encouragement

These are some verses that stood out this morning in 1 Corinthians 4.

The apostle, Paul, did not live a Club Med existence,

     as a follower of Jesus, he did not live the "American Dream".

But he wrote these encouraging words to the young church in Corinth


Maybe you're like me this morning - need some encouragement?



2 Corinthians 4

6 For God, who said, "Let there be light in the darkness," has made this light shine in our hearts

     so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.


7 We now have this light shining in our hearts,

     but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure.

This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.


8 We are pressed on every side by troubles,

     but we are not crushed.

We are perplexed,

     but not driven to despair.

9 We are hunted down,

     but never abandoned by God.

We get knocked down,

     but we are not destroyed.

10 Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus

        so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.


16 That is why we never give up.

Though our bodies are dying,

     our spirits are being renewed every day.

17 For our present troubles are small and won't last very long.

        Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!

18 So we don't look at the troubles we can see now;

      rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen.


For the things we see now will soon be gone,

   but the things we cannot see will last forever.