“For even if I made you grieve with my letter, I do not regret it—though I did regret it, for I see that that letter grieved you, though only for a while. As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us.” – 2 Corinthians 7:8-9

If the only messages you take away from the Bible about yourself are positive, encouraging, and affirming about what you think, say, and do, you need to read more carefully!!!

The Word of God is clear – God loves us and gave His only Son to redeem us. All who trust in Christ are adopted and made new in Him. However, God calls us to constantly change to become ever more like Jesus.

God and His Word regularly confront us with the residual sin in our hearts, minds, thoughts, words, and actions. He reveals the way our attitudes, priorities, and actions stray from God’s heart and will. His Word should regularly convict us of the many ways we sin and fall short of God’s glory. The purpose of all this isn’t to crush us, but to lift us up by transforming us. God’s Word and the loving correction and rebuke delivered by His people should regularly wound us in order to heal us. These wounds bring about godly grief, sorrow, and holy repentance. These are God’s holy surgeries and medications for the sin sickness that remains within us. We should rejoice in this, not avoid it. If we seldom experience it, then we need to change our approach to reading and studying God’s Word and fellowshipping with His people!

“Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” – 2 Corinthians 5:20

If you’re a Christian, THIS is who you are: an ambassador for Christ, placed where God has placed you (home, school, work, family, friends, community, nation) to represent Jesus and relay His message to be reconciled to God through faith in Jesus Christ.

If you’re a Christian, then you are NOT an ambassador for your earthly nation. Of course you may love your nation, but your true citizenship is in Heaven. You represent the Kingdom of God and must conduct yourself accordingly at all times and in all places. There is never a time and place you aren’t representing God’s Kingdom!

If you’re a Christian, then you are NOT an ambassador for your political party. Of course you may have a preferred party, but Christ transcends earthly parties. You represent the One True King. He has positions on every political topic and there is no single party on earth that accurately upholds all of those positions in both action and attitude.

If you’re a Christian, then you are NOT an ambassador for your preferred philosophy or ideology. We don’t get to choose our message or “improve” the one we’ve been given. We relay the Gospel of Jesus Christ and teach the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.

You are a royal ambassador. This is a sacred trust. Fulfill this responsibility well and NEVER forget Who you represent at all times!

“For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” – 2 Corinthians 5:1

Good news: this life, this world, this body is not all there is!!! The tent that Paul speaks of in this verse is your body. Your body may be healthy or sick, young or old, comfortable or aching. Whatever else it is, it is mortal. It will die one day – perhaps sooner, perhaps later.

However, for all who are in Christ, who have put their faith in Him, a greater, more glorious, perfect, and immortal body awaits! This body ages, aches, and groans. That body does not. That body enjoys eternal fellowship with Christ. As we process the seemingly endless stream of bad news each day, we must remember that none of it threatens our eternal home, life, or body if we are in Christ. Our good news triumphs over all the bad news of the world.

Though it’s very hard for us – who are so very present in this moment – to process, this year and this life are but a blink of an eye compared to the endless sweep of glorious eternity that lies before us. This is the hope that sustains us in every difficult season and this is the hope we must share with those who lack hope today.

“And when the king heard the words of the Law, he tore his clothes.” – 2 Chronicles 34:19

What a beautiful picture of godly leadership! King Josiah loved the Lord and had worked diligently to restore the temple. However, he simply did not know God’s Law. When workers found the scroll of the Law (likely Deuteronomy) and it was read aloud, Josiah recognized the many ways that he and his nation had fallen short of God’s standard and he was deeply sorrowful and afraid.

We all make mistakes and fall short of God’s standard from time to time even when we have the best of intentions. A critical measure of godly leadership is how we respond when presented with our sins and shortcomings as leaders.

Godly leaders won’t try to hide from their shortcoming, they’ll be sorrowful and repent. Godly leaders won’t defend their error, they’ll publicly acknowledge it and move forward. Godly leaders won’t seek to shift blame to others, they’ll take ownership of their mistakes, even those made in ignorance. Godly leaders won’t excuse their ignorance, they’ll admit it and learn. Godly leaders won’t seek to justify themselves based on their prior accomplishments, they’ll commit to change going forward.

Once again, we all make mistakes and fall short of God’s standard from time to time. In Christ there’s always forgiveness available when we confess our mistakes and ask for God’s forgiveness. We don’t need to dwell on, or be constrained by, the past. We must move forward in Christ with integrity.

“Whoever closes his ear to the cry of the poor
will himself call out and not be answered.”
– Proverbs 21:13

It would be difficult to count the number of times and ways that God makes clear in the Bible that as His people we must have tender hearts and generous spirits toward the poor. We’re called to be abundantly merciful and gracious toward those in need. We’re called to be the presence, hands, and feet of Christ to those without. We’re called to be illogical, irrational, and over the top in mercy. This is God’s heart and we’re called to reflect His heart, not our own logic or opinion.

The reason for this is quite simple. We are each spiritual beggars crying out to God for mercy and charity. We have separated ourselves from Him by our sin, humiliating, degrading, and debasing ourselves. We are incapable of cleaning ourselves up and getting back into right relationship to Him.

Despite the fact that we are irresponsible, undeserving, filthy spiritual beggars, God‘s love and mercy are so vast that He sent His Son Jesus into our world to take our sin, guilt, and shame upon Himself at the cross. Because He did, all who believe in Him are cleaned up, stood up, embraced, and adopted by God. In Christ we’re no longer spiritual beggars, but adopted children of the King of the Universe.

God has shown us mercy to us in our deepest need and He expects us to be likewise overflowing in mercy and generosity toward those in need.