2 Corinthians Week 19

READ 

2 Corinthians 11:26 

26 I have traveled on many long journeys. I have faced danger from rivers and from robbers. I have faced danger from my own people, the Jews, as well as from the Gentiles. I have faced danger in the cities, in the deserts, and on the seas. And I have faced danger from men who claim to be believers but are not. 

Paul continued to write about what he had gone through as he followed his passion to tell others about Jesus. He told about his travels and the dangers he had faced. His dangers came from not only the environment but also from people, especially the hypocrites—those who claimed to be believers but were not.  

REFLECT 

Have you also found that sometimes you are in more danger from people than from the weather and other storms of life? 

RESPOND 

With a friend, read about the dangers of the last days that Paul wrote about in 2 Timothy 3:1-5. 

Some think the world will eventually get better. That is not what the apostle Paul wrote about in these Scriptures inspired by God.  

Day 2 

READ 

2 Corinthians 11:27-29 

27 I have worked hard and long, enduring many sleepless nights. I have been hungry and thirsty and have often gone without food. I have shivered in the cold, without enough clothing to keep me warm. 28 Then, besides all this, I have the daily burden of my concern for all the churches. 29 Who is weak without my feeling that weakness? Who is led astray, and I do not burn with anger? 

The physical burdens Paul endured were made even heavier by the emotional ones he experienced. He had a pastor’s heart that was weighed down from knowing about the burdens people in the churches were having. Paul felt for their trials and was angered about how some had been led astray.  

REFLECT 

Are you more burdened by the spiritual needs of others than by their physical needs? 

RESPOND 

Meet with a friend to share burdens about those you know. Pray for them to be encouraged during their hard times and for God to somehow be glorified through their struggles.  

Day 3 

READ 

2 Corinthians 11:30-33 

30 If I must boast, I would rather boast about the things that show how weak I am. 31 God, the Father of our Lord Jesus, who is worthy of eternal praise, knows I am not lying. 32 When I was in Damascus, the governor under King Aretas kept guards at the city gates to catch me. 33 I had to be lowered in a basket through a window in the city wall to escape from him. 

Paul chose to boast about the times he was in great need of God’s help rather than when he seemingly did not. From the time of his conversion, he was in danger. Many were slow to believe that this persecutor of others had really turned around spiritually. Religious leaders rejected him because he preached the gospel of the resurrected Jesus. Paul told how he needed the help of Jesus when he was helpless. 

REFLECT 

Do you know of some whose lives were dramatically changed by God and it was difficult at first for others to be convinced?  

RESPOND 

Read Acts 9:1-20 that tells about the conversion of Saul, also known as Paul. “Saul” was his Hebrew name and “Paul” was his Roman or Greek name. Likely he had both names from his early years in that multilingual culture. Written by Luke, Acts tells how God brought Paul to faith and used him to reach the Gentiles, even as He had been using Peter to reach the Jewish people. 

Day 4 

READ 

2 Corinthians 12:1-2 

1 This boasting will do no good, but I must go on. I will reluctantly tell about visions and revelations from the Lord. 2 I was caught up to the third heaven fourteen years ago. Whether I was in my body or out of my body, I don’t know—only God knows. 

Verse 2 is so translated because most commentators agree Paul was talking about himself. The “third heaven” is a reference to the abode of God; the first being the atmospheric heaven; the second heaven being the stars. He said this occurred 14 years ago, but he wasn’t sure whether he was in the body or not. Because he was not sure, there is no need for commentators to speculate. 

REFLECT 

These verses begin a section of Scripture that will be encouraging to you. 

RESPOND 

Be sure to talk with a friend about what you will be reading in 2 Corinthians 12. This chapter has been of help to many believers, especially to those who suffer. 

Day 5 

READ 

2 Corinthians 12:3-4 

3 Yes, only God knows whether I was in my body or outside my body. But I do know 4 that I was caught up to paradise and heard things so astounding that they cannot be expressed in words, things no human is allowed to tell. 

Paul did not know whether he was in his body or not, but he knew he had been caught up to paradise and what he heard there. What he heard, however, was unable to be expressed. It was not that he was unable to tell, but he was not “allowed to tell.” Some write books about near-death or post-death experiences, but this is all Paul said about his experience. 

REFLECT 

Why do you think Paul was not allowed to tell about his experience?  

RESPOND 

Having discussed the need to keep Christ central in one’s testimony, could this be why Paul was not allowed to tell of his experience? Discuss this possibility with a friend.