…Be joyful.

Grow to maturity.

Encourage each other.

Live in harmony and peace.

Then the God of love and peace will be with you.

2 Corinthians 13:11

I was caught up to the third heaven fourteen years ago…

…only God knows whether I was in my body

or outside my body.

But I do know that I was caught up to paradise

and heard things so astounding 

that they cannot be expressed in words,

things no human is allowed to tell.

2 Corinthians 12:2-3

…Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.

So it is no wonder that his servants also disguise themselves

as servants of righteousness…

2 Corinthians 11:14-15

I will praise you as long as I live,

lifting up my hands to you in prayer.

Psalm 63:4

Remember this:

Whosever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly,

and whoever sows generously

will also reap generously.

…God loves a cheerful giver.

And God is able to make all grace abound to you,

so that in all things at all times,

having all that you need,

you will abound in every good work.

2 Corinthians 9:6-8

…For we are the temple of the living God.

As God said:

“I will live in them

and walk among them.

I will be their God,

and they will be my people.

2 Corinthians 6:16

Since we believe that Christ died for all,

we also believe that we have all died to our old life.

He died for everyone 

so that those who receive his new life

will no longer live for themselves.

Instead, they will live for Christ,

who died and was raised for them.

This means that anyone who belongs to Christ

has become a new person.

The old life is gone;

a new life has begun!

2 Corinthians 5:14-15; 17

For we live by believing and not by seeing.

Yes, we are fully confident,

and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies,

for then we will be at home with the Lord.

So whether we are here in this body

or away from this body,

our goal is to please him.

For we must all stand before Christ to be judged…

2 Corinthians 5:6-10

For we know that when this earthly tent we live in

is taken down 

(that is, when we die and leave this earthly body),

we will have a house in heaven,

an eternal body made for us by God himself

and not by human hands.

…these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life.

2 Corinthians 5:1, 5

So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now;

rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen.

For the things we see now will soon be gone,

but the things we cannot see will last forever.

2 Corinthians 4:18