In this daily Bible reading Paul speaks to the Corinthian Church of his experience of going to Heaven after he was stoned to death. In Heaven Paul heard ‘inexpressible words, which a man is not permitted to speak.’ After Paul was returned in spirit to the Earth, God inflicted Paul with a physical ailment so that Paul would remain humble.
Paul asked God to remove the affliction from his body, but God told Paul, no. God said to Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” God wanted Paul to remain humble and weak, but Paul’s message was powerful and strong.
I think it is beneficial to compare Paul and his ministry to current day leaders of the mega churches. They are very powerful and appeal to the masses. On the other hand, Paul was not impressive in his appearance or demeanor. In fact, people said that Paul’s ‘speaking ability was unimpressive, but his letters were weighty.’ I believe that we should be wary of the powerful preachers of the mega churches. They sometimes compromise the Gospel message of Jesus Christ to appeal to the masses.
The Bible says that the Gospel message is ‘foolishness to the Greeks and a stumbling block to the Jews.’ The Gospel message is not popular, and it is not in keeping with what the world teaches.
The Gospel says that we must repent of our sins. The world says that we can keep our sins without consequence. The world does not acknowledge sin as sin. I believe the mega churches are popular because they conform to the world’s beliefs and appeal to the masses.
