Heart-to-Heart

Based on 2 Corinthians 6-8

"(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)"
2 Corinthians 6:2

While our connection with the world seems to be severed to a degree, God has opened many virtual doors to continue to connect with friends and family. Thank you Jesus! However, even with our available resources, and thinking back to the times when we could go visit people, how often did we really reach out & connect? Are we finding ourselves regretting lost moments in the presence of our loved ones? Are we having regret about not sending a text a call back then as much as we need to now? I know I feel this way sometimes! Now is the time to restore relationships, although again, it seems like the most challenging time to do so. We need to use our available resources and have heart-to-heart convos! "Now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation"!!

"Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." 2 Corinthians 7:1

Paul was a man who reached out & had heart-to-heart conversations through letters to the churches. He really cared for people genuinely. He seems to have adopted them as his own! When we share God's Truth with people, and they make the life-changing decision to be baptized in water & Spirit, they really are like newborns. Paul tended & cared for them to be sure they grew and matured in Spirit. But also, quite simply, these people at the church in Corinth were his friends. He kept up a wonderful relationship with them & many other churches! He addresses them as "dearly beloved" in reminding them to be clean, pure & holy before God. In keeping up our connection with others, we must keep a strong connection with God first. In doing so, He will strengthen our relationships with others!

"For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death."
2 Corinthians 7:10

True, heart-felt repentance is going to change our world. We cannot be slack in sharing God's message of hope & salvation-if the world ever needed it, it's NOW!! These friendships & heart-to-hearts are very important to keep! Paul could have said "these letters take too long" and stopped his work in the ministry-but He loved God and people so much, so he kept writing-even from prison! We have no excuse not to connect from our "comfortable confinement"!

"How that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality."
2 Corinthians 8:2

Paul was talking to the church at Corinth about the church in Macedonia. He encouraged Corinth by speaking of the fact that even in affliction & poverty, they had joy, and this made them rich in liberality! With Jesus, we can have joy in times like these. Thanks Paul, for the encouragement! Lord, help us to spread that same encouragement to this world today in Jesus' Name!

"Therefore, as ye abound in every thing, in faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and in all diligence, and in your love to us, see that ye abound in this grace also. I speak not by commandment, but by occasion of the forwardness of others, and to prove the sincerity of your love. For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich."
2 Corinthians 8:7‭-‬9

Jesus set the first & best example! When we are lowly, we become blessed. When we are lowly for the sake of others, spending time talking them out of their pits of depression through the Word of God, they become blessed also. They can have a sense of peace. We can't be afraid to have heart-to-hearts using God's Word-it might just bring a hungry heart closer to God! It's not the closeness with us that matters, although like Paul, we love our friends. Only God can provide the unending supply of peace & joy people need, especially when we are not around. We can do what we can with the resources we have, but God will sustain us all FOREVER!