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Day 327, or November the 23rd. Build up with

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positivity. Our thoughts today come from 2 Corinthians,

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chapter 4, verse 8. We are hard-pressed on every

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side, but not crushed, perplexed, but not in

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despair. Another big picture surrounding this

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verse. The church in Corinth is still in need

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of the wise advice and prophetic voice of the

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apostle Paul, even though there are some amongst

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them who question whether Paul is a proper apostle

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or not. All the others had known Jesus face to

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face, but Paul had been a latecomer after Jesus

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had died, risen, and ascended back to heaven,

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or so the argument went. It seems that there

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were those who would home in on almost anything

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to attack this first century missionary. Paul

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explains that the recent danger in Asia Minor

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was so intense that he and his colleagues feared

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for their lives, and his initial plans to visit

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Corinth had unfortunately not worked out. Instead

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of sympathy, all he received from some in Corinth

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was criticism and negativity. And now our action

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step for today. The pressure is on for Paul.

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He is under attack from the enemies of Christianity,

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and there is animosity from within the fellowship

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at Corinth too. Attacks from outside are to be

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expected, but opposition from within your fellowship

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can be below the belt sometimes. I attended a

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church meeting recently and entered the room

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with another retired Baptist minister. I commented

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to him that these meetings were so different

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to the ones when I was on the platform. I could

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relax a lot more now. He just smiled, but that

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smile said everything. I always make a conscious

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effort to be supportive of the leadership, and

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if I have any comments to make that are not obviously

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positive, I would make them in the privacy of

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one of the minister's studies. As a leader, there

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is enough hassle to handle without getting it

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from your own people. Of course, there are times

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when things don't go well, but positive encouragement

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is a gesture we can all make.