“God loves people who love to give.” In our culture people often try to motivate us by pointing out the tax benefits of giving. The New Testament perspective is quite different.
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Read, Reflect, Respond
Articles posted by Rob Longley
A Jesus Attitude
In this passage Paul finds it necessary to explain his behaviour to the Corinthians, and because they seem to have certain expectations of him he is explaining his “bragging rights.” He is determined to act in the way Jesus would have done.
Meekness is not weakness. Far from it. It is a deliberate determination not to act in an aggressive or sinful way.
Read MoreKnowing Truth
In the movie The Passion of Christ, Pontius Pilate asks his wife: “What is truth, Claudia? Do you hear it, recognize it when it is spoken?” We live in a day and age where there is a whole range of differing beliefs about God, scripture, and other spiritual matters. Things really don’t change that much, do they? In this chapter, Paul is confronted with a church that has been led astray by false teachings.
Read MoreJesus Our Strength
We all go through hard times. What we choose to focus on will make a difference as to how we come through it. I have heard too many stories about people who have gone through terrible ordeals, and they choose to not forgive and stay bitter.
Read MoreGod’s Grace, God’s Strength
Have you ever been in a situation where the Lord has done something significant in you, through you or revealed something to you? What did you do? Did you keep it to yourself or did you tell others about it? My first reaction is to tell others what happened. I often lack wisdom at times like this.
Read MoreBe Prepared
Paul is writing to the Corinthians about coming to make sure they are being truly faithful to Jesus. He urges them to evaluate themselves before he gets there. He wants them not to sin so that when he comes he does not have to be hard on them. Finally, he prays for their restoration (v 9).
Read MoreA Shining Light
In today’s reading we get a glimpse of what Paul’s missionary life was like. He has just left a riot in Ephesus, caused because his message of Christ was bad for the silver-smiths’ idol business. Only his Christian friends prevented him from being lynched by the mob.
Read MoreA Firm Foundation
We have no record of who founded the church in Rome. But Jews from Rome were present at Pentecost, and may well have returned with the gospel. By the time Paul wrote this letter to the Romans the Jews had been forced out of Rome by the emperor Claudius, and the church no longer had its founding teachers to lead them.
Read MoreEncouraging Faith
When I read this I’m overawed by the faithfulness of Paul in his prayers. The Christians there had not come to faith through Paul, and he had not met most of them. Yet he never stopped praying for them.
How often do we allow the pressures of life to become an excuse for our lack of prayer?
Read MoreJesus our Righteousness
When the risen Christ confronted Saul/Paul on the Damascus road, Paul’s whole life was radically changed. He turned from flushing out Christians in Damascus to kill them, to joining with them in worshipping their God whom he now knew. He turned from hate and rage to love and peace.
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