Tagged: message of the day
“I will do no boasting about myself unless it be about my weaknesses.” —2 Corinthians 12:5 St. Paul had been “snatched up to the third heaven” (2 Cor 12:2). He was transported “to Paradise to hear words which cannot be uttered, words which no man may speak” (2 Cor 12:4). Despite these “extraordinary revelations” (2 Cor 12:7), Paul did not base his evangelization on the glory of heaven; instead he focused on the weakness and scandal of the cross (1 Cor 2:2). In today’s society, St. Paul would be inundated with movie offers, book contracts, speaking tours, and interviews to...
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“I am talking like an insane person.” —2 Corinthians 11:23, RNAB St. Paul founded the church at Corinth. After he left Corinth, various false apostles passed through town. These traveling preachers built up their own ministries (and their wallets) by pointing to their own “impressive” credentials rather than pointing to Jesus. By comparing Paul unfavorably to themselves, they undermined his position as father of the church in Corinth. More important in Paul’s eyes, they were undermining the true gospel and leading people away from the Lord (2 Cor 11:3ff). The Corinthians, in their foolishness, demanded that Paul once again “prove”...
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“My fear is that, just as the serpent seduced Eve by his cunning, your thoughts may be corrupted and you may fall away from your sincere and complete devotion to Christ.” —2 Corinthians 11:3 In the first century, the city of Corinth was a cesspool of promiscuity, violence, and occult practices. The culture was sophisticated and secular humanistic, as is our culture of death today. St. Paul was very concerned that the Corinthian Christians would let their thoughts be corrupted from their sincere and complete devotion to Christ (2 Cor 11:3). Paul recognized that the Corinthian Christians were easily deceived...
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“He who sows sparingly will reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will reap bountifully.” —2 Corinthians 9:6 Our giving in response to God’s call involves so much more than being generous on the day of giving. We can write a generous check to a charity and never think about them before or after the gift. Alternatively, we can pray for discernment beforehand and pray for that charitable ministry afterward. This makes our gift even more fruitful. “In seedtime the sluggard plows not; when he looks for the harvest, it is not there” (Prv 20:4). The sluggard was not totally...
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“You are well acquainted with the favor shown by our Lord Jesus Christ: how for your sake He made Himself poor though He was rich, so that you might become rich by His poverty.” —2 Corinthians 8:9 What if a person was rich but didn’t know it? He may unnecessarily deprive himself, his family, or others of basic necessities. It is even possible for a rich man to starve to death, if he didn’t know he was rich. Do you know that “for your sake [Jesus] made Himself poor though He was rich, so that you might become rich by...
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