Friday Thought – December 16, 2016

Good Morning Friends,

NOTE: I started writing a Monday through Friday morning devotional in 1996 and have written them ever since. With retirement coming Sunday, I’ve decided to lay down this ministry, too. It’s been my pleasure to offer these brief words of encouragement and insight. I appreciate all the positive comments I’ve received through the years. Blessings -- Steve

“There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.” (1 Corinthians 12:4-7)

No two of us are alike. Our preferences are different. Some like traditional music, some contemporary. Some prefer peace and quiet, some want activity and noise. Some like to read and study, some like to work with their hands doing something practical.

Our skills and abilities are different, too. Some don’t mind speaking to a large group and others wouldn’t do that for any reason. Some can add numbers quickly in their head and others struggle to do it with a calculator. Some can listen to a furnace and immediately diagnose the problem and some can’t even figure out how to work the thermostat. Some can comfort a crying baby and bring it peace and others seem to set the babies crying just with a look.

We’re different --- different preferences, different skills and abilities. God has designed us for different places and different tasks in His kingdom and He has provided what we need for those places and tasks. Each of us is made different by God, but in each of us it is His power that works in us in the unique ways He has made us. While each of us works in a different way, we all are working for the same goal --- to glorify and please the Lord.

We don’t have to all be alike. In fact, God accomplishes far more through us because we are all different!

His, by Grace, Steve

Thursday Thought – December 15, 2016

Good Morning Friends,

“For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, ‘This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.’ Whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” (1 Corinthians 11:23-26)

The Lord’s Supper has at least four purposes.

We remember what the Lord has done for us. We are so prone to forget. We get caught up in the activity and stress of life. Our hectic schedules give little time to focus on the Lord and His grace. Regularly coming to the Lord’s Table guards against our tendency to forget His grace and love.

We proclaim the importance of what Jesus has done for us. We proclaim it to ourselves as an act of recommitment to Him. We proclaim it to other believers so that they will be reminded of what Christ has done for them. We proclaim it to nonbelievers who are in the assembly with us. It is not music, peaceful quietness, or friendship that brings us to the assembly, it is the Lord’s death that brings us.

We examine our lives and are drawn to repentance. “A man ought to examine himself before he eats the bread and drinks the cup.” (1 Cor. 11:28) The reminder of the sacrifice of Jesus to bring us forgiveness causes us to look deeply into our own heart and allow Him to cleanse us of the sin we find there.

We reaffirm and proclaim our unity with other believers. A few verses later Paul says we are to “recognize the Lord’s body” when we partake. We remember Him and His sacrifice, but we also remember His earthly body, the church. As we partake together we remember that we are joined by His great sacrifice to all others who have received Him.

His, by Grace, Steve

Wednesday Thought – December 14, 2016

Good Morning Friends,

“Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ. I praise you for remembering me in everything and for holding to the teachings, just as I passed them on to you.” (1 Corinthians 11:1-2)

Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes that there is “nothing new under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 1:9) That’s certainly true of our walk with Christ. Our relationship with Christ is not unique, we walk in a relationship that was passed to us by someone else and has been passed from generation to generation for 2,000 years. The teaching we receive today is not original. It, too, has been passed from one generation to the next since Christ walked the earth.

Paul was not providing an example to the Corinthians that was new with him. He was following Christ’s example. Paul’s teachings were not original with him. They were being passed on from him, having been handed to him by Christ. We follow teaching that has been validated by time and by generation after generation.

The teaching of Christ must be passed on to successive generations. Christ doesn’t come to each generation. He has entrusted His disciples with the responsibility of passing on the faith. Paul did that with his teaching. We, too, are responsible for teaching others.

Paul also did it through his example. What kind of example are you providing to those who are watching you? If the next generation were to follow the example of faith that you have set, would God be pleased?

His, by Grace, Steve

Tuesday Thought – December 13, 2016

Good Morning Friends,

“Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others.” (1 Corinthians 10:24)

“For, ‘The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.’” (1 Corinthians 10:26)

“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God -- even as I try to please everybody in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved.” (1 Corinthians 10:31-33)

Where is your focus?

God’s call on the life of a Christian is to die to self. That means our focus should no longer be on our own needs, our own desires, our own good. Instead, our focus should be on others and on the Lord.

The Lord deserves our focus. The world belongs to Him. We belong to Him. He deserves the service and the praise that we give to Him, and far more than we could ever give.

Others need our focus. There are many people around each of us who are lost. They are hopeless and helpless. To focus on ourselves when so many around us are spiritually dead is to ignore their great need and the opportunity that we have to do something about it. And besides the lost, there are also many other Christians around us in whose lives we could have a positive impact, if we would take the opportunity.

Paul’s focus was on the Lord and on those around him. That’s who he lived for. How about you – where is your focus?

His, by Grace, Steve

Monday Thought – December 12, 2016

Good Morning Friends,

“These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come. So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall! No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” (1 Corinthians 10:11-13)

The temptations are strong. Paul lists several that the people of Israel gave in to time and again: idolatry, sexual immorality, testing the Lord, and grumbling. We face those same temptations, and like the Israelites, most of us give in to them time and again.  How can we overcome those sins and learn to say “no” to the temptations?

One way is to be reminded of the example of the Israelites. The story of their sins is written down for our good. As we read and study about their lives, we see the disaster that they brought on to themselves when they gave in to the temptations.

Another way is to realize the danger of the temptations. We do ourselves a disservice when we think we are beyond the place where temptation can trouble us. No matter how mature we become, temptations are still there and they are still strong.

Realize you are not alone in the battle with temptation. You don’t face any temptations that are unique to you. Every human who is alive now faces similar temptations and every human already dead faced similar temptations when they lived.

Look to the Lord when you are tempted. He promises the temptations will not be more than you can handle. He promises to provide an escape route from every temptation. Look to Him for strength and keep your eyes open for the way of escape.

His, by Grace, Steve

Friday Thought – December 9, 2016

Good Morning Friends,

“For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered over the desert. These things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did.” (1 Corinthians 10:1-6)

Consider the blessings that the people of Israel received from God. They witnessed amazing miracles: the plagues by which they were released from slavery; the splitting of the Red Sea; the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire that guided them out of Egypt and toward the Promised Land; the miraculous provision of water, manna, and quail. These are just a few of the spectacular things God did for them to demonstrate His love for them and His power in their lives.

Despite the miraculous provision of God, they wandered away from Him, giving themselves to idolatry, immorality, and unfaithfulness to the Lord. As marvelous as those miracles were, they did not guarantee their spiritual growth and faithfulness.

God has also provided us with spectacular miracles: the amazing love of the cross; the marvelous examples of grace in the lives of people we know, including the grace to save a wretch like you; and the personalized work in your life in miraculous ways. These are God’s blessings of love for us. They demonstrate how much He cares for us and they are illustrations of His power in our lives.

They are not guarantees of our spiritual growth and faithfulness. The challenge to us is to look at the example of the Jews and recognize the danger, even when God has blessed us so marvelously. Then, to make a choice to keep setting our hearts on God and not on evil.

His, by Grace, Steve

Thursday Thought – December 8, 2016

Good Morning Friends,

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.” (1 Corinthians 9:24-27)

Spiritual growth requires discipline. Paul compares spiritual discipline to the discipline an athlete must have in order to be able to compete at his most effective level. Even the most skilled and most mature athlete diminishes his effectiveness when he does not have the discipline to train like he should.

Spiritual discipline protects us. Without it there is a danger that we will be disqualified from the prize. Peter makes the same point in his second letter. He provides a list of qualities we are to “make every effort” to add to our lives. He promises that if we will do that “they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 1:8) “For if you do these things, you will never fall.” (2 Peter 2:10)

Spiritual discipline protects us from falling away from the Lord. Spiritual discipline increases our effectiveness in serving Him. Those are two undeniable reasons for exercising discipline in our spiritual lives.

His, by Grace, Steve

Wednesday Thought – December 7, 2016

Good Morning Friends,

“Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.” (1 Corinthians 9:19-23)

Paul was a Roman citizen and that carried many rights. Those rights were important to Paul and he took advantage of them. At Philippi, Paul used his citizenship to force the officials to treat him better.

But Paul’s rights were not the most important thing in his life. Sharing the gospel with those who did not know Christ was more important than his rights. He willingly gave up his rights, his freedoms, and his desires in order to be able to share the gospel more effectively with the people around him.

We’re American citizens and we’re Christians. Both those distinctions carry a great many rights and privileges. Those rights and privileges are important to us. As Americans, we can use our rights to our advantage. As Christians we have freedom from the restrictions of the law and from many of the taboos that other religions have.

But those rights and freedoms must not be the most important things in our lives. The people around us should matter more to us than our rights and freedoms. We should be willing to lay aside our rights and limit our freedoms in order to help the people around us -- especially to be more effective in sharing the gospel with them.

His, by Grace, Steve

Tuesday Thought – December 6, 2016

Good Morning Friends,

“Yet when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, for I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! If I preach voluntarily, I have a reward; if not voluntarily, I am simply discharging the trust committed to me.” (1 Corinthians 9:16-17)

What compelled Paul to preach?

“Christ’s love compels us.” (2 Corinthians 5:14) Paul saw the great need of those who did not know Jesus and he was compelled to offer the Gospel to them.

He was also compelled by the call of God on his life. God had chosen him to be the apostle to the Gentiles, chosen him to preach the Gospel to them.

Those same two motivations should be at work in all of us. The love that Christ has for the world that sent Him to the cross should be in us, too. We should see the lost condition of the people around us and be compelled to share with them the hope in Christ that we have.

The call of God is also on our lives. We have not all been called to be apostles -- none of us has in this day. We have not all been called to travel the world sharing the Gospel. But we have all been called to be God’s ambassadors, His messengers of the Gospel. That call should compel us to share when God provides the opportunity for us to do it.

His, by Grace, Steve

Monday Thought – December 5, 2016

Good Morning Friends,

“Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that we all possess knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.” (1 Corinthians 8:1)

How do you make decisions about your actions? That is Paul’s question in this passage. Do you make your decision solely on the basis of what you know is your right, or do you make your decision taking by into account how your actions will affect the people around you?

The Corinthians had the right to eat food that had been sacrificed to idols. The idol was nothing and food sacrificed to it was not defiled. However, not everyone understood that and some would be offended, perhaps even caused to stumble back into idol worship if they saw a fellow Christian eating such food.

Paul had two points:

Eating the food or not eating the food would not affect a person’s relationship with God. They didn’t have to give up eating the food in order to please God or grow in their faith – “But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do.” (1 Corinthians 8:8)

Their actions should be governed by how they will affect those around them -- governed by love. “Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak.” (1 Corinthians 8:9)

The specific issue is no longer one that we face -- food sacrificed to idols is not something we deal with in our culture. But the principle remains valid: are you so concerned about your “rights” that you do things that hurt others?

His, by Grace, Steve

Friday Thought – December 2, 2016

Good Morning Friends,

“Each one should retain the place in life the Lord assigned him and to which God has called him. Was a man already circumcised when he was called? He should not become uncircumcised. Was a man uncircumcised when he was called? He should not be circumcised. Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing. Keeping God’s commands is what counts. Were you a slave when you were called? Don’t let it trouble you -- although if you can gain your freedom, do so. For he who was a slave when he was called by the Lord is the Lord’s freedman; similarly, he who was a free man when he was called is Christ’s slave. You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men. Brothers, each man, as responsible to God, should remain in the situation God called him to.” (1 Corinthians 7:17-24)

Can you think of ways in which you wish your life was different? I’m not talking about sins that you wish you didn’t struggle with, I’m talking about circumstances beyond your control that you wish were different.

I know some women who wish they were men. They see the opportunities that men have and don’t see that women have the same opportunities. I also know some men who wish they were women -- for the same reason. The old proverb is true, “the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.”

Perhaps there are other times in history that you wish you had been born. Perhaps there are other places in the world in which you wish you had been raised. Would you like to change your ethnic background? Perhaps you’d like to be Jewish, or American Indian, or a part of some other ethnic group to which you do not belong.

Paul’s point in Corinthians is to take advantage of the opportunities God has given you, rather than spending your life wishing things were different. The “if only” syndrome rarely helps us accomplish more for the Lord. We accomplish what God wants when we set about to do His will where He has put us and with the resources He has given us.

His, by Grace, Steve

Thursday Thought – December 1, 2016

Good Morning Friends,

“To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband. But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. A husband must not divorce his wife. To the rest I say this (I, not the Lord): If any brother has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her. If a woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him. The unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy. If the unbeliever leaves, let him do so. A believing man or woman is not bound in such circumstances; God has called us to live in peace. How do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? How do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?” (1 Corinthians 7:10-16)

We live in a time when commitment and loyalty are rare. Denominational loyalty is almost non-existent in this generation. Brand loyalty is very difficult to develop and maintain, people are willing to switch products easily. Company loyalty is decreasing, with people willing to switch jobs and even careers to seek the best deal for themselves.

Some of those trends are good things, not bad. It is possible to be loyal to something out of tradition or inertia, rather than through a serious decision-making process.

That trend has some negative effects, too. It has affected marriage relationships and led to a rising rate of divorce. Husbands and wives seem less committed to their spouses and more willing to be on the lookout for a “better deal” or more attractive partner. At times, they justify their decision with “spiritual” reasons – “I want a spouse who will be the spiritual leader, not one who will drag me down.” That sounds good, but goes against the teaching of the Lord about commitment and loyalty.

God is pleased when people make a commitment and keep it.

His, by Grace, Steve