Questions?

I’m a shy person by nature, so it is difficult for me to walk into a room full of people and start up a conversation.

You could call me a wallflower, because that is probably where you’d find me–watching, but not participating.

As an adult I still have insecurities, but I have learned the best way to start a conversation.

Ask Questions.

Jesus asked questions even though he knew all the answers. His method allowed people to start thinking, and possibly see things from a different perspective(or literally see).

If you’re talking with someone of a different faith, ask them how they get to heaven.

And listen to the answer.

And ask more questions. It can open the door for you to share your faith with them.

In a marriage, besides saying I love you, make it a habit to ask, “Is there anything you want me to do today”? I did just that this week, and I found that what my husband said was easier to do, because he didn’t come out and command, “Do this.”

Here I’ll share an interesting interview on interrogations- a higher art form of asking questions.

Luke 18:35-43Christian Standard Bible

A Blind Man Receives His Sight

³⁵ As he approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the road begging. ³⁶ Hearing a crowd passing by, he inquired what was happening. ³⁷ “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by,” they told him.

³⁸ So he called out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” ³⁹ Then those in front told him to keep quiet,^[a] but he kept crying out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

⁴⁰ Jesus stopped and commanded that he be brought to him. When he came closer, he asked him, ⁴¹ “What do you want me to do for you?”

“Lord,” he said, “I want to see.”

⁴² “Receive your sight.” Jesus told him. “Your faith has saved you.” ⁴³ Instantly he could see, and he began to follow him, glorifying God. All the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.

누가복음 18:35-43Korean Living Bible

³⁵ 예수님이 여리고에 가까이 가셨을 때였다. 한 소경이 길가에 앉아 구걸하다가

³⁶ 사람들이 지나가는 소리를 듣고 무슨 일이냐고 묻자

³⁷ 그들은 “나사렛 예수님이 지나가신다” 하고 말해 주었다.

³⁸ 그러자 그는 큰 소리로 “다윗의 후손 예수님, 저를 불쌍히 여겨 주십시오” 하고 외쳤다.

³⁹ 앞서 가는 사람들이 그를 꾸짖으며 조용히 하라고 했으나 그는 더욱 큰 소리로 “다윗의 후손이시여, 저를 불쌍히 여겨 주십시오” 하고 외쳤다.

⁴⁰ 예수님은 걸음을 멈추시고 그 소경을 데려오라고 하셨다. 소경이 가까이 왔을 때

⁴¹ 예수님이 그에게 “원하는 것이 무엇이냐?” 하고 물으시자 “주님, 눈을 뜨게 해 주십시오” 하고 그는 대답하였다.

⁴² 그래서 예수님이 “오냐, 눈을 떠라. 네 믿음이 너를 낫게 하였다” 하고 말씀하시자

⁴³ 그가 곧 눈을 뜨고 하나님께 영광을 돌리며 예수님을 따라갔고 사람들은 이 광경을 보고 모두 하나님을 찬양하였다.

My mother-in-law is an Alan Jackson fan, so I’ll post his rendition of the great song, Amazing Grace. I once was blind but now I see.

And the Award Goes to . . .

I haven’t watched award shows in probably 30 years, but when it was announced that BTS would perform on the Grammy’s I watched.

And I realized why I don’t watch mainstream award shows.

I turned the TV off during certain performances because I couldn’t stomach them. The only reason I stuck it out was because BTS was next. They kept us waiting.

Sadly, BTS didn’t win in their one category. They should have been nominated in multiple categories.

Recently an award show popped up on my YouTube feed. This is one award show I’m not ashamed to say I watched all the way through.

Some great performances.

None that made me want to shield my eyes.

I’m praying one day BTS will be a part of this award show. Many people are praying for BTS.

Matthew 19:23-26 Christian Standard Bible

Possessions and the Kingdom

²³ Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven. ²⁴ Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”

²⁵ When the disciples heard this, they were utterly astonished and asked, “Then who can be saved?”

²⁶ Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

마태복음 19:23-26 Korean Living Bible

²³ 그때 예수님이 제자들에게 이렇게 말씀하셨다. “내가 분명히 너희에게 말한다. 부자는 하늘 나라에 들어가기가 매우 어렵다.

²⁴ 내가 다시 말하지만 부자가 하나님의 나라에 들어가는 것보다 낙타가 바늘귀로 통과하는 것이 더 쉽다.”

²⁵ 제자들이 이 말씀을 듣고 몹시 놀라 “그렇다면 누가 구원받을 수 있겠습니까?” 하고 물었다.

²⁶ 예수님은 제자들을 바라보시며 “사람의 힘으로는 할 수 없지만 하나님께서는 다 하실 수 있다” 하고 대답하셨다.

The BTS Grammy performance:

They were fully clothed and gave a classy performance compared to the others that night.

Butter Tub

In BTS’s new Music Video, J-Hope eats a pat of butter.

I cringe a little to think about eating butter all by itself.

Don’t get me wrong, I love a buttered butter-milk biscuit(my Mother-In-Law makes the best) with a slice of tomato. Yum Yum.

I have mentioned that my son was born on Halloween, so we had costume birthday parties. When he was four he dressed as a lego block.

I’m not creative enough to come up with the concept of the costume on my own, but I don’t recall who deserves the credit.

It takes six tubs of butter to make a lego block, so being the doting parents that we are, we purchased 6 tubs and scooped out all the butter and put it into another bowl and stored it in the refrigerator for later consumption. We don’t eat a whole lot of butter, so eventually, we had to throw all of it out. Yes, I know, a waste of perfectly good butter when there are starving kids in the world. I never said we were perfect parents.

My sweet lego block

But butter-milk biscuits baked with butter beats butterless biscuits any day.

Moral of my story–don’t waste butter. There is someone in the world who’ll eat it. More Butter to you, J-Hope.

Disclaimer: I enjoyed the new video. Some Christians feel the use of the phrase OMG is breaking one of the ten commandments. I am one of them, so as I sing along, I’ll just sing something different, like Oh My Goodness cause that’s what my Grandmother said. If Grandma said it, then it’s okay with me. (It’s okay to take my own goodness in vain, because I know that my own goodness is nothing when compared to the perfection of Jesus). Hey, I’m not judging the boys, I’m just saying what makes me comfortable.

Another Breakfast referenced song oldie-but-goodie just recently posted to Youtube by the Newsboys. Fun Fun Fun.

When the toast has burned . . .

And since I’m CRAZY, here’s another song by the Newsboys:

Let Him Love You

Ridgecrest Conference Center in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina

Can’t love yourself?

Sometimes it’s hard.

Is your self-worth based on your appearance? The world’s standards are so hard to meet. Even those that are beautiful struggle with self-worth.

What is the number one cause of this lack of self-worth we humans face?

It is not physical appearance.

You may not like the word, but I know of no other that describes it.

SIN.

It separates us from God, and while we want to embrace it, there is something within us that makes us hate it. And thus hate ourselves even when we don’t realize it is the cause.

Your sin may be different from the sin I struggle with, but they are all the same. Jesus died to pay the price for our sin. Once you realize that, turn from the sin you wallow in, and fixate on the one who can give you freedom from it, you’ll find you can love yourself and others. But you can’t stay there. No wallowing. When you’re pulled out of the mud. Don’t get dirty again.

But you can’t do it on your own power. I listened to an audiobook once about willpower that says we only have so much to draw from. Once you’ve reached that max, well then, you may fall back into old temptations.

That sounds hopeless–that limited amount of willpower.

But it is not.

Because we can then turn to a higher power. If God can create a universe, certainly he has the power to give you strength to overcome that burden weighing you down and keeping you from an abundant life.

Psalm 121:1-2 Christian Standard Bible

Psalm 121

The Lord Our Protector

A song of ascents.

¹ I lift my eyes toward the mountains.
Where will my help come from?
² My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.

시편 121:1-2Korean Living Bible

우리의 보호자이신 여호와

(성전에 올라가는 노래)

121 내가 눈을 들어
산을 바라보리라.
나의 도움은 어디서 오는가?
² 나의 도움이 천지를 만드신
여호와에게서 오는구나.

John 10:7-11 Christian Standard Bible

⁷ Jesus said again, “Truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. ⁸ All who came before me^[a] are thieves and robbers, but the sheep didn’t listen to them. ⁹ I am the gate. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will come in and go out and find pasture. ¹⁰ A thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.

¹¹ “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

요한복음 10:7-11 Korean Living Bible

⁷ 그래서 예수님은 다시 말씀하셨다. “내가 너희에게 분명히 말한다. 나는 양의 문이다.

⁸ 나보다 먼저 온 사람은 모두 도둑이며 강도이다. 그러므로 양들이 그들의 말을 듣지 않았다.

⁹ 나는 문이다. 누구든지 나를 통해 들어가면 구원을 받고 마음대로 드나들며 꼴을 얻을 것이다.

¹⁰ 도둑이 오는 것은 양을 훔쳐다가 죽여 없애려는 것뿐이다. 그러나 내가 온 것은 양들이 생명을 얻되 더욱 풍성히 얻도록 하기 위해서이다.

¹¹ 나는 선한 목자이다. 선한 목자는 양을 위해 자기 생명을 바친다.

Romans 3:9-18 Christian Standard Bible

The Whole World Guilty before God

⁹ What then? Are we any better off?^[a] Not at all! For we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin,^[b] 10 as it is written:

There is no one righteous, not even one.
¹¹ There is no one who understands;
there is no one who seeks God.
¹² All have turned away;
all alike have become worthless.
There is no one who does what is good,
not even one.^[c]
13 Their throat is an open grave;
they deceive with their tongues.^[d]
Vipers’ venom is under their lips.^[e]
14 Their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.^[f]
15 Their feet are swift to shed blood;
¹⁶ ruin and wretchedness are in their paths,
¹⁷ and the path of peace they have not known.^[g]
18 There is no fear of God before their eyes.^[h]

로마서 3:9-18 Korean Living Bible

⁹ 그러면 우리가 이방인보다 낫단 말입니까? 전혀 그렇지 않습니다. 우리가 이미 선언한 것처럼 유대인이나 이방인이나 다 같은 죄인입니다.

¹⁰ 그것은 이렇게 기록된 성경 말씀과 같습니다. ^[a]“의로운 사람은 없으니 하나도 없으며

¹¹ 깨닫는 사람도 없고 하나님을 찾는 사람도 없다.

¹² 모두 진리에서 떠나 쓸모없게 되었고 선을 행하는 사람이 없으니 하나도 없다.”

^13 [b]“그들의 목구멍은 열린 무덤 같으며 그들의 혀로는 남을 속인다.” ^[c]“그들의 입술에는 독사의 독이 있고

^14 [d]그들의 입에는 저주와 독설이 가득하다.”

^15 [e]“그들은 살해하는 것을 주저하지 않으니

¹⁶ 그들이 가는 곳마다 파멸과 불행이 뒤따르고

¹⁷ 그들은 참된 평안이 무엇인지 모른다.”

^18 [f]“그들의 눈 앞에는 하나님을 두려워함이 없다.”

Romans 3:23-26 Christian Standard Bible

²³ For all have sinned and fall short of the^[a] glory of God; ²⁴ they are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. ²⁵ God presented him as the mercy seat^[b] by his blood, through faith, to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his restraint God passed over the sins previously committed. ²⁶ God presented him to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so that he would be just and justify the one who has faith in Jesus.

로마서 3:23-26 Korean Living Bible

²³ 모든 사람이 죄를 지어 하나님의 영광스러운 표준에 미치지 못하였으나

²⁴ 예수 그리스도께서 마련하신 구원의 길을 통해 하나님의 은혜로 값 없이 의롭다는 인정을 받게 되었습니다.

²⁵ 하나님께서는 그리스도 예수님의 피를 죄에서 구원하는 제물로 삼으시고 누구든지 그분을 믿으면 하나님과 화목하게 하셨습니다. 그것은 하나님께서 지금까지 참으심으로 그냥 지나쳐왔던 과거의 모든 죄를

²⁶ 오늘날 그리스도로 말미암아 해결하심으로 자기의 의로우심을 나타내셔서 자기도 의로우시며 예수님을 믿는 사람도 의롭다고 인정하기 위해서입니다.

Entertaining Angels

Casper, the beautiful blue-eyed cat

I can’t say I’ve encountered an actual angel, but . . .

He was a stray that found himself at my house–brave enough to come on my porch, but not brave enough to let me touch him.

I fed him.

I named him Casper, because the first time I saw him was at dusk, and I thought he looked like a ghost running across the yard. My son gave him another name, Tyberias, because he thought he deserved such a name.

The cat discovered that if he passed a motion sensor in my yard, one of us would look out the window and see that he was there and feed him. He’d ring the bell multiple times to get our attention.

In Hebrews 13 verse 2, we’re told–

13 Let brotherly love continue. ² Don’t neglect to show hospitality, for by doing this some have welcomed angels as guests without knowing it.

히브리서 13:1-2 Korean Living Bible

교훈과 인사

13 여러분은 서로 형제처럼 꾸준히 사랑하고

² 나그네를 대접하는 일을 잊지 마십시오. 어떤 사람들은 나그네를 대접하다가 자기도 모르는 사이에 천사를 대접하였습니다.

Did I entertain an angel?

No. Probably not.

Eventually, Casper stopped showing up. This week we got confirmation that he died. I wish we could have protected him.

I had a experience that did make me question whether an angel protected me.

As I was walking in the parking lot of my work office building(pre-pandemic) to my car for my trek home, a guy in a white car pulled up beside me and said, “We seem to see each other every day.” I smiled and kept going. I thought it was odd, because I don’t remember seeing him before that day.

Anyway, fast forward to a week or so later, and again I was walking to my car and had almost gotten to it and saw that the white car circled around the parking lot like it was headed back in my direction. I was a little nervous and then looked directly behind me and saw a teenage boy coming my way. There was nothing in that direction except my car. When the boy saw the white car he stopped and stood there. I got in my car and drove away.

I feel that boy had bad intentions, and the guy in the white car saw what was about to happen and circled back to make sure I was safe. I’m convinced of it.

I never saw that guy in the white car again. Not long after that, my office moved because of the recent increase in unsavory incidences in that location, so I was never able to thank him.

He may not have been an actual angel, but I’d like to think so.

Post Script: Now we have an opossum ringing the motion sensor bell. I feed him, too. My son named him Gustav. I think it should be Olaf. Olaf the Opossum has a nice sound to it. I’ll try to get a picture.

I Come to Tell You He is ALIVE

Life is worth the living just because He lives

Unlovable

You think you’re unlovable.

I’m here to tell you, you are loved.

He loved you so much that while you were the sinner He died to take the penalty you deserve.

Romans 5:7-9 Christian Standard Bible

⁷ For rarely will someone die for a just person—though for a good person perhaps someone might even dare to die. ⁸ But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. ⁹ How much more then, since we have now been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from wrath.

로마서 5:7-9 Korean Living Bible

⁷ 혹시 선한 사람을 위해 죽겠다고 나서는 사람은 있을는지 몰라도 의로운 사람을 위해 죽는 사람은 거의 없습니다.

⁸ 그러나 우리가 아직 죄인이었을 때에 그리스도께서 우리를 위해 죽으심으로 하나님께서 우리에 대한 사랑을 나타내셨습니다.

⁹ 이제 우리가 그리스도의 피로 의롭다는 인정을 받았으니 틀림없이 그분을 통해 하나님의 ^[a]무서운 형벌에서 구원을 받을 것입니다.

Get the Chosen App for your phone or TV to learn more about this man who would die for you. He’ll take you just as you are.

Coincidence – Maybe, Maybe Not

My Wood Boiler Keeping Me Warm and Toasty on a snowy day

I wasn’t going to write anything today, but I got a little teary-eyed at my wood boiler this evening.

Let me explain.

It started this morning as I was flipping through youtube videos and came across this short version of Promise:

And while I was playing it, my Bible App sent me the verse of the day:

Psalm 119:105 Christian Standard Bible

נ Nun

¹⁰⁵ Your word is a lamp for my feet
and a light on my path.

시편 119:105Korean Living Bible

¹⁰⁵ 주의 말씀은
나를 안내하는 등불이며
내 길을 비춰 주는 빛입니다.

Maybe to remind me where to find the light.

And then at my wood boiler tonight, I had my playlist on shuffle and Speak Life by TobyMac started playing.

I like the message of that song, so I was singing along while I loaded wood into an empty firebox. There was just a tiny coal left, but I had hope that the fire would start once I added the wood. I had the firebox nearly full when that little spark ignited to a flame at the exact same time TobyMac was singing “spread the love like fire”.

I remembered my early morning message and got a little emotional.

Maybe God doesn’t talk to me in a audible voice, but he sends me messages. I titled the post Coincidences, but some call them Godincidence. Yep. A Godincidence.

Matthew 5:15-17 Christian Standard Bible

¹⁵ No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, but rather on a lampstand, and it gives light for all who are in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.

마태복음 5:15-16Korean Living Bible

¹⁵ 등불을 켜서 그릇으로 덮어 둘 사람은 아무도 없다. 오히려 그것을 등잔대 위에 올려놓아 집 안에 있는 모든 사람에게 비치게 하지 않겠느냐?

¹⁶ 이와 같이 너희 빛을 사람들 앞에 비추게 하라. 그래서 사람들이 너희 착한 행실을 보고 하늘에 계신 너희 아버지를 찬양하게 하라.

John 8:12 Christian Standard Bible

The Light of the World

¹² Jesus spoke to them again: “I am the light of the world. Anyone who follows me will never walk in the darkness but will have the light of life.”

요한복음 8:12 Korean Living Bible

¹² 후에 예수님은 사람들에게 다시 말씀하셨다. “나는 세상의 빛이다. 나를 따르는 사람은 어두움에 다니지 않고 생명의 빛을 받을 것이다.”

I think my word for the Year is “Light”.

An oldie but goodie song I remember from my childhood. It only takes a spark to get a fire going.

Haunting Melody

I’m a people watcher. I love to sit back and watch people do things. Anything.

I love to read, but can’t do it when I’m in an airport, because there are too many people to watch.

BTS has been a great group of guys to watch. They may get offended if I said they remind me of a church youth group. But my church youth group loves to play games with each other, laugh, sing, act goofy, so yeah, church youth group(I guess without the faith message).

Coldplay’s 2005 song Fix You has gained recent popularity. It was written as a source of comfort, so I can see why BTS chose to sing it. It was reported to be on BTS members Jimin’s and Jin’s playlists. I’m sure they had a lot of influence in getting to cover this song.

As a people watcher, Jimin is fascinating. (One day I’ll write a post about his love language). He seems to be a kind, caring person, the type of person who would want to fix people. I remember an instance in a V-live where he takes the time to look up a remedy for a particular ailment that one of the viewers was experiencing. He seemed so sincere and sweet in his search.

I wasn’t listening to pop music when Fix You originally came out (truthfully, I’m still not listening to pop music, but BTS is different).

The boys do a splendid job with amazing vocals.

While the song is beautiful, and I don’t doubt it does make people feel better, sometimes we think we can fix people. We try to tell them what is right and wrong, what to eat or drink, what to say or do, and yet, fixing people is the hardest job, because we’re dealing with someone else’s free will. A person has to want to be fixed.

We see how certain things are causing harm and we can preach until we’re “blue in the face”, but nothing seems to get through. All our attempts at fixing are coming up void.

That’s when we take it out of our hands, ’cause we don’t have that power. We put it into the hands of someone with the power. Someone who loves more than anyone here on earth can love. Someone who can heal. Someone who knows the pain. Someone who can fix it.

Maybe there is someone you want to fix. Give it over. Help is on the way.

There is no pain like the pain of losing a child. TobyMac understands that pain.

James 5:13 Christian Standard Bible

Effective Prayer

¹³ Is anyone among you suffering? He should pray. Is anyone cheerful? He should sing praises.

야고보서 5:13 Korean Living Bible

믿음의 기도

¹³ 여러분 가운데 고난당하는 사람이 있습니까? 기도하십시오. 기뻐하는 사람이 있습니까? 찬송하십시오.

Philippians 4:5-7 Christian Standard Bible

⁵ Let your graciousness^[a] be known to everyone. The Lord is near. ⁶ Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

빌립보서 4:5-7 Korean Living Bible

⁵ 모든 사람을 너그럽게 대하십시오. 주님께서 오실 날이 가까웠습니다.

⁶ 아무것도 염려하지 말고 모든 일에 기도와 간구로 여러분이 필요로 하는 것을 감사하는 마음으로 하나님께 말씀드리십시오.

⁷ 그러면 도저히 상상도 할 수 없는 하나님의 놀라운 평안이 그리스도 예수님 안에서 여러분의 마음과 생각을 지켜 줄 것입니다.

Blinded

Our country is divided almost to the point of no return. Why is that? Why do others see things differently from the way I see them?

Several years ago I added a segment of scripture to my task list with the intention of looking at it maybe once a month, because I needed a reminder.

This morning I was looking up a phrase in the Bible and came across it and turned on the audio file and listened to it twice.

I’m thinking the scripture should become an anthem/pledge/playbook, I’m not sure what to call it, for Christians feeling like the world is going in the wrong direction.

2 Corinthians 4 Christian Standard Bible

The Light of the Gospel

4 Therefore, since we have this ministry because we were shown mercy, we do not give up. ² Instead, we have renounced secret and shameful things, not acting deceitfully or distorting the word of God, but commending ourselves before God to everyone’s conscience by an open display of the truth. ³ But if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. ⁴ In their case, the god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ,^[a] who is the image of God. ⁵ For we are not proclaiming ourselves but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’s sake. ⁶ For God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of God’s glory in the face of Jesus Christ.

Treasure in Clay Jars

⁷ Now we have this treasure in clay jars, so that this extraordinary power may be from God and not from us. ⁸ We are afflicted in every way but not crushed; we are perplexed but not in despair; ⁹ we are persecuted but not abandoned; we are struck down but not destroyed. ¹⁰ We always carry the death of Jesus in our body, so that the life of Jesus may also be displayed in our body. ¹¹ For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’s sake, so that Jesus’s life may also be displayed in our mortal flesh. ¹² So then, death is at work in us, but life in you. ¹³ And since we have the same spirit of faith in keeping with what is written, I believed, therefore I spoke,^[b] we also believe, and therefore speak. ¹⁴ For we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you. ¹⁵ Indeed, everything is for your benefit so that, as grace extends through more and more people, it may cause thanksgiving to increase to the glory of God.

¹⁶ Therefore we do not give up. Even though our outer person is being destroyed, our inner person is being renewed day by day. ¹⁷ For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory. ¹⁸ So we do not focus on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

고린도후서 4 Korean Living Bible

4 그러므로 우리가 하나님의 자비하심으로 이 직분을 받았으니 낙심하지 않습 니다.

² 오히려 우리는 은밀하고 부끄러운 일과 간사한 행동을 버렸으며 하나님의 말씀을 어렵고 복잡하게 전하지 않고 다만 진리를 분명하게 전함으로 하나님 앞과 모든 사람 앞에 거리낌없이 생활합니다.

³ 만일 우리가 전하는 기쁜 소식이 가리어졌다고 해도 그것은 멸망하는 사람들에게 가리어진 것입니다.

⁴ 이 세상의 신인 사탄이 믿지 않는 사람들의 마음을 어둡게 했기 때문에 그들은 하나님의 모습인 그리스도의 영광에 대한 기쁜 소식의 빛을 볼 수가 없습니다.

⁵ 우리는 우리 자신을 전파하는 것이 아니라 예수 그리스도가 주님이 되신다는 것과 우리는 예수님을 위한 여러분의 종이라는 것을 전파하고 있습니다.

^6 [a]“어두움 속에서 빛이 비치라” 고 말씀하신 하나님이 우리 마음속에 빛을 비추셔서 그리스도의 얼굴에 나타난 하나님의 영광을 깨닫게 하셨습니다.

보화를 담은 질그릇

⁷ 그러나 질그릇 같은 우리 속에 이 보화를 가진 것은 그 엄청난 능력이 하나님에게서 나온 것이지 우리에게서 나온 것이 아니라는 것을 보여 주기 위한 것입니다.

⁸ 우리가 모든 일에 괴로움을 당해도 꺾이지 않으며 난처한 일을 당해도 실망하지 않고

⁹ 핍박을 받아도 버림을 당하지 않으며 맞아서 쓰러져도 죽지 않습니다.

¹⁰ 우리가 이렇게 항상 예수님의 죽으심을 몸소 체험하는 것은 예수님의 생명이 우리 몸에 나타나게 하려는 것입니다.

¹¹ 살아 있는 우리가 예수님을 위해 항상 죽을 위험을 당하는 것은 우리의 죽을 몸에 그의 생명이 나타날 수 있도록 하기 위한 것입니다.

¹² 그러므로 우리는 죽을 위험을 당하지만 여러분은 영원한 생명을 얻게 되었습니다.

^13 [b]“내가 믿었으므로 말하였다” 는 성경 말씀대로 우리도 그와 같은 믿음의 정신으로 믿고 말합니다.

¹⁴ 주 예수님을 다시 살리신 하나님이 예수님과 함께 우리도 다시 살리셔서 여러분과 함께 우리를 그분 앞에 세워 주실 것을 우리는 알고 있습니다.

¹⁵ 이 모든 것은 다 여러분의 유익을 위한 것입니다. 그래서 더 많은 사람이 넘치는 은혜를 받고 감사함으로 하나님의 영광을 찬양하게 하려는 것입니다.

¹⁶ 그러므로 우리는 낙심하지 않습니다. 비록 우리의 겉 사람은 쇠약해 가지만 우리의 속 사람은 날마다 새로워지고 있습니다.

¹⁷ 우리가 잠시 받는 가벼운 고난은 그 무엇과도 비교될 수 없는 크고 엄청난, 영원한 영광을 우리에게 가져다 줄 것입니다.

¹⁸ 그래서 우리는 보이는 것을 바라보지 않고 보이지 않는 것을 바라봅니다. 보이는 것은 잠깐이지만 보이지 않는 것은 영원하기 때문입니다.

My prayer, Lord, is for you to remove the veil that the god of this age, Satan, has put on the heart of the unbeliever. I pray for revival in our land.