4 

Turn your eyes to the heavens

Our King will return for His own

Every knee will bow, every tongue will shout, 

'All glory to Jesus alone!'

YouTube Link: https://youtu.be/UHHPbBfinXs?si=NYnQ1pnGxkJ_z-sI 

Original words (V1) and music by Helen H. Lemmel. Add. words (V2-4) by George Romanacce, Nathan Stiff, Nic Trout, and Kevin Winebarger. Chorus by George Romanacce, Nathan Stiff, Nic Trout, and Kevin Winebarger 

© 2019 Sovereign Grace Worship/ASCAP, Sovereign Grace Praise/BMI, Sovereign Grace Songs/SESAC (adm. by Integrity Music). Sovereign Grace Music, a division of Sovereign Grace Churches. All rights reserved.

Reflection on 2 Corinthians 2:10-18 by Chris Tan