The 260 Journey

Day 154

Today’s Reading: 2 Corinthians 5

One of the pieces of advice I give to expecting fathers is about the moment they leave the hospital with their first child. I tell them that while they’re still in the hospital, their baby will have around-the-clock care from professionals. Nurses and doctors will watch over that newborn, changing their diaper, and meeting every need. They are always just a button away from coming into the wife’s room. The moment the new parents step outside that hospital door, they’re on their own. It’s scary. And the place it starts is in the car. They put that little bundle of joy in the car seat for the first time and start driving. But Dad’s driving is now controlled by what’s in the backseat.

When my wife, Cindy, and I took our firstborn home from the hospital, I drove in a place that I had never been before—the slow lane. The speed limit was fifty-five but I have to tell you, I don’t think I ever hit that speed. All because I was being controlled by someone else, my newborn son.

The apostle Paul tells us the same thing about his life. He is a man under another person’s control: “For the love of Christ controls us” (2 Corinthians 5:14).

Why does Paul preach? His answer is that the love of Christ makes him do it. Paul is a helpless man. Paul is not deciding to do anything on his own. He cannot help himself.

Paul says that the “love of Christ controls us;” not “love for Christ” but Christ’s love for us. This is an important distinction. It should be our priority that we understand the love of God. Why does temptation and fear and lust often control us? Because we do not understand the love of Christ. To have a revelation of His love for us is to be controlled by that love. When we realize how much Christ loves us, something in that revelation says there is nothing greater that is in charge of our actions.

The word control is an important word. The King James Version uses the word constraineth.

I have a set of commentaries in my library that have always been helpful in interpreting words. Since the New Testament was written in Greek, it’s profitable that we occasionally expand on a word. Control is an important word for us to unpack. William Barclay’s New Testament commentary does this brilliantly. He says that the word control, which Paul uses in this verse, was used in four different ways in the first century when Paul decided to use it.

First, it was an instrument that pushed on the side of an animal to keep it from moving so the farmer could administer medication. It controlled the animal from moving away from something that would make it healthier.

Second, it forced a ship to stay straight as it was sailing through a narrow channel. If the ship was to go off course just a little it could be devastating. The control of that steering wheel kept the vessel straight ahead, because straight meant safety. It was keeping on course.

Third, it meant to be so completely occupied with business that the person has no time for anything extracurricular. Their life and schedule was controlled by their commitment to their job.

Fourth, it was a word used for a prisoner who was in the control of the prison. It meant their schedule was dictated, their meals arranged, and their future determined and under the prison’s control.

To Paul being controlled by the love of Christ means . . . keeping still to receive medicine for health; being kept from diverting off course; being so preoccupied with his job that very little else interests him; being a prisoner, in which his life is dictated by Christ’s schedule not his own. That’s how strong “control” is to Paul.

To put all of those definitions together, I think the New English Bible captures verse 14 well: “Christ’s love leaves us no choice.”

When Hudson Taylor, the man responsible for taking the gospel to China, interviewed candidates for the mission field, he would always ask about their motivations for service. One person told him, “I want to [be a foreign missionary] because Christ has commanded us to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” Another said, “I want to go because millions are perishing without Christ.”

After Taylor listened to the men give a number of different answers, he said, “All of these motives, however good, will fail you in times of testings, trials, tribulations, and possible death. There is but one motive that will sustain you in trial and testing; namely, the love of Christ.”

That’s what controlled Paul—the love of Christ.

Day 153

Today’s Reading: 2 Corinthians 4

Today’s chapter challenges us to remember that what’s on the inside determines our responses and reactions to outside forces. Listen to Paul’s outside issues that he has been facing: “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed” (2 Corinthians 4:8-9).

Wow! There is a lot of outside stuff trying to take out Paul. There is affliction, perplexities, persecution, and people attempting to strike him down. I like the way The Living Bible paraphrases it:

"We are pressed on every side by troubles, but not crushed and broken. We are perplexed because we don’t know why things happen as they do, but we don’t give up and quit. We are hunted down, but God never abandons us. We get knocked down, but we get up again and keep going."

Based on these outside forces, Paul needs a miracle to stay alive. Pastor Rick Joyner once said, “Most Christians long to see miracles, but they don’t want to be put in a position where they will need one.”

How in the world can Paul survive this? How can the apostle live through verses 8 and 9? He can face 8 and 9 because of verse 7: “We are like common clay jars that carry this glorious treasure within, so that the extraordinary overflow of power will be seen as God’s, not ours” (TPT).

We have a silly container housing an awesome treasure. God is in us! The Holy Spirit dwelling in us is the treasure. Never mistake packaging as the treasure. We are the clay pot, the Styrofoam cup, the brown paper bag with something of infinite value in us.

We contain it but we are not it. We are not the source, just the delivery system. Because of the treasure, no matter what we face, the treasure on the inside makes it possible to handle whatever happens on the outside.

Whenever there is something valuable, we put it in a museum behind indestructible glass in a beautiful building. But when God has a treasure, where does He put it? He puts it in a common clay jar, because it isn’t about the jar but about the treasure in the jar.

If you didn’t do this in high-school science class, you can Youtube it. If you take a paper cup and put it over a hot flame, what happens? The cup burns up. But (and here is where it gets really cool and very much 2 Corinthians 4:7-ish) if you put water in a paper cup and put it over the same fire, the cup will not burn. Did you get that? The cup with the water in it does not burn up. Why? Because what is in the cup changes the dynamics of the cup.

Scientifically speaking, the water can only reach a temperature of 212 degrees Fahrenheit before it turns to steam. Since the water is in constant contact with the paper cup, the paper cannot get any hotter than 212 degrees. However, in order for the cup itself to burn, it must reach a kindling point, which happens to be higher than 212 degrees. The water maintains the temperature of the paper at a constant 212.

Or to make it really simple, the contents of the cup (the water) take on the heat and protect the outer cup from the heat. The treasure within disperses the heat.

When I am perplexed when I don’t know how to decide or when I have been embarrassed, I may think I am out of resources, but I’m not out of God. All the verses say “not.” Why is the not in these verses? All because we have a treasure in this earthen vessel.

We must never confuse the contents and the container. It is not that our vessel is some indestructible vessel; it is the treasure that changes our dynamic. We can’t make it in life without that treasure in us. The outside forces win.

What’s on the inside determines the power of the outside elements, and if God is on the inside, then “if God is ‘in me,’ then nothing can be against me.”

Day 152

Today’s Reading: 2 Corinthians 3

Today’s chapter is so important because it is a challenge for the church and how we are supposed to look. As we keep attending church every Sunday, going to small groups, listening to preaching, what is the end game? Where is all of this heading? What’s the win? Maybe a better question is, “How do I know I am winning and on the right track?” In 2 Corinthians 3, Paul give us “the win”:

But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit. (2 Corinthians 3:18)

When you read the entire chapter, Paul recounts the story of Moses from thousands of years ago and what would happen to him every time he went on the mountain and talked with God. His countenance would change and radiate after being in God’s presence, and everyone saw it. But after some time away from the presence of God, the brightness would fade. Paul then explains that this new covenant brings something very special that the old covenant didn’t: change without the fading.

Paul is giving us the win. Let’s unpack this concept.

There are two really important thoughts here. First, there are the words, But we all with unveiled faces. This is huge. When Moses came down from the mountain, Moses’ face would shine from talking with God and he would put a veil over his face. Here is where the problem lies: some think he put on the veil because his face was so shiny and people couldn’t look at it. But that doesn’t seem to be the reason according to verse 13: “And [we] are not like Moses, who used to put a veil over his face so that the sons of Israel would not look intently at the end of what was fading away.”

He would put the veil on his face to cover the fading not to cover the brightness. This distinction is important. It seems he wanted the children of Israel to think more was there than what really was. The veil was not to protect them from the brightness but to try to impress them that it was still there. The veil was to impress not to protect.

This is where Paul drops the new covenant bomb. He tells us that we all have unveiled faces. He’s saying, don’t try to hide behind something as if you’ve got something going on when you don’t. We have to be real to be changed. Stop pretending to be shiny when you are not. Then God can do something that lasts.

That’s the next part: “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit” (verse 18). Like Moses speaking to God and being changed, as we behold the glory of the Lord, it happens to us. What is the glory of the Lord?

Hebrews 1:3 says that Jesus is the glory of the Lord. And as we see Jesus, we are being transformed into the same image. The more we see Jesus in His Word, in His people, in His church . . . change is happening to us. Beholding is transforming. And the transforming is into the same image. That means we start looking like Jesus in our ways, attitudes, and actions.

That’s the difference between Moses and us. We don’t need a veil to hide fading, because it’s a transformation that has lasting effect.

Our end goal, our win is not to look like our church, our denomination, or our pastor. It is to look like Jesus. Anything else fades and we need to pull out the veil. And each day we see Jesus, we become more like Him.

Day 151

Today’s Reading: 2 Corinthians 2

Frightened by the storm’s thunder and lightning, little Gabby cried out for her parents. Her father entered her room and held her securely in his arms. He explained that she didn’t need to be afraid, since God would take care of her, because He loved her greatly. “Daddy, I know God will take care of me and He loves me,” she said. “But right now, Daddy, I just need someone with skin on to love me.”

God wants us to be His skin to express His love to people. Second Corinthians 2 is a plea for skin. It’s the challenge for the people of God to show the forgiveness of God:

If anyone has caused grief, he has not so much grieved me as he has grieved all of you to some extent—not to put it too severely. The punishment inflicted on him by the majority is sufficient. Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him. (2 Corinthians 2:5-8, NIV)

Many times we know that God forgives us. But the hard thing is feeling the forgiveness from others. We need forgiveness with skin on. God is not the only One who is called upon to pronounce forgiveness, we are too. And not just forgiveness but the part that puts the skin on the forgiveness. That’s in verse 7. We are called to do what Jesus did: He forgave and then gave us the comforter. And here Paul asks us to forgive. That’s the concept we do in our hearts toward an offense. And then the crazy part is that Paul says add comfort to our forgiveness.

The word comfort here is the same word used in the Gospel of John for the Holy Spirit when Jesus said, “I will send the Comforter.” The word means someone to walk alongside us. Paul isn’t just encouraging us to forgive, but also to close the distance with the person who caused the offense.

Paul is speaking about an offense that was caused to him and the church here in this chapter. An offense that has caused him sorrow.

Perhaps you remember the cartoon strip, Calvin and Hobbes. Calvin is a little boy with an overactive imagination and a stuffed tiger, Hobbes, who comes to life as his imaginary friend. In one cartoon strip, Calvin turns to Hobbes and says, “I feel bad I called Susie names and hurt her feelings. I’m sorry I did that.” Hobbes replies, “Maybe you should apologize to her.” Calvin thinks about it for a moment and then responds, “I keep hoping there’s a less obvious solution.”

Many believe the offense Paul is speaking about is one he first addressed in 1 Corinthians 5. There was a scandal in the church where an incestuous relationship was taking place. A man was living inappropriately with his stepmother. Second Corinthians 2 is the continuation of dealing with the brother who is starting to be broken and repentant over his sin.

There is a difference between forgiveness and probation. Probation says to the offender, I forgive you, but I don’t trust you. I forgive you but I’m watching you. When we say, in essence, “I will forgive, but I will not forget,” that is just another way of saying, “I will not forgive.” The comfort Paul speaks about is a deathblow to this probational way of thinking.

Martin Luther King Jr. summarized the kind of forgiveness Paul is talking about: “Forgiveness is not an occasional act; it is a constant attitude.” Because we are dealing with broken people who mess up. As Lewis Smedes said, “Gandhi was right: if we all live by ‘an eye for an eye’ the whole world will be blind. The only way out is forgiveness.”

Why is forgiveness and comfort so important? Because unforgiveness unlocks the door for satanic activity:

One whom you forgive anything, I forgive also; for indeed what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, I did it for your sakes in the presence of Christ, so that no advantage would be taken of us by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his schemes. (2 Corinthians 2:10-11)

When we fail to provide forgiveness, we welcome the devil. Do you want to know what spiritual warfare is? It’s fighting to forgive. This is a warning to us: this phrase, advantage would be taken of us by Satan, is one of the strongest warnings in the New Testament. It means direct involvement by the devil himself. That means we have a double problem: unforgiveness and demonic activity.

The devil takes “advantage,” gets more than he deserves, in the situation. Satan always wants more of you and me, and unforgiveness gives him that.

C. S. Lewis was telling the truth when he said, “Everyone says forgiveness is a lovely idea, until they have something to forgive.” Second Corinthians 2 takes the lovely idea of forgiveness and makes it alive with people really forgiving and adding proximity and reaffirming love to the one who needs it.

It’s skin on forgiveness.

Day 150

Today’s Reading: 2 Corinthians 1

There is a fine line between gossip and intercession. Intercession is when you talk to God about other people. Gossip is when you talk to people about people—and they can only listen but never be a solution. My dear friend R. T. Kendall says these profound words: “Remember this rule of thumb: if people gossip to you, they will also gossip about you.”

Gossip and intercession are so closely associated, it’s just an issue of who you go to about other people. The Corinthians chose intercession and not gossip. Intercession is so important. They are about to show us what prayer for people can do for them.

Charles Bent wrote, “Intercessory prayer might be defined as loving our neighbour on our knees.” The Corinthian church loves Paul and loves him on their knees. Listen to these words:

As you labor together with us through prayer. Because there are so many interceding for us, our deliverance will cause even more people to give thanks to God. What a gracious gift of mercy surrounds us because of your prayers! (2 Corinthians 1:11, TPT)

Or if you want a real punch to this verse, read it out of The Message:

You and your prayers are part of the rescue operation—I don’t want you in the dark about that either. I can see your faces even now, lifted in praise for God’s deliverance of us, a rescue in which your prayers played such a crucial part.

Every time you pray for someone, you are helping them. Intercession is so much better than gossip. Choose to talk to the right person about the information you have about people. The Corinthian church did, and amazing things happened. The Message says it best: “You and your prayers are part of the rescue operation.” You get to be connected to people through your prayer life and be on a rescue mission for them.

When your prayer life is weak, so is your helping. People we love and their deliverance from a situation could very well be connected to your prayer life. Your greatest contribution to the people you love is to develop a prayer life on their behalf.

Here’s an important lesson I have learned: when I pray for people, I don’t gossip about them.

Let me be practical for a moment. Be deliberate in asking people if you can pray for them and then really pray for them. Don’t just tell them, “I’ll be praying for you.” Actually do it. Write it down. Get a notebook and label it “Intercession.”

Here’s a thought for you at church. Go one more step in your greetings and your hellos in church. We have so much surface, “Hey, how you doing?” and responses like “Great,” “Good,” and “Praise the Lord.” Make it a point if you hear of a need, pray for them right then and there. You don’t need to have an answer for their situation, but you can be part of the solution with prayer. Ask them, “Can we pray right now about that?” If you are having lunch with them, pray for their request while you pray for the meal.

Think of Paul’s words to these Corinthians: “You and your prayers are part of the rescue operation—I don’t want you in the dark about that either. I can see your faces even now, lifted in praise for God’s deliverance of us, a rescue in which your prayers played such a crucial part.”

Can you imagine one of the members of the Corinthian church having this on their next job application: “Name a big project you helped create and worked on that had success.” And they write, “I helped the apostle Paul with his second missionary journey.” Did they go with him?

No, they just prayed for him and he said they played a crucial role. And then they hand the interviewer Paul’s “reference” letter.

We don’t think prayer counts. But according to the Bible, it counts. Big time. We need to have a high view of prayer. Prayer is participating in someone’s life. Prayer makes me part of your adventures. And you part of mine.

One of my favorite quotes on intercession is by Walter Wink. In fact, it’s one of the five prayer quotes I try to say every day before I pray. And this one is always a good reminder about 2 Corinthians 1:11. It’s simple but powerful: “History belongs to the intercessors.”

Make history today. Pray for someone today.