5/26/09 - 1 Corinthians 16, Part 2

This chapter of 1 Corinthians addresses appropriate ways of acknowledging those who labor in the faith for the benefit of the church. Paul makes some requests on his own behalf and also exhorts other brothers (Timothy, Apollos, Stephanus, etc) who would serve the Corinthians while giving instructions on how to treat them. The key takeaways, however, that I drew from this chapter were addressed more indirectly. The first I discussed yesterday and the second is found in verses 8 and 9:

"But I will tarry in Ephesus until Pentecost. For a great and effective door has opened to me, and there are many adversaries."

The study notes in my Bible explain that perhaps no new testament church had such fierce opposition as the one in Ephesus. In Acts 19:23-41 we see the story of an Ephesian idol maker who caused an uproar among the people because Paul preached that the idols were not gods and had no power, and therefore cutting right into his revenue stream. 2 Corinthians 1: 8-10 also describes trouble he faced in this region. In the face of all this, Paul's response was to delay his trip to Corinth because 'a great and effective door' had opened. Here's where the challenge is: when we encounter people who don't have much concern for God and may even be a little hostile toward Him, do we view that as an opportunity or as an uncomfortable moment we'd rather avoid?

God, let me be aware of such opportunities today. As I encounter co-workers and strangers who do not know you today, grant me a spirit of boldness to take the time to share the gospel, or even a word of encouragement, with them instead of taking my usual course of action - nothing. Produce in me a willingness to mention you, even when the situation seems uncomfortable. You said that faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Let me be Your voice today, proclaiming your truth.

5/25 - 1 Corinthians 16, Part 1

Praise God for a holiday! I mean, I love having a job and all, but ain't nothing wrong with a day off. Shout out to all the troops who have lost their lives and those who currently risk their lives for this country. Today's chapter has an exhortation for them - "Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong" (v. 13).

Today is a reminder for me that no chapter in the Bible should be taken lightly. The final chapter in Paul's letters is usually a bunch of final instructions and what you could consider 1st century shout-outs. I usually just breeze through them, and today I had full intentions on skimming through this last chapter to get to a chapter that had some 'real meat.' Silly me...I suppose God isn't as arbitrary as I played Him off to be. Every word in the Bible is there for a reason.

Never knew this before, but verses 1 - 2 is where the modern church gets the concept of worshipping on the first day of the week and giving offerings on a weekly basis. It also hits on a concept that is left open to interpretation (likely on purpose in my opinion). Verse 2 reads: "On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, so that there be no collections when I come"

There's actually no specified amount of giving in the New Testament. Paul suggests giving "as you may prosper." There's several ways you can take that information, but I'd venture to say that it encourages us to give more rather than less. Most struggle with this but for some, giving 10% of their income is not much of a sacrifice and is rather easy to give up. In all honesty, I'll add myself to the latter group and offer the encouragement not to get satisfied with your offering. We tend to give as long as it doesn't impinge on our standard of living. This probably isn't sacrifice. And by probably, I mean definitely. Consider this verse:

"King David replied to Araunah, 'No, I insist on paying the full price. I will not take for the Lord what is yours, or sacrifice a burnt offering that costs me nothing" - (1 Chronicles 21:24)

When we get a raise, pay off a bill, get a tax return, or in other words "as we may prosper," are we considering how much more we're able to give with our newly found income? Consider the fact that, even if you have none of these sort of boosts in income, you're living in America and are still pretty prosperous. God deserves a meaningful sacrifice, not just the extra that we may get or, in other words, our leftovers. We just reviewed this concept in a recent Bible study and that was about the part I started feeling really convicted. Not saying you should....I'm just sayin'. It's easy to fall into the 'I'll tithe when I hit the numbers' spirit, but when we consider that all we have is from the Lord, it is a very reasonable response to offer Him back a little thanks in the form of sacrifice. Not what you will be able to do, but what you can do right now.

My prayer today is that God will work on my heart, that 'as I prosper' I'll be moved to worship and willingly give Him a meaningful sacrifice. That I will fully buy in to the concept that everything truly belongs to God and that my material desires don't compare to what He has in store for those who love Him. I pray for the desire to even want to love God like that. That I'll learn from King David and never again consider offering God something that costs me nothing. Father, you're way more valuable than I've given you credit for. Thank you for this lesson. In Jesus name.