Corona Devo 3342

Let's GO, Brothers and Sisters in Christ!  ...I am talking to us.  To those of us who love the Lord and call Him our leader, and our shepherd, and our foundation.

Today is not a stand-alone day, it is connected to everything and ALL that we have persevered-through on every previous day of our lives.  Think about what we have endured, and made-it-through, and put-up-with, and overcome.  But not alone...never alone.  Always with the underlying current of hope-in-Christ and faith-in-God running through our heart and fueling our spirit.

By God's strength, and not our own...we are still here, still standing.  Still shining out the light that God has given us within.  We were not crushed.  Our hardships have STRENGTHED us, and not destroyed us. 

We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed.
We are perplexed, but not driven to despair.
We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. 
We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed.  ~2 Corinthians 4:8-9

We have figured out that faith means WE (and not "I").  We are in a heart-and-soul partnership with the God of the universe.  The Lord is holy and powerful and sovereign over us and the world...and yet He stoops low to take our hand as we shuffle through sorrow, and when we raise our fist in triumph.

He is here, and our stability and strength and peace in life are gifts from our God.  It's never been us, it has always been Him.

You see, we don’t go around preaching about ourselves. We preach that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we ourselves are your servants for Jesus’ sake.   ~~2 Corinthians 4:5

The Lord has saved us--you and me, and in our new life with Him, we play by His rules today: holy, honest, pure, true.

Therefore, since God in his mercy has given us this new way, we never give up. 
We reject all shameful deeds and underhanded methods. We don’t try to trick anyone or distort the word of God.  We tell the truth before God, and all who are honest know this.  ~2 Corinthians 4:1-2

If anyone can win this game of life, WE CAN...with Jesus.  We will continue to put in the work each day (and night), and we will dedicate our time and lives (and hearts!) to becoming more like Jesus.    

We will get pressed, perplexed, hunted down and knocked down, but this world and culture does not have what we have: A light shining in our hearts, and hope, strength, and purpose that only God can provide.  We have this light, and this great power is from God.   

Let's speak LIFE into others today, and let's see-the-good in each other.  We have Christ, let us share Christ. 

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.
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. 

Brothers and Sisters in Christ, we can DO this and we WILL do this today!  Victory (in Christ) is ours--let's seek it together! 

~~~

Therefore, since God in his mercy has given us this new way, we never give up. 

(2) We reject all shameful deeds and underhanded methods. We don’t try to trick anyone or distort the word of God.  We tell the truth before God, and all who are honest know this.

(5) You see, we don’t go around preaching about ourselves. We preach that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we ourselves are your servants for Jesus’ sake. 

(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. 

... (15) All of this is for your benefit. And as God’s grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory. 

(16) That is why we never give up...  (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 fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.  ~2 Corinthians 4:1-2, 5-10, 15-18

Blessings,

sarah 

https://sarahsundy04.blogspot.com 

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