The scriptures read are Job 22-24, Psalm 3, and 2 Corinthians 12.
Job 22. Eliphaz goes up against Job for the 3rd time. He gets really nasty this time, flat out accusing Job of alternately exploiting and neglecting the poor. His wealth was his downfall. Then Eliphaz appeals to Job to do what God says and things will be all right. He sounds downright biblically orthodox in that part.
Job 23. Job is not backing down. He just wants to present his case before God. He's confident that he'd be acquitted by God. If only he could find him. Even if he could, the idea of standing before God scares him.
Job 24. Job shows that he understands what the poor suffer. He knows what the evil do in the darkness of night. And he knows their ultimate fate.
Psalm 3. The Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir sings this stirring version of the psalm. Warning: the catchy chorus WILL get stuck in your head. Hear it here.
2 Corinthians 12. Paul, in his bragging but not really mode, mentions a mind-blowing vision he had. He was caught up into the third heaven, though he doesn't know if this was a physical or spiritual experience. To keep him from getting a big head, he is given a "thorn in the flesh," some kind of painful and possibly unsightly ailment. Perhaps it is an eye disease, which would explain why Paul says in Galatians that the people of that church would have gladly given him their eyes (Galatians 4:13-15). Perhaps he had migraines or epilepsy, before which the person often sees auras or weird lights. Anyway, he discovers that his weakness highlights God's power.
Paul is planning a third visit but has some qualms about it. He doesn't want it to make things worse.
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