Thinking Biblically, we come to the conclusion that that which we have is from the Lord, and we have the responsibility to not hang on to that which should be given, but we should keep our obligation to the Lord God to provide for those whom He sends to us for provision.

The Lord Jesus Christ went through the most painful of circumstances on His way to Joseph’s new tomb. The Lord Jesus Christ did so in order to provide us with salvation, to pay the penalty that we owe for the sins that we have committed. And when Paul says that he knows how to be abased and how to abound, Paul is simply recognizing that in his ministry, his will have to endure some painful situations as well as some pleasant situations as he spreads the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ to the world.

It is incumbent upon every good father to make sure that his sons and daughters are exposed to the wisdom in the Word of God, without which, the children are destined to go down the primrose path to destruction. Yes, it is possible for the children to avoid the trials and tribulations of this life without the guidance of their father, but it is unlikely that they will do so.

If anyone fit the definition of a new creation, it was Saul, who even stopped using his Hebrew name and began using his Greek name, Paul. But the fact of the matter is that anyone who is converted to Christianity has some radical changes to make.

But by convincing young women to defer marriage to a later date, the devil is actually convincing young women to allow their male peer group to move on to different women. Young women are finding that their career successes during their twenties put them in competition with the young men in their peer group, and when a man looks for a wife, he is not looking for someone with whom he can compete. So, the young men in their natural peer group look for younger women with whom they can be husband and wife, not co-husbands.

The truth is that although the Lord Jesus Christ did not come to the world to condemn it, those that do not develop and understanding and appreciation for the truth will in fact be condemned. Our eternal salvation is not based upon our personal goodness or righteousness, because in the day of judgment, our personal righteousness will be found wanting. Our eternal salvation is based upon our faith in the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, who paid the price that we owe for our sins and can grant us the free gift of salvation.

The saints of God have always committed sin, which is why the Lord Jesus Christ died on Calvary’s Cross that sins might be forgiven. And even Jesus Himself did not preach perfection, but restoration.

Paul kept in touch with the Corinthians through the emissaries that he sent there, and had this back and forth, culminating in this second letter to the Corinthians that the Holy Spirit decided should become part of the canonical record.