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Saturday, July 19 2008
The word that Paul used for "thorn" however is found only once in the Scriptures, by Paul. It is pronounced skol-ops and means a pointed piece of wood, i.e. a goad. Did Paul use that word because someone was goading and harassing him? It seems quite possible, particularly since he includes in the statement "the messenger of Satan to buffet me." Satan literally means accuser.
"There was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me"
Paul's Ministry was one of the most productive and fruitful that ever was. He was given to see and understand things that very few other people ever have.
"12:1 It is not expedient for me doubtless to glory. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord. 12:2 I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth; such an one caught up to the third heaven. 12:3 And I knew such a man, whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth; 12:4 How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter. 12:5 Of such an one will I glory: yet of myself I will not glory, but in mine infirmities. 12:6 For though I would desire to glory, I shall not be a fool; for I will say the truth: but now I forbear, lest any man should think of me above that which he seeth me to be, or that he heareth of me." (2 Corinthians 12:1-6 KJV)
Whether it was a natural result of being well-known, or whether it was prescribed by The Lord to keep Paul humble ("lest I should be exalted above measure") is not entirely clear. But what is certain is that righteous Paul was grieved by whatever, or whoever, manifested that "messenger of Satan."
"12:7 And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations [see Apocalypse], there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. 12:8 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. 12:9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 12:10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong."12:11 I am become a fool in glorying; ye have compelled me: for I ought to have been commended of you: for in nothing am I behind the very chiefest apostles, though I be nothing. 12:12 Truly the signs of an Apostle were wrought among you in all patience, in signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds. 12:13 For what is it wherein ye were inferior to other churches, except it be that I myself was not burdensome to you? forgive me this wrong.
12:14 Behold, the third time I am ready to come to you; and I will not be burdensome to you: for I seek not yours, but you: for the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children. 12:15 And I will very gladly spend and be spent for you; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved. 12:16 But be it so, I did not burden you: nevertheless, being crafty, I caught you with guile. 12:17 Did I make a gain of you by any of them whom I sent unto you? 12:18 I desired Titus, and with him I sent a brother. Did Titus make a gain of you? walked we not in the same spirit? walked we not in the same steps?
12:19 Again, think ye that we excuse ourselves unto you? we speak before God in Christ: but we do all things, dearly beloved, for your edifying. 12:20 For I fear, lest, when I come, I shall not find you such as I would, and that I shall be found unto you such as ye would not: lest there be debates, envyings, wraths, strifes, Backbitings, whisperings [see The Whisperer], swellings, tumults: 12:21 And lest, when I come again, my God will humble me among you, and that I shall bewail many which have sinned already, and have not repented of the uncleanness and fornication and lasciviousness which they have committed" (2 Corinthians 12:7-21 KJV).
Fact Finder: Why does it become easier to sin, when one is trying the hardest not to sin?
See Concupiscence
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This Day In History, July 19
1333: The Scots and the English fought the Battle of Halidon Hill.
1525: The Catholic princes of Germany formed the Dessau League to fight against the Reformation.
1533: The first reported autopsy in the New World was performed in Santo Domingo on the island of Hispaniola. Its purpose was religious - to determine whether a set of Siamese twins had one soul or two, so that the priest would know how many postmortem baptisms to perform. Two "souls" were found, and 2 baptisms were performed. (see Where Is Your Soul?)
1553: Lady Jane Grey was deposed and Mary Tudor was proclaimed Queen of England.
1588: The Spanish Armada was first sighted, off Cornwall. In Spanish "Armada Invencible," it had been sent by Philip II of Spain to assist in an invasion of Britain by Spanish army troops from the Netherlands to force the British back under Roman Catholic rule. The Spanish fleet consisted of 130 ships with about 8,000 sailors and 19,000 infantry. The English navy, with battle commanders such as Francis Drake, John Hawkins and Martin Frobisher, obliterated it.
1692: 5 Massachusetts women were hanged for witchcraft. 15 young girls in Salem accused 150 citizens in the area with witchcraft during that year.
1799: The Rosetta Stone, a tablet with hieroglyphic translations into Greek, was found in Egypt.
1843: A new form of female dress, "Bloomers," were first introduced by their inventor, Amelia Jenks Bloomer.
1870: France declared war on Prussia, heralding the start of the Franco-Prussian war.
1877: The first Wimbledon tennis final was played.
1941: Winston Churchill introduced his "V for Victory" campaign which rapidly spread through Europe. The BBC took the first four notes of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, which matched the dot-dot-dot-dash Morse code for the letter V, and played it before news bulletins.
1942: During the Second World War, German U-boats (attack submarines) were withdrawn from positions off the eastern coast of North America due to highly effective American and Canadian anti-submarine countermeasures.
1980: The 22nd Olympics opened in Moscow with more than 45 nations boycotting the games in protest against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
1985: Christa McAuliffe was chosen as the first schoolteacher to fly in the space shuttle. She was later killed along with the other astronauts in the Challenger explosion.
