I Corinthians 14-15 (ESV) by Wordle*

Today’s reading is 1 Corinthians 14:1-15:58.

“So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body” (I Corinthians 15:42-44).

The congregation with which I work has been focusing on confident living in Jesus Christ. We want folks in Christ to be confident about their salvation. We are convinced that confidence in God’s love is much more likely to produce love in us that constant doubts and worries (cf. I John 4:19). We are convinced that confidence in God’s working is much more likely to produce working out our salvation than doubts about God’s presence (cf. Philippians 2:12-13).

Paul reminds me that confident living is one thing. Confident dying is another. But where is my confidence if I’m not also confident at death. We have nothing to fear regarding death. Look at these pathetic, pitiful, perishable, dishonorable, weak, natural bodies. These are going to get put in the ground. We get to shed these bodies like a molting lizard. For those of us in Christ, we have hope beyond hope (earnest expectation, not wishful thinking) of our resurrection. This pathetic body is going in the ground but we will come out of that ground again with new bodies, with spiritual, powerful, glorious, imperishable bodies.

When the time of death draws near, why would I desperately cling to this frail flesh. Let’s die confidently, as we have lived, looking forward to the glories that will be revealed to us (cf. Romans 8:18).

Today, while I’m not hastening y death, I won’t fear it either. I’m going to live confidently so I can die confidently in Jesus Christ.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

PS. What struck you in today’s reading? You can add your input by clicking the following link: Click here.

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*Today’s illustration was generated by the creative tool at Wordle.net. You can find all my wordles here.

1 Corinthians 12-13 (ESV) by Wordle*

Today’s reading is 1 Corinthians 12:1-13:13.

“When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways” (1 Corinthians 13:11).

I’ve often read this and talked about putting away the childish thing in this passage. However, today the other side of this passage struck me. What must I embrace in order to put on manhood? Love. “The greatest of these is love.” No wonder Peter caps off the list of Christian growth in II Peter 1:5-8 with love.

That’s right. The #1 way to be a man is to love. No, not to have sex. That’s what the world says. God’s way for manhood is to love. To see people as people, not objects of lust. To know they have hopes and dreams, fears and doubts, failures and victories. Then to seek their best and help them accomplish those things. To freely sacrifice self for others, not to gain anything from them or because of a sense of obligation, but simply because their good is our goal.

That’s what Jesus did for us by growing to the cross. He was a real man. I need to follow in His glorious footsteps.

Grow up! Be a man! Love!

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

PS. What struck you in today’s reading? Click the following link to add your input: Click Here.

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*Today’s illustration was generated by the creative tool at Wordle.net. You can find all my wordles here.

Today’s reading is 1 Corinthians 10:1-11:34.

“Therefore let anyone who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12).

“Oh, I’ll never do that.” “I can’t believe that so-and-so did such-and-such, I’d never do that.” “I used to have that problem. Now I’ve got it under control.” These are the words of those who think they stand. They are words that I’ve said far too often. Usually I’ve said them just before a colossal fall. It almost seems like Satan is just waiting around to hear these kinds of words so he can jump on the attack and prove us wrong.

The real problem here is not with standing. It is actually thinking we can stand on our own two legs. Not so. We must quit standing and instead lean on God. We will only overcome the tempter if we rely on God. Sadly, the world wants to tell us God is a crutch. When we hear that, we think it is a negative. The problem with the world is they desperately want to stand on their own. They think they can. Yet, they are falling. I need a crutch, not in the negative connotation of  the word. But, I need to recognize that I’m broken. If I try to stand without God as my crutch to lean on, I’m going to fall.

The moment I decide that I’ve healed enough and can stand on my own without the crutch of Christ’s cross to lean on, that is when I will crumble under the weight of sin again.

Today, I’m not going to stand. I’m going to lean.

ELC

PS. What struck you in today’s reading? Click the following link to add your input: Click Here.

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*Today’s illustration was generated by the creative tool at Wordle.net. You can find all my wordles here.

I Corinthians 8-9 (ESV) by Wordle*

Today’s reading is 1 Corinthians 8:1-9:27.

“So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air” (1 Corinthians 9:26).

What is today going to be about? Do I have an aim in my service to God or am I just beating the air? Am I just trying to slide through another day or am I actually trying to get somewhere today in my spiritual growth?

It’s easy to fill my daily and weekly planner with tasks I have to get done in order to keep my job, make my family happy, keep the creditors off my back. But when that is all I do I’m only keeping time. I’m just checking days off the calendar. I’m doing stuff, but I’m going nowhere. Perhaps I should say I’m growing nowhere.

Paul grew because Paul aimed for growth. He wasn’t running on a treadmill. He was getting out on the spiritual streets and going somewhere with the Lord.

Today, I’m going to ask myself where I’m actually trying to go with the Lord. That’s the only way I will ever get there.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

PS. What struck you in today’s reading? Click the following link to add your input: Click Here

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*Today’s illustration was generated by the creative tool at Wordle.net. You can find all my wordles here.

1 Corinthians 4-5 (ESV) by Wordle*

Today’s reading is 1 Corinthians 4:1-5:13.

“But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. For I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me” (I Corinthians 4:3-4).

Children constantly seek the approval of their parents. Any critical statement can send a child reeling into feelings of worthlessness and disapproval. So they constantly chase that approval. The problem is we adults often carry that little child with us. Instead of growing to maturity we continue to chase for the approval of parents. Amazingly, that doesn’t just mean our physical parents, but all kinds of people we set up in the parental place. That can be bosses, professors, neighbors, elders, brethren, spouses, even children. If any of these are critical or bring judgment on us we go into depression. But if they approve us, we feel elated.

We don’t have to call any person on earth, “Father,” in this sense. We are adults. We have grown up and put away childish things. While we certainly need to listen to others and hear them out where they disagree, after all we might learn something, we do not have to chase their approval. Their judgment doesn’t mean anything about us as a person.

Amazingly enough, our biggest enemy in this is often ourselves. We are seeking approval from self and every negative thing that doesn’t reach our ideal self causes us fits. In this mode, we either deny the good in us and see ourselves as all bad, leading to despair. Or we deny the bad in us and see ourselves as all good, leading us to stagnation.

Only the Lord is our judge. We do not have to answer to the men around us. We stand before God. Of course, what is great about that, is that “Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed” (I Corinthians 5:7). In Him, there is no condemnation (Romans 8:1). If we are in Christ, God does not judge us, rather He justifies us, sanctifies us, and glorifies us (Romans 8:28-29). God does not deny either our good or our bad. He sees it all and He works in us both to will and to work for His good pleasure (Philippians 2:12-13). Therefore, we do not have to wallow in self-pity, nor can we bask in self-adulation. Rather, we humbly surrender to Him and reap the fruit of His Spirit–love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).

The #1 sign of maturity is letting God be your Father and no one else.

Today, I’m going to quit obsessing about those around me who do not approve of me. It is a small matter to be judged by them. Rather, I’m simply going to surrender myself to my Lord and let Him work in me for His good.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

PS. What struck you in today’s reading? Click here to add your input.

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*Today’s illustration was generated by the creative tool at Wordle.net. You can find all my wordles here.

1 Corinthians 2-3 (ESV) by Wordle

Today’s reading is 1 Corinthians 2:1-3:23.

“What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth” (I Corinthians 3:5-7).

It must be providence. We seem to get back to this chapter at just the time I need it most. How easily we preachers can compete. If someone has a different style, we want to prove that ours is better and they are making all kinds of mistakes. Maybe I shouldn’t say “we,” but should just say “I.”

But this isn’t just about preachers. And in my preaching is not the only place I do this. What about on the job? What about in parenting? What about in school? How often are we caught up in competitions to prove we are better. If anyone does anything differently, has a different personality, has a different approach or viewpoint, we immediately try to figure out why they are wrong and their way is bad. (Don’t misunderstand, I’m not trying to say everything in the world is okay.) It is like we are caught up in this competition and the only way we will feel good about ourselves is if we can convince everyone else in the world that we are the best.

Paul had a different foundation. He wasn’t trying to be the best. He wasn’t in competition with Apollos. If Apollos had some success that Paul didn’t, Paul wasn’t deflated. If Apollos had some failure that Paul didn’t, Paul wasn’t elated. Paul understood that the real power in all of this was God. God has the right to use each of us as He sees fit. Praise God if He provides a victory through someone else. Praise God if He provides one through me. Praise God that He shows us our weaknesses so we can grow. Praise God for the opportunities, resources and abilities He has given to each one. We need to look past the various blessings God has given to each one of us as if they are an indication of how great we are and instead simply look to the blessing giver as the great one. We need to be thankful that He has blessed us and let us be part of His plan.

Today, I’m going to quit worrying about competing and proving I’m the best at whatever. Instead, I want to look to God and glorify Him because He is the best.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

PS. What struck you in today’s reading? Click here to add your input.

PPS. Check out this video by One Time Blind. It took me watching it a few times to actually finally get the point. But I think it is spot on. Enjoy!

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*Today’s illustration was generated by the creative tool at Wordle.net. You can find all my wordles here.

Today’s reading is 1 Corinthians 14:1-15:58.

“But by the grace  of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me…Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:10, 58).

What great comfort. God has given me His grace and it is not in vain because I am laboring in the Lord. At the same time, I am laboring in the Lord and my labor is not in vain because God has granted me His grace. It works together. God’s grace doesn’t mean I musn’t labor and my labor doesn’t mean I am avoiding God’s grace.

Rather, I have the strength and motivation to labor because I know God is laboring in His grace. God’s grace does me good because it prompts me to labor.

Today, I’ll keep working in the will of the Lord because I know His grace makes my work meaningful. Thank you, God, for that grace.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

PS. What struck you in today’s reading?

Today’s reading is 1 Corinthians 12:1-13:13.

“But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose” (1 Corinthians 12:18).

This is great to know. The nose is exactly where God wanted the nose. The hands are exactly where God wanted the hands. The eyes exactly where God wanted them. So to the feet, the knees, the elbows, the head, the ears, the neck, etc. God designed our bodies and put everything exactly where He wanted them.

But Paul isn’t really talking about bodies is he? No. He’s actually talking about congregations. How easy it is to get bogged down because I think someone else does something better than me. How easy it is to think I don’t really belong. Not so. I don’t have to despair that I’m useless in Christ’s church. God has placed me in the body exactly where He wants me. There is something I’m uniquely suited to do within this body that is necessary and important.

I can have joy today knowing God has me where He wants me to accomplish something that I can do. He is not interested in me accomplishing what I can’t. He is not interested in me accomplishing what you can do (necessarily). He has put me here to accomplish what He has made me to do. Instead of quiting, giving up, or despairing because of comparisons, I can glorify God by doing what I can and knowing God has me here to do just that.

Praise God for His confidence in me.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

PS. What struck you in today’s reading?

Today’s reading is 1 Corinthians 10:1-11:34.

“For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, ‘This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me’” (1 Corinthians 11:23-25).

The early disciples were supposed to take this supper when they gathered together. As per I Corinthians 16:2, they were gathering on the first day of the week. I am so happy to follow this example because I need this reminder every week.

I sinned last week. That is discouraging. Sometimes it makes me want to give up and quit trying. But each week I get a reminder of what Jesus did for my sins. Further, I know that He died for my sins even though He knew the sins I would commit last week and the sins I would commit this week and the sins I would commit next week.

Thank you, God, for giving us this great memorial. Thank you for dealing with our sins and forgiving us. Thank you for the reminder.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

PS. What struck you in today’s reading?

Today’s reading is 1 Corinthians 8:1-9:27.

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it” (1 Corinthians 9:24).

I’ve always read this as a contrast. In a foot race, only one receives the prize. If I want to win an Olympic race, I have to be better than everyone else in the race. However, in the spiritual race with Christ, it is not only one who receives the prize. It is anyone who surrenders to Christ and allows Christ to discipline them to victory.

What a joy. I don’t have to be better than you to win the prize. I don’t have to compete with you. I don’t have to be more spiritual than you to be alright with God. All I have to do is submit to Him. All I have to do is run with the proper aim and submit to God’s discipline. I need to practice what I preach, lest I be disqualified. I don’t have to prove myself better and you worse.

This is a race we can both win. So, instead of me trying to be better than you and vice versa, perhaps we can help each other win the race together. That sounds so much better to me.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

PS. What struck you in today’s reading?