Today Our Daily Bread 2 Cor 2 & John 1:14

Scripture selections are taken from the Rock Church Daily Bread Reading schedule for each month. “Lena’s Journalin’” are Lena’s comments on the specific passages from her Daily Journal.

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2 Corinthians 2:1-17
1 So I decided that my next visit to you would not be another one to make you sad. 2If I make you sad, who will make me glad? Only you can make me glad - particularly the person whom I made sad. 3I wrote you a letter for this reason: that when I came to you I would not be made sad by the people who should make me happy. I felt sure of all of you, that you would share my joy. 4When I wrote to you before, I was very troubled and unhappy in my heart, and I wrote with many tears. I did not write to make you sad, but to let you know how much I love you. Forgive the Sinner 5Someone there among you has caused sadness, not to me, but to all of you. I mean he caused sadness to all in some way. (I do not want to make it sound worse than it really is.) 6The punishment that most of you gave him is enough for him. 7But now you should forgive him and comfort him to keep him from having too much sadness and giving up completely. 8So I beg you to show that you love him. 9I wrote you to test you and to see if you obey in everything. 10If you forgive someone, I also forgive him. And what I have forgiven - if I had anything to forgive - I forgave it for you, as if Christ were with me. 11I did this so that Satan would not win anything from us, because we know very well what Satan's plans are. Paul's Concern in Troas 12When I came to Troas to preach the Good News of Christ, the Lord gave me a good opportunity there. 13But I had no peace, because I did not find my brother Titus. So I said good-bye to them at Troas and went to Macedonia. Victory Through Christ 14But thanks be to God, who always leads us in victory through Christ. God uses us to spread his knowledge everywhere like a sweet-smelling perfume. 15Our offering to God is this: We are the sweet smell of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are being lost. 16To those who are lost, we are the smell of death that brings death, but to those who are being saved, we are the smell of life that brings life. So who is able to do this work? 17We do not sell the word of God for a profit as many other people do. But in Christ we speak the truth before God, as messengers of God.

Copyright Statement: New Century VersionThe Holy Bible, New Century Version®.Copyright © 1987, 1988, 1991 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved.

~Lena’s Journalin’~
Do we, the being perfected church and body and bride of the Lord Jesus Christ ever offend? Do we ever bring sadness? Do we ever let people down? Yes, yes, yes, and we readily admit it as so, if we are walking in the trueness of love.
Love humbles itself, confessing its wrongs for the well being of others. If one stands up saying they are without any fault and does not confess wrong even to the point of just saying they apologize for bringing sadness and offense to the other, they are prideful and self exalting.
Pride places oneself above others making themselves appear higher and better than others, rather than allowing others to just notice that they may be “better” ( or rather stronger at this point). In pride is the very spirit of satan and this spirit has left a very strong and putrid scent and spots all over God’s bride, the church.
A humble person is an agreeable person. That person allows the Lord to justify them, to fight for them. They do not have to expend their energies explaining everything. They give their energies over to love and its Divine expression. The argument is gone, fades away in the importance of love expressed. A lover readily confesses even the faint possibility of fault, even if the fault was caused only inside of the mind of the one faulted on.
This just means love extends itself to vulnerability, confessing a “wrong” may be merely that the other party felt wronged. Humility will actually agree with the one they feel threatened by, with the one they feel at odds with, with the one they feel is accusing them, for the mere act of making peace and showing that the warring is not their place, but the battle is Christ’s responsibility as He cares for them, he will take on the care instead of them taking on the care.
Skipping to the last few verses- We give thanks to God by faith when we give our battles over into His caring hands. We show Him we trust Him, when we wil not stand up and rise up in our flesh and fight flesh and blood. The spiritual battle we fight is not one with and of flesh and blood, it is spiritual in nature. The word of God equips us with spiritual weapons, These weapons are unrecognizable to the natural man, Love, Joy Peace & patience are very powerful spiritual weapons in our hands. God gave us these weapons to win the battles. When we use them rightly, it shows Him we trust Him and are ready to allow Him to take and win our fights If we won’t allow Him to fight and we stand in that place, He’ll actually stand back and allow us to do it our way. Have it our way. Try and win it on our own without any of His help.
BUT God made a bride, redeemed and clothed in White with sweet smelling perfume on her. She did not overcome because she was so strong, so powerfully beautiful and on her own perfected. She won battles and waged wars through Christ who strengthened her. She overcame because of the finished work of the sacrifice Lamb and because of His blood shed for her and for the world she was created to tell about. She overcame because she was bold enough, and risked her own “reputation” to speak His words rather than hers, to testify of Him. She loved His reputation more than hers, but she did not defend it, she just lived it. She laid down her own life and made the choice to live His. She loved living His more than living hers. She did this till the very end of her time to do it and be it. She is the church, she is His chosen bride.

John 1:14 So the Word became human and lived here on earth among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. F1 And we have seen his glory, the glory of the only Son of the Father.