The Source Of Our Comfort

– Second Corinthians One –

 

   Second Corinthians chapter one gives us a look at how God had helped Paul through some very difficult struggles. This chapter provides a contrast between our troubles and God's goodness. Prayerful thanksgiving is needed in our heart as we appreciate the working of God in the various situations in our life. Our only reason for boasting is what God has done for us. Timothy joined in sending this letter to Corinth and Achaia.

 

   Paul told the brethren that their prayers were instrumental in delivering him in Asia. This is likely a reference to the events in connection with the goddess Diana found in Acts 19:23-41. Paul wanted the brethren to understand the integrity with which he and his fellow laborers had approached the work of God. Paul had changed his plans about a visit and evidently some there were questioning his sincerity. He explained carefully why these changes of plans were necessary. He said his change of plans was an effort to spare them. He did not desire any dominion over them. His desire was to share joy and not sorrow with them.  

 

   God comforts His people – 2 Corinthians 1:1-6: Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, and his co-worker  Timothy  joined  together in  sending  this epistle. They wrote to God's church in Corinth and to all of God's people in Achaia. This letter was actually the result of Paul's first letter. It provided much comfort and some correction to the church. We must never forget the meaning of the expression "the church." According to the Bible there is one church and the pattern for this church is laid out in the New Testament. Paul prayed that God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ would bless these brethren with peace. 

 

   God was described as "the God of all comfort." (2 Corinthians 1:3) God the Father is a merciful God, who always gives His people comfort. The nature of God is seen along with His character. The Father and the Son cannot be the same person. God is declared to be the Father of Christ. So the "Jesus Only" idea many is simply not true. There is Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

 

   Many Christians have faced sever persecution. However, God comforts His people when they are in trouble. He does that so that they might share that same comfort with others when they are in trouble. These brethren shared both in the horrible sufferings of Christ and in the amazing comfort given by God.  Paul found hope and strength in suffering. The assurance that Paul could find consolation in spite of his suffering would result in consolation for the Corinthian brethren. They could know that they would be comforted and saved even in troubled times.

                                                                                                  

God will deliver us – 2 Corinthians 1:7-11: Paul was not disappointed in the spiritual strength of the Corinthian brethren. They had remained steadfast in much suffering and he wanted them to have the assurance that the comfort of God would be theirs. After receiving the first letter from Paul these brethren had worked to correct the problems that were in the church there. Now they are encouraged to continue faithful even in spite of great tribulations that would come upon them. Paul reminded them of how God had delivered him and others out of sufferings that were so unbearable that death seemed certain. God delivered him and He would deliver these brethren also.

 

   Paul had feared death. Things did not turn out that way. God saved Him from the threat of death. This gave Paul a renewed faith in the power of God. He knew that God would do that again and again. We should take heart in the truth that God will deliver us from those things that threaten us. Paul saw the value of prayer when facing trials. He asked the brethren to pray for him to stay strong in the face of trials. This would encourage many others to thank God for blessing of answered prayers.

 

    Paul's Change of Plans – 2 Corinthians 1:12-18: Paul could rejoice because he had a clear conscience. He lived a simple, honest life with godly sincerity. His desire in all things was to be controlled by the will of God. Paul wanted to live godly before people of the world and especially before the Corinthian brethren where he had worked so hard. He wrote to the brethren concerning these things in a very simple and understandable way. He hoped they would read and understand completely what he had written. The reaction of the brethren to Paul's first letter showed that they had largely understood and accepted his message as truth.

 

   The confidence that Paul felt in these brethren had to do with the fact that he knew they would and had accepted the truth that he had previously written to them. He felt he could be even more helpful to them in imparting spiritual gifts if he was able to make two visits instead of only one. The two visits Paul had hoped to make included a brief stop at Corinth on his way to Macedonia and then a longer visit on his return. He would then go to Judea and he hoped that these brethren might help him on his way. Paul did not want these brethren to think that he was fickled because he did not follow through on these plans. He was neither flighty nor was he trying to please men. Paul wanted the brethren to understand that God can be trusted to keep His promises and so can he.

 

   A desire to spare them – 2 Corinthians 1:19-24: The promises of Jesus and His commandments left no doubt. Therefore, those that preach Him cannot mani­fest a fickle spirit in their preaching either. Jesus, the Son, is to be accepted as reliable because He is working in harmony with God, the Father. God's promises are backed by the authority of heaven. Each command and promise from heaven is related to God's glory. Paul told the Corinthians, "God makes it possible for you and us to stand firmly together with Christ." Paul gave God credit for what was done at Corinth. It was also God that had anointed them with the miraculous spiritual gifts. Paul said that, "God put His Spirit in our hearts to show that we belong only to Him." God gave the Holy Spirit as an earnest or guarantee of the promised inheritance of the faithful.

 

   Paul called God as a witness to affirm that he had stayed away from Corinth to keep from being to hard on them. He had changed his plans about an earlier visit to Corinth. This would allow them more time for study of the first epistle and more opportunity to make the necessary corrections to be right with God. If these things were not corrected the congregation would face severe chastisement. Paul was not a tyrant over the faith of these brethren but he would insist on these brethren changing their conduct to conform to the will of God.

 

   Will you appreciate Jesus enough that you will receive Him as your Lord and Savior NOW? To become a Christian you must hear the gospel (Romans 10:17), believe in Jesus (John 8:24), repent of sins (Acts 17:30), confess Christ as Lord (Acts 8:37), and be baptized to be saved. (1 Peter 3:21). After baptism be spiritual in your daily living!      

                         ---- Charles Box 

News & Notes

 

1. Prayer List: Jackson Hospital: Colby Boutwell, Georgiana Hospital: Curtis Newton, Shirley O’Connor (brother & mother of Vickie Clark), East Alabama Medical Center: Deane Autrey (1236 Grove Park, Auburn, AL 36830 – 334-826-8647). In Need Of Prayers: Jimmy Allen, Barbara Bennett, Mae Beverly, Brenda Burkett, Quentin Crowe, Birdie Lee Godwin, Roy Goodwin, Hannah Hanks, Montine Hardin, Evan Hartsell, Linda Holley, Mary Lawrence, Patrick Lucas, Jeremy McGill, Gary Moore, Jo Ann Moorer, Kenneth Munro, Mary Powell, James Reynolds, Bobby Shields, Austin Shows, Joe Smith, Leroy Waller, Richard Watts, Johnnie Wesley, and Mary Williams. Crowne Health Care: Mary Alexander, Gladys Childs, Kathy Johnson, Wallace Murry, and Myrtle Perdue. Pine Needle: Mary Lou Phelps. Homewood of Greenville: Marie Walton. Georgiana Nursing Facility: Helen Autrey, and Doris Pierce. Shut-Ins: Emma Lee Gafford, Jean Hayes, and Doris Taylor.

 

2. Baptized Into Christ: Michael Copley was baptized into Christ Tuesday.  His address is 6568 Halso Mill Road, Greenville, Alabama 36037, Phone 383-0701, and Birthday September 6^th.

 

3. Sympathy Expressed: Our love and sympathy is expressed to (a) Lorene Beverly and Leroy Waller their families in the death of their aunt, Iva Lou Wright, (b) Bill Ward and his family in the death of his mother, Alma Ward. Sister Alma is the sister-in-law of Tete Stabler, (c) Kyle and Sue Arnold and their family in the death of Sue’s mother, Bay Roberson, and (d) Jerry Thomas and his family in the death of his wife, Rhonda. Rhonda is the sister-in-law of Jeff Thomas.

 

4. Please Pray For: The following people are serving in Iraq or Afghanistan: Taylor Bodie, Todd Till, Paul Fullington, Ben Newton, and Joe Barrett. Pray for them often!

 

5. Jason Godwin back to Iraq: Please begin now praying for Jason as he will return to Iraq soon. Pray that the war will soon be over.

 

6. Birthdays: Celebrating birthdays this week are: February 10^th Cage Harrell, February 11^th Jerri Davis, February 13^th Anderson Bagents, February 15^th Nell Davis and, February 16^th Lora Gail Bagents.

 

7. Thank You: Dear Walnut Street Church Family, I would like to say thanks for your love and concern shown to me during my surgery. A special thanks to those who were there with my family, your phone calls, food, cards, plant and most of all your prayers were deeply appreciated. In Christian Love, Donald Davis

 

8. A Great Work: On Thursday, February 8, 2008 about a ton of food and supplies were delivered to Childhaven. You contributed $1,579.00 to make this possible. Thanks to Stacey Harrell for the use of a trailer to deliver the goods and to Philip Pierce for helping to deliver the supplies and for the use of his truck to deliver them. You do many good things. God bless you for all you do.

 

9. Visit Our Website: The website address is: http:\\www.walnutstreetchurchofchrist.org. There are many past issues of the Reporter available on the site. Many articles are also available. Use the site and share it with others.

 

10. Put These Dates On Your Calendar: (a) February 10th-13th – Gospel Meeting – Liberty Church of Christ – Speaker James Watkins – Time nightly 7:00 p.m. & Sunday Bible Class 9:00 a.m. and Worship 10:00 a.m. (b) February 16th – Ladies Day – Century Church of Christ – Theme: “Joy Deep in My Heart” – Speaker: Becky Blackmon – Time: 9:00 a.m., (c) February 22nd – 24th – Yes Weekend 2008 – Forrest Park Church of Christ Valdosta, Georgia, (d) March 30th – April 3rd – Memphis School of Preaching Lectures – Theme: “Strengthening The Heart”, (e) June 22nd-26th – Vacation Bible School – Walnut Street Church of Christ, and (f) July 6th-13th – Backwoods Christian Camp – Please participate! Please see Darrell Powell or Charles Box if you are interested in participating, either as a camper or a counselor.

 

11. Ladies Bible Class: The Wednesday morning Ladies Bible class invites all ladies to participate in the class. The class meets at 10 am. 

 

It’s A Hard Knocks Life

(For The Wicked)

 

    So many times I have stated, and heard other preacher’s state, that the Christian life is not always the easiest. There is a valid reason for this practice…Jesus told us that we must each choose between the wide, easy way (life of sin) that leads to destruction, and the narrow, difficult way (path of righteousness) that leads to life. Truly there will be “few who find” that difficult path that leads to everlasting life. There are things, such as self sacrifice, that make the Christian’s life somewhat difficult, but today let’s focus on the difficulties of a sinful life.

 

   A “proof text” for this idea could be Proverbs 13:15, which states: “Good understanding giveth favor; But the way of the transgressor is hard (Proverbs 13:15). In one of my classes at the local jail in Greenville, the inmates and I spent several minutes listing any sins we could think of. After each newly mentioned sin, we stopped and listed all the ways that each sin could make our lives harder. For every single one, we were able to come up with multiple negative consequences.

 

   Another proverb reads, “Disaster pursues sinners, but the righteous are rewarded with good (Proverbs 13:21). It is disastrous when adultery enters the sanctity of marriage. It is disastrous when men and women begin even casual use of alcohol or drugs.  It is disastrous when people lie to those around them. We can follow these and all other sins to their logical ends and we will find disaster most every time.   “But the righteous are rewarded with good.”

 

   If disaster is pursuing you because of your “treacherous” (ESV) ways, there is a Biblical “escape plan” in place for you. “Submit yourselves therefore to God.  Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you (James 4:7-8). When you resist the temptations of sin and turn to God, the devil turns and runs, while God draws nearer to you. The path that leads to life is narrow and difficult, but the one who travels that path diligently will reach a glorious, eternal reward (John 14:1-4).

 

- - - - Darrell Powell

 

 

Don’t just own a Bible; read it!

 

Walnut Street Church of Christ

P.O. Box 551

Greenville, Alabama 36037-0551

(334-382-3001)