For many, it’s easy to hear the message of God’s grace and think, “There’s plenty of time for all that ‘religious’ stuff later.” Paul wants us all to know that is an eternally dangerous way to think. He pleads with his readers to not reject God’s gift of salvation through Christ Jesus . . ….
I have to admit, I smiled when I read Paul’s words today: While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh… 2 Corinthians 5:4a It seems like there’s always plenty to groan and sigh about. Aches and pains are part of life for so many of us. I don’t think I know anyone…
A number of years ago, we ordered a large rather expensive mirror. It was delivered a few days later and left at our front door. The first thing we noticed was that it was covered with stickers warning: Fragile! Handle with Care! So, Rev and I joined together to carefully pick up the box. Unfortunately,…
Rules, rules, and more rules. Interestingly, rules and laws always lead to more and more rules and laws. New ones need to be created to “clarify” the originals. As soon as one law gets passed, people begin to look for loopholes that then, need to be closed by (you guessed it!) more laws. Rev once…
What do you do when you know a friend or loved one is doing something self-destructive and/or something that will hurt others? If you’re like me, your preference would be to do nothing at all. Why? Well, because you have a pretty strong feeling about how that conversation is going to go. True, you hope…
I don’t have to tell you that suffering is hard! Whether it is emotional or physical or both . . . suffering can be overwhelming. It may be that you are experiencing intense suffering right now. And you’re asking God, through tears, what good could possibly come from this. Paul began his second letter to…
Do you ever feel like the things you are doing or that you have done to serve Jesus aren’t making a difference? Paul wrote: My dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless. 1 Corinthians 15:58…
I have to be careful how much I allow myself to watch the news. You see, I’ve always been an emotion just under the surface kind of person. It doesn’t take much for my “feelings” to influence my mood. And of course, the news likes to promote sensationalism. What’s the saying? “If it bleeds, it…
I sometimes wonder what it must have been like for someone to belong to that church in Corinth. Sometimes it seems like their gatherings got a little unmanageable. Remember . . . these last chapters in this first letter to the Corinthians contain Paul’s responses to questions they have asked. He talked about marriage and…
It’s long been called the “love chapter,” one that has been shared at countless weddings over the years… Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about…
“All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others.” What? If some are “more equal” then there is no equality. This famous quote from George Orwell’s book, Animal Farm has been repeated often and if you’ve never read it, you should . . . it tells us much about our sinful human…
We don’t use the word “covenant” very often anymore. What is a covenant anyway? I’ve always thought of it as a promise . . . but it’s even more than that. A covenant is defined as “a formal, solemn, binding agreement.” God made a covenant with Noah to save him through the flood. He made…
I often quote Solomon’s words… Nothing under the sun is truly new. Ecclesiastes 1:9 And since the first sin in the Garden of Eden, people have been saying, “the devil made me do it!” Adam blamed Eve and Eve blamed the devil. The man replied, “It was the woman you gave mewho gave me the fruit, and…
“It’s not whether you win or lose, it’s how you play the game.” To many, this is a great quote . . . a word of encouragement. But most of us know that if there is no difference between winning and losing, we wouldn’t keep score. And like it or not, everyone keeps score. In…
I’m guessing at one time or another you’ve heard someone say… “There’s nothing wrong with it, so I have the freedom to do what I want!” And no, I’m not talking about your kids. I’m talking about adults in the church. In 1 Corinthians 8, Paul invited his reads to take a closer look at…
The rest of Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians holds his answers to questions they had asked in a letter they had written to him. Questions about marriage, singleness, eating meat offered to idols, the “right way” to worship, the Lord’s Supper, spiritual gifts, and the resurrection . . . disagreements they were having in…
The cultural message for the past 50 years has been “my body, my choice.” But is that true based on God’s Word? In 1 Corinthians 6, Paul wrote: Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not…
How much time do you spend investing in relationships with unbelievers? Historically, there have been some groups of Christians that have chosen to create their own exclusive communities to remain isolated from the “influence of the world”—people who choose not to be friends with people outside of their faith community. In 1 Corinthians 5, the…
Do you have verses in Scripture that make you squirm because they hold a truth you really don’t want to think about? Today’s chapter has a couple of verses that definitely make me uncomfortable… It is the Lord himself who will examine me and decide. So don’t make judgments about anyone ahead of time—before the…
Can you imagine? You finally get a letter from your spiritual advisor . . . you’re hoping for a “good job, atta baby, way to go,” word of encouragement. But this is what you get instead: Dear brothers and sisters, when I was with you I couldn’t talk to you as I would to spiritual people….
Do you think you’re wise? Do you want to be? As I was reading today’s chapter and a couple of verses practically jumped off the page: No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. And we have received God’s Spirit (not…
