By The Will of God

DEVOTION

2 CORINTHIANS

BY THE WILL OF GOD

2 Cor 1:1-2

1:1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the church of God in Corinth, together with all the saints throughout Achaia: 2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

NIV

Are we not all we are by the will of God? Paul may have been an apostle by the will of God, but we are who we are also by the will of God. It may be true that some of us think we are being who we are, or doing what we are doing because of the choices we made in our life, which would mean we have chosen our own path according to our own will. And yes we have that right to live according to our own will, which would be a grave mistake, pun intended. We surely need to recognize that we as believers need to be a part of God’s plan. We are told that we are living stones being built into the temple of God. We learned he determines which gift to give to each one of us and how and where that gift is to be manifested in us. We need to see that his will for us is far better than our will for us. As Paul knew he was an apostle by the will of God, we need to know what we are supposed to be by his will. We might like to justify who we are, or what kind of profession we have, or where we live, or our lot in live as having been directed by God, but we need to make damn sure of it before we go putting the blame on him. We use phrases like “God given talents” or “God given abilities” because we like or have a propensity toward a certain ability or type of job skills. But are we sure that is what God’s will for our live is? Does he need us to learn from men the skills we in order to be what we should be according to his will? If God calls us to a special task, will he not also gift us, empower us, enable us, and send us to that task? The world has a system of doing things, but God has a will for us. Which would be the best? We only need to see that grace and peace are the divine influence on our hearts and how that is exhibited in our life alone with an overwhelming spiritual prosperity to know that God has a plan for our life, his will for us needs to be followed. If we ever what to be all that we can be, we need to know without and doubt what his will is for our life. We can go our own way and always be second best, or we can go his way and be who we should be according to his will. We need to be careful and be sure when we say, “By the will of God”.

Do You Enjoyed Being Cursed?

DEVOTION

1 CORINTHIANS

DO YOU ENJOY BEING CURSED?

1 Cor 16:22 - 24

22 If anyone does not love the Lord — a curse be on him. Come, O Lord! 23 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you. 24 My love to all of you in Christ Jesus. Amen.

NIV

Who would dare to want a curse on them? But it surely seems as if God is telling everyone that if they do not love them, they are cursed. That appears to be a strange attitude for a loving caring God who sent his Son Jesus to die for them so they could have eternal life, along with, of course, all of us who do love him and who do not have this curse on us. It does not appear that it is God who is the one giving out or applying the curse to their lives, but rather it is the person who does not live God who is bringing the curse upon themselves. The opposite of a curse would be a blessing and thus if one is not receiving a blessing from God, then that person is living under a curse. It must be the curse of death, for the blessing of God is life. It does seem harsh for us to just leave those, who are living under the curse, to go their not so merry way to the grave. Shouldn’t we be doing whatever we can to relieve them from this curse? Shouldn’t we desire that they receive the divine influence upon their hearts as we have, and be able to live that grace out in their lives like we do? Are we being selfish if we do not share the Gospel message with them? Do we have that “its’ us four and no more” attitude, without realizing it? If we are supposed to love others as God does then shouldn’t we be trying our very best to show them a way out of that curse? Maybe they don’t know they are cursed. Maybe they want to live a cursed life. Maybe they want to perish when they die. Maybe they think they are enjoying the freedom to do whatever their heart desires so much they do not care about eternal life, or they think they will get to go to heaven anyway because of the lie Satan has cast upon them. It seems pretty obvious that we should not simply go our merry way into eternal life and leave them to their own chances without giving it our best shot. Maybe we should just ask them, “Do you enjoy being cursed”?

Greetings

DEVOTION

1 CORINTHIANS

GREETINGS

1 Cor 16:19-21

19 The churches in the province of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Priscilla greet you warmly in the Lord, and so does the church that meets at their house. 20 All the brothers here send you greetings. Greet one another with a holy kiss. 21 I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand.

NIV

More personal notes, that at first glance appear just that and at times we might wonder why all this included as God breathed for our instruction or correction. It is interesting how they all got alone, sending greetings, warm greetings to each other even though they may be miles and cultures apart. We at least know they were all one denomination, even though there was no such thing as denominations. There was a sense of complete unity among all the believers. Of course they were all new to this kind of faith in a savior that died for them, and who was raised from the dead and then ascended in bodily form into heaven. There was a certain sense of excitement, a sense of expectation, a sense of relief from the pain of death. They were few among so many pagans, they had to stick together, yet they were bold in telling the story, trying with all their being to bring others with them. Still it surely seems they were all in unity, loving one another, greeting each other with a holy kiss. Shouldn’t we take a lesson from this? Sometimes it seems we almost detest those of another denomination. Sometimes it seems we think we are the only ones who get it right, and they are off base and therefore not even saved. Sometimes it seems like we argue over the dumbest things, and would never consider sending those warm greetings, much less greet them with a holy kiss. Sometimes it appears we would rather focus on that which we can divide ourselves with, instead on what will bring us together. Do we actually love all the brothers and sisters in the Lord not matter which church they attend, or what culture they are a part of? Do we even know they exist? Is there ever any communication between us? Are they any part of our life at all? It seems in a world where communication was so difficult, they managed to be a apart of the others faith and life. Today in our great ease of communication we might well be isolating ourselves within the four walls of our own little clichés. Maybe it is time to get outside, to get outside our walls, of church, of self. This may be a hard lesson to learn, to execute, greetings.

Refreshing

DEVOTION

1 CORINTHIANS

REFRESHING

1 Cor 16:15-18

15 You know that the household of Stephanas were the first converts in Achaia, and they have devoted themselves to the service of the saints. I urge you, brothers, 16 to submit to such as these and to everyone who joins in the work, and labors at it. 17 I was glad when Stephanas, Fortunatus and Achaicus arrived, because they have supplied what was lacking from you. 18 For they refreshed my spirit and yours also. Such men deserve recognition.

NIV

More personal notes yet still within is a truth we need to see. These three men who arrived and supplied what was lacking have our truth for today. They refreshed Paul’s spirit as well as those who lived in Corinth. It appears this is a very good quality to possess for people who refresh the spirit of others deserve recognition. What does that look like? How do we refresh someone’s spirit? Would that be about the same thing as encouragement? Could we refresh another’s spirit by boasting their ego? Maybe we could refresh their spirit by encouraging them about what they are doing for the Kingdom of God. Maybe we could need to actually tell others we appreciate what they do, how they use their gifts, how their presence in the Body of Christ is so meaningful. Maybe for each one of us there is a different way our spirits are refreshed. Maybe standing among others while they sing and worship God with every fiber of their being is refreshing. Maybe seeing others loving God with all their heart, their mind, their strength is refreshing to our spirit. The point is we should be refreshing each other’s spirits, as well as our spirits actually need refreshing. We need to be the ones others can look to for a time of refreshing and in doing so, then we would be refreshed because others would be the ones we could look to for a refreshing.  We cannot afford to just sit back and wait for others to refresh us. We need to be active in our efforts to refresh their spirit. Even though we know this, it still is a slight mystery just what actually refreshes someone’s spirit. We could simply rely on the Spirit to lead us in whatever we need to do, whenever we need to do it and for whomever we need to do it for. If that is the case, we should be open at all times, and not walk around closed off from others, being isolated from them even when we stand among them. It is easy to always think about our own self. It is easy to avoid actually talking to someone, other than to say “Hi, how ya doing?” or “Man it’s cold or hot out there”. It is easy to just skim over all the importance stuff and stay on the surface. But that does not refresh their spirit. We need to be refreshing.  

Everything in Love

DEVOTION

1 CORINTHIANS

EVERYTHING IN LOVE

1 Cor 16:12-14

12 Now about our brother Apollos: I strongly urged him to go to you with the brothers. He was quite unwilling to go now, but he will go when he has the opportunity. 13 Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong. 14 Do everything in love.

NIV

Not sure about this personal note about Apollos as we may  not know much about him at all, except he seems to be sort of an independent fella. We would think that a strong urging from such a person as Paul would carry a little weight, but this man Apollos seems to care not about how strongly he was urged to be a part of the brothers journey to those in Corinth. It may not be in our best interest to use this Apollos as a model for our behavior. We know so much about being a part of the Body of Christ as how we are all interdependent on each other in order for all of us to function how God desires us to. What good would a preacher be if there was no one to preach to? What good would a worship leader be if there was no one to lead? What good would a teacher be if there was no one to teach? What good would an encourager be if there was no one to encourage? What good would any of us be if there were no one else to fellowship with? Could we stand in the faith? Could we be on our guard? Could we be people of courage? Could we be strong and do everything in love if we were so independent that we did not concern ourselves with anyone else or what to be a part of the brothers? Yet Paul does not tear this Apollos down and still gives him an out, so to speak, and tells them he will when he has the opportunity. That is doing everything in love. We see here as being a part, as living life together we still need to be on guard against false teachers, we still need to stand firm in our faith, not be shaken, not be distracted by all the worldly ways and we need to have courage, to be bold in our faith, to stand up for what we believe in, not to shrink back away from people who refuse to accept the message and argue with what they this is intellectual superiority. We need to be strong facing all opposition with the truth of God, yet not in a bullying way, but in love. If we see the unsaved, the lost, the non-believer as God does and not as some opponent in a wrestling match of wits or brains, then we would love them so much we would find some way to express the love of God to them in order to melt their hard heart. But of course that is all in conjunction with the leading of the Spirit. We know the truth, we must stand for it, and love in it.  

On Guard and Open

DEVOTION

1 CORINTHIANS

ON GUARD AND OPEN

1 Cor 16:10-11

10 If Timothy comes, see to it that he has nothing to fear while he is with you, for he is carrying on the work of the Lord, just as I am. 11 No one, then, should refuse to accept him. Send him on his way in peace so that he may return to me. I am expecting him along with the brothers.

NIV

Is there a chance the Corinthians would attack Timothy? Why should he have anything to fear from them? Why would they refuse to accept him? What can we learn from this personal note? Does it have anything for us to apply in our lives? Certainly the world was far more lawless in those days. Surely travel to foreign shores was not without possible harm. But we have nothing like that now. If a somewhat stranger comes to our fellowship we welcome him as he steps upon the stage and speaks. We embrace his ministry; we buy his cd’s or books. We make him out to be special. We send him on his way in peace and even a little better off than when he came to us. We even have the recommendation of some about his worth, his message, the value of listening to him. So then why would we need to learn anything from this passage? Of course Timothy might well be going to give them some very hard instructions about how they are to conduct themselves, and how they should develop in their fellowship. After all the corrections Paul had for them, they might not like someone else tell them more. But should we not be open to all instruction? Should we not be willing to listen? Of course we have the whole word of God, and we know if someone is giving instruction which does not comply with the word. They did not. But we should be willing to hear and even apply the principles of the truth brought to us by some traveling preacher. With the local leaders having to live among us, and are in some sense dependent on us for their jobs, they may not be so willing to speak out hard instructions of correct. It seems easy for some in the congregation to contact them with disapproval over what they said or how they are leading the church. Would we do that to some traveling preacher? Would we shun him or ride him out on a rail, because he preached the truth? It seems the truth here for us is that we should be open to instruction; open to correction, open to the Spirit in whatever form he determines to bring us the truth. Yes, be on guard against false prophets, but also be open to who God sends to us. On guard and open. 

Where is Our Door?

DEVOTION

1 CORINTHIANS

WHERE IS OUR DOOR?

1 Cor 16:5-9

5 After I go through Macedonia, I will come to you — for I will be going through Macedonia. 6 Perhaps I will stay with you awhile, or even spend the winter, so that you can help me on my journey, wherever I go. 7 I do not want to see you now and make only a passing visit; I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits. 8 But I will stay on at Ephesus until Pentecost, 9 because a great door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many who oppose me.

NIV

Some personal notes, but even within these there are a couple of truths that stand up and scream to be seen. The first is not such a big deal, although if one of our friends came to visit and stayed the winter maybe it would be a big deal. Perhaps our cultures are such a great style apart that our one to two hour or even a day visit is the same as staying the winter when on a journey. Either way it is important to note we should spend time with each other, unless God has another plan for us. The second truth is of great importance as we should be able to implement it even in this strange new cultural of ours. We should be extremely aware of where we are, and why we are there. So many people choose their living place based on the opportunities to make money, and then become very selective within that area based on the school districts, the cost of homes, the proximity of shopping etc.  We may also select a church to attend, not on proximity but on either our denominational preference, or where we fill we fit in, blend in, or simply like the style of worship. For the most part many if not all of these choices are based on our human needs or desires. Perhaps we should consider just where God desires us to be. Maybe we should be basing our living locations on where a great door for effective work is open to us, especially where we might face a lot of opposition. Of course we know this is not work for our human benefit, but work for the benefit of the Kingdom of God. Even in our choice of churches to attend, we tend to what to blend, and not be faced with opposition, but what if God desires us to be there so we might bring the truth. Even in churches that preach the truth, there are many who prefer tradition over truth. Although “Shaking the boat” may be consider a bad thing by some, it appears God “Shakes our boat” a lot. Shouldn’t we be more concerned about doing the will of God then appeasing a few stick in the muds? Shouldn’t we be more concerned about spreading the truth of God then staying on the same course with those who refuse to set their sails toward it? We need to know where God has called us to be, and then go about doing what He has called us to do, no matter what kind of opposition we might face. Sure it might be nice to have a good reputation among men, but it is far better to have a great reputation among the trinity. Should we compromise who God has made us to be, for the sake of being liked? No matter what we face, we should be and do what God has called us to. Where is our door?