1 Corinthians 15 -- There Will Be A Day ...

For several days now, I’ve mourned the passing of the son of a boyhood friend.  I think God saved this chapter for just such a time as this.  My thoughts had turned to what I would do if this ever happened to my one of my own sons. 

Paul says, “But God’s grace has made me what I am, and His grace to me was NOT wasted.”  What a tragedy it would be to have been given such grace, and then see it wasted on a lifetime that was not lived for Him.  Thank You for becoming my Lord and Master and helping me to live my life in a way that tells the world how much I appreciate Your grace, Father!

“If our hope in Christ is for this life ONLY, we should be pitied more than anyone else in the world.”  Even though knowing You and being called Your friend is beyond belief, You didn’t save us just for the remaining few years You give us on this earth.  Instead, You want us to be with You forever – an eternity with the One who loved us before the world was formed!  How awesome! 

“Death’s power to hurt is sin, and the power of sin is the law.  But we thank God!  He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ … Death, where is your victory?  Death, where is your sting?”  Paul knew, because Jesus had told him, that death is never an end for the Christian.  It is instead the beginning of what we’re trained on this earth to do – spend eternity with our Maker – the One who loves us and wants us by His side for all time.

I’ll be there, Father – beside You, as will my sons.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford

1 Corinthians 14 -- Best Advice For Your Church?

Paul wants to point out what our church services are to be about and what shouldn’t be happening in them.  The Corinthians were shooting for the sensational and entertaining.  It was all about glitz, and Paul called them out on it.

Paul wasn’t saying that church had to be boring.  Nor was he saying that reverence and order should be the main rule.  Indeed, he even favored an open style of teaching and worship, almost tag-teaming as God spoke through different individuals.  But there was a common thread:  “ … speaking to people to give them strength, encouragement, and comfort.”  It also wasn’t only about “me”.  In fact, many times Paul urges that the ones who were only concerned with self should sit down.  He said, “The purpose of all these things should be to help the church grow strong. “  I think that could be a key factor in helping us make changes that will lead more nonbelievers to come to accept Christ, and  lead those who are already believers to take on responsibility for helping get God’s message out.

Father, move me over if I’m ever in the way of what You’re doing in our church.  Help me to understand that strengthening, encouraging, and comforting are a big part of what we’re to be doing, and don’t ever let my desires get in the way of that.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford

1 Corinthians 13 -- The Love Chapter In MINISTRY

Today, I hear Paul telling about ministry without love and spirituality without love.  In youth ministry, I’ve so often heard it said, “They don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”  And that fits right in with what Paul’s saying, since he’s talking to the congregation of the church at Corinth about ministry.

We as Christians are all supposed to be in ministry.  We are to focus on the lost and hurting of this world, and just as a hurt puppy will snap in self-defense at anyone he fears may cause him additional pain, those hurting in this world naturally raise their own self-defenses.  Love is God’s way of breaking through those defenses.

That’s were patience and kindness are most important.  Within the one ministering, jealousy, bragging, and pride take our eyes off the Master as we struggle to instead see ourselves.  As we react to the hurting, the lost, and the lonely, they will easily be put off by rudeness and selfishness, and they’ll even attempt to upset us so that we will give a little of that back, allowing them an excuse to pull away yet again.

Where evil attempts to hide the truth, we have to diligently persevere so that the truth will not remain hidden, and if backlashes do occur, we’ve got to patiently expect and accept them knowing that healing can be a start-and-stop process.  No matter what happens, our byword has to be:  “I trust You, God!”  That trust will give us the hope we need to keep going when we feel like quitting.

So many times, I think Satan tempts us by playing the “me” card, wanting us to refocus on self and take our eyes off of the ones God is sending our way.  But those are childish reactions.  As we grow spiritually, those are the kinds of things we should put off as we put on Christ in our daily lives.

“When I became a man …” in verse 11 implies that I have indeed matured, particularly spiritually.  And a man doesn’t act like a child.  Satan would have us believe that we are still not men, because that gives us an excuse for childish reactions.

Father, there is such wisdom in Your words today!  They help me to position myself to do a better job of both helping others and representing You.  Keep me from the temptations of childish reactions, and allow me to show Your love in everything I do.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford

1 Corinthians 12 -- Perfectly Made As God Intended

The Corinthians had decided there was superstar status Christians could achieve based on spiritual gifts, particularly when one was able to speak a foreign language he’d never studied or if he could understand the same.  It was beginning to sound like a two-class society, and those without that gift were feeling left out and insignificant.

Paul went through a list of spiritual gifts, listing the language gifts last.  He wanted them to see that God had instituted a diversity of gifts for a reason, and any longing or desire for a gift we hadn’t been given really amounted to coveting, which is sin.

Verse 18 seemed to get to the heart of the matter, and about it, my commentary said, “In His matchless wisdom, God has arranged the different members … in the body just as He please.  We should give Him credit for knowing what He is doing.  We should be profoundly grateful for whatever gift He has given us and joyfully use it for His glory and for building up others.  To be envious of someone else’s gift is sin.  It is rebellion against God’s perfect plan for our lives.”

Father, I do not have many of the gifts Paul mentioned here.  But I’ve come to understand over time that You have me right where You want me, and You have uniquely gifted me to allow me to fulfill the plan You have for me.  My only response should be praise for Your wisdom and provision as I do my best to fulfill Your plan for me.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford

1 Corinthians 11 -- Opinions Or Fact?

“In the things I tell you now, I do not praise you, because when you come together, you do more harm than good.  First I hear that when you meet together as a church you are divided … (It is necessary to have differences among you so that it may be clear which of you really have God’s approval.)”

My commentary makes a distinction between strong opinions and actual facts, saying that the sinful nature of our flesh often leads us to accept opinion as fact when in fact it is not.

In many churches, for instance, worship styles can cause divisions.  Since scripture mentions worship with hymns and songs of praise, there is no scriptural basis for accepting on and excluding the other.  Yet this issue has severed to divide many churches, whether by actual splits or dissention within the ranks.  In actuality, as Paul says, these are matters of opinion only, and he cites the cause of the divisions as carnality among the members – living as the world does and not as Christians should. 

My commentary says, “Divisions are proof that some have failed to discern the mind of the Lord.”  A quite natural response is usually, “Yes, and it’s the other group that has failed in their discernment.”  The strong opinions would seem to say otherwise.

In my Bible’s sidebar today, it said that the Corinthians had allowed some parts of their worship to become times of selfishness and bickering.  “Lack of respect and concern for others undermined their gathering for worship.”  The remedy?  “Careful self-examination of our motives along with a good dose of courtesy and love … Don’t gripe about it.  Accept it.  Realize that as you put aside your preference, another Christian is able to worship better through it.”

Father, I’d hate to be numbered among those whom Paul was having to correct here.  I don’t want to ever be guilty of drawing others away from You in worship.  Help me to always base my decisions on clear scriptural bases, and remind me that strong opinions have no place in worship of You, for they are too much about me.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford

1 Corinthians 10 -- Keeping Our Hearts Out Of Egypt

Paul tells us what we can learn from the mistakes in Israel’s past.  I loved some of the descriptions in my commentary:

“Although all Israel left Egypt … yet the sad truth is that although their bodies were in the wilderness, yet their hearts were still back in Egypt.  They enjoyed a physical deliverance from the bondage of Pharaoh, but they still lusted after the sinful pleasures of that country … The children of Israel were actually examples for us, showing us what will happen to us if we also lust after evil things as they did … The Israelites did not practice self-control with regard to their bodies.  They did not discipline their bodies or put them in a place of subjection.  Rather, they made PROVISION FOR the lusts of the flesh, and this proved to be their downfall.”

Hearing all that, we might be tempted to think that, if they had God present among them on a daily basis, in the pillar of fire and the covering cloud, and still were so tempted, then what chance do we have?  Paul answers in verses 12-13:  “If you think you are strong [that you won’t be caught in sin], you should be careful not to fall [you are setting yourself up to fail].  The only temptation that has come to you is that which everyone has.  But you can trust God, who will not permit you to be tempted more than you can stand.  But when you are tempted, He will also give you a way to escape so that you will be able to stand.”

So how should we then live?  If we would think of ourselves as having weakened immune systems (in regard to sin) and stay away from those things that tempt us as such a person would avoid a quarantine wing of a hospital, we’d be smart.  And when we find ourselves in the middle of temptation, rather than thinking of even dabbling in it, we should take the method of escape God offers and run from it at once.  Here God is not promising to deliver us, but He is promising to limit the intensity of the temptation, my commentary says.  So He provides the way, but we must move our feet in that direction.  Unlike Israel, we must keep our hearts out of Egypt.

Father, how I wish You’d given us the ability to forget our past sins as You are capable of doing, for I know that it is tempting to relive them, just as the Israelites were doing.  Sharpen my senses to allow me to see BETTER when temptation is coming, including the temptation to remember, and remind me in those circumstances of the way out the You’ve provided.

Your Brother In Christ

1 Corinthians 9 -- Why We Do It

This last week, both of my sons were running in track meets – the first of this season.  It was my youngest’s first meet ever, running in two events.  His small body is so much like mine was at that age – hardly an ounce of muscle on it, and running as fast as he could, he was still outmatched by most of the already-muscular guys from other schools.

My oldest, on the other hand, has really grown and developed since last track season.  Where last year he seemed to be checking off a box that indicated he’d indeed competed in each event, this year he was going all out.  He was running to WIN.

Paul tells us in verse 24 that we should run to win in our spiritual lives.  He doesn’t mean winning our salvation, for that would be works.  Instead, he’s talking about reward for faithfully sharing the gospel.

My commentary talks about our motivation.  “Under law the motive was fear, but under grace the motive is love.  Love is a far higher motive than fear.  Men will do out of love what they would never do from terror.”

I witnessed that in my oldest’s running this week.  His work on two relay teams (on both he was running the first leg) would set the pace for the rest of his team, and I believe his caring for them pushed him in his performance.  As Christians, we should be raised to a new level of behavior, my commentary said, desiring to live a holy life, not out of fear of punishment for having broken the law, but out of love for Christ, who died for us and rose again.

Father, I want love for You and Your Son to be my sole motivation for everything I do.  I don’t want anything to be done out of a sense of duty, for that can often lead to a feeling of forced service.  Instead, I want to run a race of trying to outlove Your love for me, full well knowing it will be impossible.  But I still want to try.  For You have loved me so much by sending Your Son to die for my sins so that I can be with You both in heaven.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford