Wednesday, June 21, 2017

1 Corinthians 7:4 - Equal rights for women?

The wife does not have authority over her own body but yields it to her husband. In the same way, the husband does not have authority over his own body but yields it to his wife.

In a passage about marriage, this verse stood out to me. I am sure this was radical thinking in the culture in which this was written. We often hear about the "wives submit to your husbands" verses, but here Paul is telling both partners to submit and give authority to their spouse.

Lord, thank you for giving us marriages. Please make our marriages strong. Amen.

Tuesday, June 20, 2017

I Corinthians 6:19-20 - My sin and the Holy Spirit

Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.

I have heard this verse so many times. In context it is speaking of sexual immorality, but it can be applied to so many things. What am I exposing the Holy Spirit to? Alcohol? Junk food? Junk television? As a Christian, remember the spirit of God is in us all the time,

Lord, thank you for taking up residence in this weak vessel. Please forgive me of all the sins I drag you into and help me to sin less frequently. Amen.

Monday, June 19, 2017

1 Corinthians 6:7 - Right vs. rights

The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated?

In this passage, the Corinthian church had been having disagreements to the point of lawsuits amongst believers. Paul tells them to have their arguments settled within the church. But even better would be to not have the disagreements. It is better to live in harmony and simply not cheat or do wrong. And on the occasions when we are wronged or cheated, it is better to be "unoffendable" and not demand our rights.

Lord, thank you for this gift of wisdom from your word. Please help us to live "unoffendable," peaceful lives. Amen.

Friday, June 16, 2017

1 Corinthians 5:9-10 - Tolerance

I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world.

In this passage, Paul is telling the Corinthian church not to associate with someone who claims to be a brother or sister in Christ, but does not attempt to live like a Christian. In verse 12 Paul says, "What business of mine is it to judge those outside the church."

Lord, please help us to be tolerant of those outside the church, showing only love and kindness, not judgement. Amen.

Thursday, June 15, 2017

1 Corinthians 4:19 - The boss is comming

But I will come to you very soon, if the Lord is willing, and then I will find out not only how these arrogant people are talking, but what power they have.

Today is a big day at work. The bosses are coming. Leaders from our corporate office are coming in for a "Town Hall" meeting. They come once a year and everyone scurries around making everything as perfect as possible. It is a good thing. It keeps us on our toes and helps us to get around to things we have been needing to get done. In this verse Paul is telling the Corinthian church that he plans to come and see for himself all the problems this church has been having. With his eminent arrival, Paul hopes to instil in them a sense of urgency to correct the problems. Every day we should have this sense of urgency regarding the return of Jesus. The time is now to turn to God and give our lives to him, to live our lives by the example given to us by Christ. He could come at any time.

Lord, thank you for putting the right verse in front of me for today. Please help us to always live with the sense of urgency of meeting you. Amen.

Wednesday, June 14, 2017

1 Corinthians 4:1 - Christian Leaders

This, then, is how you ought to regard us: as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the mysteries God has revealed.

What makes a good leader? 1 Corinthians chapters three and four are about leaders in the church. These leaders were apparently gaining status and wealth based on who had taught them about Christ. They were focused on reigning and judging. Paul tells these leaders being a leader really means being a servant.

Lord, thank you for making it clear the role of a church leader. Please help us to look for these kinds of people to put in leadership positions. Amen.


Monday, June 12, 2017

Romans 3:23 - Loving a struggling sinner

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

When someone close to us is struggling with sin what do we do? Well, first we pray. We ask God to fix the situation. But then what do we do? How do we cope? What do we say to them? Lectures and judgement probably won't do much to help. God shows "kindness, forbearance and patience" (2:4). To help us in our frustration and to help them, we can remind them and ourselves of the above verse. I am a sinner, you are a sinner. We are all equal at the foot of the cross.

Lord, thank you for loving us even though we have all sinned. Please help us to offer kindness, forbearance and patience, just as you do. Amen.

Thursday, June 8, 2017

1 Corinthians 3:6 - Co-workers

I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow.

Verse 9 in this passage calls us "Co-workers in God's service." Whether as Christians or at our places of work, working together is important. We each have a role and each of us is vital. The "pay" may not be the same, in verse 8, "they will each be rewarded according to their own labor." But less pay doesn't mean the role is any less essential, it may just require a different specialized skill set or carry a different level of responsibility. No matter what our "position", we are an integral part of a team,

Lord, thank you for our jobs as employees and as Christians. Please help us to be good co-workers. Amen.

Wednesday, June 7, 2017

1 Corinthians 2:15 - Human judgements

The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments,

As a person with the Spirit, I am not subject to merely human judgements. I needed to hear this today.

Lord, Thank you for giving me the just the right verse when I need it.  Amen.

Tuesday, June 6, 2017

1 Corinthians 2:11 - What is the Holy Spirit?

For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.

The context of this passage is the wisdom of God and that we receive his wisdom through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit can be a difficult concept to understand, confused even more by the King James Version of the bible referring to it as the Holy Ghost. I suppose it seems a bit supernatural, but no more supernatural than God. This passage is a great explanation. Just like you and I have a spirit (our inner thoughts, the spark of the divine which sets us apart from the animals, the "I think, therefore I am" idea), God has a spirit too. This is the spirit which he shares with us and gives as a gift to us when we are baptized. This is God living in us.

Lord, thank you for sharing your Spirit with us. Please help us to rely on your Spirit rather than our own wisdom. Amen.

Monday, June 5, 2017

1 Corinthians 1:27 - Weak and foolish

But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.

God wants us to rely on him. Good uses the weak and the foolish because the glory belongs to him, it is his power and wisdom. Our righteousness, holiness and redemption is not to our credit, We have nothing to boast about except the Lord.

Lord, thank you for choosing us. Please help us to remember all the glory is due to you for our salvation. Amen.

Friday, June 2, 2017

1 Corinthians 1:18 - Faith

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

The other day my husband and I went and saw a movie called "Gifted" about a child who was genius. She excelled in math, but was a generally deep thinker as well. She asked her uncle about Jesus and he said he didn't know if it was true. A family friend had told her she knew it was true and the girl asked her uncle about this. He said she can't know it, but she had faith. I thought that was a good answer. This story of God and the good news of Jesus may seem like foolishness, but those of us who believe have faith in what we can not know.

Lord, thank you for giving me the gift of faith. Please help others to come to faith as well. Amen.

Thursday, June 1, 2017

1 Corinthians 1:10 - Church unity

I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought.

After studying in the Psalms for so long, it is interesting to be studying something so practical. This book is dealing with specific situations and problems, not general ideas. In this passage a church is struggling with divisions. As a body of Christ, we have to be able to get along. All are equal at the foot of the cross. If we can not demonstrate unity in the church, then how can we expect anyone outside of Christ to be drawn in.

Lord, thank you for practical wisdom. Please help our churches to be perfectly united in mind and thought. Amen.