Study Desk

He helps us in all our troubles, so that we are able to help others who have all kinds of troubles, using the same help that we ourselves have received from God.

Just as we have a share in Christ's many sufferings, so also through Christ we share in God's great help.

So our hope in you is never shaken; we know that just as you share in our sufferings, you also share in the help we receive.

We want to remind you, friends, of the trouble we had in the province of Asia. The burdens laid upon us were so great and so heavy that we gave up all hope of staying alive.

We felt that the death sentence had been passed on us. But this happened so that we should rely, not on ourselves, but only on God, who raises the dead.

as you help us by means of your prayers for us. So it will be that the many prayers for us will be answered, and God will bless us; and many will raise their voices to him in thanksgiving for us.

We write to you only what you can read and understand. But even though you now understand us only in part, I hope that you will come to understand us completely, so that in the Day of our Lord Jesus you can be as proud of us as we shall be of you.

I was so sure of all this that I made plans at first to visit you, in order that you might be blessed twice.

So I made up my mind not to come to you again to make you sad.

Now, however, you should forgive him and encourage him, in order to keep him from becoming so sad as to give up completely.

And so I beg you to let him know that you really do love him.

But I was deeply worried, because I could not find our brother Titus. So I said good-bye to the people there and went on to Macedonia.

We are not like so many others, who handle God's message as if it were cheap merchandise; but because God has sent us, we speak with sincerity in his presence, as servants of Christ.

The Law was carved in letters on stone tablets, and God's glory appeared when it was given. Even though the brightness on Moses' face was fading, it was so strong that the people of Israel could not keep their eyes fixed on him. If the Law, which brings death when it is in force, came with such glory,

We may say that because of the far brighter glory now the glory that was so bright in the past is gone.

We are not like Moses, who had to put a veil over his face so that the people of Israel would not see the brightness fade and disappear.

God in his mercy has given us this work to do, and so we do not become discouraged.

At all times we carry in our mortal bodies the death of Jesus, so that his life also may be seen in our bodies.

And now we sigh, so great is our desire that our home which comes from heaven should be put on over us;

While we live in this earthly tent, we groan with a feeling of oppression; it is not that we want to get rid of our earthly body, but that we want to have the heavenly one put on over us, so that what is mortal will be transformed by life.