“10 For some say, “Paul’s letters are demanding and forceful, but in person he is weak, and his speeches are worthless!” 11 Those people should realize that our actions when we arrive in person will be as forceful as what we say in our letters from far away.
12 Oh, don’t worry; we wouldn’t dare say that we are as wonderful as these other men who tell you how important they are! But they are only comparing themselves with each other, using themselves as the standard of measurement. How ignorant!
13 We will not boast about things done outside our area of authority. We will boast only about what has happened within the boundaries of the work God has given us, which includes our working with you. 14 We are not reaching beyond these boundaries when we claim authority over you, as if we had never visited you. For we were the first to travel all the way to Corinth with the Good News of Christ.
15 Nor do we boast and claim credit for the work someone else has done. Instead, we hope that your faith will grow so that the boundaries of our work among you will be extended. 16 Then we will be able to go and preach the Good News in other places far beyond you, where no one else is working. Then there will be no question of our boasting about work done in someone else’s territory. 17 As the Scriptures say, “If you want to boast, boast only about the Lord.”[c]
18 When people commend themselves, it doesn’t count for much. The important thing is for the Lord to commend them.”
ENCOURAGEMENT
Psalm 83
“A song. A psalm of Asaph.
O God, do not be silent! Do not be deaf. Do not be quiet, O God. 2 Don’t you hear the uproar of your enemies? Don’t you see that your arrogant enemies are rising up? 3 They devise crafty schemes against your people; they conspire against your precious ones. 4 “Come,” they say, “let us wipe out Israel as a nation. We will destroy the very memory of its existence.” 5 Yes, this was their unanimous decision. They signed a treaty as allies against you— 6 these Edomites and Ishmaelites; Moabites and Hagrites; 7 Gebalites, Ammonites, and Amalekites; and people from Philistia and Tyre. 8 Assyria has joined them, too, and is allied with the descendants of Lot. Interlude
9 Do to them as you did to the Midianites and as you did to Sisera and Jabin at the Kishon River. 10 They were destroyed at Endor, and their decaying corpses fertilized the soil. 11 Let their mighty nobles die as Oreb and Zeeb did. Let all their princes die like Zebah and Zalmunna, 12 for they said, “Let us seize for our own use these pasturelands of God!” 13 O my God, scatter them like tumbleweed, like chaff before the wind! 14 As a fire burns a forest and as a flame sets mountains ablaze, 15 chase them with your fierce storm; terrify them with your tempest. 16 Utterly disgrace them until they submit to your name, O Lord. 17 Let them be ashamed and terrified forever. Let them die in disgrace. 18 Then they will learn that you alone are called the Lord, that you alone are the Most High, supreme over all the earth.”
Psalm 84
“For the choir director: A psalm of the descendants of Korah, to be accompanied by a stringed instrument.[a]
How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of Heaven’s Armies. 2 I long, yes, I faint with longing to enter the courts of the Lord. With my whole being, body and soul, I will shout joyfully to the living God. 3 Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow builds her nest and raises her young at a place near your altar, O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, my King and my God! 4 What joy for those who can live in your house, always singing your praises. Interlude
5 What joy for those whose strength comes from the Lord, who have set their minds on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. 6 When they walk through the Valley of Weeping,[b] it will become a place of refreshing springs. The autumn rains will clothe it with blessings. 7 They will continue to grow stronger, and each of them will appear before God in Jerusalem.[c]
8 O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies, hear my prayer. Listen, O God of Jacob. Interlude
9 O God, look with favor upon the king, our shield! Show favor to the one you have anointed.
10 A single day in your courts is better than a thousand anywhere else! I would rather be a gatekeeper in the house of my God than live the good life in the homes of the wicked. 11 For the Lord God is our sun and our shield. He gives us grace and glory. The Lord will withhold no good thing from those who do what is right. 12 O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, what joy for those who trust in you.”
