Year 8, Day 90: 2 Corinthians 7

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Paul speaks much about grief and correction in this chapter.  Paul says that his earlier letter has grieved him.  He isn’t grieved because of the effects of his letter; he is grieved because he had to write the letter.  He is grieved because of the need to write it.  He is grieved because it was a potential stressor in the relationship.

This is the dangerous part of living in truth.  People who dwell with God cannot hide from truth.  They cannot push truth under the rug.  When they see evil, they confront it with truth.  When they see sin, they confront it with truth.  When they see oppression, they confront it with truth.

The problem is that confrontation usually leads to stress.  Confrontation opens the door for potentially damaged relationships.  It really all depends on how the other person is going to receive the truth.  If they receive it poorly, confrontation leads to the breakdown of relationship.

Mind you, people who walk in God take that risk.  What good is a friend who only tells you what you want to hear?  What good is a teacher who never challenges you out of your current place?  What good is a mentor who only talks about how great you are?  What good is a pastor who only talks about the great ways you embody Christ? We need all these things, certainly.  But we need more than these things.  When we deserve it, praise is great.  When we don’t deserve it, praise is empty and hollow and serves no purpose.

Teachers, friends, and mentors know when to uplift with the truth.  Teachers, friends, and mentors who are worth their salt know when to challenge and speak truth.  When genuine truth is shared among Christians, it might be done in fear and trepidation but it should always lead to growth and maturity.

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Year 8, Day 89: 2 Corinthians 6

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Paul speaks to the Corinthians about being a temple to God.  We are to have fellowship with God, He is to dwell in us.  He will live among us.  He will walk among us.  He will be a Father to us.  We will be His sons and daughters.

What does this mean for us?  We are to live like we believe it to be true!  We are to live apart from the ways of the world.  We are to live in manners which are clean to the Lord.

What does this really mean?  How does this look in practice?  Paul actually gives us many explanations in his writing.  One such explanation comes in the first half of this chapter.  When we adapt the ways of the Lord and live by them, we are a display of purity.  We live with greater knowledge.  We can show greater love.  We can stand in truth.  We embody the power of God.

That’s not all that this means, and especially on Good Friday we can be moved by the other side of life with God.  When we live apart from the ways of the world we will know the world’s rejection.  Many in the world will afflict us.  They will persecute us on account of our faith.  We may experience physical hardship.  We may even be imprisoned or killed for our truth and love.  We may experience hunger as we live a life of generosity instead of greed.

There is nothing more satisfying than life with God.  God bring hope to a broken world. He gives life when the world would strive to take it away.  He makes love possible when we should instead feel hatred.  He grants peace when anxiety could take over.  That is an incredible gift to give to the world.  But it does come with a price.  Jesus know this cost.  Jesus was crucified so that He could bring peace and love.  It is that same sacrificial love that drives Paul to care about the Corinthians.  It is that sacrificial love that should drive us each and every day.

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Year 8, Day 88: 2 Corinthians 5

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In this chapter, Paul gives us great reason to celebrate and have hope.  This chapter is all about our position with Christ versus our position with the world.  We know that Christ died for all.  Therefore, Paul concludes, we have all died.  We are no longer in this world, we are in the realm of Christ.  We are no longer to judge things according to the worldly ways but instead we are to judge things according to the ways of God.

What that means is that we can always have hope.  When I am persecuted, I know that I have a home in God that cannot be taken away.  When I am mocked, I know that I have relationship with a God who always loves me.  When I am abandoned, I know that I have a God who calls me to Him.  When I am threatened, I know I have a God who can protect me and who can usher me home to a dwelling that none can prevent me from obtaining. 

We have no reason to be eternally afraid!  Yes, we can fear what people may do to us in this life, but we have little reason to truly fear.  After all, should my life be taken from me now I am rewarding with knowing God in an all new and different manner!

So, what do we do now?  We are ambassadors.  We live out the truth we know.  We do not worry; we do not fret.  We present an image to the world that speaks about our faith and our hope.  We live out our joy so that others may see it, find inspiration, and know the same joy.

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Year 8, Day 87: 2 Corinthians 4

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What does the life of the Christian look like?  Paul gives us a great description here.  “We have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways.  We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s Word. By the open statement of truth we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God.”

The Christian is one who renounces deceitful behavior.  We don’t look to trap others.  We don’t look to step on other people to put ourselves in a better position.  We don’t give false testimony about God and His ways.  We devote ourselves to being seen as a blessing into the lives of other people.

Why do we do these things?  Paul goes on to tell us that, too.  We do it for the sake of Jesus.  We do it so that we carry the crucified savior wherever we go.  We do it so that in our affliction we show perseverance.  In our persecution we are not destroyed.  We do it to show that one can live in this world but not be of it.  We do it to show that the God-infused character of the human being can rise above the world.

We do it for the sake of the rest of the world, just as Christ came and died for the world.  We put aside our sinful humanity so that we may look to the other and display a divine love.  We do it to show that while our exterior is being worn down, our inner character is built up and renewed every day by God.  We do it to show an eternal character to a transient world.

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Year 8, Day 86: 2 Corinthians 2 & 3

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Every single good parent will tell you that there is a difference between hurt and harm.  Hurting someone means that you occasionally do something that another person doesn’t like.  Harming them means that you are doing damage – physical, emotional, relational, etc – to them.  Any parent that has sent a child to timeout, who has grounded a teenager, or who has gotten up from a dinner out and left before it was over because their child was throwing a tantrum knows this truth.  When we implement discipline, it can hurt.  But discipline in love does not harm.  It teaches.

That’s what Paul is talking about in this chapter.  When we confront one another in spiritual truth, we should not intend harm.  We do not want to cause damage.  What we want to do is to give time to think, consider actions, and perhaps change a position or course of action.  It hurts to receive correction, but properly given correction actually strengthens people and the relationships that bind them together.

This is even more true when we talk about forgiveness and add that to the conversation.  When we have experienced a few hard times of correction and we realize that relationship does go on and we do move past our mistakes, we can deal with correction even easier.  If I realize that the person I am correcting loves me as a brother, it is easier to step in and work for positive change in their life.  If I am corrected by someone that I ultimately know loves me as a brother, it is easier to take the correction.

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Year 8, Day 85: 2 Corinthians 1

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As we open up the book of 2 Corinthians, we notice that there is a distinct lack of joy in these words.  Paul does not offer up any thanksgiving for the people.  This is extraordinarily odd for Paul.  Usually, Paul speaks great words of praise.  At the very least, Paul acknowledges the people.  Here, though, we have nothing.  We have a short section about the glory of God and then Paul gets down to business.

Why would Paul neglect to say words of thanksgiving to the people?  The reasons are fairly simple.  The most obvious reason, as we will see later in the book, is that the Corinthians haven’t resolved anything.  They are still bickering.  They are still treating people unfairly.  There is still sexual immorality going on among the people.  Nothing’s changed.  Paul’s earlier words have fallen upon deaf ears.

There’s another reason that Paul may express no thanksgiving.  Paul has experience turmoil in his present locale.  Paul has had to change his plans.  He wont winter in Corinth.  In fact, he has to scuttle plan B, too.  He won’t even come and visit.  He has to rely upon writing another letter, knowing full well that his first letter wasn’t effective.

That being said, we get a really neat perspective on leadership with Paul.  Although he is irritated for multiple reasons, he is still trusting God.  He is still looking for God’s hand at work.  He looks to the trouble he’s in and the fact that he cannot get to Corinth and concludes that God is sparing the Corinthians.  He concludes God is sparing them, and perhaps even sparing himself from either a fruitless venture or perhaps even making a mistake.  I respect this about Paul.  Even when things don’t go his way, he is still willing to look to and trust in the Lord.  He may not be overly happy about what happened, but he puts that aside to continue to be a servant of the Lord.

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Year 8, Day 84: 1 Corinthians 16

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In this chapter we finalize Paul’s letter.  He mentions that the Corinthians should be diligent in saving up a little money so that when he comes he doesn’t have to make a collection for the orphans and widows in Jerusalem.  We know that this was a personal ministry of Paul, done in hopes to endear the Gentile Christians to the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem.

Paul then mentions that he wants to stay with them when he comes.  He is planning on an extended stay.  I think there is as much threat as promise in this.  Paul wants to come and stay with them so that he can renew his acquaintance with them, naturally.  He has some friends there.  It will be a friendly visit.

However, I’m sure that he wants to stay a while so that he can do some extended teaching.  It’s one thing to write a letter, it’s another thing entirely to teach in person.  He wants to make sure that he has the time to speak freely and clearly on the topics covered here in the letter.

Additionally, I am sure that Paul wants to spend some time so that he can investigate other areas of concern.  With a quick visit, issues can be buried or swept under the rug.  In an extended visit, things will begin to surface.  Paul wants to make sure that the community is living as they should be.  After all, that is the gist of this letter.

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Year 8, Day 83: 1 Corinthians 15

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1 Corinthians 15 is one of my favorite chapters in Paul’s writing because he spells out the most important truths in such simple detail.  To bring this letter of unity to a close, Paul ends with simple truth.  Christ came and Christ dies for our sake.  We know salvation because Christ came and only because Christ came.

This, then, speaks to the resurrection.  Christ died and was raised from the dead.  Those in Christ, then, can expect the same conclusion to happen tot them!  If Christ was raised, we will be, too!

This should make sense.  If there is no resurrection, why come to earth to save us.  If we simply die and cease to exist, why bother atoning for our sins?  The point of atonement is that life can be restored to them manner in which God intends.  The point of atonement is so that once we are restored into relationship with God that relationship can continue on into perpetuity.

This takes Paul into a conversation about our future existence.  Naturally, we cannot know exactly what such a life will feel like or even look like.  There are a few things that we can know, though.  Life with God into the eternal future will be eternal.  We will be immortal.  We won’t be omnipotent, but we will not be concerned with time or death.

This is the crux of the faith.  This is what should bring us unity.  We are sinners; Christ came to die for our sake.  Because Christ died for our sake, we can live in relationship with God.  Because of our relationship with God, we will live forever with Him under His power in an eternal and immortal existence.

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Year 8, Day 82: 1 Corinthians 14

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As we draw near to the conclusion of 1 Corinthians, Paul continues his theme of unity.  In this chapter, he applies it to the teaching in the community.  Paul tells people that while speaking in tongues is good, speaking words of prophesy are better.  Before we go too much further, we need to remember what prophesy is to the Christian.  Prophesy in the Bible is not predicting the future.  Prophesy is uttering a word of teaching from the Lord intended to speak to another person.

Think about why this is necessary.  Isn’t it easy to be impressed and amazed by someone who does something as foreign as speaking in tongues?  Human beings are easily impressed by the exotic.  At the same time, isn’t it easy to overlook someone who is simply teaching and giving advice?  How often do students in school tune out their teachers, daydream, or simply not allow themselves to get caught up in learning?  Paul needs to give this lesson because we allow ourselves to place more importance of the outwardly amazing and undervalue the more mundane.

At the same time, think about this in terms of unity.  What is more likely to bring unity, words that nobody can understand or words that everybody can understand?  What is more likely to be misunderstood, an action that is difficult to explain or an act that explains itself?  Paul knows that communal unity is built on concrete and timely teaching from the Lord.

As for the second half of this chapter, Paul extends this idea into our worship.  Paul realizes that the best way to build a community is to build an environment that is orderly and sets reasonable expectations.  People want to know what to expect.  People want to know that they can rely on concrete and meaningful teaching.  It isn’t necessarily about giving people what they want; it is about giving people a reliable and meaningful experience.  That will build unity in the community.

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Year 8, Day 81: 1 Corinthians 13

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1 Corinthians 13 is typically classified as the Love Chapter.  That makes sense, as love is the focus of nearly every sentence in this chapter!  Of the thirteen verses in this chapter, the word love doesn’t appear in only five of them, and in one of them the pronoun it, used multiple times, directly refers to love.  This chapter directly teaches us about love.

The question, though, is why?  Remember the greater context of 1 Corinthians.  Paul is concerned about division and controversy.  He is concerned about the unfair treatment of some and the preferential treatment of others.  He is concerned about the unity of the church.  What better concept to use to teach about unity than the idea of love?

After all, what is true love all about?  True love is about the selflessness that comes when we put ourselves aside and think about others first.  Love is gentle.  Love is kind.  Love does not boast.  Love is not arrogant.  Love is not rude.  Love bears all things and love endures all things.  Look at what all of those things have in common.  Each of those things are accomplished when we put others ahead of ourselves.

When do we have division?  We encounter division when people forget to love first.  When do we get a lack of trust?  We get a lack of trust when we forget to love one another first.  When does the community break down?  The community breaks down when we seek our own agendas and forget to love the other person first.

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Year 8, Day 80: 1 Corinthians 12

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It should be no surprise that when we move to the next chapter that Paul continues to talk about the unified body of Christ.  What can we learn from this?  Paul was deeply concerned with the level of division within the Corinthians. He was worried that the level of division would be a major detriment to the congregation.  He continues to teach about unity from many different angles because a lack of unity is a tremendous threat to a community.

Paul tries to speak to unity with respect to the spiritual gifts.  Yes, people are individuals.  We all have different gifts and God equips us to play different roles in His kingdom.  We shouldn’t be trying to make carbon copies of one another because God has made us unique.  At the same time, our uniqueness should not divide the church!  Our gifts should add to the community, not split it!  Our interaction within the community should cause it to grow together, not give it reason to fracture.

In fact, with the analogy to the body to which Paul moves, he brings the discussion into greater focus.  Paul is blatantly honest when he says that the individual is not more important than the body.  The hand is not more important than the body.  Neither is the eye or the foot or even the heart.  After all, what would a single member of the body be if it didn’t have a body to which it belongs?  How useful is a hand without an arm, much less an entire body?  The desires of the one should never outweigh the needs of the many.

Furthermore, Paul goes a step further to make sure that we don’t undervalue certain parts of the community.  We all know that there are flashy people who command attention easily.  Just like it is easy to notice a person’s hair or their eyes, it is easy to give some people more attention than the rest.  However, the reality is that there are parts of the body that are easily overlooked but highly important.  How long will a regular person live without their liver or spleen, yet how often do we notice it or even remember its function?  Our sinuses provide an integral function to the working of our body, but how often do we notice them until they are stuffed, plugged, or draining?  We need to learn to value the whole community, especially those who are easy to overlook.

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Year 8, Day 79: 1 Corinthians 11

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As I read through this passage, I am always drawn to the second half and drawn away from the first half.  Today is no different.  I’ve been focusing so much on divisions and unity that my eye seems to naturally go to the second half.

In this passage, we hear Paul mention that the Corinthians are even making a debacle of the Lord’s Supper.  Some people are coming and getting drunk.  Other people are being neglected.  I think we have two problems here – drunkenness and a lack of hospitality – wrapped underneath the umbrella of God’s grace.

First of all, let’s take drunkenness.  Here is a reason for offense.  Some people are coming to get communion and all that they see is the wine.  They drink not out of celebration for God’s love, but in order to have the alcohol work its magic.  Rather than think about what their actions are doing to the community, they are enforcing their desire for alcohol upon the community.  The will of the individual is causing division because it is being asserted over the good of the community.

Then we have the issue of people being neglected.  There are some who are simply not able to come to communion because others are consuming it all!  This is an utter lack of hospitality.  Once more we see that the gluttony of some is causing division.  The will of the individual for utter consumption is being asserted over the good of the community in the sharing of resources.  Gluttony, the consumption of one above what is necessary or even customary, causes division in the body of Christ.

The sad part is that all of these things exist under the greater umbrella of Christ and His love for us.  Communion is first and foremost a celebration of the sacrificial nature of Christ!  I find it truly sad that even an act of sacrifice can become a cause for the sin of greed within the individual to rise up and destroy community.

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Year 8, Day 78: 1 Corinthians 10

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Having looked at the chapter from yesterday, we come today to Paul’s clarification.  If we take yesterday’s reading alone, it could easily lead us to think that we can do anything we are able to justify so long as we don’t do it in the presence of people that it offends.  There is truth in that.  So long as our actions are not truly rooted in sin, then we are correct.  God created this world.  That which is not sinful is a part of God’s creation.

Here we find the counterbalance to the easily overstated freedom of the last chapter.  We must be in Christ.  I don’t have the freedom to do anything I want, I have the freedom to do anything that is in God and therefore not rooted in sin.

To put it another way, my perspective should be on bringing glory to God.  Actions that bring myself or the people around me into a closer relationship with God or a greater understanding of His being are awesome!  We have the freedom to do anything that brings people closer to God.  What we need to do, though, is recognize that because of differences in people that there may be those who are offended by our methods.  Therefore, we have an obligation to not offend others by our methods of helping people draw closer to God.

For me, that is one of the core ethics of life.  God has made me to be a certain way.  Sin has corrupted His creation, allowing me to do things that don’t please God.  I first need to chase away sin and its control as I seek God’s ways and His love.  As I do that, I should be careful to not offend others who are also pursuing God.

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Year 8, Day 77: 1 Corinthians 8 & 9

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In these chapters, we hear Paul talk about differences in the faith.  When we speak about things like marriage – or for the Jews, kosher regulations – things get dicey.  Some people think one things while another people think another.  All sides typically think that they have great reasons for believing as they do.  What are we to do?

It is in times like this that I like to remember the motto of the Moravian Church.  “In essentials, unity.  In non-essentials, liberty.  In all things, love.”  In other words, when consider things essential to salvation, we must be united.  When considering things non-essential to salvation, we grant liberty.  Whatever we do, we should do it in love.

I find this to be greatly in line with what Paul is teaching here.  To use the examples that he uses, when considering marriage we should not think marriage as something that affects salvation.  God can and will save those who marry.  He can and will save those who abstain from marriage.

The same is true about what we eat.  God can save us if we are vegan, vegetarian, only eat some meat, eat all meat, and even if we eat meat that has been offered to other gods!  God can also save us if we don’t do any of those things.  What is what we eat in comparison to the redemptive love of God as shown to use through Christ?

In the end, what is significant is that we are loved by God and salvation comes through Him.  He can save us and He will save us so long as we love Him.  We should not let our differences in non-essentials interfere with the unity that we have through Christ and His salvation.

That being said, we should also be careful not to offend intentionally.  If I do something that in my understanding of God’s love makes sense to me and I interact with someone who believes differently than I do, I should be willing to stop my behavior to keep them from being offended until I am no longer in their presence.  If it is not essential to salvation, I can suppress it without being offended myself.

When I look at the world around me, I think that this is the biggest teaching for our current culture.  Our culture is all about the individual and the desires of the individual.  That’s all well and good when our desires don’t impact others negatively.  But when our desires impact others negatively, I should withhold my desires and not superimpose a worse life on others so that my desires are met.  When a culture imposes the will of the individual over the good of the community, breakdown of the community is inevitable.  Conflict will naturally arise.

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Year 8, Day 76: 1 Corinthians 7

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When reading 1 Corinthians 7, it is important to remember the context of Paul’s writing.  The followers of Jesus in Paul’s day were convinced of the imminent return of the Lord.  Therefore, Paul speaks as one who is awaiting the return of the Lord on a daily basis.  This is why he can say that someone unmarried should stay unmarried and focus on the Lord instead.  This is how he can say many of the things in this chapter that we find hard to hear.  His perspective is different from ours.

We live in the reality that the return of the Lord may be imminent.  It may not be, either.  Several thousand years has passed since the coming of the Lord.  Generations have married and produced offspring. Our perspective is different than his.

That being said, there are some things that we can absolutely learn.  Just because Paul’s perspective is different doesn’t mean that he doesn’t speak valuable truth.

For example, take the parts of the passage that talk about marriage and how it impacts our relationship with God.  God created us and He gave us the gift of marriage.  However, if I am married I do have to think about not just what God desires of me but what my wife needs.  My attention is split.  Naturally, this isn’t a sin.  God gave us marriage, certainly He knew what would happen.  But it is good to realize that it will cause my focus to be split.

That being said, it is really important to understand the underlying truth.  There is nothing wrong with marriage.  There is no sin in being married.  The sin occurs when we allow sexual immorality to enter into our life.  As I spoke about yesterday, sexual sin is invasive.  It takes root in our life and refuses to let go.  It’s impulse can drive our life, even ruin it.  Paul’s greater concern in this chapter isn’t marriage, it is keeping sexual sin at bay.

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Year 8, Day 75: 1 Corinthians 6

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There are two thoughts in this chapter.  The first is Paul’s critique of the way that the Corinthians resolve conflict.  The Corinthians have been taking one another to court.  Paul doesn’t mind that the Corinthians are trying to resolve their struggles.  What he does mind is that people are voluntarily allowing the wisdom of the world to govern over them.  They are allowing worldly logic to dictate right and wrong.

Don’t get me wrong.  I don’t believe that Paul is saying that the world is incapable of good logic.  What Paul is saying is that those of us who follow God should be capable of sound logic and righteous truth.  We should have elders in the church who are just as capable of pronouncing justice fairly and honorably as the world.  In fact, we should have people who are more capable.

The other topic that Paul talks about here is that we should avoid sexual immorality.  So much can happen to us when we allow our sexual impulses drive our thinking.  We make poor choices.  We let things influence us that shouldn’t.  We allow ourselves to become slaves to passion.  We develop unsustainable intimate relationships with people.

Of course, this doesn’t even look at the spiritual aspects.  When we succumb to fleshly desires we create conflict between the flesh and the spirit.  We bind ourselves to other flesh and create more conflict between that flesh and the spirit.

The reality is that sexual immorality creates many problems within us.  It pulls us away from God.  It makes it harder to seek righteousness and justice.  As Paul says, we should flee from it because it is not just an external sin but a sin that quickly seeps within and affects us from within, too.

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Year 8, Day 74: 1 Corinthians 5

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There is a really neat perspective that comes in an otherwise harsh chapter of Paul’s writing.  In his closing words of this chapter, Paul reminds us that if we are a part of the world then we will encounter sinfulness.  We are going to see worldly behavior in the world!  Imagine that!  It is a crazy idea to think that we will see worldly behavior in the world!

Why am I making such a big deal about this?  I think many Christians seek to avoid the world because we don’t want to become tainted.  I get that.  We do need to have places to which we can go to remain grounded in the faith.  But look earlier in the chapter.  Did you hear Paul say that if we were to seek to avoid contact with sin we would have needed to teach to abandon the world?  Yet, Paul doesn’t teach that.  We aren’t to abandon the world.  We are to acknowledge that when we go into the world then we are going to encounter sinfulness.  Jesus went out into the world, reached into a sinful people, and brought them into relationship with God.  That’s what we should expect to be called to do with respect to the world.

That being said, Paul does talk about expecting sin within the church.  We shouldn’t expect sin within the church.  The gathering of God’s people should be our safe place.  It should be our place where we go, find encouragement, grow in the faith, and experience love and grace instead of brokenness and sin.

This is why Paul comes off so harshly in this chapter.  Paul is worried because the sin is allowed to remain and even take root within the church!  It’s one thing to go out into the world and come into contact with sinfulness.  It is another thing to allow sin to take root and grow within.

We do need to be careful with this, however.  We are all sinners.  As the saying goes, churches are more like hospitals for the sick than museums for the saints.  Paul isn’t saying that every sinner should be cast out.  Who would be left within the church?  Paul is saying that sin should not be given room to prosper within the church.  Sin should be confronted.  Those who are not willing to confess the sin and work on it, especially when the sin is obviously present, should be dealt with accordingly.

Sinfulness will be present.  But it should be accepted.  It should be allowed.  And it should certainly not be given room to prosper.  It should be resisted.

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Year 8, Day 73: 1 Corinthians 4

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First of all, in this chapter we are reminded of the context of the letter.  Paul is not happy with the Corinthian church.  He is planning a visit to them, and he wants them to know that he can either come in fury or in peace.  If they continue to behave the way that they are, Paul will need to come and correct them with a firm hand.

We’ve spoken about what they are doing wrong.  They are choosing up sides and fighting amongst themselves.  They are favoring those of power and status while disfavoring those who are of lower status or insignificant in power.  They are basing the strength of their faith on the status of the person who helped bring them into the faith.  They have the wrong perspective.  The have the wrong priorities.

In contrast to this, look at how Paul talks about himself and those who work with him.  They are called to live opposite to the world.  When the world scorns them, they bless the world.  When the world looks upon them, they look like fools.  When the world is handing out honor, Christ’s followers get disrepute.  When they are hungry and tired, the world treats them as though they are homeless and don’t belong.  The list goes on, but the point is clear.

To follow Christ means to embrace His ways.  It means to prioritize life according to what He values.  It means to embrace the same kind of scorn and abuse from the world that Christ took on the cross.  It means to be looked at by the world in the same way that world looked at Christ.  That’s what apostleship is all about.

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Year 8, Day 72: 1 Corinthians 3

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When I read the third chapter of 1 Corinthians, I am struck by two thoughts.  The first thought is the more literal of them.  We are human beings working on Gods plan.  What difference does it matter what my role is?  Why do human beings insist on letting jealousy have a place in their heart when it comes to God’s kingdom?  Is it not enough to be blessed by being involved in God’s will in the first place?  Why do we worry about who we know, who trained us, or what power we wield within the body of Christ?

When we boil down truth, there are just a few really important truths.  None of us earn our salvation.  Every single person who finds salvation does so because of the grace of God.  If God uses me to help a person find Him, He deserves the credit!  If someone powerful in the faith mentors and teaches me, He deserves the credit!  It is God who is the central figure in the faith.

That leads me to a second thought.  What role am I actually playing in God’s kingdom?  When Paul speaks of building, he talks about building with materials that will stand the test of God’s judgment.  So, I need to ask a simple question.  Is what I am doing as a response to God going to last through His judgment?  Am I doing what He desires of me – and therefore building with good materials – or am I following my own desires – and thus building with materials that will not last?  When I teach, am I teaching truth or am I teaching the lies that people want to hear?  When I mentor, are people drawing closer to God or am I drawing them closer to a God in my or their own image?

When we begin analyzing our lives and stripping away that which isn’t of Him, we really should get to the heart of the issue.  Popularity isn’t important when it comes to the kingdom.  Status isn’t important.  Social standing isn’t important.  What is important is that God is the central figure and I am living in obedience to Him.  When that happens, I am building with materials that will last under His judgment.

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Year 8, Day 71: 1 Corinthians 2

Theological Commentary: Click Here

As Paul moves into chapter 2 of his letter, he talks about how he came to Corinth.  Notice a few things.  First, Paul did not make himself a burden on anyone.  He worked for his living rather than depending on the donations of other people.  He didn’t rely on popularity or social pressure.  What Paul relied upon was his words.  To those whom his words made sense, Paul taught deeply.  To those who scorned his words, he moved on.

What did Paul teach?  Paul teaches what he calls a mystery.  In calling it a mystery, Paul is acknowledging that we as human beings cannot comprehend it.  We can make approximations.  We can make comparisons through simile and metaphor.  We can make grow into a more complete understand by starting with basics and growing into the depth.  But to even Paul the message of the cross is a mystery.

Therefore, the point of Paul’s teaching isn’t to look for people who master it.  What Paul looks for are those whoa re curious.  He is looking for the people who want to partake of the journey knowing that complete understanding will elude us.  He is looking for people who are teachable.  He is looking for people who are willing to grow, learn, stretch, and pass along what they have learned along the way.

This leads us to the conclusion.  Paul tells us that those who are not in the spirit cannot understand.  However, those who are in the spirit make judgments about all things regarding what is right.  This is why he is looking for people who realize that he teaches a mystery.  When we realize we cannot understand God’s hand at work fully, we realize the importance for being humble.  When we are humble, we are in the best place to make judgements.  We can make judgments humbly and with respect instead of arrogantly and with self-righteousness.

Note, however, that Paul assumes that making judgments is a given.  Followers of God will have to make judgments.  Paul says we will make judgments about all things.  We need to know what is right and wrong.  But we must do so in humbleness, knowing that we cannot fully comprehend as we make such judgments.

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Year 8, Day 70: 1 Corinthians 1

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Today we jump to the New Testament as we tackle another of Paul’s letters.  The letters to the Corinthians are a great mix of teaching and correction.  Above all else, though, they are written in love.  If Paul didn’t care about the Corinthians, he would not have written.

As for Paul’s love and encouragement, look at what Paul tells the Corinthians.  They are a congregation who knows no lack.  They have all of the gifts of God present among them.  They are rich in the Spirit of God!

They are not without their problems, however.  It’s said that wherever you have 5 people gathered, you have no less than 7 opinions.  Humans beings love to have controversy.  We love to think about ourselves.  We love to seek glory.  We love to seek power and control.

What that often means is that the more richly we are blessed the more prone we are to arguments.  When a group is underequipped, they must band together and appreciate each others’ strengths.  When we are abundantly equipped, we have more than we need and we can then be critical of those whom we allow ourselves to not value.  It’s a sad reality among human beings.

How does Paul try to teach into this situation?  Paul reminds them that they should be united in Christ.  He tries to get them to realize that they are in the same body.  He tries to show them that they should not take God’s blessing and turn it into an opportunity for conflict.

We are one in Christ.  We should be more united by the essentials of God’s love than broken by our human uniqueness.  We should be brought together under the cross of Christ and thus freed to be unique in God’s calling.

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Year 8, Day 69: Esther 9 & 10

Theological Commentary: Click Here

In the end of the book of Esther, we hear the conclusion of the story.  There is an uprising against the Jewish people in the kingdom of Persia.  However, the Jews resist the uprising.  They not only resist, but they win the day.  The enemies of the Jews are vanquished; the uprising comes to an end.  Mordecai is elevated in the kingdom.

What I find noteworthy about this story is that the Jews do not take any of the plunder.  I think that there are two reasons for this.  Naturally, there is the high spiritual road.  The Jews would hopefully stay away from the corruption and taint of the world.  Why risk incorporating the evil that led a group of people to hatred into your own culture?

The second reason is the high ethical road.  The Jews did more than what was permissible.  It was permissible for them to defend themselves.  It was permissible for them to kill those who came against them.  It would also be permissible for them to claim spoils of that struggle.  The Jews, however, did not do this.  They avoided the plunder.  They defended themselves and stayed away from the plunder. They took the high spiritual road and the high ethical road.

I think that this is a place for us to stop and reflect, especially in our modern world.  The modern culture is growing less and less concerned with what is right and more and more concerned with what is permissible.  We care less about doing the right thing and care more about what I can get away with.  That isn’t an attitude that God’s people have.  God’s people lift themselves up above the standards of the world and try to live by the standards of God.

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Year 8, Day 68: Esther 8

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Today we begin to wrap up this story.  Haman is dead.  King Xerxes gives Haman’s estate to Esther to manage.  Mordecai is promoted into the service of the king.  A story that started in grave danger has been reworked and retold so that it is a victory story.

However, there is still work to be done.  An edict from the king cannot be rescinded.  King Xerxes has given permission to anyone who wants to rise up against the Jews to do so.  Esther once more risks her livelihood and goes before the king.  She seeks an audience so that a new edict would be written.

The king has grace.  He extends the scepter once more to Esther.  He grants Esther her request, and even allows Mordecai to draft the request in his name.  The request is sealed.  The Jews now have the ability to assembly and defend themselves.

In the end, what I am left with in this chapter is simply the providence of God.  God knew Haman’s heart from the very beginning.  God was bothered by the fact that the story looked bleak for His people.  God knew he would take Haman’s pride and turn it around into glory for His people.  God’s providence is such that in seven short chapters – through two bold acts of Esther – the story is completely changed.  The Jews are praised.  God is sovereign.  A tragedy has been averted and changed into a divine comedy.

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Year 8, Day 67: Esther 7

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Haman dies.  Haman dies by being staked to his own pole. Haman dies on the very thing that he had erected in order to kill Mordecai.  Yesterday I talked about irony.  Today we see its tragic end.

The deeper part of this story, though, is why Haman dies.  He is truly his own undoing.  He dies because he forces wrath upon him.  In his anger, he had the king make an edict against a whole race of people, none of whom save Mordecai had ever really done anything to him.  Even Mordecai’s great sin was simply not deferring to him.  It’s not like Mordecai actually did anything to him.

In this light, Haman dies because of his pride.  Haman dies because he takes a reasonably small offense and turns it into a far more significant deal than he deserves.  Haman dies because he takes a small sin of one person and magnifies it into a personal hatred against a broad spectrum of people.  Haman allows his pride to turn into prejudice.

Haman makes bad decisions because of his pride.  He makes errors in judgment because he refuses to look past a small offense.  He ends up dying because he won’t take the time to even find out why Mordecai won’t behave like the people around him.  In the end, Haman dies because he is so focused on himself, his pride, and his glory that he doesn’t even see the enemies that his pride and his quest for glory is making.

To be honest, I think this is a flaw that most of us can learn from.  I know it is a flaw that I can learn from.  Sometimes I get so focused on myself and my life that I don’t realize how the people around me are reacting.  We should always consider the people around us and how our actions might affect them.  We should always stop to consider why the people around us act the way that they do.

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Year 8, Day 66: Esther 6

Theological Commentary: Click Here

In Esther 6, we get to see a great irony.  The king can’t sleep, so he goes out for some light reading.  He has the old records brought forth and read.  As he reads, he hears about Mordecai, who saved the king from treason. He decides now makes a great time to honor the man.

In walks Haman.  Haman has come to the king to talk about killing Mordecai.  After all, Haman has gotten some good personal time with the king lately.  He thinks he has the king’s ear.  When the king asks Haman what should be done to a person with whom the king delights, Haman naturally assumes that he is talking about him!  Therefore, Haman trumps up a big festival all of all kinds of pomp, circumstance, and splendor.

In walks irony.  Haman came to talk to the king about killing Mordecai.  Once he arrives, he is put in the situation of thinking that he is planning his own festival.  The king then informs Haman that it is his job to go out and make sure that he does everything that he said for Mordecai.  Haman has to honor the very man that he wants to kill!  The king tells Haman to not omit a single detail.

What I find interesting about this is how often God works this way.  When we are humble, we give God to opportunity to lift us up as He sees fit.  When we are proud and make our own plans, we don’t give God room.  Therefore, God’s remaining option is to bring us into humility.  That’s what happens here.  God bring Haman into humility because Haman has become proud and is acting in pride.

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