God’s Power Made Perfect

 

Thursday, June 20, 2024



Psalms 114; 115

2 Chronicles 8

2 Corinthians 12:6-13



God’s Power Made Perfect (2 Corinthians 12:9)



As we read through Chronicles, you may be feeling a faint sense of de ja vu. Don’t worry, this is completely natural. Chronicles, as a historical document, covers much of the same material as the books of Samuel and Kings. But Chronicles comes at this history a bit differently. Written much later than the rest of the Old Testament, Chronicles was written during the return of the exiles and the rebuilding of Jerusalem. It is intended to encourage the people, to remind them of God’s eternal promises. It is also an encouragement to faithful living, recounting the good times the country enjoyed when they loved God and obeyed him. Thus, much of the less admirable behaviour of David and Solomon is left out. Everyone can go and read about that in the other histories; that is not the purpose of Chronicles.



Chronicles also works as a helpful spiritual counter-balance to how we understand the way God works with us. A positive account of the life of Solomon has been blessed as holy scripture, in spite of his naughtiness – perhaps God would like us to look at our own positives, too.



Certainly St Paul wants to emphasise his positives. His intentions are good – he wants the church to make an honest judgement about who is teaching God’s truth. So he balances his boasting by pointing out that all his spiritual insight and accomplishments come from God – God’s power being made perfect in his own weakness.



Strong language, to be sure. But it is also the language of co-operation. God’s purpose is for his people to do good things: St Paul to be the amazing teacher, Solomon to be the wise king. Both men have positive life stories, through their dependence on God.



What amazing thing is God going to do through you today?



God of amazing things, keep my heart humble, so that I am always ready for the positive life story you have prepared for me.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Monday, September 12, 2022

  Monday, September 12, 2022 Psalm 33 Habakkuk 1:1-11 Ephesians 1:1-14 In Christ we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace that he lavished on us. The lectionary has taken us from the beloved disciple to one of the most beloved of Paul's epistles: Ephesians. Paul must have loved this church very much: we get a sense of his fondness for them and their shared sense of purpose and worship just from the introduction. In what is likely just an introduction to a letter in the style of the ancient Roman world, Paul has managed to squeeze in the entire, wondrous story of God's work of redemption. Paul has framed it the way it ought to be framed: in a pastoral, encouraging tone. He has three main points here (remember, Paul proceeds logically to build up an argument, unlike John who circles around his main point). First: God intended to save us before the world was formed. Think back to the first l
Read more

“Short time or long – I pray to God not only you but all who are listening become like I am, except for these chains.”

  Monday, September 11, 2023 Psalms 28; 29 1 Kings 7:51-8:21 Acts 26:19-32 Observance: Deiniol, bishop (d. 384) “ Short time or long – I pray to God not only you but all who are listening become like I am, except for these chains.” The great many blessings of being under the protection of the blood of the Lamb fill our hearts with joy and peace. To have the Almighty Creator of the universe, the One who sits above the flood, filling the temple of our being with the cloud of His presence is what it truly means to be human. Every day is filled with adventure; every night turns to the rest of the victor. Certainly there are chains: sometimes they are physical chains, the suffering of being a Christian among people who do not love the Lord. Sometimes they are spiritual; the attacks of the powers of the air who try to distract us from the One we love. But they always fall away. Our Rock of Ages always frees us; always brings us out of the pit of despair. A won
Read more

Monday, September 19

  Monday, September 19 Psalm 45 Nahum 1:15-2:9 Ephesians 4:17-28 ...be renewed in the spirit of your minds... It is far too easy to read some of these Pauline lists of virtues and vices and feel like we have gone back to the dark days before the Reformation. The idea that if we behave ourselves then we can call ourselves “good people” is pagan, not Christian. Paul feels very strongly about how Christians behave, he “affirms and insists” upon it. But it is because of what has already happened that we should mind our step, not because of where we are going. Christ's resurrection is many things, but one aspect relevant for Paul's teaching this morning is that it demonstrates to us the radical new reality in which we now live. We too have passed (spiritually) from death to life; therefore, we experience a “renewal of our minds”. Instead of treading water until we die, we live lives. Everything now makes sense: God has spoken, so we have logic. God made us in His im
Read more