Balancing Act

Daily Reading:  1 Corinthians 8-9

Scripture Focus: Thus, sinning against your brothers and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. (1 Corinthians 8:12)

Devotional Thought:  Paul spends much time in his letters convincing Jewish converts of their freedom from the law.  It must have been extremely difficult for those devout, law-following Jews to grasp that the grace offered to them by Jesus should replace their efforts to make peace with God through the law.  But Paul argues the other side of that scenario as well.  Eating food offered to idols has no spiritual significance under the new covenant, however, believers should be aware that doing so could become a stumbling block to the weak and should therefore abstain.

And so today it also goes both ways.  The church is made up of people from all different backgrounds, ways of thinking, and deeply ingrained beliefs that are secondary in importance to the core beliefs of the saved.  There is freedom in Christ, but we should never abuse that freedom or practice it in such a way that causes others to stumble.  On the flip side, those who are legalistic should be careful to not impose their personal convictions upon all other believers.

How do we accomplish this balance, and for what purpose?  The answer comes from Paul in chapter 9.  “For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them… I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some.  I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings,” (1 Cor. 9:19,22-23).  Who among us wants the guilt of causing another believer to stumble, or preventing a nonbeliever from coming to Christ?  We should, like Paul, consider our personal freedom of lesser importance than sharing the gospel and all of its blessings.

Jenny

Prayer:  Lord, help us to lay down our rights and our pride for the sake of making You known.  Give us the discernment we need to know when we are laying a stumbling block for a brother or sister.

Psalm of the Day:  1 When Israel went out from Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of strange language, 2 Judah became his sanctuary, Israel his dominion. 3 The sea looked and fled; Jordan turned back. 4 The mountains skipped like rams, the hills like lambs. 5 What ails you, O sea, that you flee? O Jordan, that you turn back? 6 O mountains, that you skip like rams? O hills, like lambs? 7 Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob, 8 who turns the rock into a pool of water, the flint into a spring of water. (Psalms 114:1-8)

Do the Hard Work

Daily Reading:  1 Corinthians 7

Scripture Focus: But because of the temptation to sexual immorality.  (1 Corinthians 7.2)

Devotional Thought: I got myself in trouble once... (Yah, yeah, yeah... I hear you thinking, "Only once?")  Well the one time that I'm thinking about had to do with a young boy and his sister in the church fellowship hall.  She was picking on him and he came crying to his Mom.  I happened to be sitting there and piled it on: "What?  I thought you were a big boy!  Be a man!"  He went and hit his sister.  "Whoa!  I didn't mean that!  Just man up and work it out..."  Mom didn't buy it.  She wasn't too happy with me.

I recently read an article about the demise of masculinity.  The author - a female - bemoaned the fact that men were unwilling - or unable - to do the hard work of being a man.  It seems that conversation and relationships are being surrendered by 'emasculated' males, cowed by the current climate of political correctness.  Even intimacy is giving way to the three p's: porn, prostitution, and puppets!  That's not healthy.  It's neither good for men or women.

Paul wrote that intimate, monogamous relationships (marriages) are important because of the temptation to sexual immorality.  Being a man was not about having sex with as many partners as possible or about surrendering sexual satisfaction.  To Paul, being a man meant doing the hard work of remaining pure until marriage and faithful within marriage.  That sounds to me like doing the hard work of relationships. 

What does it mean to be a man?  Jesus, of course, was the perfect Man.  His manhood was expressed by doing the hard work of laying down his life for his bride - the church.  To be real men and women today, we need to do the hard work of relationships.

Prayer: Jesus thank you for being the example of the perfect man.  And, thank you for giving us the power to be the man or woman you created us to be.  Help us to live into that potential!  Amen.

Psalm of the Day:  4 The LORD is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens! 5 Who is like the LORD our God, who is seated on high, 6 who looks far down on the heavens and the earth? 7 He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap, 8 to make them sit with princes, with the princes of his people. 9 He gives the barren woman a home, making her the joyous mother of children. Praise the LORD! (Psalms 113:4-9)

Dismissed without Prejudice

Daily Reading:  1 Corinthians 5-6

Scripture Focus: For what have I to do with judging outsiders? (1 Corinthians 5.12)

Devotional Thought: Recently I found myself in court with an anxious family.  It was for a preliminary hearing in a legal matter.  After discussion with the prosecutor and the defendant's counsel, the judge dismissed the charges without prejudice.  That sounds good, right?  Prejudice is bad, so without prejudice is good, isn't it?  Sadly, it doesn't work that way in court!  After asking the prosecutor we discovered that if a matter is dismissed without prejudice it can be brought up again.  If it is dismissed with prejudice, then it can never again be re-filed.  The judge had left the door open for judgment in the future!

In 1 Corinthians 5, Paul wrote about judging someone in the church vs. outside the church.  Paul made it plain that at this time, we can't judge outsiders.  It's not that we can't say an action is wrong or right - for we have to be able to discern good from evil.  But, we cannot condemn sinners.  We dismiss their case without prejudice, leaving it up to God, whose ultimate judgment is in the future.

In the case of a human court, charges are dismissed without prejudice in order to give the state opportunity to build their case for prosecution.  With God, however, just the opposite is true.  The Bible says that God is not willing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.  He dismisses without prejudice in order to give the defense time to build their case - for the lost soul to come to Jesus and have his or her sins forgiven!  "Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart" (1 Corinthians 4.5).

Amen!

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, that in your mercy you gave me opportunity to believe in Jesus and to receive him as my Savior.  Help me not to give up on anybody.  May my loved ones and friends respond to you in the time of decision.

Psalm of the Day:  1 Praise the LORD! Praise, O servants of the LORD, praise the name of the LORD! 2 Blessed be the name of the LORD from this time forth and forevermore! 3 From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the LORD is to be praised! (Psalms 113:1-3)

Totally

The Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 9.22b: "I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some."  His life was totally taken up by the call he had received when he met Jesus on the Road to Damascus (Recorded in Acts 9).

Paul was willing to...

• Go Anywhere.  Paul's missionary work took him all around the Roman empire.  And the travels were not all that pleasant.  My friends Joe and Cheryl Young are like that.  They have placed themselves in God's hands, following his direction and have found themselves thousands of miles from family, friends, and familiar.  Why?  To save some...
• Do Anything.  Paul was willing to work at tent making, to teach daily in a secular meeting hall, to stand before hostile crowds and talk about Jesus, to gladly suffer rebuke, shame, even persecution for the cause of Christ.  What are you doing to advance the gospel?
• Be Something.  Paul didn't just do things.  He said he had become all things.  He was willing to become a fool for Christ, an apostle at the end of the procession, a prisoner for the gospel.  He was transformed by the Spirit into a new creation!  Am I becoming something, shaped by the Potters hands?
• Give Everything.  Paul told the Corinthians, "I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls."  Paul gave his position as a Jewish scholar and teacher.  He gave his reputation and comfort.  He gave up his friends and family to follow Jesus.  He knew the secret to the statement: "You haven't given anything until you've given everything."
• Reach Everyone.  Before Paul met Jesus he hated 'Gentiles' - non-Jewish people.  The only thing he hated more than Gentiles were Jews who liked Gentiles!  After he met Jesus, however, his whole focus changed.  He focused on reaching Gentiles!  It's easy for us to reach people like us, but Jesus wants us to reach everyone.  Will you include those not like you as you reach out?

How about you?  Is your life totally taken up by the call of Jesus?  Will you go anywhere, do anything, be something, give everything, and reach everyone?

Bluster or Blessing?

Daily Reading:  1 Corinthians 4

Scripture Focus: The kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power. (1 Corinthians 4.20)

Devotional Thought: "Bluster, n - loudly boastful or threatening speech; syn.: babel, blare, cacophony, chatter, clamor, clangor, din, discordance, noise, racket, rattle, roar."  (Webster's dictionary) 

Looking at that definition, there is a lot of bluster these days, isn't there?  But the Bible says the kingdom of God is not like that.  The kingdom is not bluster, but rather blessing.

It is tempting to make the kingdom all about 'talk': preaching, debating, winning arguments... That is bluster.  Bluster theorizes about love, but lives to dominate.  It talks about holiness but lives under the dominion of sin.  It talks a big game, but wilts under pressure.  Bluster refuses to go out on a limb, to takes risks or to make sacrifices.  That's not the kingdom way of doing things.

When the kingdom of God is about power, things look different.  By the power of the Spirit, we can love others without conditions.  We are enabled to live holy and godly lives.  We can stand for Jesus when we face opposition.  We can testify, "In the name of Jesus rise up and walk."  The Spirit gives us power to be generous, to live free from addictions, to forgive the sins of others.  In power we testify to the life and resurrection of Jesus.  We love those not like us and treat others with dignity and respect.  We sacrifice our own personal comforts and causes for the sake of others.

I would rather operate in the power of the Kingdom, live by the power of the Holy Spirit - than to talk about it.  How about you?

Prayer: Lord, thank you for making me a part of your kingdom.  Help me to live out this kingdom life with power.  Forgive me when my talk doesn't match my walk.  IN the name of Jesus,  Amen.

Psalm of the Day:  6 For the righteous will never be moved; he will be remembered forever. 7 He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the LORD. 8 His heart is steady; he will not be afraid, until he looks in triumph on his adversaries. 9 He has distributed freely; he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever; his horn is exalted in honor. 10 The wicked man sees it and is angry; he gnashes his teeth and melts away; the desire of the wicked will perish! (Psalms 112:6-10)

A Know Nothing

Daily Reading:  1 Corinthians 2-3

Scripture Focus: For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. (1 Corinthians 2.2)

Devotional Thought: In 1850's, the Know Nothing movement was born.  It was a nativist, intolerant, and anti-Catholic group that began as a secret society.  It later became a political party, but did not live long, dying out in 1860.  Those who adopt those kinds of views are destined to become not only know-nothings, but to become unknown as well.

Was Paul a know-nothing?  He testified to the Corinthians that he "decided to know nothing... except Jesus Christ."  Paul said that he did not depend on the effectiveness of human efforts - current methods of logic and debate.  He didn't rely on his great learning and superior knowledge.  None of that was good enough for Paul.  He came preaching Jesus: Jesus in weakness, Jesus in death.  It's not that the other things were without use and merit.  It's just that they were not powerful enough in and of themselves for the all-inclusive message of the gospel.  For Paul, the gospel of God was too important to depend on the methods of man.

So, in that sense, Paul was indeed a know-nothing, a know-nothing-but-Jesus!  Paul's message was full of the Spirit and power!  Lives were changed, brought from darkness to light, from death to life, from the power of Satan to God. They received a place among the holy ones of God! 

Paul's know-nothing approach was not narrow-minded and exclusive like the Know Nothings of the 1800's.  No, it was so wide, so broad, that it included all people - Jews and Greeks, male and female, slave and free.  Whosoever will may come!

What about you?  Are you a know-nothing?  A know-nothing-but-Jesus?  That's the only way the power of God will rest upon you!

Prayer: Father, I know that you have a work for me to do, a life to live.  Help me to set aside methods of man for the gospel of God so that Christ's power may rest on me.  Amen.

Psalm of the Day:  1 Praise the LORD! Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who greatly delights in his commandments! 2 His offspring will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed. 3 Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever. 4 Light dawns in the darkness for the upright; he is gracious, merciful, and righteous. 5 It is well with the man who deals generously and lends; who conducts his affairs with justice. (Psalms 112:1-5)