Good morning. I hope all
is well with you. Speaking of the devil: resist him, firm in your faith,
knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your
brethren who are in the world. I'm sure that knowing that you are not alone makes
you feel warm and fuzzy like a caterpillar. But the onus is on us to resist him
(you did notice the play on words there). We feel like we are the only ones
going through something. Surely no one is suffering like I am. Sometimes when I
complain about an ache or pain I remember just how bad other people have it.
And of course that makes me forget all about my problems – right? I wish.
Unfortunately our brains are strange. When we have some sort of problem or
difficulty, it is hard for our brain to see ourselves without that problem. But
of course that is exactly what we're supposed to do – that is faith. And after
you have suffered for a little while (and it came to pass – thank God it didn't
come to stay), the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in
Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you. Try to
visualize the end result, not the present suffering. To Him be dominion forever
and ever. Amen! Peace to you who are in Christ. Father thank You that the
reader is walking free of the power of the enemy. He/she is an overcomer in
everything!
Therefore I exhort you, be imitators of me
Good morning. Paul then gives a list of a lot of things that he has gone through as an apostle. I do not write these things to shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved children. For if you were to have countless tutors in Christ, yet you would not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. There could be many people that you listen to either in church or through the Internet or other means; but there was only one person (as a general rule it was a person) that lead you to Christ. Therefore I exhort you, be imitators of me. He was saying that just like a child imitates his or her father, they were to imitate him. He says that again seven chapters later. Since it is easy to forget some things about people we have not seen in a while, Paul says that he sent Timothy to them to remind them of his ways which are in Christ, just as he taught everywhere in every church. Some have become arrogant, as though I were not coming to you. I shall find ou...
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