1 Corinthians 16:13-14 "Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong. Let all your things be done with charity."
There are a lot of commands in the Bible to watch and be vigilant. Even Christ Himself commanded His disciples to watch and pray. What are we to watch for and why? Anytime you travel to a place you've never been before, it is natural to keep a closer watch of your surroundings than you would if you were in your own home. This is a self-defense mechanism. When we are in unfamiliar territory, the threat level is raised and so is our awareness.
We know that as Christians, this world is not our home. In that way, we are in unfamiliar territory. We know the devil is like a roaring lion seeking to devour. We know that sin can easily beset us. For these reasons, we watch. The evil influences in the world will try and make us fall away from our faith. For these reasons also, we stand fast in the faith. The evil influences in the world will try and make us give in to our base nature. For these reasons, we are called on to act like men and be strong.
But then Paul finishes off with the exhortation to be loving in all we do. This world is not our home and many things in it are threats. However we are called to love the lost and share the love of Christ with them.
How are you doing on this little to-do list today?
Wednesday, May 2, 2018
Friday, April 27, 2018
Stedfast, Unmoveable, Abounding
1 Corinthians 15:58 "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord."
The verses preceding verse 58 are very well known. Death has lost its power, the grave it impotent, we now have victory through Jesus Christ over sin and death! Therefore....
Paul tells us that we need to be stedfast, or firm and immovable. We stand in the love of Christ, in His victory. We will not give an inch, we will not move from this place of power. Paul tells us to be unmoveable. We have a task to complete, let us do it with firm persistence, never giving up, unmobeable in godly purpose and passion. Paul tells us to be always abounding in the Lord's work. Our work is to share the love of Christ with the world. Abounding in that work means it's always happening, flowing from us, spreading across the world!
If we are working in the Lord (seeking Him every step of the way), then what we do will have purpose and impact. Am I living this "therefore" today?
The verses preceding verse 58 are very well known. Death has lost its power, the grave it impotent, we now have victory through Jesus Christ over sin and death! Therefore....
Paul tells us that we need to be stedfast, or firm and immovable. We stand in the love of Christ, in His victory. We will not give an inch, we will not move from this place of power. Paul tells us to be unmoveable. We have a task to complete, let us do it with firm persistence, never giving up, unmobeable in godly purpose and passion. Paul tells us to be always abounding in the Lord's work. Our work is to share the love of Christ with the world. Abounding in that work means it's always happening, flowing from us, spreading across the world!
If we are working in the Lord (seeking Him every step of the way), then what we do will have purpose and impact. Am I living this "therefore" today?
Thursday, April 26, 2018
The Simple Gospel
1 Corinthians 15:1 "Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;"
Paul has covered some pretty heavy stuff so far in this letter to the church of Corinth. But in this chapter, he makes sure to center their minds on the foundation - the Gospel. A church like Corinth that is struggling in many ways needs the admonition and teaching that Paul provided, however what they need the most is to recenter their minds on the simplicity of the Gospel.
It is the Gospel that shows us the love of God. As we see that He first loved us, t is the Gospel that inspires us to love Him in return. And the whole of what it means to be a Christian is summed up in this - love God supremely, and love others more than yourself. The problems that Corinth was facing would have been solved by the application of this simple principle.
What complicated issue are you facing today? Could the answer be found in the simplicity of the Gospel?
Wednesday, April 25, 2018
Edifying
1 Corinthians 14:26 "How is it then, brethren? when ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying."
Paul leaves no room for doubt here. Whatever we do in the church ought to be something that edifies our fellow believers. We don't use the word "edify" much these days. The word means "to build up" or "the act of one who promotes another's growth in Christian wisdom, piety, happiness, holiness". It shares a root with the word "edifice" which means a large, imposing building.
What would it mean in your life to have a fellow believer build you up? What kind of words and actions would promote your growth in Christ? The answers to these questions are a good starting place for what you should do for your fellow believers.
This is another reason why I believe the modern church is missing the mark when it comes to how we "do church". Think of the modern church experience. Is the Christian who comes to Sunday service, shakes hands, sings, and listens to a sermon actually edifying those around him or her?
Paul leaves no room for doubt here. Whatever we do in the church ought to be something that edifies our fellow believers. We don't use the word "edify" much these days. The word means "to build up" or "the act of one who promotes another's growth in Christian wisdom, piety, happiness, holiness". It shares a root with the word "edifice" which means a large, imposing building.
What would it mean in your life to have a fellow believer build you up? What kind of words and actions would promote your growth in Christ? The answers to these questions are a good starting place for what you should do for your fellow believers.
This is another reason why I believe the modern church is missing the mark when it comes to how we "do church". Think of the modern church experience. Is the Christian who comes to Sunday service, shakes hands, sings, and listens to a sermon actually edifying those around him or her?
Friday, April 20, 2018
Seeks Not Her Own
1 Corinthians 13:5 "Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;"
Paul has a lot to say about what love is and isn't. But the one that caught my eye today is in this verse - love does not see her own. The words used here give an interesting look into exactly what Paul means.
The word used for "seeketh" here can mean to "demand or crave". This is just casually looking for something. This is an intense drive to get something. The word for "her own" is actually a pronoun. It could also be interpreted "love demands not herself." The word has the idea of conceit.
Love is always putting the needs of others before our own. The Bible makes it clear that we must give to receive. This is done through not craving or demanding things for ourselves, but rather looking for how we can serve those around us.
Is this the kind of love that marks your life?
Paul has a lot to say about what love is and isn't. But the one that caught my eye today is in this verse - love does not see her own. The words used here give an interesting look into exactly what Paul means.
The word used for "seeketh" here can mean to "demand or crave". This is just casually looking for something. This is an intense drive to get something. The word for "her own" is actually a pronoun. It could also be interpreted "love demands not herself." The word has the idea of conceit.
Love is always putting the needs of others before our own. The Bible makes it clear that we must give to receive. This is done through not craving or demanding things for ourselves, but rather looking for how we can serve those around us.
Is this the kind of love that marks your life?
Thursday, April 19, 2018
Suffer & Rejoice
1 Corinthians 12:26 "And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it."
How often have you stubbed your toe and just not cared? I would guess never. The entirety of your body reacts, your face scrunches up in pain, your hands usually grab the toe in an effort to make it stop hurting, your other foot helps you jump up and down for some odd reason. The point is, the body is so perfectly connected, that what happens to one member, affect the whole body.
Paul is using the body here as a metaphor for the church, Christ's body, the body of believers. The question becomes, have we become so disconnected from each other that we no longer feel the pain or joy from the other members? In your own church, how many people are you this connected with? How many people do you merely shakes hands with on a Sunday and ask (without actually caring) "How'd your week go?"
Imagine that you're the toe in Paul's metaphor. You get stubbed and the body just keeps going, completely unaffected by your pain. A body like that won't last long. We need each other. In order to be an effective church, we must be so closely connected with all the members that we suffer and rejoice as one. This is unity.
How often have you stubbed your toe and just not cared? I would guess never. The entirety of your body reacts, your face scrunches up in pain, your hands usually grab the toe in an effort to make it stop hurting, your other foot helps you jump up and down for some odd reason. The point is, the body is so perfectly connected, that what happens to one member, affect the whole body.
Paul is using the body here as a metaphor for the church, Christ's body, the body of believers. The question becomes, have we become so disconnected from each other that we no longer feel the pain or joy from the other members? In your own church, how many people are you this connected with? How many people do you merely shakes hands with on a Sunday and ask (without actually caring) "How'd your week go?"
Imagine that you're the toe in Paul's metaphor. You get stubbed and the body just keeps going, completely unaffected by your pain. A body like that won't last long. We need each other. In order to be an effective church, we must be so closely connected with all the members that we suffer and rejoice as one. This is unity.
Wednesday, April 18, 2018
Follow Me, Follow Christ
1 Corinthians 11:1 "Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ."
In the modern church, in our individualistic society, I'm afraid we have largely lost this concept. In a mega-church with 2000 people attending, where you can't possibly know all the other members of the body, how can you possibly apply this verse?
How can someone follow you as you follow Christ, if they don't even know you exist?
The church is to be Christ's body. We are all members together and should be so closely linked that when one is in pain or need, we all feel that pain and need. This can't happen if you show up to church and leave.
The whole concept of discipleship is lost when we become so disconnected from each other. Someone, right now, should know you well enough, and you should be living your life in such a way where they can say, "I've seen them following Christ so closely, that if I follow them, I'll be on the right track." And the reverse should also be true - you should have someone you are looking to as we all follow after Christ.
I love how Matthew Henry puts it, "Paul not only preached such doctrine as they ought to believe, but led such a life as they ought to imitate. "Be ye followers of me,' that is, "Be imitators of me; live as you see me live.' Note, Ministers are likely to preach most to the purpose when they can press their hearers to follow their example. Yet would not Paul be followed blindly neither. He encourages neither implicit faith nor obedience. He would be followed himself no further than he followed Christ. Christ's pattern is a copy without a blot; so is no man's else. Note, We should follow no leader further than he follows Christ. Apostles should be left by us when they deviate from the example of their Master."
I love how Matthew Henry puts it, "Paul not only preached such doctrine as they ought to believe, but led such a life as they ought to imitate. "Be ye followers of me,' that is, "Be imitators of me; live as you see me live.' Note, Ministers are likely to preach most to the purpose when they can press their hearers to follow their example. Yet would not Paul be followed blindly neither. He encourages neither implicit faith nor obedience. He would be followed himself no further than he followed Christ. Christ's pattern is a copy without a blot; so is no man's else. Note, We should follow no leader further than he follows Christ. Apostles should be left by us when they deviate from the example of their Master."
Do you know anyone well enough to know that you can follow them as they follow Christ? Does anyone know you well enough where they could do the same to you? Are you living a life that is worth following?
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