Devotions

destruction sent

Posted on April 15, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

1 Corinthians 10:9-11

1Co 10:9 We should not test Christ, like some of them did, and they were destroyed by the snakes.

1Co 10:10 Nor should you complain, just like some of them complained, and they were destroyed by the destroying angel.

1Co 10:11 Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down to warn us, on whom the end of the ages has arrived.

destruction sent

In both examples that Paul mentioned here, God’s response to wrong behaviour from those who profess his name is the same. The means of the response is different, but the response is the same. God send destruction as a punishment. Jesus says that we should fear God, because he is able to destroy soul and body in hell. That is exactly what he will do. Hell is not designed to keep anyone alive. It kills forever.

LORD, we seek to follow Christ. Save us from the eternal destruction that those without Christ will experience.

Posted in destruction in hell, fear, wrath of God | Tagged 1 Corinthians 10 | Leave a comment

entertaining ourselves to death

Posted on April 14, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

1 Corinthians 10:6-8

1Co 10:6 These catastrophic judgments happened as examples for us, so that we would not lust for evil things the way they lusted for evil things.

1Co 10:7 Do not become idolaters, like some of them, just like the scripture says “the people sat down to eat and drink and got up to entertain themselves.”

1Co 10:8 We should not commit sexual sin, like some of them committed sexual sin, and 23,000 died in a single day.

entertaining ourselves to death

The story is told in Numbers chapter 25. It seems that some Moabite prostitutes were quite effective in luring Israelite men into both promiscuity and idolatry. The result was that God sent a plague. God’s anger was not appeased until Israel’s judges had killed all the men who had so sinned. Altogether, there were 24,000 who died in the plague, so it must have lasted more than a day.

The problem in Corinth was the same. The believers were being tempted to entertain themselves the same way as the others in their culture did. Paul’s word to them – and all of us – is that such entertainment is deadly.

LORD, may we find our pleasure in obeying your will, not in transgressing it.

Posted in idolatry, rebellion, sexuality | Tagged 1 Corinthians 10 | Leave a comment

playing along

Posted on April 13, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

1 Corinthians 10:1-5

1Co 10:1 Because I do not want you to miss this, brothers — the fact that all our fathers were under that cloud, and all had passed through that sea.

1Co 10:2 And they all had been baptized in that cloud and in that sea for Moses,

1Co 10:3 and they all ate the same spiritual food he provided,

1Co 10:4 and they all drank the same spiritual drink. Because they drank from a spiritual rock that accompanied them, but the rock was Christ.

1Co 10:5 Yet God decided against many of them, because they met with catastrophe in the desert.

playing along

Paul had been explaining to the Corinthians that following Christ takes hard work and discipline. Now he warns them about their Jewish ancestors who had decided that just being part of a religious community would be enough. They showed up at all the meetings, were baptized like all the rest, and ate and drank all the appropriate religious food and drink. They had done all the external things to indicate that they had decided for God. But he had not decided for them. Paul is warning against hypocrisy within the church. Merely playing along leads to catastrophe.

LORD, strengthen our resolve to dedicate our lives to the faith we profess – faith in Christ our rock.

Posted in commitment, communion, discipleship, faithfulness, hypocrisy | Tagged 1 Corinthians 10 | Leave a comment

run to take the prize

Posted on April 12, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

1 Corinthians 9:24-27

1Co 9:24 Do you not know that all the runners in a stadium are running, but one receives the prize? So run to take the prize.

1Co 9:25 And each competitor must exercise all his self-control; they run to receive a mortal wreath, be we run for an immortal prize.

1Co 9:26 So I do not run uncertainly; I do not box like one who beats air.

1Co 9:27 Instead, I wear out my body and enslave it; so that after preaching to others, I myself will not be disqualified.

run to take the prize

The prize in the athletic games in Paul’s time was usually a wreath made of foliage. It was literally a mortal wreath because the vegetation would eventually decay and fall apart. Not so, the prize that we Christians are after. Paul encouraged the believers in Corinth to join him in seeking an immortal prize: the coming kingdom and immortality itself.

LORD, make us athletes fit for the ultimate prize.

Posted in commitment, eternal life, kingdom of God, perseverance | Tagged 1 Corinthians 9 | Leave a comment

partnering in the product

Posted on April 11, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

1 Corinthians 9:18-23

1Co 9:18 What then is my wages? That, when I evangelize, I may offer the gospel without charge, so as not to make full use of my right as regarding the gospel.

1Co 9:19 Because although I am free from all, I made myself a bondservant to everyone, in order to gain more of them.

1Co 9:20 I became to the Jews like a Jew to gain the Jews. To those under the law, like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law) to gain those under the law.

1Co 9:21 To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law.

1Co 9:22 I became weak to the weak in order to gain the weak. I have become all things to all people, so that by all means I may save some.

1Co 9:23 And I do all things for the sake of the gospel, that I may become a sharing partner in its product.

partnering in the product

Paul had argued from scripture that people involved in the harvest should not be muzzled. In other words, they should be supported financially by the church. But, as for himself, Paul says that he does not avail himself of that right. So, he asks and answers the question about his wages. He says his wages is seeing new people come to Christ. That is how he participates as a partner in the product of the gospel.

LORD, make us so eager to gain people for your kingdom that it becomes for us the wages we live for.

Posted in evangelism, ministry, missions, Uncategorized | Tagged 1 Corinthians 9 | Leave a comment

entrusted with a stewardship

Posted on April 10, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

1 Corinthians 9:15-17

1Co 9:15 But I have not made use of these rights. And I have not written these things for it to become so for me, because it would be better to die than for someone to take away my bragging right.

1Co 9:16 Because if I am merely announcing the gospel, I have no ground for bragging about that, since I am obligated to do that, because tragedy will come to me if I do not announce the gospel.

1Co 9:17 Because if I were doing this on my own, I would deserve wages. But this is not my doing. I am entrusted with a stewardship.

entrusted with a stewardship

Paul thought of himself and his ministry slightly differently than he thought of the others who were announcing the gospel of Christ’s coming kingdom. They had chosen to preach Christ of their own free will – but not him. He was a bondservant of God, entrusted with the responsibility to manage the affairs of his master. That is why Paul was reluctant to take wages from another source. So much of what Paul did was directly a result of what took place on the Damascus road. From that time on, all of his resources – including his trade as a tent maker – were committed to fulfilling the responsibility he was given directly by his master.

LORD, may we know the joy of serving you as your bondservants, investing all we have in your work.

Posted in commitment, ministry, Paul, servanthood, Uncategorized | Tagged 1 Corinthians 9 | Leave a comment

a gospel first decision

Posted on April 9, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

1 Corinthians 9:11-14

1Co 9:11 If we have planted spiritual gifts among you, would it not be great if we will reap material benefits from you?

1Co 9:12 If others have the right to share in the product from you, don’t we even more? But we have not made use of this right. Instead we put up with all these inconveniences so that we may not prevent the gospel of Christ from taking root.

1Co 9:13 Don’t you know that the holy workers eat what is prepared for the temple, and those who serve at the altar have their share in the offerings of the altar?

1Co 9:14 The Lord instructed the same thing — that those who are announcing the gospel should live from the gospel.

a gospel first decision

When Jesus sent out workers to announce the gospel, he told them “Do not purchase gold or silver or copper for your belts, nor a bag for your journey, nor two tunics nor sandals nor a staff, because the worker deserves his food” (Matthew 10:9-10). He expected his envoys to be blessed by those they bless. That – Paul argues – is the way it is supposed to work. But he discovered that when he preached the gospel among the Gentiles for the first time, he could not expect the blessing of his needs being supplied. So, in order for the gospel to take root in that foreign soil, he decided not to depend on contributions for his livelihood. It was a gospel first decision.

LORD, may we put the gospel first when making life decisions.

Posted in discernment, gospel, Paul | Tagged 1 Corinthians 9 | Leave a comment

ploughing with confidence

Posted on April 8, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

1 Corinthians 9:8-10

1Co 9:8 Am I speaking from mere human logic, or does not the Law say these things?

1Co 9:9 Because it is written in the Law by Moses, “You will not muzzle an ox while it is threshing.” It is not the oxen that God is interested in.

1Co 9:10 Instead, isn’t He really saying it for us? Yes, this is written for us, because he who ploughs ought to plough with confidence, and he who threshes should do so with confidence of sharing the product.

ploughing with confidence

There might have been a tug-of-war going on in Corinth between two factions among the congregations – and both factions would be wrong. Some of the practically minded might have objected to Paul’s ministry because he was setting a bad precedent by not being paid by the church for his ministry. Others might have applauded Paul’s spirituality in trusting God instead of man. Paul’s answer to these two factions is this. Yes, I have a right to be paid, based on the principle set up in the Bible itself. He will go on and argue that he has not availed of that right, but that does not change the right.

It is right for those in professional ministry to be paid. May God bless those churches who demonstrate the value of ministry by “paying the preacher” well.

LORD, thank you for those who serve you and us by ploughing in our field.

Posted in church, employment, ministry, missions, Uncategorized | Tagged 1 Corinthians 9 | Leave a comment

unique — so genuine

Posted on April 7, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

1 Corinthians 9:1-7

1Co 9:1 Am I not free? Am I not a missionary? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord?

1Co 9:2 If to others I am not a missionary, at least I am to you, because you are the seal of my missions work in the Lord.

1Co 9:3 My defending argument to those who are examining me is this:

1Co 9:4 Don’t we have the right to eat and drink?

1Co 9:5 Don’t we have the right to bring along a Christian wife like the other missionaries, the Lord’s brothers, and Cephas do?

1Co 9:6 Or do Barnabas and I alone have no right to keep from working?

1Co 9:7 Who makes war at their own expense — ever? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat its fruit? Or who shepherds a flock and does not consume the milk from the flock?

unique — so genuine

Paul feels deeply offended to learn that some within the church at Corinth actually question his authority. They – of all people – should be grateful that the Lord sent Paul and other members of his team to share the gospel and plant the church there. Instead, some are suggesting that Paul does not qualify as a missionary because he supported his own ministry by tent making while he was among them! Some even questioned his choice to remain single, since other prominent missionaries had married. But Paul insists that the differences in his choices are actually proof that his role is genuine. He had the right to marry and to be supported in his work, but he chose not to avail himself of that right. His detractors argued that he was unique, thus unqualified. He defended himself by arguing that his uniqueness actually proves his authenticity.

LORD, you have blessed us with a variety of servants who faithfully work among us. Teach us to accept all of them as gifts from you, no matter how different they are from one another.

Posted in church, genuineness, missions, Paul | Tagged 1 Corinthians 9 | Leave a comment

protecting the weak

Posted on April 6, 2016 by Jefferson Vann

1 Corinthians 8:10-13

1Co 8:10 Because if someone sees you, the one who has this knowledge, reclining where an idol is displayed, won’t his weak conscience be encouraged to eat food offered to idols?

1Co 8:11 Because this weak one – by your knowledge – is being destroyed – this brother for whom Christ died!

1Co 8:12 Now when you are sinning like this against the brothers and punch their weak conscience, you are sinning against Christ.

1Co 8:13 For this reason, if food is causing my brother to fall, I will not ever eat meat for the rest of my life, so that I won’t cause my brother to fall.

protecting the weak

There was a faction within the greater body of Corinthian congregations which emphasized the freedom of the Christian. Some among them had flaunted their freedom in Christ to go to the market and purchase some cheap meat that was perfectly good and wholesome except for the unpleasant reality that it had been used in pagan worship of other deities. The “strong” Corinthians saw nothing wrong with this practice. But Paul encouraged them to think about those new brothers who had just been recently converted from paganism to Christ. What would they think if they saw a “strong” Christian in such a place?

So, Paul was willing to avoid the temptation to go after that tainted meat. In fact, he would even go without any meat at all if it would protect his weaker brother from falling. Failing to protect the weaker brother is sinning against Christ.

LORD, help us to protect our Christian family, even sustaining from things we are free to do – for their sake.

Posted in animism, conscience, consideration of others, freedom, idolatry | Tagged 1 Corinthians 8 | Leave a comment