Bible Reading Plan – Day 323

₁For we know that when this tent we live in — our body here on earth — is torn down, God will have a house in heaven for us to live in, a home he himself has made, which will last for ever. ₂And now we sigh, so great is our desire that our home which comes from heaven should be put on over us; ₃by being clothed with it we shall not be without a body. ₄While we live in this earthly tent, we groan with a feeling of oppression; it is not that we want to get rid of our earthly body, but that we want to have the heavenly one put on over us, so that what is mortal will be transformed by life. ₅God is the one who has prepared us for this change, and he gave us his Spirit as the guarantee of all that he has in store for us.

₆So we are always full of courage. We know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord's home. ₇For our life is a matter of faith, not of sight. ₈We are full of courage and would much prefer to leave our home in the body and be at home with the Lord. ₉More than anything else, however, we want to please him, whether in our home here or there. ₁₀For all of us must appear before Christ, to be judged by him. We will each receive what we deserve, according to everything we have done, good or bad, in our bodily life.

₁₁We know what it means to fear the Lord, and so we try to persuade others. God knows us completely, and I hope that in your hearts you know me as well. ₁₂We are not trying again to recommend ourselves to you; rather, we are trying to give you a good reason to be proud of us, so that you will be able to answer those who boast about people's appearance and not about their character. ₁₃Are we really insane? It is for God's sake. Or are we sane? Then it is for your sake. ₁₄We are ruled by the love of Christ, now that we recognize that one man died for everyone, which means that all share in his death. ₁₅He died for all, so that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but only for him who died and was raised to life for their sake.

₁₆No longer, then, do we judge anyone by human standards. Even if at one time we judged Christ according to human standards, we no longer do so. ₁₇Anyone who is joined to Christ is a new being; the old is gone, the new has come. ₁₈All this is done by God, who through Christ changed us from enemies into his friends and gave us the task of making others his friends also. ₁₉Our message is that God was making the whole human race his friends through Christ. God did not keep an account of their sins, and he has given us the message which tells how he makes them his friends.

₂₀Here we are, then, speaking for Christ, as though God himself were making his appeal through us. We plead on Christ's behalf: let God change you from enemies into his friends! ₂₁Christ was without sin, but for our sake God made him share our sin in order that in union with him we might share the righteousness of God.

₁In our work together with God, then, we beg you who have received God's grace not to let it be wasted. ₂Hear what God says:

₃We do not want anyone to find fault with our work, so we try not to put obstacles in anyone's way. ₄Instead, in everything we do we show that we are God's servants by patiently enduring troubles, hardships, and difficulties. ₅We have been beaten, imprisoned, and mobbed; we have been overworked and have gone without sleep or food. ₆By our purity, knowledge, patience, and kindness we have shown ourselves to be God's servants — by the Holy Spirit, by our true love, ₇by our message of truth, and by the power of God. We have righteousness as our weapon, both to attack and to defend ourselves. ₈We are honoured and disgraced; we are insulted and praised. We are treated as liars, yet we speak the truth; ₉as unknown, yet we are known by all; as though we were dead, but, as you see, we live on. Although punished, we are not killed; ₁₀although saddened, we are always glad; we seem poor, but we make many people rich; we seem to have nothing, yet we really possess everything.

₁₁Dear friends in Corinth! We have spoken frankly to you; we have opened our hearts wide. ₁₂It is not we who have closed our hearts to you; it is you who have closed your hearts to us. ₁₃I speak now as though you were my children: show us the same feelings that we have for you. Open your hearts wide!

₁₄Do not try to work together as equals with unbelievers, for it cannot be done. How can right and wrong be partners? How can light and darkness live together? ₁₅How can Christ and the Devil agree? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? ₁₆How can God's temple come to terms with pagan idols? For we are the temple of the living God! As God himself has said:

₁All these promises are made to us, my dear friends. So then, let us purify ourselves from everything that makes body or soul unclean, and let us be completely holy by living in awe of God.

₂Make room for us in your hearts. We have wronged no one; we have ruined no one, nor tried to take advantage of anyone. ₃I do not say this to condemn you; for, as I have said before, you are so dear to us that we are always together, whether we live or die. ₄I am so sure of you; I take such pride in you! In all our troubles I am still full of courage; I am running over with joy.

₅Even after we arrived in Macedonia, we had no rest. There were troubles everywhere, quarrels with others, fears in our hearts. ₆But God, who encourages the downhearted, encouraged us with the coming of Titus. ₇It was not only his coming that cheered us, but also his report of how you encouraged him. He told us how much you want to see me, how sorry you are, how ready you are to defend me; and so I am even happier now.

₈For even if that letter of mine made you sad, I am not sorry I wrote it. I could have been sorry when I saw that it made you sad for a while. ₉But now I am happy — not because I made you sad, but because your sadness made you change your ways. That sadness was used by God, and so we caused you no harm. ₁₀For the sadness that is used by God brings a change of heart that leads to salvation — and there is no regret in that! But sadness that is merely human causes death. ₁₁See what God did with this sadness of yours: how earnest it has made you, how eager to prove your innocence! Such indignation, such alarm, such feelings, such devotion, such readiness to punish wrongdoing! You have shown yourselves to be without fault in the whole matter.

₁₂So, even though I wrote that letter, it was not because of the one who did wrong or the one who was wronged. Instead, I wrote it to make plain to you, in God's sight, how deep your devotion to us really is. ₁₃That is why we were encouraged.

Not only were we encouraged; how happy Titus made us with his happiness over the way in which all of you helped to cheer him up! ₁₄I did boast of you to him, and you have not disappointed me. We have always spoken the truth to you, and in the same way the boast we made to Titus has proved true. ₁₅And so his love for you grows stronger, as he remembers how all of you were ready to obey his instructions, how you welcomed him with fear and trembling. ₁₆How happy I am that I can depend on you completely!

₁Our brothers and sisters, we want you to know what God's grace has accomplished in the churches in Macedonia. ₂They have been severely tested by the troubles they went through; but their joy was so great that they were extremely generous in their giving, even though they are very poor. ₃I can assure you that they gave as much as they could, and even more than they could. Of their own free will ₄they begged us and pleaded for the privilege of having a part in helping God's people in Judea. ₅It was more than we could have hoped for! First they gave themselves to the Lord; and then, by God's will they gave themselves to us as well. ₆So we urged Titus, who began this work, to continue it and help you complete this special service of love. ₇You are so rich in all you have: in faith, speech, and knowledge, in your eagerness to help and in your love for us. And so we want you to be generous also in this service of love.

₈I am not laying down any rules. But by showing how eager others are to help, I am trying to find out how real your own love is. ₉You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ; rich as he was, he made himself poor for your sake, in order to make you rich by means of his poverty.

₁₀My opinion is that it is better for you to finish now what you began last year. You were the first, not only to act, but also to be willing to act. ₁₁On with it, then, and finish the job! Be as eager to finish it as you were to plan it, and do it with what you now have. ₁₂If you are eager to give, God will accept your gift on the basis of what you have to give, not on what you haven't.

_13-14I am not trying to relieve others by putting a burden on you; but since you have plenty at this time, it is only fair that you should help those who are in need. Then, when you are in need and they have plenty, they will help you. In this way both are treated equally. ₁₅As the scripture says, “The one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little.”

₁₆How we thank God for making Titus as eager as we are to help you! ₁₇Not only did he welcome our request; he was so eager to help that of his own free will he decided to go to you. ₁₈With him we are sending the brother who is highly respected in all the churches for his work in preaching the gospel. ₁₉And besides that, he has been chosen and appointed by the churches to travel with us as we carry out this service of love for the sake of the Lord's glory, and in order to show that we want to help.

₂₀We are taking care not to stir up any complaints about the way we handle this generous gift. ₂₁Our purpose is to do what is right, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of others.

₂₂So we are sending our brother with them; we have tested him many times and found him always very eager to help. And now that he has so much confidence in you, he is all the more eager to help. ₂₃As for Titus, he is my partner and works with me to help you; as for the other brothers who are going with him, they represent the churches and bring glory to Christ. ₂₄Show your love to them, so that all the churches will be sure of it and know that we are right in boasting about you.