1 Corinthians 4 Lesson for Thursday February 25, 2010
For those of you following our study. First, we do two chapters of Jeremiah and then one chapter of Corinthians. I missed a couple of weeks due to recovery pains from having my left knee replaced. The first three weeks were not especially easy for me. But, now I am doing much better and well into the training for my tandem bike ride with son Bill. It is scheduled to begin some time the week of March 27, 2010. We will be departing from LeClaire, Ia. And, heading toward St. Louis along the MRT (Mississippi River Trails). All you who read this can pray that I get in good enough shape to make the trip. And, also pray that the late March early April weather is cooperative.
This is one of the chapters in the Bible that helps us define “humble”. Note the battle of words for Paul as he writes to the Corinthians about not fooling themselves by pretending to be faithful to the God of the universe. In verses 8-13 he lays it on pretty heavy about their treacherous deception. But, go back to verse 5 where Paul writes the source of my not so famous “Duck Rule”. The “Duck Rule” says that praise and ridicule should run off me like water off a duck’s back. I have not found very many folks who think that is a good rule. They say, how can anyone grow up in this world with a healthy attitude if they have not received some praise along the way. Now, I think encouragement is great. But, praise is a form of judgment. Who is the judge? Certainly not I. Deceiving a child or youth with regard to how they are doing when it is a positive statement might seem on the surface to be harmless or even beneficial. But, when that praise becomes addictive, then we see the problem the Corinthians were having. Do you think that people actually believe they can fool God? Maybe we can fool others for a while. Abraham Lincoln said, “ You can fool some of the people all the time and all the people some of the time, but you can’t fool all the people all the time”. Mostly I believe we try to fool ourselves thinking we are okay. But, Paul says no! Be humble leave it up to God. God will be our judge. If we are faithful, he will forgive our sins.
We do not need to make ourselves to be like God. And, we can’t. We need to decide to trust and obey so God’s Spirit will be able to use us for His purposes. Verse 20 is key here. It says, “For the kingdom of God does not consist in words but in power”.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Monday, February 22, 2010
DECEPTION " A WAY OF LIFE"
Jeremiah 7,8 Deception is a way of life! February 18, 2010
Remember last week in 1 Corinthians 3 we were talking about “Lessons on How to Live”. The bottom line is to seek wisdom and the will of God. Do this by reading the Bible and praying. Remember prayer has a lot of listening time in it. And, finally to trust and obey. If you have any regrets, repenting is good also.
Now in Jeremiah 7, God is saying through the prophet Jeremiah that the people are pretending. They are practicing deception. They are going through the motions. Or, saying they are going through the motions. But, they are just pretending. I wonder who we think we are fooling? Since God is omnipotent and omnipresent we can’t be fooling Him. I guess we could be fooling our friends and neighbors. We could even be fooling our enemies. Or, possibly we are fooling ourselves.
In the OT time the chosen people were the Israelites who God brought out of Egypt using Moses and His mighty hand. In Exodus 33:19 and repeated again by Paul in Romans 9:15, God says He will determine who receives Mercy. Now since the death and resurrection of our Lord, all are subject mercy. But, we still need to trust and obey. So, what’s our problem? It has been the same old story for over 5,000 years. We look at the other guys and we are able to see how stupid they are. Yet we do exactly the same thing and believe we are wise. God tells us to get wisdom. And, we can have it all. However, the wisdom will always be God’s and not ours. We never get wise. Yet wisdom is available for us.
Take a look at your Federal, State and Local government officials. What are they claiming to do for you? You will be hard pressed to find a government official either elected or hired working on the high priority critical issues of today. We need to have government size and cost reduced in all sectors in order to save the country from self destruction. And, all the forenamed people are working to keep there jobs and make government bigger and less effective. You can read all about it in the books of Kings or any of the prophets or the current newspapers. You can hear about on TV. What’s more important to you, fiscal responsibility or the winter olympics? Do any of us have any idea where God’s will is on these issues?
This week we are going to do 1 Corinthians 4. This is good stuff. See you on Thursday. Or, write me a comment.
Remember last week in 1 Corinthians 3 we were talking about “Lessons on How to Live”. The bottom line is to seek wisdom and the will of God. Do this by reading the Bible and praying. Remember prayer has a lot of listening time in it. And, finally to trust and obey. If you have any regrets, repenting is good also.
Now in Jeremiah 7, God is saying through the prophet Jeremiah that the people are pretending. They are practicing deception. They are going through the motions. Or, saying they are going through the motions. But, they are just pretending. I wonder who we think we are fooling? Since God is omnipotent and omnipresent we can’t be fooling Him. I guess we could be fooling our friends and neighbors. We could even be fooling our enemies. Or, possibly we are fooling ourselves.
In the OT time the chosen people were the Israelites who God brought out of Egypt using Moses and His mighty hand. In Exodus 33:19 and repeated again by Paul in Romans 9:15, God says He will determine who receives Mercy. Now since the death and resurrection of our Lord, all are subject mercy. But, we still need to trust and obey. So, what’s our problem? It has been the same old story for over 5,000 years. We look at the other guys and we are able to see how stupid they are. Yet we do exactly the same thing and believe we are wise. God tells us to get wisdom. And, we can have it all. However, the wisdom will always be God’s and not ours. We never get wise. Yet wisdom is available for us.
Take a look at your Federal, State and Local government officials. What are they claiming to do for you? You will be hard pressed to find a government official either elected or hired working on the high priority critical issues of today. We need to have government size and cost reduced in all sectors in order to save the country from self destruction. And, all the forenamed people are working to keep there jobs and make government bigger and less effective. You can read all about it in the books of Kings or any of the prophets or the current newspapers. You can hear about on TV. What’s more important to you, fiscal responsibility or the winter olympics? Do any of us have any idea where God’s will is on these issues?
This week we are going to do 1 Corinthians 4. This is good stuff. See you on Thursday. Or, write me a comment.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Lessons on How to Live
1 Corinthians 3 February 11,2010
One week later and I have started serious PT for “breaking in” the new knee. If I had known about this part ahead of time, I would have asked for one all ready to go. I am now off the pain medicine and ready for regular life to commence. So, the lesson for last Thursday was very appropriate. The translators of the New American Standard Bible call it “Foundations for Living” We could call it Paul’s lessons on how to live. One could read this chapter over and over and continue to glean great wisdom from Paul’s words.
Here are some comments and questions that might help you dig deeper into the text.
Follow God or you can call Him Jesus. They are pretty much the same. We are allowed to view them differently. But, the mystery of the Trinity makes Father, Son and Holy Spirit one and the same. So remember Jesus was and is fully man and fully God. How do we follow? First by learning who God is and doing what He wants us to do. Read your Bible. Know God’s Word.
Pray without ceasing. Prayer is some talk or transmission from you to God, I would say this talk is mostly about how you feel and what you think you need to know. The other side and equally important part of prayer is listening. Spend an inordinate amount of time listening. Listen while you do your work. Listen while you talk to others. Listen in every busy moment. Listen in every quiet time. God has promised to be with us, to guide our footsteps and to carry us through every situation we encounter. This leads us to the third part. Trust Him. Always trust Him. He is good and true.
All through history God has been busy building His temple. Read about the building and the re-building in the OT. Now in new testament times we are the temple of God. He is still busy building His temple. Now He is doing it through you. This is a true mystery. We are flesh and blood. He is God. He is using “mere men” to do His work. How can that be and are we up to the task? vs 3:9 For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building. And, then vs 3:11 For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. This just says again, we must know Christ and build on Him because he is the foundation of everything we do. All our work will be tested by fire and only the good work will survive. And, for that good work you will receive a reward. I have not discovered what that reward is but I am confident, it will be good.
Then Paul goes on to tell us that if we think we understand all this we are foolish. Look at v 3:18 Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you thinks that he is wise in this age, he must become foolish, so that he may become wise.
We have dominion over the things of God’s creation. He told us to subdue the earth to rule over it. I believe He meant that. Look at v 3:22b-23 ...all things belong to you, and you belong to Christ; and Christ belongs to God.
One week later and I have started serious PT for “breaking in” the new knee. If I had known about this part ahead of time, I would have asked for one all ready to go. I am now off the pain medicine and ready for regular life to commence. So, the lesson for last Thursday was very appropriate. The translators of the New American Standard Bible call it “Foundations for Living” We could call it Paul’s lessons on how to live. One could read this chapter over and over and continue to glean great wisdom from Paul’s words.
Here are some comments and questions that might help you dig deeper into the text.
Follow God or you can call Him Jesus. They are pretty much the same. We are allowed to view them differently. But, the mystery of the Trinity makes Father, Son and Holy Spirit one and the same. So remember Jesus was and is fully man and fully God. How do we follow? First by learning who God is and doing what He wants us to do. Read your Bible. Know God’s Word.
Pray without ceasing. Prayer is some talk or transmission from you to God, I would say this talk is mostly about how you feel and what you think you need to know. The other side and equally important part of prayer is listening. Spend an inordinate amount of time listening. Listen while you do your work. Listen while you talk to others. Listen in every busy moment. Listen in every quiet time. God has promised to be with us, to guide our footsteps and to carry us through every situation we encounter. This leads us to the third part. Trust Him. Always trust Him. He is good and true.
All through history God has been busy building His temple. Read about the building and the re-building in the OT. Now in new testament times we are the temple of God. He is still busy building His temple. Now He is doing it through you. This is a true mystery. We are flesh and blood. He is God. He is using “mere men” to do His work. How can that be and are we up to the task? vs 3:9 For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building. And, then vs 3:11 For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. This just says again, we must know Christ and build on Him because he is the foundation of everything we do. All our work will be tested by fire and only the good work will survive. And, for that good work you will receive a reward. I have not discovered what that reward is but I am confident, it will be good.
Then Paul goes on to tell us that if we think we understand all this we are foolish. Look at v 3:18 Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you thinks that he is wise in this age, he must become foolish, so that he may become wise.
We have dominion over the things of God’s creation. He told us to subdue the earth to rule over it. I believe He meant that. Look at v 3:22b-23 ...all things belong to you, and you belong to Christ; and Christ belongs to God.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
JEREMIAH 5,6
Jeremiah 5-6 February 4, 2010
I have missed two weeks. My left knee has be surgically replaced with an artificial device. Recovery and rehabilitation is progressing with some discomfort and complications. I could have done without the first two weeks. They were painful and not much fun. Monday (2/15/2010) I begin out patient therapy to achieve full use of the new knee. Right now it is still somewhat painful, stiff with limited range of motion and weak. Perhaps I will not complete the write ups for the missing weeks. Sorry about that missing information. I hope you all continue to read along and study the material anyway. The intermingling of Jeremiah and Corinthians should prove to be very revealing. It especially reveals the constant and unchanging nature of out God and Creator.
In Jeremiah 5-6 we hear again about how the Israelites turn away from God when then begin to fall back on their own understanding. They erroneously believe they can control their own lives and pick and choose their own gods. The fleshly life is appealing to them. They forget who created them and took care of them as individuals and as a nations for these many years. We can be very critical of their actions. But, we should be reminded how very much like them we are. God has a reason for our existence and is very jealous. While he loves us (His creation) very much, He will not tolerated disobedience. His wrathful judgement is inevitable. And because He loves us and will not be turned away form His objectives, He will allow and even cause the penalties of disobedience to be meted out on His people.
We may think that His actions are unjustified and not necessary. But, He is the sovereign creator and He will not be thwarted in His will to achieve His final objectives. His actions are often about our salvation. Remember it is His will and His alone to determine and choose who will be saved and who will be rejected. It is not our choice. We can fight His will, but, we cannot overcome or overturn His will. Therefore, I believe His actions are about much more than salvation. His plan and His goals are mostly about building His Kingdom. He desperately wants us to be part of the building and part of the end result of His plan. In His efforts, He only withholds one thing. And, that is the final choosing to be on the team. He will not put us on the team using His infinite power. He is leaving that choice to us.
As you read and study Jeremiah and Corinthians, see if you can see how He is calling you and I to be on the team.
I pray that my decision to have my knee replaced (an elective procedure) is in God’s will. And, as a result of the surgery I will become a more effective member of His team. How do your daily actions and decisions affect your ability to choose to be a faithful and effective member of God’s team?
I have missed two weeks. My left knee has be surgically replaced with an artificial device. Recovery and rehabilitation is progressing with some discomfort and complications. I could have done without the first two weeks. They were painful and not much fun. Monday (2/15/2010) I begin out patient therapy to achieve full use of the new knee. Right now it is still somewhat painful, stiff with limited range of motion and weak. Perhaps I will not complete the write ups for the missing weeks. Sorry about that missing information. I hope you all continue to read along and study the material anyway. The intermingling of Jeremiah and Corinthians should prove to be very revealing. It especially reveals the constant and unchanging nature of out God and Creator.
In Jeremiah 5-6 we hear again about how the Israelites turn away from God when then begin to fall back on their own understanding. They erroneously believe they can control their own lives and pick and choose their own gods. The fleshly life is appealing to them. They forget who created them and took care of them as individuals and as a nations for these many years. We can be very critical of their actions. But, we should be reminded how very much like them we are. God has a reason for our existence and is very jealous. While he loves us (His creation) very much, He will not tolerated disobedience. His wrathful judgement is inevitable. And because He loves us and will not be turned away form His objectives, He will allow and even cause the penalties of disobedience to be meted out on His people.
We may think that His actions are unjustified and not necessary. But, He is the sovereign creator and He will not be thwarted in His will to achieve His final objectives. His actions are often about our salvation. Remember it is His will and His alone to determine and choose who will be saved and who will be rejected. It is not our choice. We can fight His will, but, we cannot overcome or overturn His will. Therefore, I believe His actions are about much more than salvation. His plan and His goals are mostly about building His Kingdom. He desperately wants us to be part of the building and part of the end result of His plan. In His efforts, He only withholds one thing. And, that is the final choosing to be on the team. He will not put us on the team using His infinite power. He is leaving that choice to us.
As you read and study Jeremiah and Corinthians, see if you can see how He is calling you and I to be on the team.
I pray that my decision to have my knee replaced (an elective procedure) is in God’s will. And, as a result of the surgery I will become a more effective member of His team. How do your daily actions and decisions affect your ability to choose to be a faithful and effective member of God’s team?
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