2 Corinthians 2:5-11

 5If anyone has caused grief, he has not so much grieved me as he has grieved all
of you, to some extent—not to put it too severely. 6The punishment inflicted on
him by the majority is sufficient for him. 7Now instead, you ought to forgive and
comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. 8I urge you,
therefore, to reaffirm your love for him. 9The reason I wrote you was to see if you
would stand the test and be obedient in everything. 10If you forgive anyone, I
also forgive him. And what I have forgiven—if there was anything to forgive—I
have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, 11in order that Satan might not
outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.

MEDITATION
1. The Corinthian church here has punished one of its members and Paul
writes to them, encouraging them to forgive and comfort him.  The point of
Paul’s writing is not to focus on the punishment, but rather to encourage the
congregation to care for the health of the whole community.  It is important
for the community to pursue forgiveness in order to prevent Satan from
accomplishing his schemes against the Church.
2. Do I know any believer that may need to re-enter the church community
right now?  If so, ask God for wisdom and love to forgive, comfort and restore
this person into God’s family.

Personal Note:
God has forgiven me of my sins and wickedness.  He allowed me to re-enter the church community by his grace and love.  As a pastor, I have made some foolish decisions (I may be doing so now and in the future) and I have received love, comfort, and forgiveness.

I believe that we are to take God's forgiveness of our sins seriously.  Without God's forgiveness, we would not have the heart to love and forgive.

2 Corinthians 1:3-11

 3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of
compassion and the God of all comfort, 4who comforts us in all our troubles,
so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have
received from God. 5For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives,
so also through Christ our comfort overflows. 6If we are distressed, it is for your
comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces
in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. 7And our hope for you
is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share
in our comfort.
 8We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered
in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to
endure, so that we despaired even of life. 9Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence
of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who
raises the dead. 10He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver
us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, 11as you help
us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor
granted us in answer to the prayers of many.

MEDITATION
1. Christians may suffer because of the faith that we have.  But when we suffer
and are persecuted because of Jesus, we can also be comforted because we
know that God is at work, seeking reconciliation between God and men and
that Christ is the one who comforts us.  When we suffer for the gospel, we are
put into a position of needing to be dependent on God.
2. When was the last time I felt like in a pressure cooker?  What happened?
3. Whom do I know that is under pressure right now?  How would Paul
encourage me to pray for him/her this week?  Spend a few minutes praying
for this person.  Give this person a call, in a few days, or write him/her an
email asking how things are and telling him/her that you are praying for him/
her.

Personal Note:
The last time I felt like in a pressure cooker was around two years ago.  I was lost in my life's direction.  I had the pressure to perform in ministry, to generate profit from my business, and trying to seek meaning in life in the midst of pressures from everywhere.  The ministry did not grow and seemed to be stagnant and my business went south, and I do not know what to do.  I do give thanks to God for that experience as He taught me that I need to depend on Him to be comforted.  I also give thanks for the comforting support from the leadership in my church and from brothers and sisters in my fellowship.

I know there are academic pressure for most of my young friends.  There are financial pressure for most of my working friends and even greater pressure for my unemployed friends.  There are parenting pressure for my friends with kids.  There are challenges and suffering for my friend who is working oversea to teach English.  Let's keep everyone in my prayer.