Blessings Out of Buffetings by Alan Redpath

This week on Sharin’ Hearts: The Fireside Bookshelf, Ginger Green pulls “Blessings Out of Buffetings” by Alan Redpath from the shelf to examine.

Paul’s 2nd letter to the church at Corinth is the account of a man who is being disciplined and matured. Nowhere does Paul open his heart to his readers so completely as he does in the second letter, as he relates some of God’s dealings with him in his inner life revealing something of what it has cost and some of the precious experiences which have brought him great joy.

Alan Redpath, in his study of 2nd Corinthians entitled, Blessings Out of Buffetings, clarifies Paul’s words and applies them to the life of the Christian. He discusses the joys and rewards of giving, the definition of a Christian, the purpose of discipleship, the meaning of separation from worldly entanglements in modern society, the significance and quality of true repentance, the reality of a final and absolutely true judgment – all in the radiant assurance of the inexhaustible grace and power of God.

His accurate, warm, paraphrased portions of Paul’s words reveal the author’s own understanding of and sympathetic response to Paul’s experience and make his words alive today for the believer in Christ.

Redpath counsels, “any of us who would be followers of the Lord Jesus Christ must expect the buffetings: from within and from without; from our foes and our friends; from Satan, who would seek to attack on every possible quarter the man who is set upon being the best of God. Life is full of it, and the question that arises when the buffeting comes is, ‘have I really got what it takes to stand, or will I become a spiritual casualty?’”