II Corinthians 2:14

II Corinthians 2:14 Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ … There will be many times in your life that you will be disappointed. There will be many times in your life that you will be discouraged. And there will be many times in your life when you will feel alone. But always remember that the dear Lord is always with you and will always be a winner. Even when you suffer difficulties, Jesus Christ will use them to strengthen you and to make things turn out for your good and for His glory. Never fear; trust the Lord Jesus Christ.

II Corinthians 2:6-8

II Corinthians 2:6-8 Sufficient to such a man is this punishment, which was inflicted of many. So that contrariwise ye ought rather to forgive him, and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow. Wherefore I beseech you that ye would confirm your love toward him. What should we do when we mess up? We should ask for forgiveness. We should not make excuses and try to get out of what we did wrong; we should ‘fess up and admit what we did and ask forgiveness for what we did. That is the strong way to get through a problem. And that’s what happened in the church in Corinth. Paul wrote I Corinthians to warn the church of a man who was sinning. But, evidently, the man repented. And here in II Corinthians Paul is reminding the church in Corinth that they should now forgive this man. If someone blows it and admits their mistake, what should we do? We should forgive them and forget it. We should not keep bringing it up. We should let it go. Just as God has forgiven us, we should forgive one another. That is God’s way and that is the Christian way.

II Corinthians 1:21,22

II Corinthians 1:21,22 Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts. We believe in One God in three persons. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We have all three persons mentioned here in our verses for today. Paul reminds the church in Corinth that it was Jesus Christ who saved them, and it was the same Jesus Christ Who saved him. It was God the Father who selected Paul to be an apostle and to preach the Gospel to them. And lastly, Paul said that it was the Holy Spirit Who indwelled their hearts. The word earnest means a down payment. When you buy something, you give the owner part of the money as a down payment. You give them a partial payment with the intention of paying them the rest of the money later. So the Holy Spirit is the down payment of our salvation. We get the Holy Spirit now, which is our down payment of heaven. And because the Holy Spirit indwells us, we are assured of heaven; we know for sure that we will make it there safe and sound. God always finishes what He starts.