by Stan Mitchell

"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body" (1 Corinthians 6:19,20).

Neil Anderson recently wrote, "you win a person to what you win him with" (Gospel Advocate, September 2003). When churches "bend over backwards to cater to their children," he explains, "the young are more often alienated than won by such tactics."

If people are brought to a church through a certain music or activity, for instance, then they will leave the church on the same basis; their departure will coincide pretty much exactly with the arrival of a bigger show across town, a more dramatic version of that program in a rival church, or a ratcheted up version of what brought them to church in the first place. The pressure will always be to outdo last year's production, or lose the "loyal" customer!

Instead of bribing them to church, maybe we should bring them to Christ. Of course, Paul declares that we have been "bought at a price," not "bought for a price!" We don't (or shouldn't) make demands on churches and on Jesus; he makes demands on us! We don't negotiate our terms of entrance into the church; he dictates them! The Lord doesn't have responsibilities to us. Everything he did -- everything -- was a gift he was not obliged to give! We have responsibilities to him!

by Don Ruhl

Read Second Corinthians Chapter One

Soak in the words of Paul,

3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God (2 Corinthians 1:3,4, NKJV).

God through Jesus comforts us in all our troubles; therefore, He is the God of all comfort. When trouble immerses us, we are convinced that we shall never come out of it, even leading some to take their own lives. Yet, whether we come out of the trouble or not, our God is waiting to comfort us during those times. He does not promise to remove all trouble from our lives, but He does promise to comfort us through all our troubles.

Look back through the years, recalling the troubles you have experienced, and you will see that God was comforting you. It may not have been apparent at the time, but eventually you saw it or perhaps thinking of that trouble, you can now see that God was comforting you.

Having seen those things, then do what Paul says he did and that is comfort others. Use your troublesome times to comfort those who are struggling.

by Don Ruhl

Read Second Corinthians Chapter Two

In First Corinthians chapter five, Paul commanded the Corinthian Church to put away a certain man who was sinning and not repenting. The church did it, leading the brother to repent. However, the church continued not to have anything to do with the brother. Therefore, in Second Corinthians, Paul writes back to the church, showing them what to do next.

6 This punishment which was inflicted by the majority is sufficient for such a man, 7 so that, on the contrary, you ought rather to forgive and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one be swallowed up with too much sorrow (2 Corinthians 2:6,7, NKJV).

Excessive sorrow will destroy him, and that was not the purpose of the punishment, but rather the purpose was to save his soul. They were to continue to work to save his soul by now forgiving and comforting him when those actions were finally necessary.

Sometimes it is not easy to do these latter things, nevertheless, our Lord Jesus Christ, through His ambassador Paul, tells us what He wants done and it is up to us, as His disciples, to learn from Him and fulfill His will.

by Don Ruhl

Read Proverbs 8 and 9

Solomon personifies wisdom as a woman in Proverbs chapter eight. She cries out to us, pleading with us to possess her. In verse 14, she shows what she possesses, which she obviously wants to give away.

14 Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom; I am understanding, I have strength. (Proverbs 8:14, NKJV).

Are you like me in that you need all those tools for daily living? Let us listen to her that we may -- now get this -- acquire those same tools of wisdom that God used in creating the world! (Verses 22-31).