2 Corinthians 1:5-9 Bsb

For Reading and Meditation:     1 Corinthians 15:1-11

Is it any wonder that throughout the history of the Christian Church men and women have found the thought of grace so overwhelmingly wonderful they seemed unable to get over it? Grace was the constant theme of their prayers, their preaching, their writing - and their hymns. Take this for example: Great God of...

For Reading and Meditation:     Isaiah 51:1-16

We spend one last day meditating on Jesus' words: "Blessed [or happy] are those who mourn, for they will be comforted." Facing negative feelings such as grief, sorrow, hurt and emotional pain is essential if we are to know our Lord's purpose for our lives. When we are willing to go down into the hurt and feel it, then...

For Reading and Meditation:     2 Corinthians 1:1-11

We continue meditating on our Lord's second Beatitude: "Blessed [or happy] are those who mourn, for they will be comforted." The word "mourn" has reference to more than just sorrowing over the death of a loved one; it includes all those experiences in life where we may feel crushed, broken or sorrowful. I feel...

There is a blessed proportion. The Ruler of Providence bears a pair of scales-in this side he puts his people's trials, and in that he puts their consolations. When the scale of trial is nearly empty, you will always find the scale of consolation in nearly the same condition; and when the scale of trials is full, you will find the scale of consolation just as heavy. When the black clouds gather most, the light is the more brightly revealed to us. When the night lowers and the tempest is...

Paul had a narrow scrape with death in the province of Asia. We cannot be sure exactly what happened, but it was so serious that if we had asked him, "Is it going to be life or death?" he would have said, "Death."

Most people whom God uses have had a similar experience at one time or another in their lives. Biographies of great men of God record marvelous deliverances from disease, from accidents, from personal attacks.

Sometimes God uses this kind of experience to get a man's...