Happy Monday! Today marks the final Monday of the year 2019. This year has brought us a lot to ponder on and heal from. The things that have remained consistent this year are God’s love for us and His word being true. Paul reminds the Corinthians and us as readers that we can be confident that God’s word has been written on our hearts – our faith rests on God’s power, because of our great trust in God through Christ. Join me as we continue reading 2 Corinthians chapter 3.
“4 We are confident of all this because of our great trust in God through Christ. 5 It is not that we think we are qualified to do anything on our own. Our qualification comes from God. 6 He has enabled us to be ministers of his new covenant. This is a covenant not of written laws, but of the Spirit. The old written covenant ends in death; but under the new covenant, the Spirit gives life.” – 2 Corinthians 3:4-6 NLT
The Spirit gives life.
Paul didn’t rely on letters of qualification, his confidence was not based on human acceptance it was established from God. Paul said it best in his letter in 1 Timothy 1:12-14:
“12 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength to do his work. He considered me trustworthy and appointed me to serve him, 13 even though I used to blaspheme the name of Christ. In my insolence, I persecuted his people. But God had mercy on me because I did it in ignorance and unbelief. 14 Oh, how generous and gracious our Lord was! He filled me with the faith and love that come from Christ Jesus.“
The Old Covenant was too difficult for Israel to follow, they were unfaithful to the covenant – unable and unwilling to be faith to God who remained faithful to them. In God’s faithfulness He graciously intervened with a New Covenant, as it is written in Jeremiah 31:31-34 NLT
“31 “The day is coming,” says the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. 32 This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant, though I loved them as a husband loves his wife,” says the Lord.
33 “But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel after those days,” says the Lord. “I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34 And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying, ‘You should know the Lord.’ For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will know me already,” says the Lord. “And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.””
Christ’s sacrifice on the cross confirmed the New Covenant. In conclusion, Romans 8:1-4 (although if you have time read Romans 8:1-17) states, “So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. 2 And because you belong to him, the power[a] of the life-giving Spirit has freed you[b] from the power of sin that leads to death. 3 The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature.[c] So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. 4 He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.”
Sisters and brothers, don’t get caught up in the worldly ways. Allow the Spirit to breathe life into you again.
Father God, thank you for today. God thank you for loving us when we were unable and unwilling to be obedient to your word. God, thank you for sending your son Jesus to save us. God, what would we do or where would we be if we didn’t have the Hope of the world, the Light in the darkness, our Redeemer? Father God, thank you for chasing after us. Father, continue your work in us. Teach us your ways that have been imprinted on our hearts. Father, take hold of our hand and lead us in the way we should go. Father, you already know what 2020 has to bring, Lord strengthen our faith in you, attune our ears to your voice and breathe your Holy Spirit like fire into our bones. Make us bold and confident in your word and teaching. Keep us humble and submitted to your authority. Let us be unwavering in our faith. We ask all these things in the Mighty name of Jesus. Amen!
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