Offspring of God

May 16, 2026May 16, 2026 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

⁶But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, ⁷and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” ⁸This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring. ⁹For this is what the promise said: “About this time next year I will return, and Sarah shall have a son.” ¹⁰And not only so, but also when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, ¹¹though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls— ¹²she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” ¹³As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” – Romans 9:6-13 ESV

Yes, God did choose Abraham and, through him, created the nation of Israel. They were God’s chosen people. And as Paul has said, “To them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises” (Romans 9:4 ESV).

God even ordained that the Messiah, the Savior of the world, would be born an Israelite. Yet, earlier in his letter, Paul wrote, “For you are not a true Jew just because you were born of Jewish parents or because you have gone through the ceremony of circumcision. No, a true Jew is one whose heart is right with God. And true circumcision is not merely obeying the letter of the law; rather, it is a change of heart produced by the Spirit. And a person with a changed heart seeks praise from God, not from people” (Romans 2:28-29 NLT).

So what is Paul saying? Better yet, what is God doing? Have His promises to Israel failed? Was all that He promised to Abraham a lie?

The point Paul seems to be making concerns the sovereign grace of God. The Jews believed they had a right relationship with God simply because they were Abraham’s descendants. Their faith was in their heritage and their unique place as God’s chosen people. But Paul argues that simply claiming Abraham as your father is not enough. To prove his point, Paul reminds his Jewish audience that Abraham fathered a number of sons, and yet only one of them, Isaac, was chosen as the line through which the promise of God would flow.

For the Scriptures say, “Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted,” though Abraham had other children, too. This means that Abraham’s physical descendants are not necessarily children of God. Only the children of the promise are considered to be Abraham’s children. – Romans 9:7-8 NLT

Also, Isaac had two sons, but only Jacob was chosen as the conduit for God’s promise.

This son was our ancestor Isaac. When he married Rebekah, she gave birth to twins. But before they were born, before they had done anything good or bad, she received a message from God. (This message shows that God chooses people according to his own purposes; he calls people, but not according to their good or bad works.) She was told, “Your older son will serve your younger son.” – Romans 9:10-12 NLT

Paul points out that this sovereign decision by God had nothing to do with the behavior or merits of the two sons. So what does all this mean? Paul provides the answer.

This means that Abraham’s physical descendants are not necessarily children of God. Only the children of the promise are considered to be Abraham’s children. – Romans 9:8 NLT

Many of the Jews living in Rome, who had not yet placed their faith in Christ, were under the delusion that their Hebrew heritage was their guarantee of a right relationship with God. But Paul wants them to understand that having the blood of Abraham coursing through their veins was no substitute for having the blood of Christ cover their sins.

Faith in Christ trumped anything and everything, including a pure bloodline. To experience the fulfillment of God’s promises always required faith; a fact the author of Hebrews drives home.

It was by faith that Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice when God was testing him. Abraham, who had received God’s promises, was ready to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, even though God had told him, “Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted.” – Hebrews 11:17-18 NLT

It was his faith in God’s promise that set Abraham apart and was counted to him as righteousness. And it is our faith in the promise of salvation through His Son that makes us right with God.

Ultimately, salvation is based on faith, not works. It requires a trust in God, not a false hope in our heritage or religious upbringing. Being born into the right family or worshiping in a particular faith system has no bearing on our worthiness and carries no weight with God.

Paul has already made his main point regarding the gospel – the good news regarding Jesus Christ.

It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile. This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.” – Romans 1:16-17 NLT

God chose Abraham. He chose Isaac. He chose Jacob. He made a conscious and sovereign decision to bring about salvation through the nation of Israel, but our hope is in the promised One. No one deserves salvation based on their background or their behavior. Man’s salvation and restoration to a right relationship with God requires faith alone in Christ alone; it can’t be earned or deserved, and isn’t the guaranteed right of a privileged few.

God’s chosen people were the conduit through which His promised Messiah came, but this did not guarantee their salvation. They would still have to place their faith in the One who had come to be their Savior. Yet, they refused to do so. When John the Baptist was preaching and baptizing in the Judean wilderness, in preparation for the Messiah’s appearance, he had a few choice words for the Jewish religious leaders.

…when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to watch him baptize, he denounced them. “You brood of snakes!” he exclaimed. “Who warned you to flee the coming wrath? Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God. Don’t just say to each other, ‘We’re safe, for we are descendants of Abraham.’ That means nothing, for I tell you, God can create children of Abraham from these very stones.” – Matthew 3: 7-9 NLT

He assailed their flawed faith in their Hebrew heritage. They were self-assured and confident in their standing as God’s chosen people. As descendants of Abraham, they considered themselves to be the rightful heirs to all of God’s promises, including the one concerning the coming of their long-awaited Messiah. Yet, when Jesus appeared on the scene, they refused to accept Him. They rejected John the Baptist’s call for repentance and dismissed Jesus’ claims to be their Savior. Their overconfidence in their status as God’s chosen people led Jesus to rebuke them.

“…you sent investigators to listen to John the Baptist, and his testimony about me was true. Of course, I have no need of human witnesses, but I say these things so you might be saved. John was like a burning and shining lamp, and you were excited for a while about his message. But I have a greater witness than John—my teachings and my miracles. The Father gave me these works to accomplish, and they prove that he sent me. And the Father who sent me has testified about me himself. You have never heard his voice or seen him face to face, and you do not have his message in your hearts, because you do not believe me—the one he sent to you.

“You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me! Yet you refuse to come to me to receive this life.” – John 5:33-40 NLT

The Israelites were the children of God and had the Word of God, which contained all His promises. Yet, they refused to recognize the Messiah when He showed up. When offered the gift of salvation through faith alone in Christ alone, they blatantly rejected it. Self-confident in their own self-righteousness as God’s chosen people, they denied their need for God’s Son and the salvation He offered.

Father, it is amazing how self-assured we humans can be. We somehow believe we are Your gift to the world. In our arrogance and pride, we place far to high a value on our own worthiness. We falsely boast in our own self-importance and wrongly believe we deserve Your approval. But Paul reminds us that even Abraham”s descendants, the rightful heirs of God’s promises, were required to place their faith in Your Son, not their status as Your chosen people. Paul made the need for faith alone in Christ alone perfectly clear when he wrote, “For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile.This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, ‘It is through faith that a righteous person has life’” (Romans 1:16-17 NLT). And I am so grateful that You made this offer available to me. I certainly did not earn or deserve it. But You graciously offered it and I humbly accepted it, and now I am Your child. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.22

Drinking the Kool-Aid of Self-Confidence

April 12, 2026 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

¹⁷But if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law and boast in God ¹⁸and know his will and approve what is excellent, because you are instructed from the law; ¹⁹and if you are sure that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, ²⁰an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of children, having in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth— ²¹you then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal? ²²You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? ²³You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking the law. ²⁴For, as it is written, “The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.” – Romans 2:17-24 ESV

As a Jew, Paul had no qualms addressing the faults and failures of his Jewish brothers and sisters. As a former Pharisee, he a passionate student of the Hebrew Scriptures. On one occasion, having been arrested in Jerusalem and accused of speaking out against the Jewish people and the Temple, Paul addressed the crowd and said, “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, and I was brought up and educated here in Jerusalem under Gamaliel. As his student, I was carefully trained in our Jewish laws and customs. I became very zealous to honor God in everything I did, just like all of you today” (Acts 22:3 NLT).

In his letter to the believers in Philippi, Paul gave his bona fides as a card-carrying Hebrew by stating, “I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am a pure-blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the tribe of Benjamin — a real Hebrew if there ever was one! I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law. I was so zealous that I harshly persecuted the church. And as for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault” (Philippians 3:5-6 NLT).

So Paul knew what he was talking about when he addressed the attitudes and spiritual status of the Jewish people. Which is why he was able to say, “[you] rely on the law and boast in God and know his will and approve what is excellent, because you are instructed from the law” (Romans 2:17-18 ESV).

The Jews had a certain degree of pride in their hearts when it came to their special designation as God’s chosen people. But this pride led to an arrogance and boastful certainty that they were above the fray, free from judgment, and immune to God’s wrath. But Paul has already warned them that, “according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus” (Romans 2:16 ESV)

Yes, they were God’s chosen people. They enjoyed a unique relationship with Him, had been given His law, and had been provided with the sacrificial system. They could even brag about having the Temple, where God’s presence dwelt. But Paul makes it clear that all of that was not enough.

They relied on God, boasted about their relationship with Him, knew His will as revealed in the law, and even taught others to obey it. They saw themselves as guides to the blind, lights to those in darkness, instructors of the foolish, and teachers of children. But the problem was that they were hypocrites who failed to live up to their own standards. They demanded strict adherence to the law they themselves were incapable of keeping.

In the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures, Isaiah 52:5 reads, “On account of you my name is continually blasphemed among the Gentiles.” Over the centuries, the actions of the Jews revealed their blatant disregard for God and His law. They were guilty of rebellion and unfaithfulness to His will and ways. They boasted in the law, but dishonored God by regularly violating it. So, as Paul said, they were without excuse. Their extensive knowledge of God failed to produce obedience. Centuries earlier, God had accused the people of Israel of their blatant hypocrisy.

“These people say they are mine. They honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. And their worship of me is nothing but man-made rules learned by rote.” – Isaiah 29:13 NLT

Even Jesus quoted this same passage when addressing the Pharisees of His day.

“So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God. You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said: ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’” – Matthew 15:6-9 ESV

Knowledge can be a wonderful thing, and the knowledge of God can be life-transformative. Knowing God’s Word can be beneficial to life, but there is a huge difference between knowing and doing. It was James who wrote, “But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves” (James 1:25 NLT).

Knowing the law of God is useless if you fail to keep it. Having an encyclopedic understanding of God is worthless if you choose to ignore His will. The Jews were putting their hope and trust in their pedigree and counting on their ethnic identity as Jews. But Paul wanted them to know that their knowledge of God and their awareness of His law only made them more responsible and culpable. Despite their pedigree as God’s chosen people, they stood before Him guilty of disobedience and spiritual infidelity. They were going to have to relinquish their reliance on their lineage and place their trust in Christ.

During his ministry, John the Baptist confronted the Jewish religious leaders who showed up at the Jordan River requesting that he baptize them, and His response was anything but tactful.

…when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.” – Matthew 3:7-9 ESV

Their confidence in their heritage had produced in them a false sense of superiority and a misguided confidence in their relationship with God. But just a few verses later, Paul dismantles their over-inflated sense of self-worth and spiritual superiority.

For you are not a true Jew just because you were born of Jewish parents or because you have gone through the ceremony of circumcision. No, a true Jew is one whose heart is right with God. And true circumcision is not merely obeying the letter of the law; rather, it is a change of heart produced by the Spirit. And a person with a changed heart seeks praise from God, not from people. – Romans 2:28-29 NLT

In his letter to the Philippians, Paul followed up his impressive curriculum vitae with a stark assessment of his former confidence in his Hebrew heritage.

“I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ.” – Philippians 3:7-8 NLT

There is only one thing worth knowing, and that is Jesus Christ as your Savior. It is an awareness of our own sin and our desperate need for a Savior that really counts. Every other form of knowledge is useless and worthless.

Father, in a way, I can sometimes place far too much emphasis on who I am and what I have accomplished. I can look back on my life and see all that I have done for You and begin to think that I have somehow earned my right to be called Your Son. But when pride and self-confidence cloud my thinking, I lose sight of the fact that You adopted me into Your family. I was chosen by You, but not because I deserved it. You made me Your child, despite my sin and rebellion. You graciously gave me a seat at Your table and adorned me with righteousness, purely out of love, and not because of merit. Paul was trying to get his fellow Jews to see that their lineage and heritage meant nothing is they failed to obey God. Their on-again-off-again adherence to Your law was never going to earn Your favor or guarantee their future relationship with You. They were sinners in need of a Savior, but were having a difficult time acknowledging that fact. Enamored with their status as Your chosen people, they failed to understand that, having been set apart by You, their behavior was to set them apart from all the other nations. They were to live distinctively different lives. But confident in their status as Your treasured possession, they compromised their convictions and fell from grace. How easy it is to lose sight of our dependence upon You. Never let me drink the Kool-Aid of self-confidence and forget that “everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” Amen

The Hypocrisy of a Holier-Than-Thou Attitude

April 9, 2026 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

¹Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. ²We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things. ³Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God? ⁴Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? ⁵But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed. – Romans 2:1-5 ESV

Paul was writing to the church in Rome, and, like many of the churches in those days, it was made up of converted Gentiles and Jews. Chapter one seems to be addressed to the former pagans or Gentiles. He wrote that he wished to come visit them so that he might “reap some harvest among you as well as among the rest of the Gentiles” (Romans 1:13 ESV). He made it clear to them that, like all men, prior to their conversion, they had been without excuse.

God had revealed Himself to them through His creation, and had made His “invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature” (Romans 1:20 ESV) clearly perceptible. Yet, like all men, they had rejected God’s revelation and had chosen to worship the creation rather than the Creator. And it had been the gospel that had revealed to them God’s power for salvation to everyone who believes. They had discovered that the righteousness God requires was available only through faith in His Son. They had once been under God’s wrath for their dishonoring and disregard of Him, and had been given up by God to reap the consequences of their darkened hearts and foolish choices. The city of Rome was still filled with tens of thousands of people living according to “the lie.”

But now, Paul turns his attention to another group within the church. They might be described as self-righteous religious snobs, those who were quick to consider themselves better than the pagans Paul had described. More than likely, Paul was speaking directly to the Jews who had accepted Christ as their Savior and Messiah. When they heard Paul describe those whom God had given up, they excluded themselves from that list because they considered themselves to be God’s chosen people. They were descendants of Abraham, the recipients of God’s covenant promises. But Paul makes it clear that they, too, are without excuse. In fact, to a certain degree, the Jews were even more culpable because they had been given special revelation from God.

God had revealed Himself to Abraham and given him His covenant promises. Yahweh had used Abraham and his barren wife to create the nation of Israel, in fulfillment of His promise to make of Abraham a great nation. When the descendants of Abraham had ended up as slaves in Egypt, God had rescued them from their captivity and led them to the land He had promised them. On the way, He gave them His law and provided them with the sacrificial system as a means of receiving forgiveness for their sins so they could maintain a right relationship with Him. God also gave them the tabernacle in the wilderness and the temple in Jerusalem as places where His holy presence would dwell, and they could meet with Him. And yet, throughout their history, the Jews had continually sinned against Him. He had proven His existence to them time and time again, and they were fully aware of His divine expectations on them, but they had been incapable of keeping God’s law or of remaining faithful to Him.

Despite all this, the Jews of Paul’s day had become self-righteous and prideful because of their unique relationship with God. Their attitude had become like that of the Pharisee in the parable that Jesus had told.

“The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: ‘I thank you, God, that I am not a sinner like everyone else. For I don’t cheat, I don’t sin, and I don’t commit adultery. I’m certainly not like that tax collector!’” – Luke 18:11 NLT

Because they were Abraham’s descendants, they viewed themselves as superior to the rest of humanity. But Paul warns them, “When you say they are wicked and should be punished, you are condemning yourself, for you who judge others do these very same things.” (Romans 2:1 NLT). They stood just as guilty as the pagans and were not exempt from the litany of sins found in Romans 1:29-31. They could not afford to consider themselves as somehow better than everyone else.

We can’t forget that this entire letter is ultimately about the gospel: “the power of God for salvation for everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16 ESV). It is about “the righteousness of God … revealed from faith for faith” (Romans 1:17 ESV). Paul’s whole point in the opening chapters of his letter was to prove that no one stands before God as righteous; all are without excuse, whether they are Gentiles or Jews.

Later in his letter, Paul writes, “Well then, should we conclude that we Jews are better than others? No, not at all, for we have already shown that all people, whether Jews or Gentiles, are under the power of sin. As the Scriptures say, ‘No one is righteous – not even one’” (Romans 3:9-10 NLT). Righteousness is not man-made; it is God-given. It is based on faith, not works, and has nothing to do with human merit. Instead, it relies on God’s mercy and grace.

Paul wanted the Jewish believers to know that they had been recipients of God’s kindness, forbearance, and patience. The fact that they still existed as a people had to do with God’s covenant promises, not their faithfulness or righteousness. He had continually rescued them from their own self-destructive tendencies so that He might fulfill His promise to send the Messiah as a descendant of David. When Jesus showed up on the scene as the Messiah, He called the people of Israel to repentance. And Paul says that God’s kindness, in the form of the Messiah, was meant to lead them to repentance. Yet Paul tells them, “But because you are stubborn and refuse to turn from your sin, you are storing up terrible punishment for yourself” (Romans 2:5 NLT). Why? Because the Jews failed to recognize their own sinfulness and need for a Savior. In pointing their finger at the sins of the pagans, they were missing the whole point. No one is righteous, no, not one.

Father, how easy it is to practice a form of spiritual one-upmanship. In our competitive mindset, we can always find someone whose sinful lifestyle makes us look good. Rather than acknowleding our undeserving nature and expressing gratitude to You for Your love, grace, and mercy, we try to make ourselves look better by looking down on others. But in our attempt to set ourselves up as spiritually superior, we prove our own hypocrisy and undeservedness. Bashing “sinners” has become a popular trend for Christians. Finding fault with unbelievers somehow makes us feel better about ourselves. But Paul reminds us, “When you say they are wicked and should be punished, you are condemning yourself, for you who judge others do these very same things” (Romans 2:1 NLT). We should know better because we know You. We should act differently because we have Your Spirit living within us. We are without excuse and in need of repentance. Forgive us of our pride, arrogance, and judgmental attitude. Continue to remind us that we owe everything to You. Your love for us is not based on our righteousness or super spirituality; it is based on the gift of Your Son. Amen

The Lie That Leads To Death

April 6, 2026 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

²⁴Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, ²⁵because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. – Romans 1:24-25 ESV

This whole section of Romans 1 is concerned with the truth versus the lie. In these verses, Paul states that man has “exchanged the truth of God for a lie,” or literally, “the lie”. To understand this passage, we need to define what Paul meant by these two terms. What is the truth of God, and what is it that unrighteous man has suppressed (vs 18)?

Through His creation, God has revealed His eternal power and divine nature to man, so they are without excuse. Nature virtually screams the truth regarding the existence of God. The very fact that men have ended up worshiping the creation rather than the Creator reveals that man recognizes the existence of a powerful source outside of himself, but has chosen to exchange “worshiping the glorious, ever-living God” to worship “idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles.” (Romans 1:23 NLT). The truth to which Paul refers in this opening chapter is the reality of God’s existence.

For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. – Romans 1:19 ESV

Because man has rejected the truth regarding God’s existence, it is virtually impossible for him to accept the need for a Savior sent from God for his salvation. Ignorance of or disbelief in God’s existence ultimately leads to a refusal to accept any kind of divine standard for moral conduct; morality becomes highly subjective and relativistic. Each man ends up doing what is right in his own eyes. As a result, they begin to believe “the lie,” either rejecting that God exists at all or replacing the truth about God with something or someone else.

Rather than honoring God as the sovereign Lord of the universe and giving Him thanks for all that He has done for them, they turn their attention elsewhere, relying on their own wisdom to explain their existence and to determine their conduct.

As a result of their rejection of Him, God gives them up. That sounds like such a harsh statement, and comes across as some form of divine abandonment. The Greek word is paradidōmi, and it means “to give into the hands (of another)” or “to give over into (one’s) power or use.” In a way, this simply means that God releases them to pursue and believe “the lie.” He allows men to rely on their own wisdom and darkened hearts. In this sense, His wrath is less active than passive. He doesn’t abandon them; He allows them to reap what they sow.

Paul had this idea in mind when he wrote to the believers in Galatia.

Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. – Galatians 6:7-8 NLT

Three times in this section of Romans 1, Paul uses the phrase “God gave them up.” In these two verses, he describes God giving man up to impurity. Rejecting the truth regarding God’s existence ultimately leads to a false conclusion that man is the final arbiter of his fate. It is the wisdom of man, divorced from God, that leads to things like genocide, infanticide, abortion, and virtually all forms of sexual sin and perversion. Highly intelligent people can commit and justify extremely immoral acts. Humanism, as a philosophy of life, is destructive. It can be defined as “a variety of ethical theory and practice that emphasizes reason, scientific inquiry, and human fulfillment in the natural world and often rejects the importance of belief in God” (Collins English Dictionary – Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition).

Man ends up worshiping and idolizing man. But in the end, all men are inherently selfish and self-centered. Even our best attempts at living altruistic lives end up being self-serving. When you make man the center of your world, it is difficult, if not impossible, to keep from making that world revolve around yourself and your individual wants and desires. You end up doing what is right in your own eyes and find yourself serving the creature rather than the creator. Not only do you dishonor God, but you eventually dishonor your own body, doing things that God never intended or approved and selfishly fulfilling the lusts of your heart. God releases you to reap what you sow and allows you to experience the negative outcomes of your own myopic and narcissistic lifestyle choices.

We see the reality of these verses all around us. We are surrounded by highly educated and intelligent people living godless lives who have made themselves the sole focus of their worship and attention. Mankind has made a habit of rejecting the one true God and coming up with their own version of the truth. They exchange the truth about God’s existence and sovereignty for the lie that He is irrelevant or replaceable, and the lie always leads to destruction.

Paul will outline some serious consequences of living according to the lie. When reading the following verses, it is tempting to focus on a particular sin, but Paul has a much broader view of man’s belief in the lie. He will describe those who reject the truth of God and accept the lie in far-from-flattering terms.

Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents. They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy. – Romans 1:29-31 NLT

His words should sound familiar because they describe the world we live in. Paul says, “Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done” (Romans 1:28 NLT). And they reaped what they sowed.

A life lived without God is not a pretty picture because buying into the lie comes with serious consequences. Any man who is left to himself and allowed by God to pursue his own way will ultimately live a life marked by godlessness, unrighteousness, and, in the end, death.

Father, Paul was right, the world is filled with people who have believed “the lie.” They can see the evidence of Your existence all around them but they have become blind to the truth. Their hearts are hardened and their minds have been deceived by the enemy’s constant barrage of blatant lies and half-truths. He has convinced them to worship anything other than You and, as a result, they have left to fend for and care for themselves. Thinking themselves to be wise, they have become fools. And yet, in Your love and mercy, You continue to call the lost back to Yourself. As You have done for centuries, You extend grace and mercy to the rebellious and disobedient, offering them the opportunity to accept the free gift of salvation and spiritual restoration made possible through Your Son’s death on the cross. You allow them to pursue their false gods and, yet, You never completely abandon them. The gift is always available. As Paul told the believers in Rome,“The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23 NLT). Thank You for this reminder of Your goodness, grace, patience, kindness, and love. Give me a heart to love the lost like You do and never let me forget that, at one point, I too “exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator” (Romans 1:25 ESV). Amen

Wise Fools

April 5, 2026 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

²¹For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. ²²Claiming to be wise, they became fools, ²³and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. – Romans 1:21-23 ESV

Wise fools. The world is full of them and always has been. Paul describes them as futile in their thinking. The Greek word Paul uses is mataioō, which can mean “to passively become foolish, or to become idolatrous.” Paul says these wise fools are without excuse because they have had every opportunity to honor or recognize the existence and reality of God, who has revealed Himself through His creation.

For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. – Romans 1:20 ESV

These kinds of people indict themselves because they all end up worshiping something or someone. They may not call it worship, but they esteem or honor other things, giving them the place of prominence in their lives that belongs to God alone. Some end up worshiping man, making humanity the end-all be-all of our existence; they believe we are our own savior. Others worship science, placing all their hope and trust in reason and man’s ability to solve all of the world’s problems through scientific research and development. There are those who worship political parties or governmental and ideological policies.

Elevating men or man-made ideas to a god-like status in our lives has been humanity’s lot since the fall. That was the original temptation of the serpent in the garden.

“For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” – Genesis 3:5 ESV

Paul makes it painfully clear that all men know God because they sense the existence of something greater than what they can see. Creation virtually shouts that there is something or someone out there, the first cause behind all that exists. Ancient man inherently knew that there was a force greater than themselves; that’s why they created idols. It is the reason they worshiped the sun, moon, stars, animals, nature, and every other created thing.

Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles. – Romans 1:22-23 ESV

But modern man is more sophisticated than that; our idols are more subtle and sensible. We wouldn’t dream of worshiping the sun but we will worship the Big Bang Theory. We will go out of our way to concoct every possible explanation for our existence, while refusing to accept the idea that God exists. Claiming to be wise, we become fools, self-deceived, and sadly mistaken in our conclusions. We end up exchanging the glory of the immortal God for a cheap, but seemingly plausible replacement.

Paul insists that man’s persistent attempt to explain away God has left him with a darkened heart. What was once clearly discernible to them, the invisible attributes of God, has become cloudy and veiled. Man has lost the ability to sense God’s presence and power. This has left him with the nagging need to explain his existence and make sense of a world that continues to spiral out of control, despite all our scientific advances, modern conveniences, and misguided hope in moralistic relativism. We keep believing we can make the world a better place. We have made vast improvements in communication, transportation, medicine, education, and agricultural production, yet the world remains plagued by hatred, disease, famine, ignorance, and inequities in all their hideous forms. We have made advances in everything except the state of man’s heart. We can help him live longer, but we are incapable of making him live better. Human reason will never come up with a way to deal with sin. Science will never find a solution to the problem of the human heart. In our wisdom, we have become fools.

And yet, in the midst of all of mankind’s arrogance and pride, God sent His Son. Paul calls it the gospel, “the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16 ESV). In the gospel, the righteousness of God has been revealed through the life of His sinless Son. God’s righteous expectations for humanity were fulfilled by Jesus.

For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ. – 2 Corinthians 5:21 NLT

The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. – Romans 8:3 NLT

He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed. – 1 Peter 2:24 NLT

Jesus did what no other man had been able to do since Adam; He lived in perfect obedience to the law of God. As the author of Hebrews states, “he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin” (Hebrews 4:15 NLT). And it was His sinless life that made Him the perfect sacrifice to pay for the sins of man. He died so that man might live. He gave His life so that we would not have to give ours. The death of Jesus was what God required so that men might be made right (righteous) with Him. And this righteousness is only available by faith. Not by reason. Not by scientific explanations or experiments. Not through human effort or any amount of seemingly moral advancements.

Man, apart from God, is helpless, hopeless, blind, ignorant, and spiritually dead. Even his best efforts on his best day are flawed and, ultimately, worthless. As the prophet Isaiah so aptly put it, “We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags. Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall, and our sins sweep us away like the wind” (Isaiah 64:6 NLT).

Man has become too smart for his own good. His intelligence has left him unable to honor God or give Him thanks. He is determined to come up with his own explanation for his existence and a personal plan for his future. But in the end, all men must face the reality of God’s existence. God doesn’t go away because we attempt to explain Him away. He doesn’t cease to exist simply because our intelligence refuses to accept Him. God has revealed Himself in His creation and made Himself known through His written Word. And He has given men the means by which they can know Him personally and permanently through His Son. But the knowledge of God is ultimately available through faith, not wisdom.

Father, You are self-evident. Your existance is displayed in the universe You created. Yet, in our “wisdom,” we have determined to write You out of the script, to remove You from the story of our lives. Yet, rather than give up on us, You sent Your Son to live among us. Jesus became one of us, so that He might demonstrate what obedience to Your righteous law looks like. Not only that, Jesus made You, the invisible God, visible and knowable. As the apostle John wrote, “No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is Himself God and is at the Father’s side, has made Him known” (John 1:18 BSB). He walked among us. He lived like us. Then He died for us. All so we could be restored to a right relationship with You. In our foolish wisdom, we turned our backs on You. We became too smart for our own good. However, You had a plan to redeem us from our own stupidity and self-destructiveness. You sent Jesus and He offered His life as payment for our well-deserved judgment. As Paul told the Corinthians, “The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18 NLT). Thank You for graciously loving a fool like me. And forgive me for the many times I fall back on my own foolish wisdom and fail to honor You as God and give You thanks. Amen

Power to Save and Sanctify

March 29, 2026 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

¹⁹Have you been thinking all along that we have been defending ourselves to you? It is in the sight of God that we have been speaking in Christ, and all for your upbuilding, beloved. ²⁰For I fear that perhaps when I come I may find you not as I wish, and that you may find me not as you wish—that perhaps there may be quarreling, jealousy, anger, hostility, slander, gossip, conceit, and disorder. ²¹I fear that when I come again my God may humble me before you, and I may have to mourn over many of those who sinned earlier and have not repented of the impurity, sexual immorality, and sensuality that they have practiced.

¹ This is the third time I am coming to you. Every charge must be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. ²I warned those who sinned before and all the others, and I warn them now while absent, as I did when present on my second visit, that if I come again I will not spare them— ³since you seek proof that Christ is speaking in me. He is not weak in dealing with you, but is powerful among you. ⁴For he was crucified in weakness, but lives by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but in dealing with you we will live with him by the power of God. – 2 Corinthians 12:19-13:4 ESV

Paul was making plans for a third trip to see the Corinthians, and, given all that had transpired since his last visit, he was somewhat apprehensive. He was concerned that he would find them in a less-than-ideal spiritual state. They had obviously been influenced by those he labeled as the “super apostles,” and the degree of their spiritual maturity was somewhat suspect. In some ways, Paul was afraid that things were not much different from what they had been since he had written his first letter to them.

Dear brothers and sisters, when I was with you I couldn’t talk to you as I would to spiritual people. I had to talk as though you belonged to this world or as though you were infants in Christ. I had to feed you with milk, not with solid food, because you weren’t ready for anything stronger. And you still aren’t ready, for you are still controlled by your sinful nature. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn’t that prove you are controlled by your sinful nature? Aren’t you living like people of the world? – 1 Corinthians 3:1-3 NLT

Paul’s greatest concern was for their spiritual growth and maturity. All the time he spent defending his apostleship was not to make himself look better in their eyes, but to get them to realize that he was God-ordained for his ministry and well worth listening to. Unlike his adversaries, he had their best interests at heart. The last thing Paul wanted to find when he arrived was his spiritual children still struggling with the same unresolved issues. He expected to see true life change and signs of repentance and spiritual reformation. He hated the thought of having to spend his time among them, reprimanding and disciplining all those who remained unrepentant and addicted to their former life in the flesh.

While Paul was not anxious or eager to find the Corinthians dealing with their same old problems, he warned them that he was ready to confront their sin in the power of God. If they required proof that he had been sent by God, they were going to get it, in the form of church discipline. But Paul would do things in a godly fashion. Any accusations anyone had against a brother or sister would have to be based on two or three witnesses, just as Jesus had commanded (Matthew 18:15-20). There would be a fair and equitable process, but in the end, Paul would deal with the situation forcefully and unapologetically.

Earlier in this letter, Paul had appealed to them on the basis of the gentleness and meekness of Christ.

Now I, Paul, appeal to you with the gentleness and kindness of Christ—though I realize you think I am timid in person and bold only when I write from far away. Well, I am begging you now so that when I come I won’t have to be bold with those who think we act from human motives.– 2 Corinthians 10:1-2 NLT

But it appears that Paul wasn’t overly confident that they would listen to his pleas. He would have to “show boldness,” and they would have to witness the power of Christ exhibited through Paul’s authoritative, disciplinary actions. He was going to get their attention and prove to them once and for all that he was speaking on behalf of Christ.

Paul reminds them that Christ was crucified in weakness. In other words, He was beaten, humiliated, tortured, and nailed to a cross in his human flesh. He slowly bled out. He gradually and painfully asphyxiated as his lungs filled with fluid, and he had to push down with his nail-pierced feet in order to take his next breath. This had gone on for hours, until He had finally breathed his last breath and died. But Paul reminds them that Jesus had not remained dead; He was resurrected by the power of God and “lives by the power of God” (2 Corinthians 13:4 NLT).

Paul warns that they would experience the same power when he came to them. Even in his human weakness, Paul was indwelt by the Holy Spirit, the one who raised Jesus from the dead. Upon his arrival, Paul would use that power to ensure that the Corinthians remained true to their faith in Christ, so that they might one day experience the resurrection of their bodies and enjoy all the joys of eternal life that Jesus promised.

Paul delivered a similar message about the resurrection power of the Spirit to the believers in Rome.

The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you. – Romans 8:11 NLT

For Paul, the important matter was how you finished the race, not how you started it. Coming to faith in Christ was wonderful, but the Christian life was intended to be a journey with a final destination. The goal was to finish well, and the only way to do it was to rely on the power of God for daily strength and discipline.

For the LORD disciplines those he loves, and he punishes each one he accepts as his child. – Hebrews 12:6 NLT

My child, don’t reject the Lord’s discipline,
and don’t be upset when he corrects you.
For the Lord corrects those he loves,
just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights. – Proverbs 3:11-12 NLT

The power of God guides and directs, empowers and protects, and disciplines and corrects. The One who called us is powerful enough to keep us and ensure that what He began, He will complete.

Father, than You for this much-needed reminder of Your power to save and transform. You don’t just forgive our sins, but You also provide us with the capacity to live righteous lives. You make our pursuit of holiness possible, even while we live in a fallen world and do daily battle with our sinful flesh. We are no longer slaves to sin because Christ delivered us from its control through His death on the cross. And, as Jesus said, “If the Son sets you free, you are truly free” (John 8:36 NLT). So, through the indwelling presence of Your Spirit, would You continue to provide me with strength and the motivation to live freely, faithfully, and powerfully as Your child, looking eagerly to the day when my salvation will be completed with my glorification. Because You are not only powerful, but You are faithful to finish what You began. Amen

The Power of Perseverance

March 28, 2026 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

¹¹I have been a fool! You forced me to it, for I ought to have been commended by you. For I was not at all inferior to these super-apostles, even though I am nothing. ¹²The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with utmost patience, with signs and wonders and mighty works. ¹³For in what were you less favored than the rest of the churches, except that I myself did not burden you? Forgive me this wrong!

¹⁴Here for the third time I am ready to come to you. And I will not be a burden, for I seek not what is yours but you. For children are not obligated to save up for their parents, but parents for their children. ¹⁵I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls. If I love you more, am I to be loved less? ¹⁶But granting that I myself did not burden you, I was crafty, you say, and got the better of you by deceit. ¹⁷Did I take advantage of you through any of those whom I sent to you? ¹⁸I urged Titus to go, and sent the brother with him. Did Titus take advantage of you? Did we not act in the same spirit? Did we not take the same steps? – 2 Corinthians 12:11-18 ESV

Paul confesses that he feels like a fool. All this self-promotion is out of character for him, but he tells the Corinthians that their silence forced him to do it. They are the ones who should have been commending him because they had been the recipients of his ministry and message. They had enjoyed the benefits of his self-sacrifice and loving commitment to share the gospel with them. As far as Paul was concerned, he had no reason to take a back seat to the “super-apostles” who were setting themselves up as his spiritual superiors. He had come to the Corinthians as an apostle of Jesus Christ, armed with the gospel and backed by the power of God as revealed in the signs and wonders he had performed while among them. This had been Paul’s modus operandi everywhere he went.

Yet I dare not boast about anything except what Christ has done through me, bringing the Gentiles to God by my message and by the way I worked among them. They were convinced by the power of miraculous signs and wonders and by the power of God’s Spirit. In this way, I have fully presented the Good News of Christ from Jerusalem all the way to Illyricum. – Romans 15:18-19 NLT

Paul had not short-changed the Corinthians; he had treated them the same way he had every other Gentile community he had visited. The only difference was that he had not burdened them with providing for his needs while he ministered among them. Others had funded his ministry, and before that, he had paid his way by working as a tent maker. Yet, there were those who accused him of deception and craftiness, claiming that he acted as if he were sacrificing on their behalf while hiding that he was receiving outside aid. There were others who said that Paul had simply gotten money from them by sending his surrogates to collect it, under the guise that it would be used for the saints in Jerusalem. In other words, they were accusing Paul of sending Titus and others to take up a collection, all the while using that money for himself. It seems that, in the eyes of the Corinthians, Paul could do nothing right. His actions were constantly under attack, and his motives were always suspect.

But Paul pledges to keep on loving and giving, whether or not they return the favor. It was his sincere desire to return to Corinth for a third time, and he intended to act in the same way he always had. He would love them like a father loves his children. While he greatly desired that love to be reciprocal, he wasn’t going to let their lack of love prevent him from doing the will of God. He tells them, “I will gladly spend myself and all I have for you, even though it seems that the more I love you, the less you love me” (2 Corinthians 12:15 NLT).

Everything Paul had done for them had been motivated by love. He had sacrificed greatly so they might receive the gospel. He had already written two other letters, intended to encourage them in their faith and to provide them with wise counsel regarding real-life scenarios taking place in their midst. He was like a loving father, gladly providing for his children’s needs and willingly making sacrifices for their benefit. And while he would have longed for them to return his love, he would not let their distrust and disloyalty sway his actions. All his efforts were motivated by his desire to please his heavenly Father. When all was said and done, Paul was out to please God, not men; he was looking for the praise of God, not the praise of men.

Paul’s only regret was that he was having to waste time defending himself before the Corinthians. There were other pressing needs he would have preferred to address. Instead of wasting time “boasting” about his qualifications and defending his actions, he would have preferred to help them grow in their faith. Paul was a teacher, yet he had to spend all his time playing defense attorney.

He could have given up and written off the Corinthians as too stubborn and hard-headed to waste any more of his valuable time on them. But Paul was committed to their spiritual well-being and was not content to see them languish in their faith and settle for the status quo. He would not allow their complacency to deter his commitment to the call of Christ on his life. He was out to make disciples, and nothing was going to stand in his way, including the damaging accusations of false apostles, the lack of love from those to whom he had shared the gospel, or the constant time spent defending his motives and reputation. His attitude remained, “I will gladly spend myself and all I have for you” (2 Corinthians 12:15 NLT).

Father, nobody likes to have their motives questioned, especially when their efforts are sincere and well-intentioned. So, it is understandable why Paul was so frustrated with the Corinthians. He had done nothing wrong, yet all his efforts on their behalf were under attack and unappreciated. His character was being attacked in an effort to undermine his authority. Yet, he never gave up or threw in the towel. It would have been so easy for him to dismiss the Corinthians as ungrateful and unworthy of his time and energy. But he saw himself as Your servant and was willing to take abuse for Your sake. As ministers of the gospel, we will not always be understood or appreciated. Our message will be rejected by some and our motives will be questioned by others. People will falsely accuse us and attempt to undermind our efforts. But, as difficult as that may be, we have to remember that we work for an audience of one: You. Never let me forget that. When I begin to lose heart because others seem to dismiss or even discredit my efforts, remind me of Paul’s unwavering commitment to his commission. He was not a quitter. When it came to his Christ-ordained mission, he refused to be distracted, deterred, or defeated, and that is the mindset I want to have. Amen

The Paradoxical Power of Weakness

March 27, 2026 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

²I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows. ³And I know that this man was caught up into paradise—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows— ⁴and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter. ⁵On behalf of this man I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except of my weaknesses— ⁶though if I should wish to boast, I would not be a fool, for I would be speaking the truth; but I refrain from it, so that no one may think more of me than he sees in me or hears from me. ⁷So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. ⁸Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. ⁹But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. ¹⁰For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. – 2 Corinthians 12:2-10 ESV

In verse one, Paul confesses, “I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord.” He is letting his readers know that he is about to provide additional evidence to validate his apostleship and to set him apart from the false apostles who are dogging his ministry. His reference to visions and revelations suggests that what he is about to divulge is well beyond the usual arguments for his apostleship; it will involve the supernatural and direct communication from God. Visions are typically visible manifestations of God’s power. The Greek word Paul uses is optasia, and it means, “a sight, a vision, an appearance presented to one whether asleep or awake”(“G3701 – optasia – Strong’s Greek Lexicon (KJV).” Blue Letter Bible. Web. 20 Oct, 2016. https://www.blueletterbible.org).

Paul’s reference to “revelations” seems to indicate verbal communication from God. The Greek word is apokalypsis and it means, “a disclosure of truth, instruction; oncerning things before unknown” (“G602 – apokalypsis – Strong’s Greek Lexicon (KJV).” Blue Letter Bible. Web. 20 Oct, 2016. https://www.blueletterbible.org). Paul shares a personal experience that included a vision and word from God. He refers to himself in the third person simply to diminish the aura of bragging that comes from sharing such a story.

He says, “I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven” (2 Corinthians 12:2a ESV). It is clear that Paul is referring to himself, because he later adds, “So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations…” (2 Corinthians 12:7 ESV). This was a personal experience that Paul had and one he shared reluctantly. He provides little detail and refuses to share exactly what he saw or heard. But fourteen years earlier, Paul had received a vision from God and was somehow transported to the “third heaven.” In the ancient mindset, there were three heavens. There was the sky or the visible atmosphere, and then there was the heavens containing the sun, moon, stars, and planets; what might be referred to as “outer space.” The third heaven or paradise was a reference to the dwelling place of God.

Paul recalls being somehow transported into heaven. He could not tell if it had all been a dream or whether he had actually gone there in his physical body. While there, he “heard things so astounding that they cannot be expressed in words, things no human is allowed to tell.” (2 Corinthians 12:4 NLT). Paul spends no time describing the sights or sounds of heaven. He provides no insights into what “paradise” looked like. Not only that, he gives us no clue about what he heard; he only describes it as unrepeatable.

This one-of-a-kind, supernatural event clearly set Paul apart. Who else could claim to have been transported to heaven and given a glimpse of the sights and sounds associated with that remarkable place? But while blown away by the experience, Paul refused to boast about it. He would not allow himself to turn his divinely ordained experience into an opportunity to elevate his stature among the Corinthians. He would boast about “this man,” but when it came to himself, he would rather boast about his weaknesses. He explains, “I don’t want anyone to give me credit beyond what they can see in my life or hear in my message” (2 Corinthians 12:6 NLT). Paul wanted his life and message to fuel his reputation, not his supernatural vision.

It is interesting to note that earlier, Paul recounted a time when he had been saved from arrest by being lowered in a basket from a window (2 Corinthians 11:33). He prefaced this story with the statement, “I would rather boast about the things that show how weak I am” (2 Corinthians 11:30 NLT). His disclosure of this rather ignoble event was meant to emphasize his weakness. He had been forced to suffer the humiliation of being crammed in a basket and lowered out a window. This would have been a blow to the ego for a man of Paul’s temperament. Yet, he viewed it as a reminder of his own weakness and God’s power.

But now he talks about having been raised by God to the very heights of heaven. This may have been what Paul meant when he wrote, “I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:12 ESV).

Paul could have easily let this divine encounter produce a spirit of pride and spiritual superiority. He could have viewed himself as somehow more anointed and blessed by God. After all, who else could claim to have gotten an all-expenses-paid trip to paradise? But God wasn’t going to let Paul get a big head. In fact, Paul says, “So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud.” (2 Corinthians 12:7 NLT).

Paul does not say what this “thorn” was. The Greek word Paul uses is skolops, and it actually refers to a sharp, pointed stake. It was far more than a “splinter” or an inconvenient annoyance; it was potentially debilitating and described by Paul as “a messenger of Satan to torment me.”

Was it a physical disability or a spiritual weakness? Paul doesn’t say. Since Paul mentions “conceit,” it may have been a proclivity toward pride and arrogance. The constant harassment Paul faced from his ever-present adversaries could easily have driven him to boast of his superior calling and intellectual prowess. Paul was an educated man who had risen high in the ranks of the Pharisees. He was an expert in the Hebrew Scriptures. So, it would have been easy for Paul to develop a haughty spirit and arrogant attitude toward those who questioned his ministry. However, God lovingly kept Paul humble.

On three different occasions, Paul pleaded with God to remove this “stake” from his life, and each time God refused. But He reminded Paul, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9a NLT). God’s grace was greater than Paul’s problem. His strength was far superior to Paul’s weakness in the flesh. And, more than 14 years later, Paul was able to say, “I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.” (2 Corinthians 12:9b NLT).

Paul’s awareness of his weakness led him to appreciate God’s gracious love and power. Anything he accomplished in his life that was worthwhile or worthy of praise was attributable to God, not himself.

Paul would gladly suffer the humiliation of being lowered down the wall in a basket. He would willingly go through the pain of another stoning or the indignity of arrest and imprisonment, all for the sake of Christ. Through it all, he had learned the invaluable life lesson of “when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10 ESV).

Father, I bring nothing to the table except my willingness to submit to Your will and rely upon Your strength. You do not need me and yet You lovingly use me to accomplish Your will. Your Holy Spirit empowers me. Your Word convicts and instructs me. You have provided the body of Christ, the church, to comfort, support, and encourage me. Yet, how easy it is to take credit for my accomplishments and to view myself as some kind of indispensible asset to Your Kingdom causes. Thank You for graciously and lovingly keeping me humble by constantly reminding me of my weaknesses. Indepenence is a dangerous thing for any Christ follower to embrace. Any time I think I can stand on my own by relying on my far-from-sufficient strength, I am doomed to disappointment and failure. But You love me enough to expose my inadequacies and call me back to a willful reliance upon Your all-sufficient power, and for that I am grateful. Amen

As Unto the Lord

March 22, 2026 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

¹³But we will not boast beyond limits, but will boast only with regard to the area of influence God assigned to us, to reach even to you. ¹⁴For we are not overextending ourselves, as though we did not reach you. For we were the first to come all the way to you with the gospel of Christ. ¹⁵We do not boast beyond limit in the labors of others. But our hope is that as your faith increases, our area of influence among you may be greatly enlarged, ¹⁶so that we may preach the gospel in lands beyond you, without boasting of work already done in another’s area of influence. ¹⁷“Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” ¹⁸For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends. – 2 Corinthians 10:13-18 ESV

While Paul was willing to become all things to all people so that he might save some (1 Corinthians 9:22), he was not willing to submit himself to the authority of men or to labor for their approval. Fourteen years after his conversion, Paul traveled to Jerusalem with Barnabas and Titus to meet with the original apostles. He had been doing ministry among the Gentiles for well over a decade and had never traveled to Jerusalem to get their approval for his ministry. In fact, Paul boldly proclaimed his independence from the leadership in Jerusalem.

…the leaders of the church had nothing to add to what I was preaching. (By the way, their reputation as great leaders made no difference to me, for God has no favorites.) Instead, they saw that God had given me the responsibility of preaching the gospel to the Gentiles, just as he had given Peter the responsibility of preaching to the Jews. – Galatians 2:6-7 NLT

Paul would later tell Timothy, “Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15 NLT). He also told him, “Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity” (1 Timothy 4:12 NLT).

For Paul, God’s approval of his work was paramount. He considered himself a servant of God, and so his only concern was to do what his Master had commanded him to do. And yet, because he was human, Paul was sensitive to the constant criticism he faced. His ministry was always under siege, and the most vicious attacks were personal in nature.

It seems that in Corinth, Paul was accused of having overstepped his bounds; he was operating outside his designated area of influence. Corinth was a long way from Jerusalem, and as a Jew, Paul had no business ministering to the primarily Gentile community there. His critics were saying he was out of bounds in Corinth; it was their territory, and he needed to mind his own business and leave them alone.

But Paul argued that he was under the same commission Jesus had given to the original 12 disciples

“Be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” – Acts 1:8 ESV

Paul considered Corinth well within his God-assigned jurisdiction, and he reminded them that he had brought the gospel there and helped plant the first church.

We were the first to reach as far as you with the gospel about Christ. – 2 Corinthians 10:14b NLT).

When ministry becomes a competition or a quest for fame and glory, everyone loses. Those who minister to gain recognition or the approval of men will always view other ministers as adversaries, not allies. Paul was not out to build his reputation, but to build up the body of Christ. He was not motivated by man’s approval, but by God’s. Paul wanted to one day hear the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master” (Matthew 25:21 ESV).

The whole idea of ministerial boundaries and serving God for personal glory or gain was foreign to Paul. He simply went where God told him to go, and was able to say, “I have fully presented the Good News of Christ from Jerusalem all the way to Illyricum. My ambition has always been to preach the Good News where the name of Christ has never been heard, rather than where a church has already been started by someone else” (Romans 15:19b-20 NLT).

Paul’s passion was for evangelism. He longed to take the gospel to those places where the name of Christ was unknown and the message of the good news had not yet been heard. But Paul also had a desire to see those who had come to faith in Christ grow up in their salvation (1 Corinthians 3:2; 1 Peter 2:2). So while he was anxious to continue his missionary efforts and take the gospel to places such as Rome and Spain (Acts 19:21; Romans 15:28), he was not willing to watch newly converted Christians languish in spiritual infancy or as the predatory practices false teachers. So he continued to reach out to the Corinthians, longing to see them grow. It was his desire that they increase in spiritual health and maturity. Once that goal was achieved, he reasoned, “Then we will be able to go and preach the Good News in other places far beyond you, where no one else is working. Then there will be no question of our boasting about work done in someone else’s territory.” (2 Corinthians 10:16 NLT). He wanted to move on, but was not willing to do so if it meant sacrificing the stability of the work in Corinth.

When all was said and done, Paul was only interested in one thing: God’s approval. He believed that he performed his duties before an audience of one: God. Yes, there would always be others watching. There would always be some who complimented his work and others who attacked it. But at the end of the day, he was endeavoring to please God, not men. He wanted to be able to lie his head on the pillow and find rest in the fact that he had done what God had called him to do. Which is what led him to write:

As the Scriptures say, “If you want to boast, boast only about the Lord.”

When people commend themselves, it doesn’t count for much. The important thing is for the Lord to commend them. – 2 Corinthians 10:17-18 ESV

When we faithfully do God’s will, we will find ourselves with admirers and detractors. We may receive compliments and equal amounts of criticism, and have our methods and motives questioned. Others will attempt to take credit for what we have done. But as long as we are doing what we do for the Lord, it will not matter.

Like Paul, we need to constantly remind ourselves that we perform our duties for an audience of one. His opinion is the only one that matters; the applause and approval of men carry no weight when compared to the commendation of God. So, “whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Colossians 3:17 ESV), and “do it all for the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31 NLT).

Father, Men-pleasing is a non-contact sport among most Christians. We are competitive in nature, even when it comes to our spiritual lives. We compare and contrast, measuring our spiritual maturity based on what others think of us or how well our walk stacks up to theirs. We don’t like criticism and the thought of others questioning our godliness makes our blood boil. But Paul reminds me that Your opinion is the only one that matters. I perform for an audience of one: You. It is what You think of me that should motivate my actions and measure my effectiveness. But I am so prone to worrying about what others think about me. The approval of men is like a drug that clouds my thinking and causes me to lose sight my real purpose. I am Your servant and I answer to You alone. I exist to serve and please You. Thank You for using Paul to deliver that much-needed reminder. Now, help me to live it out in everyday life. Amen

The Grace of Giving

March 15, 2026 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

¹We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, ²for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. ³For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, ⁴begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints— ⁵and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us. ⁶Accordingly, we urged Titus that as he had started, so he should complete among you this act of grace. ⁷But as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you—see that you excel in this act of grace also.

⁸I say this not as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuine. – 2 Corinthians 8:1-8 ESV

Paul had been overwhelmed by the reception of his previous letter, even though its message had produced sorrow among the Corinthians. However, that sorrow had led to their repentance, and they had responded in grace, love, and gratitude.

Now Paul takes the opportunity to appeal to that same grace to enlist their help with a pressing financial concern. For nearly five years, Paul has been actively soliciting funds from the churches he had helped establish throughout Macedonia, Galatia, Achaia, and Asia Minor. This money was being sent to help Hebrew Christians living in Judea, where they were suffering from the effects of a famine as well as the poverty that came as a result of their conversion to Christianity. Many had lost their jobs, been ostracized by their families, or were having a difficult time trying to do business with their Jewish neighbors. Paul was constantly requesting the churches he helped to start to provide financial assistance to their brothers and sisters in Judea, and Corinth was no exception.

Paul begins by informing the Corinthians of the generosity displayed by the churches in Macedonia, a neighboring region. In referring to the Philippians, Thessalonians, and Bereans, Paul was adroitly using comparison to make his appeal to the Corinthians. He points out that their neighbors to the north “have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part” (2 Corinthians 8:2 ESV). And this was in spite of their own “extreme poverty.” Paul says, “they gave not only what they could afford, but far more. And they did it of their own free will” (2 Corinthians 8:3 NLT). Not only that, Paul insists that they begged for the opportunity to give more.

This was not the first time the Corinthians had heard about the need in Judea. Paul had raised this issue in his first letter. He referred to it as the “collection for the saints” (1 Corinthians 16:1). But either the Corinthians had begun to give and then stopped, or they had never fully gotten behind the effort to begin with. Either way, Paul is now appealing to them to allow the grace of God to flow through them, as it did with the believers in Macedonia.

When it came to the body of Christ, the church, Paul had a strong sense of community and unity. He wanted each congregation to understand and embrace their connection with and responsibility to their fellow believers all around the world. They were not to view themselves as independent entities, isolated and removed from the larger context of the family of God. Instead, they were to see themselves as brothers and sisters in Christ, sharing a common bond with all believers everywhere. And Paul wants them to know that God desired to use them to extend His grace to the believers in Judea. Paul had even sent Titus to encourage their participation in this fundraising effort.

Paul reminds them that they are a gifted church.

…you excel in so many ways—in your faith, your gifted speakers, your knowledge, your enthusiasm, and your love from us… – 2 Corinthians 8:7 NLT

There appears to be a hint of sarcasm in this statement. In his previous letter, Paul had been forced to address their arrogance regarding the gifts of the Spirit they had received and their prideful use of them. But he began by pointing out how they had been enriched by God.

I always thank my God for you and for the gracious gifts he has given you, now that you belong to Christ Jesus. Through him, God has enriched your church in every way—with all of your eloquent words and all of your knowledge. This confirms that what I told you about Christ is true. Now you have every spiritual gift you need as you eagerly wait for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. – 1 Corinthians 1:4-7 NLT

Yet, they had been guilty of using their Spirit-endowed gifts for selfish, self-promoting purposes. They had turned the gifts of the Spirit into badges of honor, pridefully comparing their spirituality and boasting in their superiority over one another. This had led Paul to write, “Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose. For some members of Chloe’s household have told me about your quarrels, my dear brothers and sisters” (1 Corinthians 1:10-11 NLT). Paul went on to point out, “You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn’t that prove you are controlled by your sinful nature? Aren’t you living like people of the world?” (1 Corinthians 3:3 NLT).

The Corinthians had become divided and fractured, arguing over who had the superior gift and who followed a particular leader. That prompted Paul to scold them sarcastically.

You think you already have everything you need. You think you are already rich. You have begun to reign in God’s kingdom without us. – 1 Corinthians 4:8 NLT

They were so self-consumed that they couldn’t think about anyone but themselves. Their obsession with their superior giftedness left them puffed up with pride and unwilling to see the needs all around them.

So, in his second letter, Paul begs them to put aside their pride and “ excel also in this gracious act of giving” (2 Corinthians 8:7b NLT). But he doesn’t want them to do it under coercion or as a form of compliance with a command; ist must be done in love. Giving without love is ultimately self-motivated and done to get attention. What is given is soiled by selfishness, regret, and a sense of reluctance.

In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught, “Watch out! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven. When you give to someone in need, don’t do as the hypocrites do—blowing trumpets in the synagogues and streets to call attention to their acts of charity! I tell you the truth, they have received all the reward they will ever get” (Matthew 6:1-2 NLT).

If you give to get praise, that is the only reward you will receive. That is what led Paul to write in his first letter, “If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:3 ESV).

The giving of the Corinthians was to be an extension of the grace of God, flowing through them to the believers in Judea. God’s grace is anything but selfish and self-centered; it is an expression of His love. So, by giving to the believers in Judea, the Corinthians would show the love and favor of God through their willing generosity.

Giving is to be seen not as an obligation, but as an opportunity to love others as we have been loved by God – generously, undeservedly, and graciously. In his first letter, Paul sternly reminded the Corinthians, “What do you have that God hasn’t given you? And if everything you have is from God, why boast as though it were not a gift?” (1 Corinthians 4:7 NLT).

They had become arrogant and prideful, seeing themselves as spiritually superior and blessed by God. But everything they enjoyed had come from God. It had all been a result of God’s grace. Their giftedness was God’s doing. Their salvation had been the result of Christ’s death, not their own merit. The reality of their indebtedness to God should have created in them a sense of gratitude that manifested itself in gracious generosity. Their giving was to be a reflection of the joy they felt for all that they had been given.

We love because He first loved us. We give because He has given to us. We bless others because He has graciously blessed us.

Father, this was another painful, but much-needed reminder. Spiritual pride is always a danger for us as believers because it is so easy to view ourselves as somehow superior to others. We can become overly enamored with our status as children of God and somehow think that we are better and more deserving of Your love. But we did nothing to earn Your love or merit the gift of salvation. You loved us while we were yet sinners. You saved us because we couldn’t save ourselves. You showered us with mercy and grace when we deserved wrath and judgment. So, why would we ever think we are better than anyone else? Why would we refuse to share the gift of grace with others? Open our eyes to see that everything we have has come from You, and that every gift we have received is intended to bless those around us. Amen

Devotionary

The Bible Made Accessible and Applicable

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