Parallel Bible results for "2 corinthians 8"

2 Corinthians 8

The Message Bible MSG

1 Now, friends, I want to report on the surprising and generous ways in which God is working in the churches in Macedonia province.

2 Fierce troubles came down on the people of those churches, pushing them to the very limit. The trial exposed their true colors: They were incredibly happy, though desperately poor. The pressure triggered something totally unexpected: an outpouring of pure and generous gifts.

3 I was there and saw it for myself. They gave offerings of whatever they could - far more than they could afford! -

4 pleading for the privilege of helping out in the relief of poor Christians.

5 This was totally spontaneous, entirely their own idea, and caught us completely off guard. What explains it was that they had first given themselves unreservedly to God and to us. The other giving simply flowed out of the purposes of God working in their lives.

6 That's what prompted us to ask Titus to bring the relief offering to your attention, so that what was so well begun could be finished up.

7 You do so well in so many things - you trust God, you're articulate, you're insightful, you're passionate, you love us - now, do your best in this, too.

8 I'm not trying to order you around against your will. But by bringing in the Macedonians' enthusiasm as a stimulus to your love, I am hoping to bring the best out of you.

9 You are familiar with the generosity of our Master, Jesus Christ. Rich as he was, he gave it all away for us - in one stroke he became poor and we became rich.

10 So here's what I think: The best thing you can do right now is to finish what you started last year and not let those good intentions grow stale.

11 Your heart's been in the right place all along. You've got what it takes to finish it up, so go to it.

12 Once the commitment is clear, you do what you can, not what you can't. The heart regulates the hands.

13 This isn't so others can take it easy while you sweat it out. No, you're shoulder to shoulder with them all the way,

14 your surplus matching their deficit, their surplus matching your deficit. In the end you come out even.

15 As it is written, Nothing left over to the one with the most, Nothing lacking to the one with the least.

16 I thank God for giving Titus the same devoted concern for you that I have.

17 He was most considerate of how we felt, but his eagerness to go to you and help out with this relief offering is his own idea.

18 We're sending a companion along with him, someone very popular in the churches for his preaching of the Message.

19 But there's far more to him than popularity. He's rock-solid trustworthy. The churches handpicked him to go with us as we travel about doing this work of sharing God's gifts to honor God as well as we can,

20 taking every precaution against scandal.

21 We're being as careful in our reputation with the public as in our reputation with God.

22 That's why we're sending another trusted friend along. He's proved his dependability many times over, and carries on as energetically as the day he started. He's heard much about you, and liked what he's heard - so much so that he can't wait to get there.

23 I don't need to say anything further about Titus. We've been close associates in this work of serving you for a long time. The brothers who travel with him are delegates from churches, a real credit to Christ.

24 Show them what you're made of, the love I've been talking up in the churches. Let them see it for themselves!

New Living Translation NLT

1 Now I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters, what God in his kindness has done through the churches in Macedonia.

2 They are being tested by many troubles, and they are very poor. But they are also filled with abundant joy, which has overflowed in rich generosity.

3 For I can testify that they gave not only what they could afford, but far more. And they did it of their own free will.

4 They begged us again and again for the privilege of sharing in the gift for the believers in Jerusalem.

5 They even did more than we had hoped, for their first action was to give themselves to the Lord and to us, just as God wanted them to do.

6 So we have urged Titus, who encouraged your giving in the first place, to return to you and encourage you to finish this ministry of giving.

7 Since you excel in so many ways—in your faith, your gifted speakers, your knowledge, your enthusiasm, and your love from us —I want you to excel also in this gracious act of giving.

8 I am not commanding you to do this. But I am testing how genuine your love is by comparing it with the eagerness of the other churches.

9 You know the generous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty he could make you rich.

10 Here is my advice: It would be good for you to finish what you started a year ago. Last year you were the first who wanted to give, and you were the first to begin doing it.

11 Now you should finish what you started. Let the eagerness you showed in the beginning be matched now by your giving. Give in proportion to what you have.

12 Whatever you give is acceptable if you give it eagerly. And give according to what you have, not what you don’t have.

13 Of course, I don’t mean your giving should make life easy for others and hard for yourselves. I only mean that there should be some equality.

14 Right now you have plenty and can help those who are in need. Later, they will have plenty and can share with you when you need it. In this way, things will be equal.

15 As the Scriptures say, “Those who gathered a lot had nothing left over, and those who gathered only a little had enough.”

16 But thank God! He has given Titus the same enthusiasm for you that I have.

17 Titus welcomed our request that he visit you again. In fact, he himself was very eager to go and see you.

18 We are also sending another brother with Titus. All the churches praise him as a preacher of the Good News.

19 He was appointed by the churches to accompany us as we take the offering to Jerusalem —a service that glorifies the Lord and shows our eagerness to help.

20 We are traveling together to guard against any criticism for the way we are handling this generous gift.

21 We are careful to be honorable before the Lord, but we also want everyone else to see that we are honorable.

22 We are also sending with them another of our brothers who has proven himself many times and has shown on many occasions how eager he is. He is now even more enthusiastic because of his great confidence in you.

23 If anyone asks about Titus, say that he is my partner who works with me to help you. And the brothers with him have been sent by the churches, and they bring honor to Christ.

24 So show them your love, and prove to all the churches that our boasting about you is justified.