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Lord, please make these Your Words. Teach us and use this post for Your glory. Thank You for being an involved Loving God.
1 Cor. 2:6-16 Wisdom From the Spirit
We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. No, we speak of God's wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. However, as it is written:
"No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him"--
but God has revealed it to us by His Spirit.
The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but wisdom taught by the Spirit, expressing Spiritual truths in Spiritual words. The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are Spiritually discerned. The Spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man's judgment:
"For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?"
But we have the mind of Christ.
We saw in the last post that Paul did not want the Gospel to rely on the wisdom of man. He now goes more in depth in this passage. He writes that the Gospel is reliant on Spiritual wisdom. This is the wisdom that the rulers did not understand. A wisdom that evidently rulers today still do not understand. For they crucified Jesus Christ, and continue to persecute His people even today. Today, however, God has revealed it to many. To those who chose to accept that they are sinners and need Jesus Christ to save them. Those who believe in the Spiritual truth of what Jesus' death on the cross was really for. Those of us who accepted this free gift of Grace have now received the Holy Spirit. And this Spirit has revealed the nature of God to us.
What no eye had seen, no ear had heard, and what no mind had conceived was known by the Spirit since before time. The Spirit has always known the mind of God. This Spirit now shows us the truth about what God has freely given us: Joy, Peace, Love, eternal life, acceptance, it keeps going. The more connected with the Spirit we get, the more it reveals these gifts to us. As we grow in the Spirit, it also shows us what to do with these gifts. It shows us that we should use our eternal life as wisdom and comfort so we can live this life without fear and be willing to do anything God asks. The Spirit shows us exactly what God would have us do, and we can trust whatever it says because it knows the mind of the One who created us. The Holy Spirit knows what's best in each moment. So why do we ignore it so often?
Today we fill our lives with distractions that end up working in the world's wisdom. If we continue doing this than one thing will happen, the ways of the world will start to make sense. Sins can become more appealing to us. As a result, God's true Wisdom will seem more like foolishness to us. Studying His Word will seem like a waste of time compared to watching a new episode of some TV show or an internet video everyone is talking about on Facebook. Once it's time for game on at church, nothing will make sense. We can think that we know just what to say to get by in our Bible studies, but God sees right through it. Eventually, the people around us will too. Spiritual truths can only be Spiritually discerned. If we're not connected to the Holy Spirit, God's ways make no sense. It takes time an investment to have a deep connection with the Spirit of God. It takes discipline and a lot of time spent listening to God. Paul, the very writer of this letter, spent 3 years studying in his home town after his conversion. After the 3 years he went out and started the works God was calling him to do. He spent 3 years listening so that he would know what God's voice sounded like. How often do we listen today? Not enough by the looks of it. If we were, we'd see it.
The person that is connected to the Holy Spirit has 2 defining qualities when it comes to their interaction with the world around them. The first is that they can make judgments about all things in the world around them. They see the world through the Spirit's eyes. Therefore, they have the Spirit's understanding of what is right and wrong. They do not themselves declare what is right and what is wrong. Instead they hear what the Spirit says about the things around them. The spiritual person is then able to use this in declaration and action. The second quality is that no man is able to judge them. The person living by the Spirit is living the life that God created them to live. Telling that person they should live another way is like telling God that He was wrong. History in the Bible shows that it doesn't work out for the people who try to tell God that He's wrong. The Spiritual person has an understanding about the world around them, and can act on this understanding in the way God Himself predetermined. This person cannot be judged for they are the work of God that is doing the work of God. My question is, how many self professed Christians look like this?
I don't look very much like this at all. This I also believe is very characteristic today. If it weren't, the American portion of the Church would be much more active in the world. But instead, as many other authors today write, we all seem to be asleep. Day in and day out I find myself doing little compared to what I should. It's frustrating to see a lack of zeal in myself that should be there. I believe we need to take off the earphones and listen to God for once so that we can actually hear the truths from the Spirit we claim to be connected to. I believe that if we do this, we will be united and we will be used by God for something greater.
It all starts with listening to the Spirit. Cut out the distractions and listen. Pay attention. Then go out and do. Remember though, you are not alone in this. God is with you, and over time, the rest of the body of Christ around will be with you as well. 12 people came together and changed a world. Just like those 12 and like the Church in Corinth, it's out turn to do the same through the Holy Spirit. Why? Listen to the Spirit list off the reasons each day you continue. A list that will keep growing. And the very top will always have Jesus Death and Resurrection for you listed. There's every reason to go and do this.
Thank You For Reading
Long Live Jesus Christ
Amen
God, make these Your Words. We are what is not, and You are what makes us something. Thank You.
1 Corinthians 1:18-2:5 Christ Crucified is God's Power and Wisdom
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. For it is written:
"I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate." (Isaiah 29:14)
Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know Him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.
Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things--and the things that are not--to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before Him. It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God--that is, our righteousness, holiness, and redemption. Therefore as it is written: "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord." (Jer. 9:24)
And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God's power.
God is foolishness to the world and the world is foolishness to God. But only one can frustrate the other down to its very existence, and that's God. The world was made by God. Of course God can turn the tables on the world. If God wanted to, He could make gravity cease to exist. That would throw everything into chaos, but He really could. What we know cannot compare. That is why Paul gives a stage verse at the end of the first real paragraph. There is nothing foolish or weak about God. Repeat that: There is nothing foolish or weak about God! So why did Paul say that? The reason is that it is saying if there was, it would still be greater than the world's greatest portions. But if you take into account that God is only strong, how much difference is actually there between the world and God? I'd say an eternal amount of difference. Today people seek wisdom and signs, but they think they will find it in creation. Because they look at the creation itself they miss the creator, the actual source of true wisdom and all signs. And He's right in front of us all. God's ways are impossible to understand, His creation is the same. God's wisdom and power will be a stumbling block and foolishness to the world until the very end. But to us who believe, He is just what He is: Wisdom and Power. Jesus Christ is the ultimate form of God's power and wisdom here on earth. Jesus Christ and Him crucified are God's most complex Grace plan that is easily shared in a simple paragraph for a child to understand. He is power and that power is in the world to break down the wisdom and ways of the world that all of us might see our need for God. And when we see that we are not, God comes and makes us something new.
This is the start of the next paragraph of Paul's writings. We realize that we are not much when we are called. And that is because it is not just things that are not that follow God's call; it's the things that know they are not who answer His call. We change because God's wisdom frustrates ours and humbles us. In this world, the things that call themselves weak and live according to God's Word are seen as weak. So Paul is also right in saying that we are the lowly things and despised things of this world, because that is how the world sees us. They see us as foolish beings. But the reason they see us as foolish is because they see God's power in us. God puts Himself and His Love and Spirit in us to use us to shame the world. That is why the disciple system Jesus created works, because it isn't human wisdom and eloquence, it is God alone. When we let Him work in us, He shows the true power of the Gospel in things that are not, going out and shaming the world's standards. In the process we are made righteous, holy, and clean. As we let God work, He humbles us and shows us our nothing so He can put Himself in and make us something new. This new creation shames the world and humble it until it goes to God more and more. But today we break the chain reaction after we become new. We get complacent and we don't go out to let God do the work He wants to do with us.
We do what we want. Whether we're afraid of confronting the world, or we just want to spend our time and money on what we want. We're wasting God's efforts. He made us new so that He could use us to make others new. The only reason we're in Him is because He called us to Him. He wants to use us to call others. But we are refusing. There can't be any division in the church right? That's what we saw last. But there also can't be division in ourselves. We can't divide ourselves between earthly pleasures and God's will for us. You can't serve two masters. If you try, nothing will work. What does this mean? We have to choose God alone in each moment. That takes an understanding that God's way is the only way. John 14:6 Jesus replied, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." It comes back to the fact that Jesus Christ is the Wisdom and Power of God. It takes that understanding to be able to do anything in God. And it's the reason that we should only boast in Christ when anything is accomplished.
Paul tested this by resolving to know nothing but Jesus Christ and Him crucified when he went to the Corinthians. He was afraid to go and preach the Gospel, just like we Christians often get today when we feel the calling to share the Gospel at school, work, or anywhere. Paul wanted them to receive the Gospel, but that is all He wanted them to receive. Not Paul's preaching method or words. Paul wanted to stay out of the way, so He made the resolve. He preached Jesus Christ alone. And that became the power of God and the wisdom of God among the Corinthians. A church was established and many came to Christ. This still happens today. Ridding the preaching of our fancy talk and our involvement is like purifying precious metal. With the Gospel of Christ, it allows the Gospel to be the only thing that reaches the ones being reached out to. That is all that is needed to save someone, God's pure power and wisdom and Love. It is God that calls, saves, changes, and uses us.
This system is perfect because it is not just made by God, it is God. He is in charge of the whole thing. And we get to be made a part of it. In fact, we're not just part of it, we reap benefits from it. God blesses us with it and shows us a glory that is not worth comparing to any present sufferings or worldly pleasure. So let us be willing to be used by God for His work. Let us boast in Him alone when He does a new work. Let God use His wisdom and power to mold us and work to mold those around us just as He used His wisdom and power to mold the creation around us.
Thank You For Reading
Long Live Jesus Christ
Amen
Lord God, make these Your Words. May Your Gospel Message be shared not in eloquence of speech or with man's wisdom, but with Your own speech and Wisdom. Teach us Lord what we need to know. Amen.
Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Cor. 1:10-17 A Church Divided Over Leaders
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. My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe's household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean in this: One of you says, "I follow Paul"; another, "I follow Apollos"; another, "I follow Cephas"; still another, "I follow Christ."
Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, so no one can say that you were baptized in my name. (Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don't remember if I baptized anyone else.) For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the Gospel -- not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
A lot going on here. Paul had gotten word from a devout household in Corinth that the church there was divided by different followings of Christianity. Paul addressed this first because nothing else could be done until the church was united. Eph. 4:16 says, From Him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in Love as each part does its work. The body of Christ can only grow when every member is united and building each other up in Christ's Love. The body must be connected to Christ. This goes back to the last post where we found Paul thankful that the church in Corinth were saved and had the Holy Spirit working in them. They have the Spirit, now it's time to use it.
The division among the church seems to stem from members saying one teacher's way is different and more right than the others. Whether it's Apollos', Cephas', Paul's, or Jesus'. Paul finds this division so ridiculous that he asks his equally ridiculous rhetorical questions. "Is Christ divided?" "Was Paul crucified for you?" That's my personal favorite. Imagine your pastor having to ask you and the congregation, "Was I crucified for you?" Paul then takes the moment to take himself off the pedestal the church put him on. He tells them that Christ sent him to preach the Gospel. Now Paul was not an eloquent speaker. He saw that, and used it to God's advantage. He went out and preached the truth of the Gospel in its raw form of humble Love and mighty Grace. Paul let the Gospel speak for itself when he preached through the people who received it. The Spirit is the Gospel's own spokesman. Paul's job was to preach it in order to introduce it, like an announcer for the main event if you will. Paul also told the church that to preach it any other way would empty the cross of Christ and the Gospel of their power. The more man gets involved, the less that can be accomplished.
Division is dangerous because it is caused by an excess of human involvement and robs the Gospel of its power. Today the modern day church has division in both large and small scale. There are different types of Christianity and different churches based on the wants of man. Some of these followings are deemed unbiblical because of how worldly they are. They are focused on the single person's comfort. It's "feel good theology." The small scale is much more dangerous. This affects even the most Biblical church. I found that the largest source of division is in worship music. Of all things, music. Music that was gifted to the church by God through the hands of His musicians and writers. I've heard that one of the most stressful jobs in ministry is being a worship leader. You can't have too many hymn or too many contemporary songs or you could offend someone. And if you do offend someone, you hear about it in person or in letters or e-mails. When did a WORSHIP service become our personal Music Player? There's my "Paul question."
That was an example of what can break down a church. When man gets too involved, it can have consequences. We are one body and should be united as one. Without complaining or arguing or trying to get ours. So if we're not focused on us, what should we focus on? Each other. I've heard said that Christians should go to church not to be filled, but to fill others. We need to go in order to serve others and build them up in Love. When everyone does this, the body is made full as a whole and grows together. Division destroys the church, but service and Love unites and grows it.
When you get down to it, there was one reason the church of Corinth came together, and it's the same reason we do so today: Jesus Christ our Lord, and everything He did, is doing, and will do. My own church has been working on all of this for a while now. And it's growing even more awesome by the week. The more we step out of the way, the more God takes over and works. It takes a lack of worry and a Love for others to accomplish this. We can't be selfish, but selfless. Now I look around the sanctuary during a service and see 500 different faces and backgrounds around me and I think, we all have Jesus Christ in common. And if Jesus Christ is everything, we all have everything in common. Which is how we can all be deemed one in Christ. We all come from God, we are all living for God, and we are all going to God. Remember each part must do its part in the Spirit for the rest of the body, and then it will be united in Love and grow. Now let's each do our part. If you don't know what that is, seek God's Wisdom and guidance through prayer and follow Him patiently as you search for ways to serve Him. That's what I'm doing now. Join me in this Joyful walk.
Thank You For Reading
Long Live Jesus Christ
Amen
God, give us Your Words. Teach us the Truth within Your Truth. Please give us Your blessed Wisdom and Love in Your Speech. Take these hands and tongue to make this post Your own. Amen.
This is the start of a Corinthians series that I pray continue as long as God wants. What better way to start than with Paul's greeting to us all.
1 Corinthians 1:1-3
Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the Will of God, and out brother Sosthenes,
To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be His holy people, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ -- their Lord and ours:
Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Grace is pure Love, Joy, and Mercy. Peace is contentment, a lack of turmoil, and rest. May they be to you from our Father in Heaven.
1 Corinthians 1:1-9 Thanksgiving
I always thank my God for you because of His Grace given you in Christ Jesus. For in Him you have been enriched in every way -- with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge -- God thus confirming our testimony about Christ among you. Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
A series on the Church in Corinth seems fitting because the Church in much of the world now is very much like Corinth's back in the day. (Especially in America and Europe) Today we have much prosperity, but also a lot of complacency and immorality. The new age movement continues growing, but just like in Corinth, the Holy Spirit's influence grows too. And this is the source of Paul's thanks.
Paul's giving of thanks is always to God because he sees that all good things are from God. And His Spirit is very Good. Before he could give thanks for the Spirit he had to give thanks for the Grace that brings the Spirit. Paul thanks God for the Grace that He gave the Corinthians to bring them into His Kingdom. Jesus described the occasion of a sinner's repenting as a Joyful occasion that is celebrated in heaven by all who see it. In the same way I think we should celebrate and give thanks to God for the other saved people that are around us. Sing, shout, clap all you nations for the glory of God among you. His glory among us now is His Grace that saves us, and the Spirit it leads the way for.
Once saved, the Holy Spirit enters the new believer. It brings a hunger for God's Word, Will, Way, and Love. It enriches the believer and fills them with unexplainable gifts. The Corinthians were given gifts in speech and knowledge. They became a living testimony that Jesus Christ saves, and then brings evidence of Salvation through the works of the Holy Spirit. Paul gave thanks because they were an established church in a city of trade with all the world, and were showing the world that Jesus' Words were Truth. He was also thankful because it was evident that God did not abandon them despite the problems, but kept them firm in Him.
The Corinthians were practicing a lot of wrong teachings that are described in the rest of Corinthians, but they kept holding onto Jesus Christ. Paul gave thanks for this, because now there is an opportunity to teach them God's ways and encourage them to take the better paths. He starts the letter already thanking God that they will accept the lessons he hasn't even written yet and that they will hold firm to God. Paul has such confidence in God's power and Spirit among the Corinthians. God has taught me lately that the best way to show our faith in Him is to thank Him for His works among us before we even know what they are. Paul have a deep thankful faith in God's work among the Corinthians. Do we have that in His work here in our hometowns? Our states or regions? Our countries? Sadly I haven't had this. A big part of it I believe is because I haven't participated in it enough. Those who I see doing the work of God by His Spirit are the ones who have the confidence in God's work among peoples. Paul was thankful because he could see the reason to be thankful: God's Faithfulness.
Paul's involvement allowed him the first person experience of God Faithfulness among peoples. He grew thankful, willing to suffer, Joyful, and Loving through the Spirit as he went out to do its work in Faith. God has plans for each of us to fulfill through His Spirit. Paul knew what it was for the Church in Corinth and gave God thanks for it before he even started to write the plans out.
Giving thanks to God before we even begin to do the work God's prepared for us is key to its completion. That's the reason Paul's letters always have such thanks written in them. I am personally entering a time of change and preparation for a new chapter to do God's work. Wherever you are in that time, join me in giving God thanks for His Grace, His Spirit, and His work among us for His Glory.
Thank You For Reading
Long Live Jesus Chist
Amen
Lord, this servant's voice is Yours to use. Please takeover and speak the Words that You know we need to hear. I pray that we listen with open ears and accept the instruction You are giving. May we all follow Your ways through the ages.
Ephesians 4:22-24 says,
You were taught with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
The first question: What is the former way of "life?" The answer lies in the quotation marks. A false life; essence of death, that is sin. Through sin God taught us. He took our sins and showed us what they truly are. They separate us from God and kill the part of Him that dwells within us. It is regarding this former way of life that we are taught to remove all things that lead to sin. God teaches us that remaining with the things of our old life as part of the world corrupts us. Remembering the previous post, we see that the things of the world are meaningless and doomed to perish. That which finds death in the end, will corrupt us and lead us to our end in death. The desires we have in this life are for what what brings pleasure to our earthly natures. But these things are deceitful. They are desires that teach us how to make treasure out of rust and decay. We are not to seek the world. We own nothing in it. We control nothing in it. Nothing in this world can truly benefit us. God aims to teach us this by transforming our minds.
The force that brings the most change is God's Love. It was through His Love that Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross for all of us. It is through His Love that our minds are changed. He teaches us through the repetition in the Bible. The repeated themes of His Power, Mercy, and Love are always repeated throughout the Bible. Even if many details seem to be missing and there are many mysteries in His Words, these themes are always present. They are always present so that the believer's mind might be changed and imbedded with the truths. God is Almighty. God is Merciful. God is Love. Our mind is changed and these truths become the foundation of all our logic. Our attitudes are turned from the world toward God and eternal life. Through the reading of the Word, Love and Mercy become the new mindset. If a mind is not basing its thoughts on the Biblical themes, then it is not renewed. It is still operating in the realm of worldliness, sin, and death. It is through study of the Bible that the mind is made new. With a new mindset, comes a new way of living.
As the old self is removed and the mind is made new, we become something new. We put on the new self that God created through the death and resurrection, and the joining of the Holy Spirit with our own. We become a new creation that does not die. This new creation was made to worship God by living according to His example that was set by Jesus Christ. We put on this new self with the desire to be like Christ our God. We pick a righteous and holy life over our death with the world. This life begins the moment we believe and is set to never end. It is the beginning of an eternal life. Our issue is that when we start, we are still on earth in mortal bodies with a sinful nature. Therefore, God gives us Grace through Jesus Christ.
Jesus Himself was tempted in his years on earth. He knows the power of the flesh over those who have fallen to it. He gives us grace when we sin. The grace is accepted through our hatred of our revealed sin, understood through the logic of our new mindset, and applied with the new self we have put on. It is seeing all of this that it is written in Ephesians 4:27, "and do not give the devil a foothold." I have found a foothold to be anything that leads to sin. It could be a small thing like watching a TV show, to something large and tempting. You can look at yourself to know what is your great temptation. A sin is anything that leads us from God. A foothold leads us to what leads us from God. I believe all footholds to be sin. This strict mindset is needed. A foothold is attractive because of its size. There is no harm in watching a single episode of a TV show right? It hurts no one. But what does it lead to? As the mind is transformed by God's Word, we see the immoral aspects of the show. We see what the 30-60 minutes of time could actually be used for. But still, it really didn't hurt anyone. As we take on more footholds however, the wasted time builds up, and the immoral ideas of the world penetrate our minds again. The mind is slowly brought back to what it was before, and the old self begins to show itself in us again. We soon remember that the word "foothold" means a stable point a person can grab onto in order to reach the goal. The "person" is the devil, and his "goal" is our most feared sin. The sin that takes us from God, and that truly brings us to our most ruined state. We all have one. Mine like many others is sexual immorality. The sin that attacks inside our hearts. Once this feared sin is committed, it feels like the long journey we have taken to be with God in this life has just been turned to nothing. It takes much prayer and renewing of mind to move us past our feelings of guilt and death. For myself, a small foothold is not worth this grief.
I choose to leave the things I find to be footholds behind. It can be hard. Footholds tend to be the simple pleasures that allow us to relax despite to issues and pains we feel when we face the world. Relaxing with a couple recorded shows on my dvr after work was hard to give up. I still have trouble with it. But when I read God's Word and see how pointless and dangerous it is, I see that it is a foothold and it is dangerous. We are Christians, we should not turn to world to make us feel better. And we should not be ignoring the issues of the world, no matter how upset and troubled they make us. It is better to put off the old self and be made new in mind and heart and body and soul. Only when these are renewed can we use them to serve our God properly. God knows your needs as well. He has provided me with better ways to relax after work. Praying for those who trouble me, reading and indulging in His Word, singing the songs He has blessed me with. He knows our needs and satisfies us in ways that the footholds cannot. The footholds are not worth what they cost.
Thank You For Reading
Long Live Jesus Christ
Amen
Lord God, please make these Your Words, not mine. Teach all of us the lesson You desire to impart through this passage. And be glorified through its practice. Thank You. Amen.
1 Timothy 6:3-10 says,
If anyone teaches false doctrines and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, he is conceited and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicious and constant friction between men of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain.
But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
I haven't been writing anything Christian based for the past four months. What I have been doing is taking seven college classes and working a job to pay for stuff. I put some services for the church on hold, and even stopped attending church for a month. I pursued two things in the past four months, money and knowledge. I wanted A's in my classes and paychecks to buy stuff with. I pursued them both while reading the Bible everyday with a blank look on my face and saying, "I read today. I'm a Christian. I'm good." Wrong. I wasn't listening to God. That became evident yesterday when I was unwilling to help a stranger for a couple of minutes. I was disappointed in myself. I asked God why I was so unwilling to help him. God gave me my answer. For the past four months I wasn't pursuing God. I was pursuing my A's and paychecks. I was living by the parts of Scripture that got me what I wanted. As I gained knowledge in my classes and earned my paychecks my pride grew and I thought more of my actions. My belief that Grace could be earned grew. As I gained more I wanted more. I wanted to waste more money and time. I wanted more knowledge of music from my classes to show off to others. In the end, I wanted a richer future for myself each day. I was the definition of lukewarm.
Everyone can fall into this temptation, for I have learned that no one is above any temptation. How can someone fall into this lukewarm living? Just the way I did. Take the credit. I did the homework and got the A's. It's not like God was the One who opened my mind to take in the knowledge. He didn't allow me to understand it and spit it back out on my papers and instruments. And of course it wasn't God who gave me the strength and ability to do my job well. Right? Again, wrong. I took the credit for what God was doing. I became conceited. When we become conceited we focus on ourselves and the world. There is no room for God in our narrow view. Over time, as we focus on ourselves and the world, we lose the understanding that God and His Love are the reasons for all life. The ultimate result is that we understand nothing. I am thankful to God for clearing the pride to show me that this is who I was becoming. Eventually I would have been another person bent on using Christianity for my own gain. I would've been absorbed by my worldly desires and my pursuit for money.
The reason I went to college was to get myself a better job so I could make more money. There is nothing wrong if this is the path God has set for you and you're following Him to where it takes you. But to go down this path for the money itself is going to lead to more and more sins. Wanting to get rich leads us to temptations, traps, and foolish and harmful desires that will plunge us into ruin and destruction. It's clear in this passage that the pursuit of riches in this world will only result in a sinful and painful life. There is emptiness in selfishly gaining money. And it all leads to the love of money.
The love of money is our willingness to do anything for money. We are willing to give up our stuff, our lives, our friends and family, our bodies, and God. I realize now that the previous list of what we give up should actually start with God. I didn't change it because I thought it better to point out the fact that in order to start pursuing anything of this world, we first have to stop pursuing God. The love and pursuit of money is the want of the money and all the worldliness it brings. But the Love and pursuit of God is the want to be like Jesus Christ, and to be with Him.
Paul writes that godliness, the pursuit of being like Christ, and contentment are great gain. In contrast, the love of money and pursuit of riches and worldly gain leads to ruin and destruction. Contentment, the desire for what one already has, it what brings gain. So the trick to this is to be content with all the stuff we already have. So what do we have? I would say whatever we brought into the world and whatever we can take out of it. See what Paul did there? The stuff we have in this world is not ours. We own none of it. So what do we have? We have what God our creator gave us: Himself. We have God for now and forevermore. When we focus on the value of owning the Grace and Love of our Mighty God, the things of this world become just what King Solomon called them in Ecclesiastes, Meaningless! (Ecclesiastes 1). All that is left is God and our desire to be like Him and to be with Him. Paul felt content with God alone. He was able to say with confidence that if we have food and clothes we can be content with that. That is not counting any money, a job, or even a roof over our heads. All we need is God.
Now this doesn't mean to throw everything out and become a wandering homeless person preaching the Gospel. Unless that's what you're called to be by God, then bless you. The answer is what we are called to do and what we are supposed to use for God's glory. To pursue the things of this world is sinful. To use the stuff God has lent to you in your pursuit of Him is service. We are all called to serve our God with the gifts He has given us by His grace (Romans 12:3-8). This is our spiritual act of service and worship.
The pursuit of riches and the love of money will only destroy us. Being content with having God and pursuing godliness will lead to life. Remembering that we can't bring anything into the world or take anything out of it is key in knowing what we have. We own nothing in this world, but God is not of this world. So if we focus on what is unseen, God Almighty, then we can easily turn away from what is seen, which is temporary (2 Corinthians 4:18). Always ask at the beginning and ending of each day, "What do I have? What am I pursuing? What do I Love?" IF the answer isn't Jesus Christ, ask Him why. He gives the best answers.
Thank You For Reading
Long Live Jesus Christ
Amen
