2 Corinthians – SeekGrowLove.com

When people find out what I do for a living (Funeral Director/Embalmer and Deputy Coroner) they usually respond with some variation of the following: “I don’t know how you do it”. “How do you get used to it?” Or “I don’t think I could do your job.” I have never known quite how to respond to those statements. Saying “Oh, I think you could”, doesn’t seem quite right. Neither does “You’re probably right about that.”

I’ve decided that I’m going to start asking what part of my job, specifically, they think they would not be able to handle. If they mean they don’t know how I get used to the smells, my answer would truthfully be “I don’t”… It’s a tough part of the job. My tongue-in-cheek answer would be “Mouth breathing and repeated formaldehyde exposure have helped.” (I think I’ve partially embalmed my olfactory over the years of inhalation of embalming chemical fumes). If they mean they don’t know how I can be a comforting presence when people are grieving, I have an answer for that too. It is because God has comforted me.

In 2 Corinthians Chapter 1, Paul writes:

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” (verses 3&4)

When I was 7 years old my infant brother, Zachary, died a few short hours after birth. He was born with a hernia of his diaphragm. I never got to see him alive. I never got to hold him. We had a place ready for him at our house, but we never got to bring him home from the hospital. Despite what people said, I knew he certainly didn’t get to go to “a better place”. The first and only time I ever saw him was in a tiny casket in the back of the Oregon Church of God. Pastors Hollis Partlowe, and a new young minister at the church by the name of Michael Hoffman, co-officiated my brother’s funeral. Pastor David Cheatwood of the Blessed Hope Bible Church also counseled and comforted our family in the years that followed.

God, through the ministry of these three Pastors, my Sunday school teachers and several other faithful brothers and sisters in our church like Alan and Darlene Shaw, Dave and Bertha Hixon and Rita Gillette comforted me. Through that experience, I learned the fullness of the gospel. I learned that the gospel was not merely that there was a perfect man who lived 2000 years ago who was falsely accused and died on a cross. The gospel is that, that man, CHRIST JESUS, only needed to borrow a tomb for a few days. The gospel is, that I will have an opportunity to see my brother Zachary alive someday and walk with him on streets made of gold!

In mortuary school I learned a lot about caskets. I learned a lot about how they are made and the proper terminology for each of their different parts. We had to be able to identify and differentiate between the “ogee” and the “overlay”. We had to be able to explain why a person may want or not want a casket with a gasket. (Every time I say that, it reminds me of the Dr. Seuss book “Wocket in my Pocket.”). It would all be very depressing If I didn’t know that in the end, a casket is just a time capsule to be opened at the ribbon cutting of the new Jerusalem. I picture graves bursting open right before the wedding supper of the lamb. When I get a person dressed and placed in their casket, I’m really helping one of the wedding guests get their socks on for the party!

In this same Chapter Paul also writes “we do not write you anything you cannot read or understand.” Sometimes we just need to think about that. If our message is something that cannot be understood, it just might not be Biblical.

God created perfect people in a perfect garden on a perfect earth. Sin caused those people to be cast out of the Garden and they lost access to the tree of life. Therefore we all die. We all need to consider casket gaskets.

The entire Bible lays out plainly God’s plan to restore the perfection of his original creation and our access to Him and his tree of life. The good news is just as Jesus arose from the grave, no casket on the market will be able to hold us when the last trumpet sounds. We shall rise.

That is how I am able to do what I do. Next time you have to make funeral arrangements ask your funeral director about their long term lease programs on caskets. We won’t be needing them forever!

-Brian Froehlich

Application Questions

When you think of the word “comfort” what comes to mind?
What brings you comfort in times of stress?
What are some jobs you would not want or could not do?

We know we won’t be needing our caskets forever. If we could lease one until Resurrection day, how long do you think we would need it?
Are you living like you are expecting the imminent return of Christ? What would you do differently today if you knew the date of his return?

2022 SeekGrowLove Bible Reading Plan Download

What’s That Smell?

Wednesday, August 4th, 2021

Job 1-2, 2 Corinthians 2

My husband is a great cook, but he takes a long time to prepare his meals. On the nights when he is in charge of dinner, I wait patiently for him to chop all of the vegetables, season the meat, and get something sizzling over the stove. After 30 minutes (or a few hours), I finally know that dinner is ready when I get a whiff of something that smells delicious. That smell draws me into the kitchen; it’s enticing and promises a great meal.

In today’s reading, we read a little bit more about Paul’s testimony. He explains some of the trials that he has faced in his ministry, some of which are difficult and bring him to tears. At the end of 2 Corinthians 2, Paul begins to turn his focus on the way the Corinthians are living. And the question he asks is one that is a little strange, “What do you smell like?”

At home, I get to smell the delicious smell of my husband’s cooking. But, at work, the smells are not so pleasant. Middle School boys back from PE hang out in a cramped classroom, where Axe Body Spray mixes with some pretty rank BO. Sometimes the students can’t take it anymore and they say, “Mrs. Fletcher, I need some Febreeze in here, because it STINKS!” So, obviously I get to smell the best of smells and some of the worst of smells. Smells that bring me joy and lead to life and smells that make me die a little inside.

So let’s go back to Paul’s question – “What do you smell like?” He’s not talking about smelling nice like you are about to go on a date to a nice restaurant. Or smelling bad like a middle schooler back from Field Day. He’s talking about the way that our ‘fragrance’ – our way of living – shows Christ to other people.

In 2 Corinthians 2:14-17, “14 But thanks be to God, who always puts us on display in Christ and through us spreads the aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. 15 For to God we are the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. 16 To some we are an aroma of death leading to death, but to others, an aroma of life leading to life. And who is competent for this? 17 For we are not like the many who market God’s message for profit. On the contrary, we speak with sincerity in Christ, as from God and before God.”
Paul here is saying that we are the fragrance that points people to who Christ is. Through us just being in people’s lives, we should leave behind a scent of Christ. This scent can encourage others to know Christ more – an “aroma of life leading to life” – or it can convict others who refuse to follow Christ – “an aroma of death leading to death.” Our testimony points others to Christ. People are watching, and they are judging the Christian faith based on how you are living. So, I’ll ask you the same question: What do you smell like?

~ Cayce Fletcher

Read or listen to today’s Bible reading at Biblegateway.com: Job 1-2 and 2 Corinthians 2 .

download the seekgrowlove 2021 Bible reading plan

Our Testimony

Tuesday, August 3rd, 2021

Esther 9-10, 2 Corinthians 1

So far this week, we’ve seen how we need to live in light of our ‘why’ – or our purpose for living. Our why should be the gospel. We’ve also seen how we can live in light of our final victory. Jesus has already won the war, so we can face our battles with strength and determination. As Paul begins 2 Corinthians, we see him turn his focus onto another important element of our Christian walk – our testimony.

The word testimony means “evidence or proof provided by the existence or appearance of something.” When we think of a testimony, we may imagine someone getting up in court and attesting to what they believe happened in a situation. Testimonies are important and can be used as evidence in serious cases. If a testimony is given in court, that can make the difference between whether or not justice is served.

In our Christian walk, we also give a testimony. Our testimony is the evidence of Christ’s work in our lives. It is our account of how the gospel has changed us. Sometimes our testimony may look like it does on true crime documentaries. We get up in front of our church or small group and recount in 1-5 minutes how we came to know Jesus and what he has done for us. Our testimony however is much more than a short speech. Our testimony is our whole lives.

In 2 Corinthians 1, Paul gives his own personal testimony of issues that he had previously in his missionary journey. At one point in their travels, they had even despaired of living because things had gotten so bad. But Paul reminds himself and the Corinthians of his hope. He says,

9 Indeed, we personally had a death sentence within ourselves, so that we would not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead. 10 He has delivered us from such a terrible death, and He will deliver us. We have put our hope in Him that He will deliver us again 11 while you join in helping us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gift that came to us through the prayers of many.” (2 Corinthians 1:9-11)

Even in the midst of his trouble, Paul reminds himself of what God has done for him in his life. He knows that God has already delivered him, and so, he can trust that God will deliver him again. This truth helps to strengthen Paul’s own faith when faced with a difficult circumstance. It also becomes an amazing testimony for the church as a whole. The Corinthians can see how Paul handles this time of trials, and they can live with the same mindset in their own lives.

Our testimony can be based on the past times that God has been faithful to us, but our testimony also includes how we treat others. In verse 12, Paul goes on, “12 For this is our confidence: The testimony of our conscience is that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially toward you, with God-given sincerity and purity, not by fleshly wisdom but by God’s grace.” The way we treat other people is also a part of our testimony. If we treat others well – with God-given sincerity and purity, we will testify, or show evidence, that the gospel makes us better people. It makes us a people full of love and grace. Our actions can testify for God or they can testify against God. It depends on how we live.

What is your testimony?

~ Cayce Fletcher

Read or listen to today’s Bible reading at Biblegateway.com: Job 1-2 and 2 Corinthians 2 .

download the seekgrowlove 2021 Bible reading plan

Who Are You?

Monday –

2 cor 5 17 sunrise

Do you ever feel like who you are is not really who you are? Or maybe that you know you could be a better/different version of yourself, but aren’t sure how to find that person?

You know, all of us carry labels of some sort. Maybe you’re the funny guy, or the smart girl, or the troublemaker. Sometimes we may not feel like we totally deserve our label. Like, maybe people see you as argumentative, but that’s not how you see yourself. The fact is, right or wrong, we are all labeled in some way by those around us.

So…what’s your label?

Don’t pretend it doesn’t exist. What is it? How would people around you describe you? What are you known for?

Got it in your mind?

Now think this: What’s true about me now, doesn’t have to be true about me forever.

Our goal is not to reinvent ourselves by trying to be some perfect person. It’s to uncover our true self as God created us.

Have you ever thought about that? When God created you, he had the BEST version of you in mind.

And that is the version we need to be striving to become. The best version of ourselves.

2 Corinthians 5:17 says that “if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”

We’re going to be looking this week at how we go about becoming who God says we are, who He had in mind when he created us. So for today, remind yourself again that what is true about you now, doesn’t have to be true about you forever. You can be a new creation!

Sneak Peek at tomorrow’s devotion: Try to find examples in Scripture of times when God gave someone a new name. Why do you think he did that?

-Susan Landry

Power in Weakness

2 Corinthians 11-13

if-i-must-boast-i-will-boast-of-the-things-that-show-my-weakness-esv9891

Sunday, June 25

Have you ever felt on top of the world because everything was going your way and there wasn’t a problem in sight? I felt like this quite a bit when I was younger because all of my needs were met and I just didn’t have very many hardships. Life seemed easy. I have fond memories of my youth and I thank God for the way he blessed me back then. However, when times are good, it is easy to forget that we still need to rely on God. When all of our needs are met without even thinking about them, it is easy to lose track of who is taking care of those needs for us. When life is sailing smoothly, it is hard to remember how much we need God because we think we can take care of ourselves.

I’m sure some of you can relate to this, but there are probably many others that grew up with much more difficult lives than I had. I can also say that real problems did eventually find me and life doesn’t seem nearly as easy as it used to be. I don’t think God causes all of the problems in my life, but he obviously allows the difficulties to occur. Why does God allow bad things to happen to good people? Have you ever wondered why God would let you get a bad cold right before a big exam? Why would He let you get in a car accident and break a leg? Why would He let you lose your job when He knows you have a family to feed? Why would he let someone steal your phone? Why would he let your house burn down? It is easy to question how much God cares about you when your life is full of problems.

Paul could have definitely questioned if God was on his side or not. In 2 Corinthians 11 Paul listed his hardships: imprisonments, beaten times without number, often in danger of death, received 39 lashes from the Jews five times, beaten three times with rods, stoned once, shipwrecked three times, a night and day he spent in the deep, frequent journeys in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from his countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren, labor and hardship, many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure, and the daily pressure on him of concern for all of the churches. Why would God allow Paul’s life to be so ridiculously difficult??? This is Paul we are talking about here! He was an extremely important piece in God’s plan to spread the gospel, yet God let all of these bad things happen to him.

Paul was also given a thorn in his flesh to keep him from exalting himself. He prayed three times to have it removed, but the answer to his prayers was probably not what he expected. In 2 Corinthians 12:9, the Lord said to him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Paul responded by saying he would rather boast about his weaknesses so that the power of Christ would dwell in him. He actually said he was content with weaknesses, insults, distresses, persecutions, and difficulties for Christ’s sake because when he was weak, he was strong. This seems to make no sense at all, until you dig a little deeper.

When life is good, we tend to depend on ourselves more. When life gets tough, we realize we aren’t as capable as we thought. When life gets really tough, we can give up and throw ourselves a pity party or we can reach out to the most powerful being in the universe and ask Him for grace and a whole lot of power. Remember, “Power is perfected in weakness.” However, we need to come to the realization that the power is not our own power; it is POWER from God. So be content in your weaknesses and all of the difficulties life will throw at you like Paul was so you can experience what true power feels like. Ask God to fill you with His power and you will see that none of your problems are too big for God to handle. Power can be perfected during the tough times you are experiencing.

-Rick McClain

(Photo Credit: https://www.primobibleverses.com/topic/II%20Corinthians%2011)

How Generous Are You?

2 Corinthians 8-10

2corinthians-9-15-asv-preview

Saturday, June 24

The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 2 Corinthians 9:6

Paul has been talking about a collection of money that the Corinthians had promised to gather and prepare for the poor believers in Jerusalem, and he has sent certain brothers to come retrieve it and bring it to Judea (9:3-5). The collection was to be a free-will offering of monetary gifts for a relief aid to subsidize the needs of the saints in Jerusalem who were suffering.

To put his point bluntly, Paul uses an agricultural metaphor to convey the principle he desires his readers to understand. If little is sown, little will be reaped. If much is sown, much will be reaped. Now what is Paul teaching here. Is it that giving away a little money will result in you getting little money in life. Or giving away much money will result in receiving much money. Not at all. While Paul is openly encouraging the Corinthians to give of their abundance to help the needy believers in Jerusalem, his axiomatic metaphor is intended to set the premise that whoever does not want to give should not expect to receive, but whoever is generous should expect to receive generously. It is a simply matter of reciprocity that Paul is getting at.

According to the wisdom of Proverbs, the person who is willing to give will prosper and do well, and the person who is stingy and selfish will end up falling into poverty.

Proverbs 11:24

One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want.

Proverbial wisdom is designed to demonstrate a general principle or prescribed attitude that its readers would do well to adopt. It should not be viewed as enforcing a formulaic approach to life. Even Jesus taught that “it is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). The choice for the free-will act of financial giving will result in blessings and provisions in your life. James also employs this principle of sowing and reaping when he says, “And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace” (Jas. 3:18).

If we think that our giving of time, energy, or money is simply that—time, energy, and money—we will miss the way that God will turn that generosity back upon in like measure but perhaps in a different form than we think it might look. And also, often times in even exceeding degrees than the level of our demonstration of love in giving.

Be generous and give willingly and cheerfully, and trust that God will continue to provide your needs and bless you for your generous heart.

Proverbs 22:9

Whoever has a generous eye will be blessed, for he shares his bread with the poor.

-Jerry Wierwille

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Living for the One who Died for your Sake

2 Corinthians 5-7

verse-of-the-day (2)

Friday, June 23

For the love of Christ compels us, because we have concluded this: that one 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. 2 Corinthians 5:14-15

Has anyone ever done something really nice for you and you then feel like you just want to do something nice in return for that person? That is how Paul views the love of Christ. Elsewhere, Paul declares that “for one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die” (Rom. 5:7). Christ exemplified God’s selfless love in that he gave his life for us when we were nothing but unworthy sinners. We were not good people, or righteous people. We were sinners. But in spite of our rebellion and sin, Christ gave his life for us, and through that demonstration of love, we have been united with Christ in his resurrection and have new life inside us. Christ’s act of love and grace changed everything in Paul’s world, and it does in ours too.

Is the new life we have not the kindness and most generous thing anyone has ever done? Christ died for everyone so that everyone might have the chance to have true life in him. Therefore, for those who have put their trust in Christ and have received new life, the question becomes, “How should we respond to that act of kindness and love?” Do we feel like we want to do something nice in return? If we have the natural response to return kindness to our fellow neighbor for such a small favor of finite value, how much more should our response be to one who has shown the greatest kindness the world has ever seen?

Paul says that “the love of Christ compels us” (v. 14). He finds the rationale for this attitude in the fact that Christ’s gift of sacrificing himself on the cross is so moving and profound that it causes him to respond in humility and service to the Lord. Christ’s love is so deep and awe-inspiring that Paul describes it as a force that urges him to continue in his ministry and to live for the sake of Christ rather than his own self. The word translated “compels” means “to be pressing in” or “to constrain.” In Paul’s mind, he has “concluded” or “become so convinced” of the love that Jesus has shown him in his death that it has now become the controlling force that influences every single choice he makes in life.

What would make you not live for yourself but for someone else? Would someone dying in your place compel you to change your life? How do you repay someone who is responsible for saving you, for pulling you out of the death that so pervades the world and giving you a hope of a future and a joy and peace in your heart that exceeds anything the world can offer?

What is your response to such an act of love? Would you give up your selfish desires in response to that love? Would you live a life that glorifies and honors someone else and settle for being hated by the world? If Christ’s love compels you, ask in prayer how you should respond to the love of the savior? You might just find the most fulfilled life you never thought possible—living for the one who died for your sake.

-Jerry Wierwille

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Is it Eternal or Eternally Useless?

2 Corinthians 1-4

All+that+is+not+eternal,+is+eternally+useless.

Thursday, June 22

For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 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. 2 Corinthians 4:17-18

Each day is a new day to live, work, and accomplish new things. Everyone has goals and ambitions for what they would like to do and achieve. But it is important to remember that all our earthy success and money and goods are not long-lasting—they are not eternal. As C. S. Lewis remarked, “All that is not eternal is eternally useless.” Now, is it true that money and goods and other physical things are completely “useless” in all respects? No, not exactly. But what Lewis is getting at is that when it comes down to what really matters—only eternity matters. And as such, only those things which will last for eternity are of any true significance.

Paul exhorts his readers to realize that everything we suffer and go through in this life is just the precursor to the beautiful glory that is to come. There is a glory that is “beyond all comparison” waiting for God’s people. Everything that is in this world is perishable and will be destroyed one day when a new heavens and earth will be formed in its place (2 Pet 3:11-13). And the glorious, resurrection bodies and heavenly city of Jerusalem that God has prepared for his people surpasses any imagination of such glory that we could ever have (Phil 3:21; Rev 21:10-11).
But while on this earth during the present age, what do we get from all the hard work we labor in? The author of Ecclesiastes has a rather pessimistic outlook on all the hard work of life.

Ecclesiastes 5:15-16

As he came from his mother’s womb he shall go again, naked as he came, and shall take nothing for his toil that he may carry away in his hand. This also is a grievous evil: just as he came, so shall he go, and what gain is there to him who toils for the wind?

What do we get for all our “toils”? Ultimately….nothing! It would be a terrible mistake to make prosperity, success, or fame the goal to which you set you eyes in life. These things have no eternal value, everything we have earned and accomplished in this life will come to nothing in the coming age. 1 John 2:17 says, “And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.”

The popular slogan, “Live for Today!” has both truth and error in it. While we don’t want our mind to be anxious and preoccupied about tomorrow that we forget to live in the moment and enjoy what is happening in our lives “now,” the problem is if all a person ever does is live for the “here and now.” Life is ultimately not about the “here and now” but about the destination of where everything is going. If we never raise our eyes to the horizon, then we will never gain an eternal perspective on life and understand the final objective to everything in life.

We must work and live in this world, but that is only what we are doing now. Life is not only about “now” but also about “then.” And “then” is what is truly important and eternal. So while we “toil” in this life, let us keep our eyes on the horizon and realize what actually is the true meaning of life. It is not what we see, but what we do not see. The unseen is eternal. If we live by faith, and not by sight, we will come to know the everlasting glory that is beyond all compare to anything in this world. Look to the things that are unseen and the spiritual reality of the life we have in Christ, awaiting the “riches of the glorious inheritance in the saints” (Eph 1:18).

-Jerry Wierwille

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Tag: 2 Corinthians

How I Do It