27042012

2 Corinthians 9

Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)

Your Giving Is a Blessing

1 I really don’t need to write to you about this help for God’s people. 2 I know that you want to help. I have been bragging about you to the people in Macedonia. I told them that you people in Achaia have been ready to give since last year. And your desire to give has made most of the people here ready to give also. 3 But I am sending these brothers to you. I don’t want our bragging about you in this to be for nothing. I want you to be ready just as I said you would be. 4 If any of those from Macedonia come with me, and they find that you are not ready, we will be ashamed. We will be ashamed that we were so sure of you. And you will be ashamed too! 5 So I thought that I should ask these brothers to come there before we do. They will help in getting together the generous gift you promised. Then it will be ready when we come, and it will be seen as a blessing you are giving, not as something you were forced to do.

6 Remember this: The one who plants few seeds will have a small harvest. But the one who plants a lot will have a big harvest. 7 Each one of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give. You should not give if it makes you unhappy or if you feel forced to give. God loves those who are happy to give. 8 And God can give you more blessings than you need, and you will always have plenty of everything. You will have enough to give to every good work. 9 As the Scriptures say,

“He gives generously to the poor;

his goodness will continue forever.”

10 God is the one who gives seed to those who plant, and he gives bread for food. And God will give you spiritual seed and make that seed grow. He will produce a great harvest from your goodness. 11 God will make you rich in every way so that you can always give freely. And your giving through us will make people give thanks to God.

12 The service you are offering helps God’s people with their needs, but that is not all it does. It is also bringing more and more thanks to God. 13 This service is a proof of your faith, and people will praise God because of it. They will praise God that you freely share what you have with them and with all people. They will praise him to see you following the Good News about Christ that you openly accepted. They will praise God because you freely share with them and with all people. 14 And when they pray, they will wish they could be with you. They will feel this way because of the great grace that God gave you. 15 Thanks be to God for his gift that is too wonderful to describe.

Amen, God is always great that will bless us more the our wish. This proof our faith, and people will praise God because we share.

2 Corinthians 10

Paul Defends His Ministry

10 I, Paul, am begging you with the gentleness and the kindness of Christ. Some say that I am bold when I am writing you from a distance, but not when I am there with you. 2 They think our motives for what we do are like those of the world. I plan to be very bold against those people when I come. I hope I will not need to use that same boldness with you. 3 We live in this world, but we don’t fight our battles in the same way the world does. 4 The weapons we use are not human ones. Our weapons have power from God and can destroy the enemy’s strong places. We destroy people’s arguments, 5 and we tear down every proud idea that raises itself against the knowledge of God. We also capture every thought and make it give up and obey Christ. 6 We are ready to punish anyone there who does not obey, but first we want you to be fully obedient.

Paul assure that God's weapon is by ~ Praying, faith, hope, love, bible, holy spirit and all power is works together.

7 You must look at the facts before you. If you feel sure you belong to Christ, you must remember that we belong to Christ the same as you do. 8 It may seem as though we boast too much about the authority the Lord gave us. But he gave us this authority to strengthen you, not to hurt you. So I will not be ashamed of whatever boasting we do. 9 I don’t want you to think that I am trying to scare you with my letters. 10 Some people say, “Paul’s letters are powerful and sound important, but when he is with us, he is weak and the worst speaker you have ever heard.” 11 Those people should know this: When we are there with you, we will show the same power that we show now in our letters.

12 We don’t dare put ourselves in the same class with those who think they are so important. We don’t compare ourselves to them. They use themselves to measure themselves, and they judge themselves by what they themselves are. This shows that they know nothing.

"Do not compare"...When we start to compare we will get proud, but when we get the measurement from God, we will know that we can be proud of nothing. So, Don't compare with others, instead of comparing, we must keep asking ourselves am I please God in my living.

13 But we will not boast about anything outside the work that was given us to do. We will limit our boasting to the work God gave us, but this work includes our work with you. 14 We would be boasting too much only if we had not already come to you. But we have come to you with the Good News about Christ. 15 We limit our boasting to the work that is ours. We don’t boast about the work other people have done. We hope that your faith will continue to grow. We hope that you will help our work to grow much larger. 16 We want to tell the Good News in the areas beyond your city. We don’t want to boast about work that has already been done in someone else’s area. 17 “Whoever boasts should boast only about the Lord.” [a] 18 What people say about themselves means nothing. What counts is whether the Lord says they have done well.

When we reach up the achievement, we will try to tell others and get the praise from others. But the praise from other is danger as this will bring us proud as what we had done. So, we must look for the award from God more then the praise from others. Thanks God.

Today, early morning after I have a morning prayer time, I go for my breakfast with my uncle and auntie from Aus. They give me an good idea about my future. They share to me that in future, if I get my business course there will be helpful to have a promotion and for managing people. As my uncle said, nursing is about hard work and less pay. I don't mind get that, but the main reason I get nursing is I love the people that God create. Although is tough, but there is the way we can share God miracle, love, and good news. A smile can bring hopes to them, why not I get involve with that? God, I need your miracle happen in my life so that I could share your love to all the people you love and bring them to you as you wish... Let's your healing and miracle with me and as I share with them, let's your spirit with me so that I'm not doing it alone, with your spirit I win these spirit. Amen. Thanks God.