Pastor Barry's  "Chapter & Verse"  2024  Day 94

April 3;      2 Corinthians 1:3;      150/260;      ‘A Champion’s Attitude’

2 Corinthians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,

When you study out the ministry of the Apostle Paul, the incredible things he suffered and went through and his attitude through all of the trials is amazing. In the book of Acts the Jews plotted several times to kill Paul. Right after his conversion, when he began preaching Jesus, the religious leaders changed from being Paul’s biggest supporter to an adamant gang that wanted to kill him. Jealous religious leaders, they were jealous of Paul just like they were jealous of Jesus, caused trouble for him wherever he preached. A Greek scholar we know teaches that as Paul wrote the Epistle to the Philippians, he was in the sewer of a Roman prison up to his waist in sewer water. The Epistle of Philippians is called the Epistle of Joy. What kind of a man is this? He was a man who loved Jesus with all of his heart and blessed God the Father and Jesus all of the time. He tells us in this verse that God the Father is ‘the Father of mercies.’ That means that the Father has compassion on what we are going through. Whatever Paul went through, he knew the Father would have compassion on him amidst all of his sufferings. This taught Paul to treat others with that same mercy. Paul goes on to say that the Father is also ‘the God of all comfort.’ The word comfort means to call to one’s side. Paul knew, because he had been through so very much, that in the midst of everything he could and did call on the Lord and know that He would be at Paul’s side. Comfort also means encouragement. Often when facing things alone, Paul knew that the Father was there to encourage him. A God who loved him and his stalwart