God of All Comfort

-


Scripture: 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (NIV)

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 receive from God.

Devotion:

            Paul, with these words introduces us to another amazing attribute of our God. Paul begins following a Hebrew formula of praise to God. (See Exod. 18:10; Ruth 4:14; 1 Kgs 1:48; Pss. 28:6; 41:13) He is extending an offering of praise for our God. This serves as an introduction to the entire letter. Paul offers the Corinthian believers an optimistic view of their relationship with God and himself. Here he sets the tone for this epistle. He introduces God as a God of compassion and comfort.

            Paul then expands on the theme of God being a God of comfort for his first century readers and by extension us. We should rejoice in the fact that our God is a God of comfort and encouragement. God sees us in our distress and comforts us. As we have been thus comforted, we can extend comfort and encouragement to one another as well.

            Our world is changing into a world where comfort and encouragement are hard to come by. We are daily assaulted in our media and devices with all sorts of calamities. We face dire predictions of economic downturns, rampant crime, and a general coarsening of manners and morals in our society. We see a world that is increasingly hostile toward us as people of faith. In response we tend to become increasingly isolated and withdrawn.

            These words in 2 Corinthians are addressed to us in our twenty-first century world. We can cling to their promise that no matter if the society is against us, God is for us. He seeks our comfort and encouragement at every turn. We can be reminded that at the cross and in the empty tomb Jesus won a lasting victory over Satan and all the forces of evil and discouragement in the world.

            Let us dedicate our lives to becoming people who offer comfort and encouragement to one another as we journey through this decaying world. Help us to be salt and light to arrest the deterioration of the culture around us. Let us pray for God to help us in our mission.

Prayer:

            O God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, be with us this day. We give you thanks that you are a God who desires his people to be comforted and encouraged regardless of our outer circumstances. Help us to live in such a way that people are drawn to you, Lord. Help us teach our friends and associates that you are a God who has plans for good for his people. Lord, continually refresh us with your steadfast love. Amen. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Welcoming the Unwelcome

-
  Scripture: Luke 7:36-38 (NIV) 36  When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. 37  A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. 38  As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them, and poured perfume on them. Devotion:             First of all, some warnings to my readers. This post will exceed the 500 words I try to limit my posts. Second, this post will contain content people may find offensive or otherwise unfit for print. Please understand that my purpose is neither to offend nor upset but to provoke thought and, hopefully, respectful dialog.             We will use Luke chapter seven as an aid to interpreting the events that occurred last Thursday at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City. On that da
Read more

Father Forgive Them

-
  Scripture: Luke 23:33-34 (ESV) 33  And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. 34  And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Devotion:             The situation Jesus finds himself in here in today’s scripture is difficult for us to even imagine. A sham trial, no credible accusations of any kind, let alone any deserving of death, and yet here he is. A brilliant Rabbi, a teacher of the people who never led even one person astray from God’s will. This Holy One of God soon to be food for vultures.             This man who had done nothing wrong had no one in all the crowds who would speak up in his defense lest they be next to face the cross. An innocent man hung between two scoundrels. No voice from heaven declaring that this was the man that they were killing was actually the true Son of God. (See Matthew 3:17, Matthew 17:5, John 12:28) No the heaven
Read more

Transgenderism letter

-
  This is a copy of my letter to my senators, representative, and President Biden. January 15, 2024 Dear President Biden, Senators T. Duckworth, R. Durbin, and Representative D. LaHood             I am writing to you because I am concerned about the situation affecting our children and grandchildren, namely transitioning them from one gender to another. This nation must adjust course concerning these “interventions” because they are dangerous, irreversible, and life-changing. Our country should not be permitting these procedures on minor children under any circumstances. We must also make sure that adults who seek this care are given informed consent as to the risks versus benefits of sex reassignment treatments.             There are many drawbacks to gender-affirming care for minors. Besides the loss of any ability to give or receive sexual pleasure and sterility these treatments cause, there are social and psychological effects that we have no way of identifying because these
Read more