Archive for 2 Corinthians 12

Children Are a Gift… Paul Beverly

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Paul Beverly with tags , , on August 12, 2021 by paulthepoke

Children are a gift & we are responsible for providing for them. They didn’t ask for this life, so we should put them first. Make them feel wanted & important, because they are. Give them the love & tools to needed to lead a good & happy life.

Be the parent that you want your kids to be. Be the friend that you want to have. Be the change that you want to see. Be the love that you want to receive. Lead by example. Sew what you want back.

2 Corinthians 12:14 Here 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.

I get a lot of praise for being a single dad & it does make me feel good, but why don’t single mothers get a lot of praise? It’s like it’s expected of them so it’s not a big deal. It really is a big deal because it isn’t easy. I couldn’t do it without help.

Last school year my cousin worked where Aria went to school thankfully & was able to take Aria with him when I couldn’t be there to pick her up on time. He took her to my parents who are priceless for us. Other times, friends would keep Aria for me till I got home. Those two gals are golden!

The thing is, kids don’t ask to be brought into this world so all parents need to make life good for them. I do appreciate the praise, but I’m doing just what I’m supposed to do. Don’t take single moms for granted, they are pretty badass!

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Created to Crave Community… Christine McDonald

Posted in Christine "Clarity" McDonald with tags , , , , , on February 8, 2019 by paulthepoke

Every single day, our lives are filled with opportunities to connect with others in meaningful ways. In times gone by, neighbors were friends who chatted over the backyard fence, played board games on Saturdays, mowed each other’s lawns, and borrowed sugar and eggs. Today we are surrounded by people all the time, yet we exist in a world where we share a mutual unspoken expectation to keep to ourselves. We have separated ourselves from our fellow humans into a world of isolation and superficial contact. Yet we are commanded to love our brother as ourselves.

https://crypurplemovie.com/

What would happen if we defied that isolating expectation and began to notice those we interact with? What could happen if you looked the cashier at the grocery store in the eyes with a smile and asked, with genuine care, how his or her day was going?

God has hardwired us to need one another, to respond in kindness, and to crave community. Somewhere along the line, the church seems to have lost that concept, or at least the fullness of the concept. Paul says in Romans 12:4-5, “For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” We are to be as one. Yes, we are hardwired by God to crave community!

Look around. Who have you trained your eyes to ignore out of discomfort, or even because of things deemed too painful to consider? Those who are different from us (this may include those who are homeless, those who are prostituted, those with disabilities, or those from a different ethnic or socioeconomic background) are sometimes the ones we are most comfortable blinding ourselves to. Yet they are the ones most in need of being seen.

God has promised that His grace is sufficient. “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9) He has equipped us to see even those we may be afraid to notice. But they need you. And believe it or not, you need them.

Lord, open our eyes to see those you’ve called us to see today. Help us to step out of our comfort zone and look beyond ourselves. Help us to see your passionate love for others in such a way that we are compelled to love in the same way you have loved us.

“Love your neighbor, all of ’em.” -Christine Clarity McDonald

https://crypurplemovie.com/

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Please… We Are All Broken

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 2, 2018 by paulthepoke

Please respond to grace…

2 Corinthians 12:9 But 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.

The Greek word for grace is χάρις/charis. A form of grace is used 157 times in the New Testament texts. Strong’s Concordance defines the word as: as a gift or blessing brought to man by Jesus Christ; favor; gratitude, thanks; a favor, kindness. HELPS Word-studies views the term as the Lord’s favor, freely extended to give Himself away to people because He is “always leaning toward them”.

darts off target

Grace is receiving an undeserved gift. None of us truly deserve God’s favor. As human beings, we were born in a state of sin. These bodies know nothing but a state of sin. We are not a blank, moral slate born as pure and clean as the wind driven snow. Our sin is not the fault of environmental surroundings. In this life, we are sinners. We should stop blaming others for our short comings. Own it. From our conception, we are ALL under the curse of sin. Always have been, always will be…

Psalm 51:5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.

Job 1:21 And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.”

Genesis 8:21 And when the LORD smelled the pleasing aroma, the LORD said in his heart, “I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth. Neither will I ever again strike down every living creature as I have done.

Psalm 58:3 The wicked are estranged from the womb; they go astray from birth, speaking lies.

 

None of us are perfect and we all have issues. Some of us out there may think they are flawless or pretty close to it. At the least, they see themselves as better than others. Sorry, there is no sliding scale with sin. The idea that we are all sinners is not a concept noted only in the book of Romans. The idea of being sinful humans is noted across the Bible, even in the Old Testament.

Romans 3:10 as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one…”

Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…

Psalm 143:2 Enter not into judgment with your servant, for no one living is righteous before you.

Proverbs 20:9 Who can say, “I have made my heart pure; I am clean from my sin”?

Ecclesiastes 7:20 Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.

1 John 1:8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

In this current state of humanity, we are fallen, imperfect people. Get over your bad self. If we are truly honest with ourselves, deep down, we know we don’t cut it with a holy and just God. So… deal with it, we are sinners.

 

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Our Daily Bread…Featuring Paul Beverly

Posted in Paul Beverly with tags , , on June 8, 2017 by paulthepoke

pb bread

Children are a gift & we are responsible for providing for them. They didn’t ask for this life, so we should put them first. Make them feel wanted & important, because they are. Give them the love & tools to needed to lead a good & happy life.

Be the parent that you want your kids to be. Be the friend that you want to have. Be the change that you want to see. Be the love that you want to receive. Lead by example. Sew what you want back.

2 Corinthians 12:14 Here 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.

Have a great weekend my friends!!!

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