Month: September 2021

I say this not as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuine.  2 Corinthians 8:8 I’ve used this analogy of our family dog before, but it’s too fitting for today’s passage not to share again. So, here goes. My kids have a strong emotional attachment to…
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For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints. 2 Corinthians 8:3 When my kids were young, we had a vintage gumball machine that we used as an M&M dispenser.…
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For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. 2 Corinthians 7:10 Almost anyone who’s been on a diet knows what it’s like to do well for a few days or weeks, only to give in and fail. In that feeling of failure, we’ve likely felt some…
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Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God. 2 Corinthians 7:1 While on a guy’s trip, I don’t necessarily practice the best hygiene. I’ll jump in the lake every day, so most of the dirt gets worn…
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I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, and I will be a father to you,…
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Or what fellowship has light with darkness? . . . What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God. 2 Corinthians 6:14-16 I’ve been thinking that maybe I can have just one drink. I hear this not infrequently among those who’ve been in recovery for a…
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For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? 2 Corinthians 6:14-15 Last Easter, a friend sent me a photo of the Easter version of some cheese balls which he’d purchased. I found it curious that this company used the death and resurrection of…
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Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? 2 Corinthians 6:14 When I was perhaps four or five, I had a neighborhood friend over one day, and as he was leaving for home, my mother gave me some task that I was…
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You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted in your own affections. In return (I speak as to children) widen your hearts also. 2 Corinthians 6:12-13 In addition to my addiction medicine practice, I still work a few hours every week in Urgent Care, where I will often meet high school athletes with…
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We live . . . as having nothing, yet possessing everything. 2 Corinthians 6:9-10 It’s my nature to live for my own joy. It’s also my nature to try and find that joy in immediate gratification. With immediate gratification however, there is usually a short-term benefit with some price to pay later. With any unhealthy…
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