Monday, April 26, 2010

Day 339: II Cor 1:1 - 4:18

For today's post, I would like to focus less on what Paul said and more on how he said it. I love reading anything Paul wrote because he gives us such a wonderful example of how to lead a body of believers. It's obvious in reading the second book of Corinthians that someone in the congregation was stirring up trouble regarding Paul's authority and his motives. It's encouraging to see just how Paul handles this type of drama. I know there are alot of ministers out there today who would have most likely spent pages and pages writing about how hurt their feelings were and trying to find every emotional reason to defend themselves and their authority. But we see here that Paul simply addressed the issue, reinforced his authority, and then went on with his responsibility of being their pastor. So often, we as believers waste our time trying to involve our emotions and opinions in how we lead others and in doing so, we often neglect to carry out the purpose that God has given us for this time. We need to understand that although God gave us feelings and opinions, they are indications of where we have been and are in no way responsible for determining how we should live. I encourage you to lay down your emotions and simply focus on what God has called you to. Not only will it allow His message to ring out all the clearer, but it will also simplify everything inside of you so that all that is coming out of You is straight from God.

- Father, help me to keep my feelings and opinions out of the way when dealing with other believers. Your Word has shown time and again that I have authority over my emotions and if I will exercise that authority, I will find myself that much closer to living out the call that You have placed on my life. -

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Day 338: I Cor 15:1 - 16:24

Although the majority of us understand and completely believe that we will all one day be raised from the dead to live again with Christ, I would venture to say that many of us don't usually stay mindful of that fact. Although in this passage, Paul is specifically talking to those groups of people who don't believe in any sort of resurrection at all, I think it's still a good passage for us to read and think about. All too often as Christians we find ourselves getting incredibly caught up with our lives here on earth. Even when our motives are good and we're focusing on things like God's call on our lives and how we're going to reach the world, we tend to forget that there's alot more to come once we're gone. We need to always remember that although God has put us on this earth for a season and although we have a specific order to serve Him and follow him down here, we will be spending the rest of eternity with Him once we leave here and more than getting things in order down here, we need to be taking care of things for the part of our lives that will really matter. I would dare to say that alot of us tend to focus more on ourselves doing something for God than we do on God Himself. God definitely wants us to carry out the plans He's made for us, but more than anything, he wants a relationship with us. And the crazy thing is that if we will focus on the relationship part of it, we not only find ourselves becoming more eternally minded, but God gives us everything we need to complete the work that He's started in us down here.

- God, I want to be more eternally minded. Help me to focus on You, the eternal, rather than getting caught up with my own temporal life. You are the only One worthy of all of my focus and You are the One I want to give it to. Give me the strength and stamina to keep my eyes on You so that every day I will become more and more spiritually minded. -

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Day 337: I Cor 12:1 - 14:40

Wow, one thing I love about the Pauline Epistles is the way that he can cram so much incredible wisdom and insight into each chapter. This passage covers 3 very different chapters covering 3 very different topics. Of course, the go to chapter in the 3 would be I Cor 13, but since it's not exactly wedding season and we've all heard millions of messages/commentaries on that one, I'm going to focus on Chapter 12. The comparison that Paul makes between the church and a human body is such a great comparison. In this chapter, Paul reminds us that although there are many different jobs and gifts that God has given each one of us in the church, there are some important things that we must all remember. #1: each and every single gift is given to us from the Father. I know I've been guilty of this before and if you're reading this, chances are you've fallen into the same trap, but oftentimes believers end up thinking at some point that they had something to do with the gift inside of them. Although we are responsible for growing and developing and cultivating the gift God has given us, it is just that - a Gift, and until we understand to see it as such, we will never be able to reach our full potential. The second point that Paul makes is that no matter what gift God has blessed you with, you have absolutely no right to say that yours is more important than anyone else's. This is another one that I've found myself doing on occasion. Perhaps I'm not alone? This deception is also such an easy one to fall into that we must always remain watchful so we don't fall into it. Sure it's easy for the person who stands up 2 or 3 times a week and preaches for an hour to feel like they're contributing so much more than the person who stands at the door once a month and hands out bulletins (I'm not sure if your church even does that anymore, but mine does), but the fact is that if anyone fails to do their job, people won't be reached and that's what it's all about. What we must all understand is that these gifts God has given us are to carry out His purpose in our lives and we would be foolish to assume that any facet of His purpose is unimportant. And although I said I wouldn't say much about chapter 13, it really does a nice job tying everything together and reminding us of why the previous points matter. Only love can bring us to the point where we realize that the gift God has given us is truly an undeserved gift, and that no matter how unimportant it may seem, it's necessary for reaching our world, and that could never be unimportant.

- Father help me to always remember that this gift is not something that came from me, but that it came straight from You to achieve the purpose that You have placed on my life. However small or unimportant it may seem, I know that You have called me to use this gift to reach the world and show them the love that You have poured out for all of us. -

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Day 336: I Cor 9:1 - 11:34

The first part of this passage is an interesting one dealing with a minister's right to be taken care of. There are so many religious people in the world today who have this disgusting, twisted idea that a preacher should be poor and struggling because that means that they're relying on God. A few months ago, a man told me that he would never go to a church where the preacher drives a nicer car than he does. He said that it would be wrong for a preacher to be comfortable and successful because he should be barely getting by so that everyone around him can be comfortable and successful. I'm embarrassed to admit that I didn't say anything in response, but I've thought alot about it since then. We can see in this passage that Paul wanted the church to understand that those called to devote their lives to spreading the good news should not just be "taken care of," but should be living a very comfortable and successful life so they can focus more on spreading the Good News. The place where people get hung up the most is when they have an experience with a preacher who is clearly in it for their own personal reasons. Sadly, there are ministers out there who have a passion only for money and success, but we must all understand that they are the exception and not the rule. It's interesting that in the same passage where Paul encourages the church to bless those called to preach, he also cautions those called to preach to accept the blessings, but to not demand them. I believe that if we, as ministers of Christ, set out to make alot of money and be the most "successful" minister out there, we may very well see that level of success, but there may be a great deal of collateral damage in our wake. But if we will set out focussed on bringing God's Word to those in need with no regard to our own success or well-being, that not only will the lost be reached and the hungry fed, but we open ourselves up to truly accept all of the rich blessings that our Father in Heaven has reserved for us.

- Lord, as I move further and deeper into becoming a full-time minister for You, help me to keep my priorities in the right place. Help me to remember that as long as my focus is on You and spreading Your Word, You will see to it that I live a blessed life full of the things that You have promised me. -

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Day 335: I Cor 5:1 - 8:12

I love the book of I Corinthians because it deals with the surface level of the Christian life. It seems there are alot of Christians out there who seem to put tons of focus on the spiritual aspect of their lives but tend to believe that what they do in the physical doesn't really matter as long as they "love God." In fact, I've had plenty of "believers" explain to me that the great thing about living in this grace that God has given us is that we don't have to worry about our actions. They will sit and argue that it doesn't matter how we live our lives here on earth because as long as we're not doing anything really really bad like murdering or fornicating all of the time, God will just forgive us and welcome us into His arms. Of course, this is just one blog entry and not an entire book so I won't spend quite the necessary time to point out all of the dangers of thinking this way right now, but who knows, maybe I'll write a book about it some other time. The truth is, God does judge the heart, but that doesn't mean that our actions are in no way connected to our hearts. We are called to reach for a life of holiness and to do what we can to please God. If our hearts are focused on pleasing ourselves first and possibly making it to heaven second, we are not trying to please God, but if we will focus our hearts and lives on honoring our Father in Heaven and being an example to the rest of the world, we can know without a doubt that we are His good pleasure.

- Father, help me to keep my focus on pleasing You and following Your Word. I know it's not a matter of performing the right actions, but rather it's a matter of putting my heart in the right place to fulfill all that You have called me to. -