Good Morning Friends,
“Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith;
be men of courage; be strong. Do everything
in love. You know that the household of
Stephanas were the first converts in Achaia, and they have devoted themselves
to the service of the saints. I urge
you, brothers, to submit to such as these and to everyone who joins in the
work, and labors at it.” (1 Corinthians 16:13-16)
With these admonitions, Paul brought his
first letter to the Corinthians to a close.
Not everything Paul had written would have been easy for the Corinthians
to hear. Some of it was directly aimed
at problems that were present in their church.
But all that Paul had written came from a heart of concern for their
benefit. And these closing words come
from the same heart.
There are many things that can bring trouble
into the life of a Christian. Most of them
come from problems that start within us.
That’s especially true in our own day, few of us in this country face
persecution or suffering that comes from external sources. But all of us face temptations and forces
from within that pull us away from that which promotes spiritual growth and
health. The key to overcoming is to
guard ourselves and stand firm. Be aware
of the dangers, don’t take your spiritual life for granted.
Many of the difficulties and temptations each
of us faces come from our relationships with others. Our personalities clash. Our priorities and direction are
different. Our gifting causes us to see
things differently than others do. Pride
and envy enter the picture, too. So, we
have to take care to run all of our actions and attitudes through the filter of
love. Look at your relationships with
others, especially those that are difficult, and be sure your responses
demonstrate love.
Finally, our independent spirit and our pride
often make it hard for us to submit to leadership. Are our leaders more mature than we are? Why should we have to listen to them? But the bottom-line is that God is asking us
to follow those whom He appoints as leaders in the church. They are His instruments to accomplish His
work and they need our help, our support, our willingness to follow.
His, by Grace,
Steve
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