2 Corinthians 11:10-15

¹⁰As surely as the truth of Christ is in me, nobody in the regions of Achaia will stop this boasting of mine. ¹¹ Why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do! ¹²And I will keep on doing what I am doing in order to cut the ground from under those who want an opportunity to be considered equal with us in the things they boast about. ¹³For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ. ¹⁴And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. ¹⁵It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.

Time Management

How do you explain Time Management to children? Everyone has 24 hours daily to manage. What’s the purpose of managing time? Efficiency and productivity. That sounds great, right? But there are fundamentals or principles of Scientific Time Management to be efficient and productive.

Allocate plenty of time and exert much effort to specific productivity you wish to excel. Can we excel if we exert much effort playing our favorite sport? Possibly, if God designed for us to excel. But seriously identify the unique feature of our life that God created for us to be successful.

So together, let’s reflect on what it declares in Ephesians 2:8-10,

⁸For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹not by works, so that no one can boast. ¹⁰For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

By his grace, God favored us to escape the punishment for our sins. Through faith in Jesus Christ, he transformed us into new creation, and he also prepared beforehand the good works that bring glorious praise to him.

Formerly, we were slaves to sin. But Christ paid for our freedom from sin at the cross. Therefore, we belong to him. We do not own our life. We are now slaves of righteousness. Reflect on what it states in 2 Peter 2:19,

¹⁹People are slaves to whatever has mastered them.

In Time Management, who manages time? If we manage our time, Christ is ignored as master. After we accepted Christ as Lord, he becomes our master. If Christ is our master, he should manage our time that brings glory to him. But, how do Christ manage our time and bring glory to him?

What are the 6 Core Principles of Effective Time Management? Plan, prioritize, schedule, organize, delegate and maintain discipline. Plan for productivity. Prioritize strength or passion. Schedule family, school, work or hobby. Organize activities for efficiency. Delegate to the person you trust for efficient work results. Be disciplined to implement these 6 Core Principles.

Principles are good but cannot control efficient result we may expect.

What personal success you experience and credit Time Management for it?

It surely help anyone to adhere what Christ says in Matthew 6:33-34,

³³Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

If we let Christ control and manage our life, decision, even time, so that we behave in righteousness, we won’t worry but praise him instead.

Apostle Paul heard that troublemakers in Corinth maligned his name.

But he’s not worried about his reputation or what others talked about him. He trusted that the truth of Christ prevailed. He was determined to keep on.

1. Determine

¹⁰As surely as the truth of Christ is in me, nobody in the regions of Achaia will stop this boasting of mine. ¹¹Why?  Because I do not love you? God knows I do!

Apostle Paul never boasted beyond the sphere of service that God assigned them. He boasted that God’s grace transformed the Corinthians. By God’s grace, the Corinthians excelled in everything, even in the grace of giving. Didn’t Paul testify that boasting about their transformation was proof of his love for them? God’s grace has also transformed the Macedonians.

Apostle Paul testified of how the grace of God was obvious among the Macedonians in 2 Corinthians 8:3-5, ³I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, ⁴they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord’s people. ⁵And they exceeded our expectations: They gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also to us.

It’s transformative work of the grace of God in our life when we excel in the grace of giving. We submit ourselves to the Lord first and listen to him to be generous. Then, we can give beyond our ability to give.

Giving beyond our ability to give is sacrificial, and it’s not easy task for anyone. Why? Our limited human mindset cannot conceptualize that God prepared blessings for sacrificial giving. We can give our time, effort, talent or finances for the glory Christ only when his Holy Spirit inspires us.

One way or another, everyone gives as the Lord inspires. You give time to clean church facilities or mow the grass. You share your skill and repair what’s needed to be repaired. You bring flowers, brew coffee, wash dishes or share food for everyone. You readily smile and greet everyone, or help anyone in need. It advises in Galatians 6:9-10, ⁹Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. ¹⁰Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

Everyone had glorious moment during the 35^th church anniversary!

It was very obvious that everyone had great time. Well, God keeps us glorifying him despite many ups and downs we never expected to happen.

We should not get tired of doing the good work especially for the family of believers. Christ may return soon, and we hope it happens sooner than we expected. May we eagerly expect his return so that we may spend more time preparing for eternal residency as we explore life on earth.

Together, let’s seriously consider what it warns in Galatians 6:7-8, ⁷Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. ⁸Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.

Practically, how can we know that we received eternal life? The Holy Spirit guides and teaches how we behave. Whether it’s health or sickness, success or mistakes, prosperity or poverty, our behavior and goal in life should bring glory to God. Be prayerful and seriously store up treasures for yourselves in heaven. Expect Christ to return sooner. Don’t be deceived.

2. Deceive

¹²And I will keep on doing what I am doing in order to cut the ground from under those who want an opportunity to be considered equal with us in the things they boast about. ¹³For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ.

In the first century, there were deceitful workers and false apostles of Christ. These days, there are also deceivers and false apostles of Christ. Because they openly preach to the congregation, most often, pastors were blame for church splits. But history reveals that church leaders have also deceived church attendees and caused church splits, and not just pastors.

But when we elected our leaders, we become accomplices to church split. Together, let’s prayerfully learn from what it advised in Titus 1:9-10.

⁹An elder must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it. ¹⁰For there are many rebellious people, full of meaningless talk and deception, especially those of the circumcision group. 

The circumcision group pertains to the those who promoted Judaism. They required church attendees to follow the Old Testament laws especially circumcision. There are also groups who promote that, “You will be saved only, if you follow their church tradition.” This is one reason we need to be knowledgeable of the Scripture. What is required to receive eternal life?

We need faith to believe and accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

It declares in John 5:21-24, ²¹For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it. ²²Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, ²³that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him. ²⁴Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.

Practically, how do we honor and believe Jesus Christ? We believe that his crucifixion paid the penalty for our sin; that his shed blood on the cross washed away our sins. And the Lord sent his Holy Spirit into our hearts as guarantee that Christ takes us into heaven when he returns.

The Holy Spirit inspires us to talk about our personal adventure with Christ to potential believers the Lord prepared to listen to the message of reconciliation to God. So in everything we do, think or desire should serve as practical exhibits of our practical experience and adventure with Christ.

Zacchaeus

Reflect on what happened in Luke 19:5-9, ⁵When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” ⁶So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. ⁷All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.” ⁸But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” ⁹Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house.

Zacchaeus believed in Jesus. He responded at once when Jesus called him. Zacchaeus gave half of his possessions to the poor as practical proof of his faith in Jesus. He was also ready to pay back four times the amount, if he had cheated anybody out of anything. He promised it before Jesus and the crowd because he knew he never cheated anybody.

In contrast, spectators heard Jesus and his teaching. But they chose to see Jesus as guest of sinner. Tax collectors were known for cheating and Zacchaeus was tax collector. They assumed that he was also a cheater. Cheater or not, Zacchaeus chose to believe. Jesus declared he was saved.

Friends. Anyone can claim to be Christian. Anyone can be deceived to think they will enter heaven. But when empowered by the Holy Spirit, we tell others our adventure with Christ, and expect rewards that we deserve.

3. Deserve

¹⁴And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. ¹⁵It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.

We are warned against deceitful workers and false apostles of Christ. It should not come as surprise because Satan the deceiver masqueraded as angel of light. Satan tries to deceive anyone especially believers, why? If they don’t believe in Jesus, they don’t need to be deceived. They’re already destined to eternal torture together with the demons. There are deceivers everywhere. It also warns in 2 Peter 2:1, ¹There were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves.

We should be more concerned about our spiritual health because we want to be strong in faith and persevere until eternity. People have plenty of material things but they may have problem with health. Maybe, their health is excellent but they have problem in school. Relationship with their spouse could be great but they have problem about parenting. Let’s seriously learn from James 5:11, ¹¹As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.

Job

Let’s learn how to persevere during difficulties from Job. Job should have perfect life. He was rich. He was very respected in their community.

Then God allowed Satan to destroy all his properties and infected him with painful skin diseases. His children died. Scholars suggest that Job was forced to stay outside their community because he was considered unclean for his skin disease. His wife told him to curse God and die. His friends accused him as sinner that was why God punished him to suffer.

Everyone has challenging struggles somehow. Exams determine how much students learned. Problems are exams to determine what we learned as students of Christ Jesus our teacher. The Lord exemplified how we may behave  and obey as children of God our Father. Prayerfully seek help from Christ our Lord so that we can persevere in obeying the will of God.

It advises in Hebrew 10:36, ³⁶You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.

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