2 Corinthians 11:16-33  ¹⁶ I repeat, let no one think that I am a fool; but if you do, then accept me as a fool, so that I too may boast a little.  ¹⁷ What I am saying in regard to this boastful confidence, I am saying not with the Lord's authority, but as a fool;  ¹⁸ since many boast according to human standards, I will also boast.  ¹⁹ For you gladly put up with fools, being wise yourselves!  ²⁰ For you put up with it when someone makes slaves of you, or preys upon you, or takes advantage of you, or puts on airs, or gives you a slap in the face.  ²¹ To my shame, I must say, we were too weak for that! But whatever anyone dares to boast of-- I am speaking as a fool-- I also dare to boast of that.  ²² Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I.  ²³ Are they ministers of Christ? I am talking like a madman-- I am a better one: with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless floggings, and often near death.  ²⁴ Five times I have received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one.  ²⁵ Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I received a stoning. Three times I was shipwrecked; for a night and a day I was adrift at sea;  ²⁶ on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from bandits, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers and sisters;  ²⁷ in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, hungry and thirsty, often without food, cold and naked.  ²⁸ And, besides other things, I am under daily pressure because of my anxiety for all the churches.  ²⁹ Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble, and I am not indignant?  ³⁰ If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.  ³¹ The God and Father of the Lord Jesus (blessed be he forever!) knows that I do not lie.  ³² In Damascus, the governor under King Aretas guarded the city of Damascus in order to seize me,  ³³ but I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall, and escaped from his hands 

            For the past week or so, I have been reading the new book about Deitrich Bonhoeffer, which is titled:  Bonhoeffer, Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy.  So far, it is a very good read, and for those of you that would like to know more about him, I encourage you to pick it up.  It details his life from birth all the way to his death.  It also includes many of his famous quotes and letters, as well as gives an idea of the important things in his life that led him to be a pastor of the church.  For example, I never knew that he traveled throughout the southeastern part of the USA, nor did I know that he had visited Cuba. 

            Perhaps though the most intriguing part of the book though is all the things he went through in his life.  He moved often, never stopped studying, always had other family members to “compete” with, and never seemed to be able to relax.  He was a man of the church that endured many hardships, much like Paul (See the text above).  Yet Bonheoffer did always find peace with God.  There was nothing that was too big for him, because he saw God in everything.  So perhaps his life, along with Paul’s, can be an example for us.  Try to find God in everything, and then our own hardships don’t seem as though they are that hard.

In our prayers this week:  Ann, and Scott (he will be back stateside in less than 2 weeks!)

God’s Peace,