not a competition

Posted on April 4, 2011 by Jefferson Vann

SDC12547 1 Corinthians 12.  The Corinthians used the spiritual gifts manifested among themselves as a measurement of who should be followed and who should be shunned.  Ministry became a means of perpetuating division. Some preferred the speaking gifts, others rallied behind healers.  Some preferred prophets, others opted for those who could distinguish what was going on in the spirit world.  The gifts were being used like the idols that the believers had forsaken to follow Christ.  One was pitted against another.  Paul said, no, you have it wrong. There is only one Holy Spirit and he distributes all the gifts for everyone’s benefit.  The ministries should function like limbs and organs in a body, each functioning for the good of all the others because it is designed to benefit the whole body.  Serving Christ is not a competition.

LORD, forgive us for magnifying some ministries above the others. May we use our gifts to serve you and each other.

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the ear planter hears, the eye former sees

Posted on April 4, 2011 by Jefferson Vann

SDC12543 Psalm 94.  LORD, I am in the wilderness again this morning, I cannot see my deliverance.

But You hear my cry because you planted the ear;  you see my need, because you formed the eye.

Thank you for reminding me who you are.

I will rest in you until my prayers are answered by you. I pray for all my friends who are also waiting. May they also know who you are as they look ahead in faith to your deliverance.

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traditions that dishonor Christ

Posted on April 3, 2011 by Jefferson Vann

SDC12541 1 Corinthians 11:2-34.   Paul had set up some traditions that the Corinthian churches were following. He commended them for following the head-covering tradition. This was especially important in first-century Corinth, because members of the freedom faction were arguing that their wives should take their head coverings off because they were free in Christ. The wives did not want to do that because only the prostitutes went out in public without a head-covering.

Paul did not commend them for how they were practicing the love-feasts. He reminded them that the Lord’s Supper (which was part of the feast) was a solemn remembrance of Christ’s death for them. Therefore, they should be careful that they show proper respect for each other.

For both of these issues, Paul stresses the idea of personal judgment. Believers should be able to make proper judgments on these matters. After all, we believers will some day judge the angels (6:3). That explains the reference to angels (11:10).

LORD, teach us to make sound and proper judgments about the traditions that we keep — that we do not dishonor you.

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a prayer to the king

Posted on April 3, 2011 by Jefferson Vann

SDC12539 Psalm 93.   LORD, today I acknowledge that you are king of the universe. You reign, and your reign is a majestic one that will last for eternity.

I confess that I have been worrying about my future. I have not been living like one whose father controls all things. Forgive me for doubting your sovereignty.

I Thank you for the scores of times when I have felt this way, and you have come through for me each time. You have always proven yourself faithful.

I ask you to please direct my paths to the next step in your plan for me. I ask you to help my family to stay out of debt and remain healthy.  I ask you to meet the needs of those who are suffering. I particularly ask for relief to those who have experienced the earthquake, tsunami, and the threat of nuclear contamination in Japan. May they know the one who is “mightier than the waves of the sea.”

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the blood and body of one

Posted on April 2, 2011 by Jefferson Vann

SDC12537 1 Corinthians 10-11:1.  In the wilderness, freedom is a dangerous thing. One wrong choice and your body is left to rot, and the people will go on.  Paul wanted to discourage the Corinthians from abusing their freedom by getting too close to their own idolatrous past.  They were free to eat anything sold in the marketplace. But to knowingly eat of food that was dedicated to one of the Greek or Roman gods would encourage unbelievers to continue rejecting Christ.  So Paul tells them to abstain for the sake of unbelievers. He appeals to two examples. First, the ancient Israelites who tried to have it both ways in the wilderness.  Destruction followed. Then he appeals to the Lord’s Supper.  It celebrates God’s grace through the blood and body of one: Jesus Christ. To practice idolatry is to add others, and provoke the LORD to jealousy.

LORD, we celebrate you and you alone. Our confidence is in you alone.

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indoor plant

Posted on April 2, 2011 by Jefferson Vann

SDC12533 Psalm 92.  I can picture a believer worshipping  at the temple in Jerusalem on the Sabbath and thinking about his fate compared to that of unbelievers. They are like patches of grass, which flourish for a time, but are doomed to destruction forever (7). He is a tree growing inside God’s temple courts. He expects to bear fruit in his old age — to be ever full of sap and green.  Day and night he lives to declare the faithfulness of the LORD.

LORD, how great are your works, your thoughts are very deep!  May we grow where we are planted, and declare your faithfulness.

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outside the box

Posted on April 1, 2011 by Jefferson Vann

SDC12532 1 Corinthians 9.  Paul’s critics in Corinth were convinced that he was a loose cannon.  Since he did not do his ministry the way the other apostles did,  they were suggesting that his missionary work was illegitimate.  Paul’s policy was that he and the members of his team worked at other jobs to supplement the income they occasionally received from the churches. Paul explains here that doing so is a strategic move. It allowed them to do more with less, and actually opened doors for reaching people that they could not reach with traditional means.  Believers should be careful when evaluating those whose ministry is outside the box. God has many boxes.

LORD, give us the wisdom to befriend and pray for those whose ministries are unconventional.

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for such a time as this

Posted on April 1, 2011 by Jefferson Vann

SDC12531 Esther 4.   An enemy has convinced the king to make a decree that could result in the extermination of her people.  Queen Esther is in turmoil.  Interceding for her people could cost her life, because the law prohibits approaching the king unless bidden by him. She has only once chance — if the king holds out his scepter, allowing her approach. Her uncle asks “who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”   Mordecai’s question suggests that there is a sovereign God moving the pieces around the board just so that she can make a strategic decision that honors him. It is not every day that we are called on to make such decisions. But we must be ready on any day.

LORD, may we live our lives honoring you, so that when the time comes for us to make a difference — we are ready.

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food of the gods

Posted on March 31, 2011 by Jefferson Vann

SDC12529 1 Corinthians 8.  The Corinthian Christians had been rescued from a pagan, animistic society that was in deep bondage to the spirits who masqueraded as gods.  Having been set free and knowing the reality of Christ gave them knowledge that the gods need not be feared. Yet all around them were people who were either not yet separated from their animism, or in the process of being set free. Paul encourages the believers to avoid food offered to idols because it would wreck the faith of those who were being rescued. To do so would be to sin against Christ (12).

LORD help us to live so far above the sins of our world that we will never be accused of participating in them — that we not sin against our Savior.

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return!

Posted on March 31, 2011 by Jefferson Vann

SDC12520 Psalm 90.  Moses highlights our dependence upon God and his sovereignty over all humanity in this prayer by using the same word in two different senses. The word is RETURN! First, Moses shows our dependence upon God for life by showing our mere mortality (3). He returns us to the dust with a mere command after we have spent our seventy or eighty years of trouble. All our mortal lives are spent within the One who is our dwelling place. He is immortal and we are not.  Second, Moses shows God’s sovereignty in our lives by imploring him to return his favor and salvation to us (13).  Our years of affliction and wrath can be remedied by a simple turn in direction by the sovereign omnipotent God.

LORD, RETURN your grace upon our land before you RETURN us all to dust.

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