Study Desk

This means that death is working in us, but life is working in you.

We never give up. Our bodies are gradually dying, but we ourselves are being made stronger each day.

Things that are seen don't last forever, but things that are not seen are eternal. That's why we keep our minds on the things that cannot be seen.

Our bodies are like tents that we live in here on earth. But when these tents are destroyed, we know that God will give each of us a place to live. These homes will not be buildings that someone has made, but they are in heaven and will last forever.

These tents we now live in are like a heavy burden, and we groan. But we don't do this just because we want to leave these bodies that will die. It is because we want to change them for bodies that will never die.

But we live by faith, not by what we see.

But whether we are at home with the Lord or away from him, we still try our best to please him.

We are not trying once more to brag about ourselves. But we want you to be proud of us, when you are with those who are not sincere and brag about what others think of them.

If we seem out of our minds, it is between God and us. But if we are in our right minds, it is for your good.

And Christ did die for all of us. He died so we would no longer live for ourselves, but for the one who died and was raised to life for us.

Christ never sinned! But God treated him as a sinner, so that Christ could make us acceptable to God.

But in everything and in every way we show that we truly are God's servants. We have always been patient, though we have had a lot of trouble, suffering, and hard times.

But we have kept ourselves pure and have been understanding, patient, and kind. The Holy Spirit has been with us, and our love has been real.

Whether we were honored or dishonored or praised or cursed, we always told the truth about ourselves. But some people said we did not.

We are unknown to others, but well known to you. We seem to be dying, and yet we are still alive. We have been punished, but never killed,

We are not holding back on our love for you, but you are holding back on your love for us.

I am not saying this to be hard on you. But, as I have said before, you will always be in our thoughts, whether we live or die.

But God cheers up people in need, and that is what he did when he sent Titus to us.

Of course, we were glad to see Titus, but what really made us glad is the way you cheered him up. He told how sorry you were and how concerned you were about me. And this made me even happier.

I don't feel bad anymore, even though my letter hurt your feelings. I did feel bad at first, but I don't now. I know that the letter hurt you for a while.