Devotional Fuel to Reboot Your Mind

2 Corinthians 10:17, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord. For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.”

Paul was a superior model of a great faithful spiritual teacher, leader, and writer, that never boasted about his own abilities. He lived out Jeremiah 9:23,24, “Thus says the LORD, “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness on earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.” Paul quoted this text to the Corinthian Christians in 1 Cor. 1:31 and again in 2 Cor. 10:17. Yahweh, the God of Israel, understands and knows me. What a comfort that is!

It is interesting to note that Paul was not a trained spell bounding speaker. He was, however, a brilliant thinker. Paul had not had formal education in the Greek schools of oratory and speech making as no doubt many of the false teachers of that time had graduated from, that criticized his delivery in speaking (but Paul was one of the most educated of all of the apostles). In comparison, Paul’s ministry appeared small to these men. Yet look how God used Paul’s humble, obedient, and faithful, simple presentation of the gospel. Paul fulfilled God’s calling on his life in teaching the gospel of salvation and left the results to God, as Paul stated in 1 Cor. 1:25, “For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.” Paul’s goal and purpose when he was preaching and teaching were two things: 1. One’s faith would be increased. 2. That the gospel message would be embraced and would then be given out by the hearers in the remoter parts of Achaia.

Paul had learned that all that he had was from the Lord. Presumed accomplishments are just that – assumed thinking. God just wants us to stay faithful in where He has placed us to serve Him, all for His glory. Statistics do not show the total picture and are often manipulated.

A parallel verse is found in Proverbs 27:1,2, “Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring. Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips.”

Giving God credit for what He has done needs to be first out of our mouth, out of my mouth, despite our restrictive circumstances, frustrations, and at times anger with people that seem to be obstacles in our (my) life. God is sovereign. That will never change.

What lessons are you still learning about God – is it His love? His faithfulness? His power and justice?

I don’t know what will happen tomorrow. I can’t see when the end of all this quarantine will be for sure, but I do know God has given me today to live for Him, and to be a good steward in it. I rest in the name of the God of my life, El Hayyay. I have lessons still to be learned.

Listen to Danny Gokey-Give Me Jesus (Live), January 23, 2016 YouTube.

2 Corinthians 7:5b-7, “But we were afflicted at every turn – fighting without and fear within. But God, who comforts the downcast comforted us by the coming of Titus, and not only by his coming but also by the comfort with when he was comforted by you, as he told us of your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced still more.”

Are you in need of needing encouragement right now or have needed it during this past week? The words “comfort” or “consolation” are used ten times in 2 Corinthians 1: 1-11. God encourages us through His Word, but sometimes He uses people to give us the encouragement we need.

The great apostle, teacher, and spiritual leader in 2 Corinthians 7, who was Paul, had anxiety over a letter he had written to the church and was having regrets over it. Paul had a situation in his life where he desperately needed comfort too.

There are no age requirements or college degrees required in extending words of empathy, acts of service, giving positive feedback, or giving of one’s time to another in need. Do you feel like you have been going through the wringer during this COVID-19 crisis in quarantine and shelter-in-home change in life-style?

God used Titus to bring comfort to Paul in 2 Corinthians 7. Titus was one of Paul’s students. God used Titus to lift Paul’s spirits, who was downcast and feeling rejected in Macedonia, as Paul had opened his heart to the Corinthians as never before. Initially, it had been relayed back to Paul that his letter had wounded them. Paul had a passionate love for these people and felt he had to address a problematic issue. However, in the end, repentance was accomplished. Paul was excited to see Titus, and he brought reassurance to Paul, how much the Corinthian church cared, grieved, had turned back to the gospel, and was concerned about him as their spiritual leader. Titus was able to turn Paul’s regrets into rejoicing. The MSG states, “I went from worry to tranquility in no time.”

During this time of COVID-19, may we collectively give words of persuasive comfort and reassurance to one another that God knows exactly how long this will last. May our distress draw us together in unity in bringing us into the loving arms of Jesus. Trials prove and reveal where we are at in our faith and trust and walk with the Lord. They produce humility, and as Deut. 8:16b states, “. . . he might humble you and test you, to do you good in the end.”

Who has been like a Titus to you of helping turn your worry into tranquility recently?

Listen to King And Country’s song, “Joy.” They recently performed via YouTube, each band member together done remotely, a concert that is 42.57 minutes in length. It is called KING & COUNTRY-TOGETHER A Night of Hope. Their first song they sang was “Joy.” It is more fitting now during the COVID-19 crisis than when it was written. Replay the first line of this song, and you will know just what I mean.

2 Cor. 5:14,15, “For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one who has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.”

What motivates you in your role in your family, in your job, and how you serve others one day at a time? Paul’s first motivation in his ministry was his fear of the Lord. In second place was Christ’s love for him and not his love of Christ. Those are the two motivating truths that kept Paul from burn-out because Paul recognized two factors:

1. God loves me and knows my name (2 Cor. 5:11; Isa. 43:1).
2. The Lord loves me, died for me, and rose again, that I may live for him (2 Cor. 5:14,15).

So have you felt like giving up at times this week or seen your frustration level rise repeatedly? Have you noticed there is new stress in your life with this Coronavirus that you never experienced before? Staying in isolation can be lonely, especially if you are an extrovert and a people person. If, like me, you are now working from home via email and text messaging, besides speaking over the phone, there is a danger of emails and texts that can be easily misunderstood because one cannot hear the tone behind the intent. There is valuable incredible power in connecting in our relationships with one another that can only be done face to face in person, with eye contact.

More conflicts are going to increase during this current time of the Coronavirus crisis. We all have our own personality style in handling conflicts with people. A Dominant DISC personality style focuses on logic, are direct, tuff minded, results orientated, outgoing, fast paced, and focus on logic and winning in a battle. The Influential, tend to express feelings during the conflict. They are fast-paced, have high energy, extroverts, know how to influence, and are optimistic. Steadiness needs to get a consensus during times of conflict (that is so me), are reflective and analytical, and are cautious, reflective, thoughtful, and think before they speak (Peter, in the New Testament and I can relate, as I wish I was better at doing so). They make great listeners and counselors. The fourth style, Conscientious, are even tempered moderately paced, uses logic, justness, accuracy, and fairness in conflict, and tend to be more private. They prefer a text or email over a phone call. Have you been able to identify which DISC personality style you have? That is why we each have different viewpoints at times but we need to think about others good intentions and what their motivation was when encountering these now more occurring clashing situations, heightened by our newly enclosed shelter-in-place home conditions.

There is a sense of powerful effectiveness when we are able to manage our everyday life with efficiency, joy, and contentment, despite the various media reports. Paul was able to remain content with a life of pain, trials, and discomfort if it brought glory to God. He was the mentor of mentors in this regard. What verses in the Bible help you in accomplishing this?

Remember Paul’s two motivating factors in his life and read them to yourself every morning:

1. God loves me and knows my name (2 Cor. 5:11; Isa. 43:1).
2. The Lord loves me, died for me, and rose again, that I may live for him (2 Cor. 5:14,15).

There is an old song that is so very true right now that I want to share with you. Listen to a song sung by Lynda Randall. She is a Southern Gospel Dove Award winner. She was born and raised in the inner city of Washington D.C. Born into a family of seven children, she was the middle child. Listen to “One Day At A Time (Live/Lyric Video) 5/26/2017– YouTube.

2 Corinthians 5:11, “Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. But what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience.”

Paul said, “what we are is known to God . . .” Isaiah 43:1 states, “But now thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.” God knows my name. God knows your name – think about that. God knows me, and He knows my name. El Roi means God sees me. Immanuel, means God is with me (us).That is such an assuring and comforting truth right now.

As our pastor, Todd said in his message from Crossroads Community Church, this past Sunday morning, “Fight a lesser fear, with a greater fear as it says in Matthew 10:28,“ . . . Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” The fear of the Lord is what motivated Paul in his ministry.

Our current life’s change of events with the Corona Virus is gravely affecting so many people in their employment, hoarding toilet paper of all things, and not being able to plan to go to concerts, church, trips, and various other activities. Sometimes when things change and are out of our control, we have to put aside our own agenda and ask, “OK, God, now what do you want me to do?” We are told in Acts 9:31, “The church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.”

May we all portray and have a stronger devotion to Jesus than we did the day before. We have to faithfully check our conscience before God, always seeking to have the love of Christ controlling our actions and conversations with kind words, acts of kindness, wise advice, and showing mercy and grace even when it may not be easy to do. God knows us and remember, He knows your name.

How would you rate your faith this past week? Weak and needs improvement, or equal to David’s when he killed the giant with his stone that he aimed and hit Goliath right on his forehead?

How does having the fear of the Lord replace anxieties, fears, worries, with courage?

May we be living examples of what Paul stated in 2 Cor. 5:7, “We live by faith not by sight,” as we go forth, encouraging each other in residing in the “fear of the Lord.”

Listen to the song on YouTube, Impossible Things (feat. Danny Gokey) Chris Tomlin

2 Corinthians 5:9-10, “So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.”

Paul, in his day, had many cultural, economic, and ministry issues, much like we see and experience today. He was in the midst of much conflict wherever he taught and preached. The Judaizers were continually speaking in a degrading way against Paul and were putting him down and challenged his apostleship. However, Paul didn’t have commentators via Twitter and Facebook, bombarding him with continual prideful, argumentative, hateful, and accusatory attacking commentators, on both sides denouncing his viewpoints. Can you imagine what Paul’s enemies comments would have stated against him over the media sites?

Instead, Paul’s driving purpose and passion, behind his life’s motivation was to be pleasing to God no matter what. He kept that goal always before him.  So often, I get distracted by the conflict, unloving accusatory words, and by other people’s actions that I disagree with – do you? As a woman, are you able to put those things in a drawer, compartmentalize it, and leave them there? I have trouble doing that. So I have to direct my thoughts back to self-examination concerning, “Am I pleasing or displeasing God in my efforts?” That’s it.

What incidents have triggered your conversational emotional reactions this week? How do you build discipline in your responsive dialogue? Men are unique in that they use humor to try and squelch anger in a heated moment. Have you noticed that? That doesn’t work with us women so well. We tend to fume and relive those bruses in our mind.

But more importantly, when we Christians appear before the judgment seat of Christ (known as the bema seat of Christ), where the motives of our works will be judged, the true character of our actions will be exposed. I have to ask myself, how faithful am I to the responsibilities that God has given to me now? Am I pleasing or displeasing God? Will this instance that has me so upset matter a month from now, let alone in eternity? That is what kept Paul focused on his purpose in life. He didn’t want his stupidity or sin to hurt God. Neither do I.

Here is a quote from Alexander MacLaren, who was an English non-conformist minister (Feb. 11, 1826 – May 5, 1910)  that says it all: “You report to headquarters. Never mind what anybody else thinks of you. Your business is to please Christ, and the less you trouble yourselves about pleasing men, the more you will succeed in doing it.” 

Listen to Mercy Me’s Almost Home. Lyric Video by InBeautifulChaos.

2 Corinthians 5:5-8, “He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.”

Would you say you have performed with courage this past week?  Have fears, worries, doubting self-worth, thinking you are stupid, and seeds of uncertainty been nibbling at your mind, so thoughts of defeat have taken root? I think this might effect us women more than men, generally speaking.

How have you had to exercise your faith this week? I have the same struggles. Paul did as well, but he was determined to keep the goal of continually pleasing Christ first because he was assured he would be rewarded eternally in heaven, as he stated in 2 Cor. 4:16-18, “These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us (The MSG).”

The ESV uses the word “courage” in 2 Corinthians 5:6 & 8. The  NIV and the HCSB both use the word “confidence.” Have you been able to perform courageously and confidently this week in modeling godliness? How about during times of conflict within your workplace or in other areas? That is a big one for me. Since you have the Holy Spirit living inside of you (1Cor. 1:22), you have a holy and high royal ranking. God gave us the Holy Spirit, our comforter, which is the guarantee of a down payment to our future inheritance. The presence of the Holy Spirit in Paul’s life gave him courage for the conflict, which gave him confidence that God was at work in him, and would continue His work (Phil. 1:6), so Paul did not lose heart. He viewed his final destination as his motivation to keep on keeping on and wanted to hear the Lord say to him , “Well done (Lk. 19:17)!”

Ask God for a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit within you, if you are wrestling with feelings of insecurity, or other struggles. Recite 2 Cor. 5:5-8 out loud and where you find the word “us” or “we” replace it with your name.

Stand up straight. Ask God to fight your battles. Always be of good courage. Walk by faith, not by sight, in every daily activity. God is preparing a mansion for you, and in heaven, there will be no cramped living conditions! Take courage and grab onto the security that God has redeemed you and knows your name (Isa. 43:1). Today you are one day closer to seeing the glory that will be revealed to us in heaven than it was yesterday.

God wants to show you things in His Word that will transform your life as you draw close to Him. Then you will automatically have the courage to walk by faith and not only by sight. Write down in your journal verses that will help you live out the specifics of your life. I want to share one with you that gave me “good courage” just this week, Isaiah 52:12, “For you shall not go out in haste, and you shall not go in flight, for the LORD will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard.”

What verse(s) have given you “good courage?” How have you been challenged this week? Break the chains, crushing every stronghold from being in God’s presence.

Listen on YouTube to Natalie Grant – My Weapon (Sacred Version) (Official Music Video). Let the words of this song sink into your heart, as it has spoken to me this week.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18, “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comprehension, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”

You know how it is when you are going through a trial, and you feel that it is going to last forever. You are stuck in the muck of the dilemma of the affliction of the consequence. Oz Hillman, who speaks and writes a daily devotional for Kingdom business leaders called “Today God Is First,” has termed this as having “a Joseph calling upon your life.” Joseph was 17 when his brothers threw him into a pit and then sold him to the Ismaelites, as a slave, who took him to Egypt. Then later Joseph was falsely accused of exploiting Potiphar’s wife and thrown into prison. But the LORD was with Joseph in each crisis. Genesis 39:23b states, “. . . because the LORD was with him. And whatever he did, the LORD made it succeed.” It wasn’t until Joseph was 30 years old that he rose to power as governor. Joseph’s preparation in the pit and in prison was used as the training ground for the perspective of God’s purpose and calling upon his life. It required the benefits of solitude and silence. Joseph had a forced Biblical retreat in that cell of confinement. His suffering time was necessary for him to learn what God needed to teach him as a future leader, chosen by God. In the end, Pharaoh recognized Joseph was a man “in whom is the Spirit of God (Gen. 41:48).”

It is always easier to quit and give up when conflicts occur in our relationships at work or with family. I look at Paul as an example of someone who relied on God and the Holy Spirit’s strength (Ephe. 3:16) when persecution wore him down because he believed that the trial would allow the power of God to be revealed.

Be aware that whenever you are fatigued, feeling overwhelmed, and are falling apart, that is when Satan will try to catch you unaware of his temptations in questioning and doubting your worth. Sometimes it comes in the form of criticism, pain, conflicts, and when you require more sleep. Does that ring a bell?

Paul quoted Psalm 116:10 in verse 13, “I speak that which I believe – that the Lord will raise us up, that all things will work out for his glory.” This same concept is in Hebrews 13:5&6, “. . . for he hath said I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.” I have to speak out loud to myself these words of truth that God is in control when I feel everything about me is out of control. God loves me and knows my name; therefore, He will never leave me and will work it out for His glory! It is a work that is not temporal, but for eternity and is doing some heavy work on me. Is God doing some heavy work on you right now?

How is God shining His light on you so others can see the reality of your faith?

Kind words, acts of kindness, giving wise advice are ways the Holy Spirit can shine His light through you to others. Those are simple, every day actions you can do in reflecting God’s mercy and grace in your own life.

Don’t quit. When you feel like you are at the end of your rope, you are not at the end of your hope. You have the power of God, the treasure of His Holy Spirit, living inside of you, and no one can take that away!

One final thought, from Chuck Swindoll, a quote from his book, “A Man Of Grit And Grace, Paul” – “God prepares us during times when the whole world seems to be going on without us. He patiently deliberately, steadily, molds us in the shadows, so that we might be properly prepared for later years when He chooses to use us in the spotlight.”

Be strong. Don’t give up and don’t quit. Pray for God to make you of benefit in the calling He has on your life and to astound you with His grace, power, and might.

Listen to For King & Country’s song on YouTube, Shoulders – Lyrics On Screen.