2Corinthians 8: 16 – 24

September 23, 2022

16 But thanks be to God, which put the same earnest care into the heart of Titus for you.

17 For indeed he accepted the exhortation; but being more forward, of his own accord he went unto you.

18 And we have sent with him the brother, whose praise is in the gospel throughout all the churches;

19 And not that only, but who was also chosen of the churches to travel with us with this grace, which is administered by us to the glory of the same Lord, and declaration of your ready mind:

20 Avoiding this, that no man should blame us in this abundance which is administered by us:

21 Providing for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men.

22 And we have sent with them our brother, whom we have oftentimes proved diligent in many things, but now much more diligent, upon the great confidence which I have in you.

23 Whether any do enquire of Titus, he is my partner and fellowhelper concerning you: or our brethren be enquired of, they are the messengers of the churches, and the glory of Christ.

24 Wherefore shew ye to them, and before the churches, the proof of your love, and of our boasting on your behalf.

It’s always impressive when we consider that in the days of feet, horses, camels and boats, the disciples traveled what was then the known world.

What’s not so impressive is that in the days of trains, planes, automobiles, motorcycles, motor bikes and skateboards … well – you get where I’m going with this.

The biggest ‘hit’ church attendance took – and has yet to recover from – was the virus years. Don’t misunderstand me; I am eternally grateful for the technology that puts me in my adopted church in Georgia while I live in Florida. Zoom got me to regular Bible study and the laughter and exchange of ideas with folks everywhere that were also with us on Zoom. Face Book live chat allows me to do weekly devotionals with my dear friend in England – in ‘real time’.

Technology was and is a boon but now, it seems people are just as happy to stay home when there’s no mandates or restrictions. We seem to like going to church in our jammies, bed-head, and bunny slippers.

I’m not Jiminy Cricket; I’m not your conscience. But keep in mind … being online partakers of the Word does not release us from our obligation to tithe and do offerings to the church. Churches have taken a really bad wallop to the wallet; without our tithes and offerings, those cell phone and camera online Masses and Bible studies could go away simply from lack of funding. Quite a few churches have ‘Donate’ buttons on their websites; all of them have their addresses on the website, too. Use either one. But use it. You know what they say, “Move it or lose it”. That’s a frightening thought right there.

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