Today Our Daily Bread 2 Cor 4 & 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.

If the e-mail text you receive is encrypted at all, just scroll down to the end of all of the text and click on Lena’s Journalin’ , which will take you directly to the web-page where you will be able to read the text quite clearly in it’s purposed form.


2 Cor 4:1-18
Treasure in Perishable Containers
1And so, since God in his mercy has given us this wonderful ministry, we never give up. 2We reject all shameful and underhanded methods. We do not try to trick anyone, and we do not distort the word of God. We tell the truth before God, and all who are honest know that.
3If the Good News we preach is veiled from anyone, it is a sign that they are perishing. 4Satan, the god of this evil world, has blinded the minds of those who don't believe, so they are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News that is shining upon them. They don't understand the message we preach about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.
5We don't go around preaching about ourselves; we preach Christ Jesus, the Lord. All we say about ourselves is that we are your servants because of what Jesus has done for us. 6For God, who said, "Let there be light in the darkness," has made us understand that this light is the brightness of the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.
7But this precious treasure—this light and power that now shine within us—is held in perishable containers, that is, in our weak bodies. F10 So everyone can see that our glorious power is from God and is not our own.
8We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed and broken. We are perplexed, but we don't give up and quit. 9We are hunted down, but God never abandons us. We get knocked down, but we get up again and keep going. 10Through suffering, these bodies of ours constantly share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.
11Yes, we live under constant danger of death because we serve Jesus, so that the life of Jesus will be obvious in our dying bodies. 12So we live in the face of death, but it has resulted in eternal life for you.
13But we continue to preach because we have the same kind of faith the psalmist had when he said, "I believed in God, and so I speak." F11 14We know that the same God who raised our Lord Jesus will also raise us with Jesus and present us to himself along with you. 15All of these things are for your benefit. And as God's grace brings more and more people to Christ, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory.
16That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are F12 being renewed every day. 17For our present troubles are quite small and won't last very long. Yet they produce for us an immeasurably great glory that will last forever! 18So we don't look at the troubles we can see right now; rather, we look forward to what we have not yet seen. For the troubles we see will soon be over, but the joys to come will last forever.
FOOTNOTES:F10: Greek But we have this treasure in earthen vessels. F11: Ps 116:10. F12: Greek our inner being is.
~ Lena’s Journalin’~
The natural or the spiritual? Which one is important? To us? To God?
The natural man, or the spiritual man? Which is better, more important?
The answer would be both.
That’s like asking which leg do you like better or which ear would be better to keep the hearing in? The obvious answer would be, both.
The natural man was made by God for God. The only problem lies in who its Master is, who does the natural man follow after?Who does he serve, and why?
Does he follow after the desires of a natural man, and the nature of flesh, which is at odds with the Spirit of God? Or does he join in with the purposes of God and serve God’s purposes in his physical body, which was designed by God to carry him through life on this earth with a specific divinely outlined purpose?
God looks at man and sees such potential. He sees an answer to the curse placed upon the earth through willful disobedience and outright rebellion. He sees a freewill being who has been given armor for his territory and a mind to exercise responsive action. He sees the desires of His heart being able to be restored on purpose. He sees a treasure, a being made out of dust, who chooses to redeem the earth and all of inhabitants through obedient restorative actions taken each and every day- on purpose.
Yeah there are obstacles, there are elements, there are roadblocks, but love leads this man, love drives this man, loves takes this man above it all.
This man sees and knows his purpose comes from God. This man knows he came from God, was sent by God to the earth as an answer. He knows he lives in eternity with God and has an assignment for a time period here.
Because he knows and has tasted of the greatest love of all, he is willing to do whatever it takes to be the demonstration of the love he knows of in the earth.
He understands that he is only here, suffering elemental issues, for a very small time period, in eternal light, and so he seizes every opportunity and also creates some.
His faith in God causes him to see clearer than ever before, speak plainer and more boldly, it leads him to listen for further instruction and receive corrective words that will keep him on the pathway of life and complete the assignment given him by God to accomplish in this short time here.
He knows of the responsibility given him by God, who is his true Father.
He’s able to allow hurts to let go of him. He’s forgiving for the purposes of God to be loosed in his life. He won’t allow anything but God’s work to hold onto and keep a hold of him.
This responsibility is the weight he carries through life here.
It is his glory here. As he gains further dependency upon God his ability to respond to the voice of the Lord deepens. (he’s response- able).
He has no doubt about why he is here. He knows the creator who tells him and reminds him daily.
Natural death is just the “hourglass” that tells him how much longer he has for his mission here, his Co-mission here. Weakness, just reminds him of his dependency. He’s not ever alone, he’s sent by God to the world for this time, in the place God has caused him to live. The elements remind him of where he is right now and for what purpose. An eternal man, in a natural body, for a time……until.
Think on these things……………………………….

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.