Category: Today’s Truth

God’s grace is like the ocean, spread out reaching as far as it can. With every tide, it washes over those who are in need of His presence and mercy. His grace is for anyone with a pulse who is willing to give up their own control. 2 Corinthians 4:15 says, “All of this is for your benefit. And as God’s grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory.”

The angels rejoice when someone comes to know Christ. Every time God pours out His grace and people accept the salvation of His Son, there is much rejoicing and thanksgiving. God’s grace is for every person, no matter what they have done, where they have been, or who they are. God looks down and sees His image; He sees people in need of His loving grace. God, in His kindness, gave His grace freely. It cost us nothing, but it cost Him everything. He gave His beloved Son so that we may be with Him in eternity. When we come to know Him, we give Him glory. It is all for His glory.

May you experience His grace and mercy today if you do not know Him in a personal way. If you do know Him, then extend that same grace to those around you whether they deserve it or not. After all, He has extended it to you.

When this world is over and it is time for Jesus to return, we will know that the promise the Apostle Paul makes in 2 Corinthians 4:14 will come to fruition: “We know that God, who raised the Lord Jesus, will also raise us with Jesus and present us to himself together with you.”

This is the promise that we can cling to as Christians. We know that just as God raised Jesus from the dead, He can raise us as well when Jesus returns. We will be caught up with Him and taken to heaven to live with Him for all eternity. This was His plan from the beginning of time. His plan was never for man to continue to live in sin, but to be rescued and given new life and the promise of eternity.

Do you believe Him and what He says about eternity? Do you believe that He is the God He says He is? Do you truly believe that He raised Jesus from the dead? There are many religions that do not believe this key event. It is what separates Christianity from the rest of religions. If you believe this simple truth, then you can also hold on to the truth that He will raise you to live too in eternity with Him.

King David had a very intimate relationship with the Lord. In Psalm 116:10 he said, “I believed in you, so I said, ‘I am deeply troubled, Lord.'” Paul quotes this verse in 2 Corinthians 4:13: “But we continue to preach because we have the same kind of faith the psalmist had when he said, “I believed in God, so I spoke.” What kind of relationship is this?

David had the kind of Relationship with God that he could talk and God would listen. He was so close to the Lord that He valued what the Lord said. He listened to the Lord and the Lord listened to Him. He shared His deepest feelings with the Lord. He went to the Lord before he went to anyone else. Paul admired the relationship David had with God the Father and explains that in 2 Corinthians 4:13. He describes His faith as being like David’s. He spoke confidently to the Lord because He believed in Him.

As a child of God, we can speak to God in the same way, as though He is a friend or family member. We can share when we are afraid or frustrated, or we can share any other type of emotion. We can speak to Him knowing that He will listen. When Christ died on the cross, He tore the veil between God and man. We can communicate freely with Him because Jesus made a way. When we pray, the Holy Spirit will intercede for us and help us know what to say.

Serving Jesus Christ means that we may face dangers. Look at the life of Paul. From the minute he was converted to Christ, he began experiencing harm and despair. However, he did not count it as despair. He pressed on to know Christ more and more. The more he knew about Christ, the more he shared it with the world around him. This was his attitude in 2 Corinthians 4:11-12: “Yes, we live under constant danger of death because we serve Jesus, so that the life of Jesus will be evident in our dying bodies. So we live in the face of death, but this has resulted in eternal life for you.” His constant state of danger resulted in eternal life. It also resulted in the salvation of many.

While God may not be calling you to put yourself in the middle of danger, He may be calling you to endure and persevere trials and persecution. Maybe He is calling you to take a stand at your job for what is right. Maybe He is calling you to defend the poor and helpless. Maybe He is calling you into a life of missions, spreading the gospel from nation to nation.

Whatever He is calling you to, have the attitude of Paul. Say, “Yes, Lord,” and follow Him wherever He is leading. Consider others’ lives more valuable than your own and the gospel message more important than anything else. When you do, you will carry the cross of Christ with you wherever you go.

We were never made for this world. We were created for heaven, to live in eternity with God the Father forever. Once sin crept into this world, our bodies began to decay. We are meant for heaven, our permanent home, but we are residing in these temporary bodies. So while we are on this earth, we will experience heartache, troubles, and suffering.

2 Corinthians 4:10 says, “Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.” Everyday our bodies inch closer and closer to death. We suffer in this life because this life is only temporary. When Paul said that through suffering, we share in the death of Christ, he was showing how the death of Christ was what motivated his life. It spurred him on to serve and love others. The life of Christ was vibrant in the life of Paul. He was willing to die for his faith because his Savior died for him. There was nothing in this life that could shake Paul because he carried the death of Christ with him.

So while we live in this world, we will experience suffering, but when we carry the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ within us, we will live for Christ, serve for Christ, love others like Christ.

2 Corinthians 4:9 tells us, “We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed.” Have you ever felt abandoned and alone? Maybe a parent abandoned you or a spouse. Maybe you have just felt like you’ve walked through this life alone. Maybe you were let go at your last job and are struggling to figure out what you need to do.

One of the best promises we have in this life is that God will never abandon us. John 14:18 tells us that He will not leave us alone like orphans; He will come back to us. He is trustworthy. We know that He did not create us to be alone. He created us to be with Him and feel His presence. We were made for Him. When you are going through a trial, you are not alone. When everyone abandons you, you are not alone. When you feel as though you cannot go on, you are not alone. When you have been persecuted and feel knocked down, you are not destroyed because you have the foundation of Christ supporting you.

No matter what you go through in this life, take hope; for you are not alone and you will not be destroyed. Paul was abandoned and knocked down often, but he knew he couldn’t be destroyed because he was a child of God. Is this something you struggle with? What do you need to understand about God today?

Nothing in this life can completely crush us when we have the hope of Jesus Christ. We may experience tragedies and trials, but nothing can take that hope away from us when we have it living inside of our hearts. 2 Corinthians 4:8 says that “we are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair.”

There are many troubles in this world. Those troubles often lead people down dark paths that can even lead to death. There is nothing more devastating than hearing about someone who took their own life because of the troubles that pressed in on them and made them feel as though they were trapped. So this verse is not saying that there won’t be troubles; it is just describing what it looks like when we live according to the hope we have in Christ. We will always experience troubles; they never go away. But with the Holy Spirit, we can endure and persevere through those troubles.

Troubles cannot crush us when we live in Christ. They can perplex us, as this verse says, but they cannot drive us to despair. God is bigger than our troubles. Pray today and ask Him to go before you and hedge you in on every side so that you will not let troubles crush you anymore.

2 Corinthians 4:7 states that “We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.” What does this verse mean for the Christian?

A clay jar serves a purpose. While it is not as pretty as other types of jars or vessels, it can still hold precious things, and it can be of use. The light and the great treasure that this verse mentions is the gospel message of Jesus Christ. We are those jars of clay. God has chosen to place His precious treasure of the salvation message into ordinary vessels like you and me. We do not have to look a certain way or have a certain status for Him to use us. We just have to be willing.

However, we are still fragile jars of clay. We bear the greatest message ever and must protect ourselves from the enemy so that we can shine the gospel through us. He will attempt to destroy us, so we must always look to the Lord so He will protect us. If you have been broken or feel broken, you can still bear the message of Christ. Even a broken pot can be beautiful when you place a light inside of it and let the light shine through the cracks. All it takes is a willing spirit.

Isn’t it miraculous to think that the God of the universe who said let there be light in the darkness is the same God who has made His light shine in our hearts so we could know His glory shown through Jesus Christ His Son (2 Corinthians 4:6). This verse reveals the truth about how God feels about mankind. He created man in his own image as Genesis 1:27 tells us. God is the light in this dark world. He is the hope for mankind.

When we come to know Christ, God places that light inside our hearts. We then have the ability to share that light with the dark world around us. God’s will is not that anyone should perish, but that all would come to know His saving grace (2 Peter 3:9). So He uses us as His servants to shine His light and draw others to Him.

Are you sharing that light with the world around you or are you hiding it? If someone was lost and couldn’t see which way to go, wouldn’t you want to share your light with them so they could find their way? That is what it is like when a Christian keeps their greatest gift a secret. Pray today and ask God to make sure that your life is always shining for Him.

Many people spend their lives searching for their purpose and the meaning of life. They look to self-help books and celebrities. They look to the wisdom of family and friends. Some Christians prefer to look to Christian books and authors and others look to the Lord, His wisdom, and the Bible. Our purpose is to be known by God, know Him fully, and make His name known.

If you have been saved by Christ, then why wouldn’t you want to shout it from the rooftops? Why wouldn’t you want everyone else to know the promise that you know? He has given you life, and now he wants you to share it with the world. 2 Corinthians 4:5 says, “You see, we don’t go around preaching about ourselves. We preach that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we ourselves are your servants for Jesus’ sake.” There is nothing that we can preach about ourselves, but yet we continuously want praise for the things we do. We glorify ourselves and sometimes, we don’t even realize it. However, if we can humble ourselves, then we will be able to lift Christ up. We can only become servants when we seek to glorify Him above all else.

Have you placed more priority on yourself or on your relationship with the Lord? Do you truly want to honor him? Do you want to see the people you love spend eternity with God the father? Then preach the good news about Jesus Christ instead of focusing on yourself and you will begin to see your perspective change as well as the lives of those around you.