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Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – 2 Corinthians 5:1-10

Set – 2 Corinthians 5-6

Go! – 2 Corinthians 3-6

2 Corinthians 5:1-10
¹ We know that if our earthly house—a mere tent that can easily be taken down—is destroyed, we will then live in an eternal home in the heavens, a building crafted by divine—not human—hands. ² Currently, in this tent of a house, we continue to groan and ache with a deep desire to be sheltered in our permanent home ³ because then we will be truly clothed and comfortable, protected by a covering for our current nakedness. ⁴ The fact is that in this tent we anxiously moan, fearing the naked truth of our reality. What we crave above all is to be clothed so that what is temporary and mortal can be wrapped completely in life. ⁵ The One who has worked and tailored us for this is God Himself, who has gifted His Spirit to us as a pledge toward our permanent home.
⁶ In light of this, we live with a daring passion and know that our time spent in this body is also time we are not present with the Lord. ⁷ The path we walk is charted by faith, not by what we see with our eyes. ⁸ There is no doubt that we live with a daring passion, but in the end we prefer to be gone from this body so that we can be at home with the Lord. ⁹ Ultimately it does not matter whether we are here or gone; our purpose stays fixed, and that is to please Him. ¹⁰ In time we will all stand in judgment before the throne of the Anointed, the Liberating King, to receive what is just for our conduct (whether it be good or bad) while we lived in this temporary body.

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

I know sometimes you would like to see Me with your eyes and have your entire future laid out like a road map so you could see everything your path holds. But I don’t work that way. I operate in a different realm. I want you to put the facts you see aside at times and operate with faith. You have it. You have plenty of faith for your salvation. You have enough to follow Me and perform the tasks I have planned for you. You have enough faith to move the mountains that rise in front of you.

Paul recognized faith as an important aspect of our relationship. He also knew everyone has faith, just sometimes focused in the wrong direction. Paul’s faith focused on Me and the path I laid out for him. He knew I would not fail him and so whether he lived or died, Paul was content with the life I chose for him.

You have faith. You exercise it every day. You might not think about it, but you do. You have faith the water will come through the pipes when you turn on the faucet to take a shower in the morning. You have faith the lights will work when you flip the switch on the wall. You have faith your car will start when you turn the ignition. You have faith your boss will pay you on payday. You have faith.

You probably have faith in others also. You probably have faith in your doctors. You probably have faith in your mechanic. You probably have faith in many if not most of your co-workers to do their jobs as you do yours. You probably have faith in many people when you stop to think about it. So you have faith. Faith is faith, it’s a question of what and who you have faith in.

So let’s go back and think about your faith in Me. Why is it so hard for you to exercise faith in God? Why is it so hard to believe I can do all things? Is it easier to believe all of this vast universe just happened or that I created it? You know, it’s the difference in believing a master watchmaker can assemble the parts of a watch or putting all the parts in a bag and shaking it until a watch comes out. The only change is I also made all the pieces…from nothing.

But that’s faith. It’s believing even though you don’t see it. You don’t see electricity, but you believe in it because of the power it holds. You don’t see the wind, but you believe in it because you see the results of it blowing. You don’t see the explosive power of gasoline, but you believe it will power your car. Why else would you pump it into your gas tank when it’s empty? So look around. How could all of this come into being without a Master Designer? Think about the odds that a planet could sustain life in the universe and that you can hear or read these words. Think about the complexity involved in that seemingly simple act. It is a miracle.

Now why is it so hard to have faith in Me? I AM. That’s enough.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
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