“Now whom you forgive anything, I also forgive. For if indeed I have forgiven anything, I have forgiven that one for your sakes in the presence of Christ.” – 2 Corinthians 2:10

You need oil. Think through your day and notice all the different machines you use. If it has a motor, then it doesn’t work if it runs out of oil.

In our Christian life, we can think of forgiveness like oil – if we don’t have it then our lives simply don’t work. Our lives go nowhere without forgiveness. And I don’t just mean that Jesus has forgiven us, though that’s where it starts; I mean us forgiving others.

Paul writes about forgiveness firsthand in Second Corinthians, as somewhere between First and Second Corinthians, someone attacked him from within that church. Everything about him – his delivery style, personality, message, ministry, and identity – all of it was being publicly discredited and attacked.

Paul was hurt, wounded, ashamed, and embarrassed. His credibility had been destroyed by this guy, so he sends his disciple Titus to handle the situation. Titus returned to Paul and reported that this attacker had repented, and now Paul writes and says to forgive him.

You can imagine yourself in that situation. An insecure coworker is pinning his bad work on you while taking credit for the good things you do, and your boss is buying it. Soon your reputation as a plague to the company spreads and you are alone in trying to clear your name. Or maybe the leader of the neighborhood gossip club plants seeds of doubt in your spouse’s mind regarding your faithfulness.

Maybe these examples are more extreme than anything you’ve experienced, but the fact remains that life is messy and all of us both hurt others and get hurt by others. In that world of hurt, there is only one answer – Forgiveness.

Paul forgave his attacker because he realized the weight of all he had been forgiven by God. Maybe what has happened to you goes far beyond what you feel you have done in your life, but the point here is that God has shown His nature as a forgiving God.

If we are going to say that we belong to God then we have no other choice. We have to forgive, and in forgiving, we’ll find freedom from the hurt.

Prayer –
Lord Jesus,
I have been hurt really deeply, and I’m ready to be free of this pain. I choose to forgive those who have hurt me, and I release the justice to You. Please heal me and set me free!
Amen

“Blessed by the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” – 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

You got a problem? Yeah, a lot of us do, especially these days. But it’s important for us to not just see our problem. We need to see the purpose behind the problem.

This is really something we need to know, that all of it – all of it! – not just the fun stuff, not just the easy stuff, even the hard, difficult trials and sufferings and pains, all of it is for a purpose. And more than that, we see from today’s verses and the rest of that passage that, while Paul describes five different ways in which we can suffer, he also uses the word “comfort” ten times. He’s doubling down on the comfort of God for every trial and tribulation and suffering and difficulty that we have.

We also know that we’re not alone. It might be easy for us to think that Paul, because he teaches us so much of what we hold as truth today, that he had everything figured out and didn’t go through the suffering that we experience today, but that simply isn’t true.

In fact, he tells us in this passage that his troubles went beyond his strength, that he did not have enough strength to overcome or endure the troubles that were overwhelming his life, so much so that he despaired of life. But he thanked God for all this because it forced him to trust in the God who raises the dead, knowing that his strength was not enough, but that God would still raise him from the “dead” and help him overcome his troubles.

He’s saying that it isn’t over. No matter what you’re facing today, it’s not over. It isn’t the end! He’s saying, “Hold tight, because you might be in tribulation right now, but God’s deliverance is coming. His promises are true. He will be faithful to His Word. And more than anything else, you are sealed with the guarantee of His Spirit.”

That means that God has you taken care of. He has a plan, and He sees you on the other side of what you’re going through.

Here’s the good news today: You don’t have to have the strength; you just have to have the faith and hope to stick with God and follow Him through the trial till His promises come to pass.

Prayer –
Lord God,
Thank You that You are Lord over everything that I am facing right now! My circumstances may feel as hopeless as death, but You are the God who raises the dead, and You will help me overcome. I let go of my own strength and I rest in You today!
Amen

“Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.” – 1 Corinthians 6:18-20

The bottom line, that’s what this is. This is the number one reason to guard your passions and follow God’s plan for your sexual relationships.

Which, by the way, is that you would have sexual relationships with only one other person – your spouse – and never before the two of you marry, but only after.

That’s God’s plan, but here’s the reason – your body is God’s temple.

Here’s how this works, because I think most of us these days don’t understand what a temple would have meant to people back in Paul’s day. People would build temples for their gods and then their gods would come live inside the temple, right? Well, to whom does that temple then belong? Does it belong to the people who built it? No. It belongs to the god who lives there.

It’s as if you are a landlord, and after giving the deed to God, He sends His Holy Spirit to live in your house. But then, for some reason, you continue acting as though you still possessed the deed, and you gave your home away to other people. Harlot after harlot begins to take up residence inside this home that you already gave to God.

All the harlots bring their own junk with them and spread it around your house until your once beautiful home looks more like a whorehouse than a temple. It gets hard to even find God in there amidst all the refuse, and all the while He’s wondering, “Wait, don’t I have the deed to this house? Aren’t I the one who has complete say of who gets to live here?”

But at the end of the day, the buck stops with you. You are responsible to maintain your body and decide what it will be.

So what do you choose today? Is your body a whorehouse or a temple? If you choose to make it a temple, then bow your knee to God today and let Him be Lord of His house.

Prayer –
Lord Jesus,
My body is Your temple, and I thank You that You live inside of me! I’m so sorry for acting like my body belongs to me. Be Lord over me today and always. You have complete say over how I use my body.
Amen

“If then you have judgments concerning things pertaining to this life, do you appoint those who are least esteemed by the church to judge? …Now therefore, it is already an utter failure for you that you go to law against one another. Why do you not rather accept wrong? Why do you not rather let yourselves be cheated?” – 1 Corinthians 6:4,7

I get this question probably every day. “Can I sue him? Can a Christian sue another Christian?”

Um, did you read the verses today? The obvious answer from scripture is no. I mean, you couldn’t have a clearer answer. No!

Here’s the deal, both sides lose before a verdict is ever read when you sue your brother or sister in Christ. Did you hear what Paul said? “It is already an utter failure for you.” How would you like to stand before God on that one someday – an utter failure!

“Well how about this one, pastor – Can a Christian company sue another Christian company?”

Give me a break. As if what applies to the one doesn’t apply to the one hundred? The Christian company has a witness to uphold the same way an individual does.

“Alright, well, can a Christian sue a non-Christian? Because I’ve got a claim, man, and I know I could win. I’ll even tithe off the winnings.”

You know, the Bible doesn’t say. But I’ll tell you what it does say. The Bible says, if you’re only going to do good to those who love you, then what’s the point? Even unbelievers do that. We’re set apart, proving that we are of Christ Jesus, when we love our enemies and do good to those who persecute us.

Even if you’re legally right and you would win your case in the end, so what? It’s no win in the end. The greater honor is for you to witness by offering the forgiveness and fellowship of Christ. Get this – we’re actually called not only to forgiveness and love, but to kindness. If it were me, I’d show love to all, especially to the ones who are hardest to love, whether they’re a believer or not.

The only time I see biblical justification for a lawsuit is defending yourself if someone sues you, and then you’d better get yourself some good counsel. But let me say this, your interests in that court are first about protecting and demonstrating your witness for Christ, then about making sure you receive justice.

The heart of God loves even at the cost of self. Let’s do the same.

Prayer –
Lord Jesus,
When I did You wrong, You didn’t sue me; You died for me. How can I not do the same thing? But sometimes it’s hard because I’ve been hurt, sometimes I’ve lost a lot. I trust You to give me justice, to heal my hurts, and to provide all my needs as I forgive those who’ve done me wrong.
Amen