2 Corinthians 8 Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

(Has God spoken to you lately if not click to listen to God's teaching?)

Max Lucado Daily: Called to Minister

If you don’t feel called to be a minister and you’re wondering if your life counts for Christ—it does!  And you don’t have to put a collar around your neck, eat at every potluck that comes around, or preach long sermons to prove it!

According to Paul, ministers proclaim the gospel everywhere they go; they testify to God’s work in their lives.When you arrive in heaven, I wonder if Christ might say to you, “I’m so proud you let me use you.  Because of you, others are here today.  Wanna meet’em?”  Neighbors, co-workers, friends, strangers, parents, spouse, children, grandchildren—all step forward!  Even great-grandchildren, ones you never met are there because you ministered to your kids and to your grandchildren.

Are you a minister?  You bet!  Can you make a difference?  Absolutely.

“I myself am convinced, my brothers and sisters, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with knowledge and competent to instruct one another.” (Romans 15:14)

From: Max on Life

2 Corinthians 8
New International Version (NIV)
The Collection for the Lord’s People

8 And now, brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. 2 In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. 3 For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, 4 they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord’s people. 5 And they exceeded our expectations: They gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also to us. 6 So we urged Titus, just as he had earlier made a beginning, to bring also to completion this act of grace on your part. 7 But since you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in the love we have kindled in you[a]—see that you also excel in this grace of giving.

8 I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others. 9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.

10 And here is my judgment about what is best for you in this matter. Last year you were the first not only to give but also to have the desire to do so. 11 Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means. 12 For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have.

13 Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. 14 At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. The goal is equality, 15 as it is written: “The one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little.”[b]

Titus Sent to Receive the Collection

16 Thanks be to God, who put into the heart of Titus the same concern I have for you. 17 For Titus not only welcomed our appeal, but he is coming to you with much enthusiasm and on his own initiative. 18 And we are sending along with him the brother who is praised by all the churches for his service to the gospel. 19 What is more, he was chosen by the churches to accompany us as we carry the offering, which we administer in order to honor the Lord himself and to show our eagerness to help. 20 We want to avoid any criticism of the way we administer this liberal gift. 21 For we are taking pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of man.

22 In addition, we are sending with them our brother who has often proved to us in many ways that he is zealous, and now even more so because of his great confidence in you. 23 As for Titus, he is my partner and co-worker among you; as for our brothers, they are representatives of the churches and an honor to Christ. 24 Therefore show these men the proof of your love and the reason for our pride in you, so that the churches can see it.


Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Read: James 5:13-18

The Prayer of Faith

13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.[a] 17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. 18 Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.

There’s Power

January 15, 2013 — by Anne Cetas

The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. —James 5:16

When my sister found out she had cancer, I asked my friends to pray. When she had surgery, we prayed that the surgeon would be able to remove all of the cancer and that she wouldn’t have to undergo chemotherapy or radiation. And God answered yes! When I reported the news, one friend remarked, “I’m so glad there’s power in prayer.” I responded, “I’m thankful that God answered with a yes this time.”

James says that “the effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much” (5:16). But does “effective” and “fervent” mean the harder we pray, or the more people we ask to pray, the more likely God is to answer with a yes? I’ve had enough “no” and “wait” answers to wonder about that.

Prayer is powerful, but it’s such a mystery. We’re taught to have faith, to ask earnestly and boldly, to persevere, to be surrendered to His will. Yet God answers in His wisdom and His answers are best. I’m just thankful that God wants to hear our hearts and that no matter the answer, He is still good.

I like Ole Hallesby’s words: “Prayer and helplessness are inseparable. Only those who are helpless can truly pray. . . . Your helplessness is your best prayer.” We can do helplessness quite well.

Lord, I’ve been taught many things about prayer—be
specific, be bold, be surrendered, be strong in faith,
be persistent. Today I recognize my helplessness and
Your power as I share my heart with You. Amen.
Prayer is the child’s helpless cry to the Father’s attentive ear.


My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
January 15, 2013

Do You Walk In White?

We were buried with Him . . . that just as Christ was raised from the dead . . . even so we also should walk in newness of life —Romans 6:4

No one experiences complete sanctification without going through a “white funeral”-the burial of the old life. If there has never been this crucial moment of change through death, sanctification will never be more than an elusive dream. There must be a “white funeral,” a death with only one resurrection-a resurrection into the life of Jesus Christ. Nothing can defeat a life like this. It has oneness with God for only one purpose— to be a witness for Him.

Have you really come to your last days? You have often come to them in your mind, but have you really experienced them? You cannot die or go to your funeral in a mood of excitement. Death means you stop being. You must agree with God and stop being the intensely striving kind of Christian you have been. We avoid the cemetery and continually refuse our own death. It will not happen by striving, but by yielding to death. It is dying— being “baptized into His death” (Romans 6:3).

Have you had your “white funeral,” or are you piously deceiving your own soul? Has there been a point in your life which you now mark as your last day? Is there a place in your life to which you go back in memory with humility and overwhelming gratitude, so that you can honestly proclaim, “Yes, it was then, at my ’white funeral,’ that I made an agreement with God.”

“This is the will of God, your sanctification . . .” (1 Thessalonians 4:3). Once you truly realize this is God’s will, you will enter into the process of sanctification as a natural response. Are you willing to experience that “white funeral” now? Will you agree with Him that this is your last day on earth? The moment of agreement depends on you.


A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Being a Winning Head Coach - #6787

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

I was reminiscing with my son the other day about when he was four and learned to play baseball. He was standing there in his little shorts, and he had his Wiffle bat and his Wiffle ball. (I mean when he was little; not the other day.) And I stood just a few feet away from him and I gently threw the ball underhanded. And he would sort of chop at it like an ax, and I didn't know if he'd ever learn to play.

Well, of course, I gave him the Dad's typical, gentle coaching and said, "Now, don't chop at it. Swing evenly. Here's how to follow through. Here's how to plant your feet. And then times changed. It got to where I couldn't pitch it fast enough, and he was hitting it all over the place. Yeah, he was good. I enjoyed coaching. I hope I'm one of the reasons, at least, that he learned to do it right in the early stages. Actually, coaching comes almost naturally to dads; they're pretty good coaches. And I want to be sure today, dad, that that you've got your Head Coach hat on and that you're making the difference.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Being a Winning Head Coach."

Now, our word for today from the Word of God is found in Ephesians 6:4. Coaches, pay attention! It says, "Fathers, do not exasperate your children. Instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord." Let me summarize the Hutchcraft translation of that verse. It says two things to dads. With your children, don't put them down, and do bring them up.

Let's take the first part. There's the negative, and it's addressed particularly to fathers. And I thought, "Now, why is it said to fathers 'do not exasperate your children'?" Of course mothers shouldn't do that either, but it's stated to fathers. I think sometimes dads have awfully high expectations of kids, and we just tend to exasperate our children through setting the bar so high, and then they have to clear it higher and they've got to go higher all the time. And Dad's so hard to please.

Sometimes our cutting remarks only notice what needs improving, and we don't tell them what they've done right. I know kids who have literally been defeated and decided not to even try any more because they just couldn't please Dad.

And in this call to coaching, it says here that the first thing you do is to make sure that your child is never put down by you. There's nothing so cutting, so destroying to a self-image and even your hope for your own achievement than a dad's perceived rejection. But this is a call to spiritual coaching. It doesn't just say just don't put them down, it says, "Do bring them up." Are you leading spiritually in your family? Are you the one who gets everybody together to pray, Dad; who leads the way in scripture memorization? Are you the one who gets the sharing time going around the dinner table about the God-sightings you've each had today? Are you the one who teaches the Bible stories and applies them to everyday life; make sure everybody gets to church, and who models Christian conduct?

You say, "Well, I'm not real good at that." You know, men tend to avoid what they're not good at. If we're not good at a sport, we usually don't show up for that sport. I'm good at softball and I'm not good at football. I'll play softball. I won't play football. Listen, don't wait until you're good at it or you'll never start. Start spending some time getting your family together spiritually and getting with the Lord together. Get them in the Lord's presence together. The only way you can fail at this is to not try.

Remember, God has assigned you as the man of the house, the head coaching job in your family. Do you know what that means? Yeah, don't ever put them down, and always bring them up - in Christ.