Listening to the Word

Psalms 122; 1 Corinthians 9-11   “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks, or the church of God – even as I try to please everyone in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved. Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.” 1 Corinthians 10:31-33; 11:1 This short text gives some very helpful principles of discipleship and leadership from Paul. 1) Do everything for the glory of God (beware of seeking your own glory). 2)   Consider and care for others above yourself (don’t cause others to stumble because of your spiritual freedoms). 3) Live on mission every day, wherever you are (working for the salvation of all). 4) The lives of spiritual leaders are worth following as they follow Christ.   Which of those principles particularly challenge us? Taken as a whole, they speak to servant-leadership in the way of Jesus, loving and ...

Job 35, 36; 1 Corinthians 7-8   “What I mean, brothers, is that the time is short. From now on those who have wives should live as if they had none; those who mourn, as if they did not; those who are happy, as if they were not; those who buy something, as if it were not theirs to keep; those who use the things of the world, as if not engrossed in them. For this world in its present form is passing away.” 1 Corinthians 7:29-31 Do we believe our time is short or long? Paul lived with a sense of urgency regarding both his life-calling and the return of Jesus Christ. Sickness, death, war, disasters, and numerous unplanned events can change our lives. We don’t know how long we have to serve the Lord. Living with purpose and even prophetic urgency, changes how we view life, possessions, and plans. We are invited to let go of that which is temporal and invest our time, our resources, and our best in what is eternal. Are we living this way? “Lord Jesus, I give you my time, resources, and r...

Job 34; 1 Corinthians 4-6   “…Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 When we are living in sin, we cannot be pleasing the Spirit of God. It is the Spirit of God that is at work in washing, sanctifying, and justifying us before God in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are unable to clean ourselves up without the work of the Holy Spirit in us. Addictions pull us back into destructive habits and drive us to do and think things we feel powerless to stop. We require a greater power to break the power of sin in our lives! We have been given authority in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God, to resist sin, tempta...

Job 33; 1 Corinthians 1-3 “For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength…None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” 1 Corinthians 1:25; 2:8 Satan and his kingdom do not understand the cross and the willing surrender of our lives for love. The rulers of this age similarly exercise their power and authority and try to hide their weaknesses. To daily ‘take up our cross’ and follow Christ, requires that we daily testify to our weakness, vulnerability, and death-to-self, for the sake of following and knowing Christ. This is foolish, not just to the world, but to most Christians! Satan would not have motivated the betrayal and death of Jesus had he known what the death and resurrection of Christ would accomplish. Similarly, we must receive the Holy Spirit to receive the wisdom of daily humbling ourselves before God and others for the sake of God’s grace and g...

Job 30; Psalms 120; Galatians 3-4   “But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, ‘Abba Father.’ So, you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.” Galatians 4:4-7 So many Christians do not know who they are in Christ. When the gospel is presented as the answer to a sin-problem and a ticket to heaven, we shortchange people. The gospel requires us to be set free from the bondage of sin and self-centered living so that we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit and a new identity in Christ as sons and daughters of the King, our Father. As sons and daughters we are heirs of salvation and the fullness of God’s kingdom. We have been given authority in Christ to resist the world, our sinful nature, and the devil. We have access to the thr...

Job 31-32; Galatians 5-6 “’I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a girl…If I have walked with falsehood or my foot has hurried after deceit – let God weigh me in honest scales…if my steps have turned from the path, if my heart has been led by my eyes, or if my hands have been defiled, then may others eat what I have sown, and may my crops be uprooted.’” Job 31:1, 5-8 In Job’s final words, we read of his understanding that sin has consequences. We reap what we sow. Lust, deceit, injustice, greed, idolatry, unforgiveness, and concealing sin all have consequences. Job understood that; do we? We misunderstand grace when we believe there are no consequences for confessed sin. The harvest of sin often has to be faced. It is that pain that produces good fruit in our lives as we humble ourselves before God and others. The eternal consequence of sin is death which has been defeated by the sacrifice of Christ. We can be free from the penalty of sin through repentance and forgiv...