Today’s reading is 1 Corinthians 6:1-7:40.

“To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded?” (1 Corinthians 6:7).

This is definitely a hard saying.  I want to immediately ask, “Well, how much should I be willing to be defrauded?” I mean it is one thing to be defrauded out of $10 or maybe even $100. But what if it is out $1000? What if it is out of $10,000? What if I was business partners with the brother and he defrauded me out of $100,000? I want to know how far this goes.

I want to know who this really applies to. Does it apply only to members of my congregation? What about members of congregations that I don’t think teach the truth on some issues, that I might even say are unfaithful?

What do I do if the person won’t surrender to the judgment of wise people within the congregation as this text also says they are supposed to do?

I’ll be the first to say I don’t know all the ins and outs of all the questions that might come out of this passage. I do know this though. My first response to being wronged and defrauded is to want to get justice out of people. I don’t want to except what members of the church say about it because they may not judge in my favor. But Paul points out sometimes it is better to simply let it go. It is better to be the one who has been wronged than to be the one who is imposing wrong on others. No one has ever been lost for being taken advantage of. I need to think eternally and not momentarily.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

PS. What struck you in today’s reading?

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

“To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are poorly dressed and buffeted and homeless, and we labor, working with our own hands” (1 Corinthians 4:11-12).

Just this morning I was complaining to a friend about the stress I’m under as I work for the Lord. Now I feel pretty small. I have already eaten today and plan to eat again in a little while. I am wearing nice clothes. I have a house to live in (in fact, I have two homes right now, wonder what Paul would have thought of that). I am supported by brethren instead of having to also work to support my preaching.

I needed to read this today. I’m really blessed. Today, I need to write a gratitude list to remind me that God really isn’t picking on me, but is taking great care of me.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

PS. What struck you in today’s reading?

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. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor” (1 Corinthians 3:5-8).

I needed to hear that. How easy it is as a preacher to get caught up in competing with other preachers, especially if we have worked with the same congregation at some time. We each may want to be the favored. We may get upset if someone likes another preacher better. We may get jealous based on the results of each man’s labor. But we are all just servants. We are each doing our own work. And the work we are doing is what the Lord has given opportunity for.

Paul laid a foundation. Apollos was building on it. But neither of them were better than the other because neither of them could actually cause growth anyway. Only God causes growth. Instead of competing with other workers in the vineyard, today I must simply pursue the opportunities God has given me. That’s my job. His job is growth and I’ll leave that up to Him.

Why compete? God is the one who does the hard work. I’ll just pray for opportunities to glorify him today in my life and in the life of my fellow workers.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

PS. What struck you in today’s reading?

Today’s reading is Jude 1-25; I Corinthians 1:1-31.

“For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast int he presence of God” (I Corinthians 1:26-29).

I’m so glad to read this today. I don’t have to be wise, powerful or of noble birth to glorify God. I don’t have to be strong or high and mighty. Even though I am weak, lowly, even foolish, God can use me in His service. Oh, that doesn’t mean the worldly will recognize my worth and value. They will probably just focus on how foolish, powerless, lowly, and weak I am. They will probably try to demonstrate how strong, wise, intelligent, noble, and powerful they are. But that’s okay. My life is not in their hand anyway.

Today, I will boast in God because He is using me despite who I am. He is making me what He wants me to be. Through that, those who refuse to glorify Him will be put to shame.

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.

What a great lesson at the end of today’s reading.

Discipline is tough to endure. I never quite believed my dad when he said, “Son, this hurts me worse than it does you.” I’ve been on the other side of that discipline now and I still don’t believe him. However, I understand that the purpose behind my parent’s discipline was not simply to hurt me. It wasn’t just to inflict some kind of pain or inconvenience. They intended it to be for my good. They were striving to teach me so I could grow up and be a productive part of society and God’s kingdom.

1 Corinthians 11:32 demonstrates that very same point about God and His discipline. “But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.” A great judgment is coming. In the end, we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. Those who have surrendered their lives to Him will enter into His eternal glory. Those who haven’t will enter eternal destruction. Between now and then, God is striving to prepare us for eternal life. That means He is going to discipline us. He is going to offer temporal judgments (for lack of a better term). What happens in our life is for our long term good. No matter what is going on, whether good or bad from our perspective, we need to look for God’s discipline within it. What can we learn from what we are facing in order to submit to God more fully.

Even the hard things, the bad things, the tough things are for our good, if we’ll let them be. God will use all of these to conform us to the image of His Son (cf. Romans 8:28). But we must see the purpose behind God’s discipline. God doesn’t discipline because He enjoys inflicting hardship or pain. God disciplines because He wants us to grow and learn and not endure the same final judgment as those in the world. That means when difficult, hard things happen, especially as a consequence of my own wrong doing, I need to thank God for the opportunity to grow and avoid the final judgment by His grace.

Thank you, God, for Your continuing discipline.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

P.S. What struck you in today’s reading?

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

I was trucking right along through today’s reading. It was one of those days where I was in a “yeah, I’ve read that before” kind of mood (not a good Bible reading mood to be in). But the very last verse smacked me down.

“But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.”

In the past, my big preaching problem has been thinking about how everything applies to my audience. I would seek out what their problems were and swoop in like a spiritual super hero trying to fix everyone else. How easy it is to preach and teach in the second person: you need to do this, you must stop that, you need to change. How easy it is to spend all my time trying to fix others. How easy it is to spend all my time trying to lead others.

There are two problems with that.

1.I can’t give what I don’t have.

This probably hit me because of the Bible class lesson I taught yesterday from Max Dawson’s excellent class book on Kingdom Leaders. We studied the life of Josiah who became king at 8, sought the Lord at 16, but didn’t start impacting change in Judah until 20. The whole point behind the lesson was before we can be an influence for good in anyone else’s life, we must first work on ourselves. We might think, “What was wrong with Josiah? Why didn’t he jump on it and get busy right away? Why wait four years?” Those four years were probably the most important part of Josiah’s life. If he hadn’t spent those four years seeking the Lord, he probably would not have been able to impact the change in Judah, squashing idolatry and renewing their covenant with God.

I can give what I don’t have. If I don’t work on me, then my second person teaching will be empty, hollow, impotent. I need to work on me first.

2. If I’m not maintaining me, I’ll be disqualified.

How easy it is to reach a certain level and think, “Alright, I’ve done my four years of seeking the Lord, I’ve got me under control. Now its time to start helping others.” This is a noble motivation and desire, but if I quit working on me, then I’ll end up disqualified. When I start thinking that I’m standing, that is when I’ll fall. If I don’t sharpen the spiritual saw each day, I’ll become dull and ineffective. It is so easy to think we’ve finally arrived and then quit really working on ourselves.

I’ve been told and I believe that we are like trees. If we quit growing, that means we’re dead. We may still be walking around. I may still be teaching in second person, but I’m not accomplishing anything and I’m rotting from the inside out. All it will take is one big, deadly gust of wind and storm to knock me over for all to see the rot.

I’m thankful for today’s reminder. I need to spend today working on me. If I do, God may use me to help someone else, but at the very least, He’ll be strengthening me to glorify Him and surrender to His Son. That’s what I want. I want to run the race. I want to win the prize. That means I have to start with me.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

P.S. What struck you in today’s reading?

Today’s reading is 1 Corinthians 6:1-7:40.

Sometimes I read the Bible as if it is legal document. “Do this; don’t do that.” “In situation A, response B is a sin. In situation C, response B is okay.” That leads me to trying to figure out when I’m allowed to get away with stuff and when I’m not. “You can walk 1000 yards on the Sabbath, but not 1001.” (Sorry, I don’t feel like looking up exactly what a Sabbath Day’s journey was.) I Corinthians 6 is one of those places where I have a tendency to do that. I’ve been in discussions about when exactly are we allowed to take a brother or sister to court. We compare verses and figure out certain exceptions and come up with our own system of acceptable court appearances between Christians. I mean, sure if the trouble is only $100, then no big deal, but what if it is $1000 or $10,000? Surely God isn’t telling me not to go to court for that much; that could ruin me.

Here is the problem. I Corinthians 6:1-8 is not trying to set out some Christian legal code on when Christians can go to civil courts. We don’t need to write up a document with codiciles and addendums: “Oh, I notice under section 202 (D) (25) (a) that if the amount in dispute exceeds a month’s salary, and the infraction occurred on a Tuesday, then we are allowed to go to court.” Rather, this whole section is about our attitude. We’re Christians. We’re brethren. We shouldn’t defraud each other. If we have a dispute, surely someone in the congregation can help us work out an agreement. Then we should live by it. Do we really so distrust and despise our brethren that we cannot work out our difficulties among ourselves or with a third party brother or sister? Are we so determined to have our way that we won’t accept what they say? Are we concerned they won’t “rule” in our favor? Are we so intent on demanding our rights that we’ll even defraud our brethren? Wouldn’t it be better to simply suffer being defrauded than going to non-Christians to sort out our problems?

Look, there will be problems. Being a Christian doesn’t mean we are perfect yet. We will make mistakes. We will have conflicts. But why can’t we deal with those among the brethren that we trust? We shouldn’t view this as some kind of Christian legaleze binding us to some legal code about civil courts. Rather, we need to let it infiltrate our hearts so that we are so much more concerned about our brethren, unity among the brethren, and demonstrating our love to those around us that we won’t destroy any of this to demand our rights.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

P.S. What struck you in today’s reading?

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

Continuing the theme started yesterday on preachers, I’m struck again by what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 4:1-2. “This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found trustworthy.”

I know Paul is telling the Corinthians how they should view preachers. I can’t help but realize this is how we ought to view ourselves (especially those who are preachers). We are not to view ourselves as great orators. We are not to view ourselves as stellar performers. We are not to view ourselves as the great leaders of men. We are not to view ourselves as the indispensable cogs of the wheel. Rather, there are two keys.

1. Servant of Christ.

Certainly, we are servants of the congregation. Surely, we are under the oversight of our shepherds. No doubt, we serve our brethren. But first and foremost, we answer to Jesus Christ. He is our Lord and Master. He determines what we speak. We must always remember that.

2. Steward of God’s mysteries.

“Chicken Soup for the Soul” is nice. I love to read self-help books. Maxwell, Blanchard, and Covey can easily become my trinity. There are numerous good things we can pass on from many sources. However, the one true source for us is God’s word. Others may give us perspective and teach us something about God’s word, but if we are passing on warmed-over, and sanctified pop culture instead of God’s word, if we are simply proof-texting to teach our favorite business manual, we had better step back and regroup. We are stewards of God’s mysteries, not popular management styles. As stewards, we must show ourselves trustworthy.

So then, the question for me today is what can I do to serve Christ as I work with this local congregation and what would a faithful steward do with God’s mysteries today? I need to go work on those things.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

P.S. What struck you in today’s reading?

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

“I am of Paul,” some said. “I am of Apollos,” said others. Even others said, “I am of Cephas.” They all had their favorite preacher. This is not surprising. The common custom of the day in the secular world was to get behind one philosopher or another and compete against each other. “My teacher is better than your teacher.” The Corinthians were simply bringing their secular baggage into their spiritual community.

The problem is that is not the way it works in Jesus. Christ is in all, above all, and through all. That is who we are about, not one of his particular messengers. I guess because of our upcoming move, I’m hearing about more churches looking for preachers and more preachers looking for areas to work. I certainly recognize that a church can pick out a particular person because his gifts and abilities may fit well with the church’s goals and needs. Isn’t that what Barnabas did when he went to get Saul from Tarsus (Acts 11:25)?

The problem is we as Christians can get caught up in preacher competitions. “I like this guy.” “I like that guy.” “Not me, I like this other fellow.” Then we start fussing with each other about who we should really listen to. Instead of coming together in unity around God’s message, we are fighting over God’s messengers.

But what about those of us who preach? I notice that Paul did not get upset that someone liked Apollos more than him. He didn’t get upset that someone liked Peter more than him. He didn’t get excited because some folks liked him more than the others. He was upset because folks were not focusing on Jesus. Each of these men were simply servants of Jesus. We preachers must make sure we don’t give folks cause to fixate on us. Certainly, we must do the best we can and work as hard as we can because Jesus deserves our best. But we must not strive to be better than others or gain a following. There is no room for competition among us. We are all on the same team, striving for the same goal. Let us support one another and simply do the best work we can wherever God is giving us opportunity.

I’m very thankful that most of the preachers I know are striving to do exactly that. I guess I’m noticing this today because of my present circumstance and knowing how easy it is to get proud when people like you or devastated when they say they don’t. This is not about being liked, it is about glorifying God with the opportunities He provides.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

P.S. What struck you in today’s reading?

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

As I concluded today’s reading, a contrast caught my attention. I couldn’t help but think of Romans 1:16-17 as I read I Corinthians 15:56-57.

“The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” –1 Corinthians 15:56-57

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’” — Romans 1:16-17

The law was the power of sin. This is explained even more in Romans 7:7-12. It was the law that caused sin to come alive. It is fixation on the law that caused obsession with sin and then killed us. That sin, like a deadly scorpion, stung and killed us. However, there is power in the gospel. It is the power of life. It’s healing hand produces salvation. The law was the power of sin, but the gospel is the power of God. 

I’m so glad we are under the gospel today and not under the law. Knowing the gospel today is what allows me to walk by faith, endure through hope, and overcome with love as we read yesterday.

***Question: Why are you glad to be under the gospel?

Keep the faith, and keep reading,

ELC