2 Corinthians 10 1 And now a personal but most urgent matter; I write in the gentle but firm spirit of Christ. I hear that Im being painted as cringing and wishy-washy when Im with you, but harsh and demanding when at a safe distance writing letters. 2 Please dont force me to take a hard line when Im present with you. Dont think that Ill hesitate a single minute to stand up to those who say Im an unprincipled opportunist. Then theyll have to eat their words. 3 The world is unprincipled. Its dog-eat-dog out there! The world doesnt fight fair. But we dont live or fight our battles that way - never have and never will. 4 The tools of our trade arent for marketing or manipulation, but they are for demolishing that entire massively corrupt culture. 5 We use our powerful God-tools for smashing warped philosophies, tearing down barriers erected against the truth of God, fitting every loose thought and emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ. 6 Our tools are ready at hand for clearing the ground of every obstruction and building lives of obedience into maturity. 7 You stare and stare at the obvious, but you cant see the forest for the trees. If youre looking for a clear example of someone on Christs side, why do you so quickly cut me out? Believe me, I am quite sure of my standing with Christ. 8 You may think I overstate the authority he gave me, but Im not backing off. Every bit of my commitment is for the purpose of building you up, after all, not tearing you down. 9 And whats this talk about me bullying you with my letters? 10 His letters are brawny and potent, but in person hes a weakling and mumbles when he talks. 11 Such talk wont survive scrutiny. What we write when away, we do when present. Were the exact same people, absent or present, in letter or in person. 12 Were not, understand, putting ourselves in a league with those who boast that theyre our superiors. We wouldnt dare do that. But in all this comparing and grading and competing, they quite miss the point. 13 We arent making outrageous claims here. Were sticking to the limits of what God has set for us. But there can be no question that those limits reach to and include you. 14 Were not moving into someone elses territory. We were already there with you, werent we? We were the first ones to get there with the Message of Christ, right? So how can there be any question of overstepping our bounds by writing or visiting you? 15 Were not barging in on the rightful work of others, interfering with their ministries, demanding a place in the sun with them. What were hoping for is that as your lives grow in faith, youll play a part within our expanding work. 16 And well all still be within the limits God sets as we proclaim the Message in countries beyond Corinth. But we have no intention of moving in on what others have done and taking credit for it. 17 If you want to claim credit, claim it for God. 18 What you say about yourself means nothing in Gods work. Its what God says about you that makes the difference. The Message
Posted on: Tue, 25 Mar 2014 10:55:29 +0000
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