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2 Corinthians 10 Devotional – Day 1

ADORATION – Reflect on God’s Greatness

GOD IS THE LIFE GIVER  
All of life was and is created by God and is dependent on Him.

Acts 17:24-25 The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, 25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.

Genesis 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

Praise God – The Giver of Life
Praise God for the life he has given you. Praise God that he has given every person life. Praise God that he sustains all of life.

CONFESSION: Confess your sins to God and receive his continued mercy.

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9

THANKSGIVING: Giving thanks to God for his specific blessings in our lives.

“Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.” Psalm 100

SUPPLICATION: Bringing our requests to God.

  • Bring your personal prayer requests to God.
  • Pray for Sarah H. Ask God to use her as she serves overseas.
  • Ask God to speak to you as you read the scriptures.

SCRIPTURE READING:
2 Corinthians 10 New International Version

Paul’s Defense of His Ministry
By the humility and gentleness of Christ, I appeal to you—I, Paul, who am “timid” when face to face with you, but “bold” toward you when away! 2 I beg you that when I come I may not have to be as bold as I expect to be toward some people who think that we live by the standards of this world. 3 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 6 And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete.

7 You are judging by appearances. If anyone is confident that they belong to Christ, they should consider again that we belong to Christ just as much as they do. 8 So even if I boast somewhat freely about the authority the Lord gave us for building you up rather than tearing you down, I will not be ashamed of it. 9 I do not want to seem to be trying to frighten you with my letters. 10 For some say, “His letters are weighty and forceful, but in person he is unimpressive and his speaking amounts to nothing.” 11 Such people should realize that what we are in our letters when we are absent, we will be in our actions when we are present.

12 We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise. 13 We, however, will not boast beyond proper limits, but will confine our boasting to the sphere of service God himself has assigned to us, a sphere that also includes you. 14 We are not going too far in our boasting, as would be the case if we had not come to you, for we did get as far as you with the gospel of Christ. 15 Neither do we go beyond our limits by boasting of work done by others. Our hope is that, as your faith continues to grow, our sphere of activity among you will greatly expand, 16 so that we can preach the gospel in the regions beyond you. For we do not want to boast about work already done in someone else’s territory. 17 But, “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.” 18 For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.

New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

SCRIPTURE REFLECTION:

There is a spiritual battle going on. One of Satan’s tactics is to distract and divert our attention away from the battle. The battle is real and the battle is raging whether we are aware of the battle or not. Paul told the Corinthians that he, and we as believers, do not wage war in this battle as the world does. Our weapons have divine power because they are the weapons that God has ordained for us to use. Worldly weapons do have power as well but they do not have divine power. Worldly weapons are things like manipulation or slander. Paul definitely experienced people slandering him. The slander he experienced caused him pain, but the slander did not deter him from being faithful to God’s call. The divine weapons God has ordained according to Ephesians 6 are truth, righteousness, the peace of the gospel, faith, and the word of God. What is the primary battle ground for this battle? It is our mind. Paul instructs in verse 5 of chapter 10 to “take captive every thought and make it submit to Christ.” There is a battle. We are called to fight. We have God ordained weapons and the battle is often a battle of our thoughts. Have you been lulled to sleep? Are you aware that there is a battle? Will you engage with the battle? You can engage today by examining your thoughts. Do not let your mind rest on ideas about God or others that are not true. Continue to think and believe that things that are right about God and others. Believe that God has given you divine power to fight. Believe that others are made in God’s image. You don’t need to compare yourself to others or prove yourself to others. You don’t need to fight the battle with the worldly weapons of manipulation and slander. Rest today in the reality that God has given you what you need and take up the weapons he’s given you and fight today.

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