2 Corinthians 1:1-11 (The God of All Comfort, Part 2)

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

To the church of God in Corinth, together with all his holy people throughout Achaia:

² Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

³ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, ⁴ who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. ⁵ For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. ⁶ If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. ⁷ And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.
⁸ We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. ⁹ Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. ¹⁰ He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, ¹¹ as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.

Note:  If you did not read yesterday's post, you will want to stop here and read it.

Okay, so now to dig in to the Word...

First of all, look at verse 1.  Paul addresses this whole letter to "the church of God in Corinth, together with all his holy people throughout Achaia (Greece)."  So these words are not just for a city, but for a nation.  These words are not just for some small people group, but they are for the whole of us -- Christ followers. Greece was a bustling seaport, full of all kinds of cosmopolitan sin, and it was very difficult for these new Christians to stay focused on Christ when people were telling them all kinds of "truth".  So, Paul wrote to them to encourage them and spur them to continue to remember Christ.  So, it's interesting that he starts by talking about God's comfort.

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort,..."  I am struck by the words that are used to describe God the Father.  I'm saddened when I hear people talk about God as a far-away being who likes to inflict hardship on us and who watches us from a distance.  Instead, God the Father is the complete opposite.  Look here -- He's the Father of compassion (He created it), and He's the God of all comfort.  ALL comfort.  Not just comfort for some people in some certain circumstances.  If you need comfort, HE is the source -- for everyone in everything.  Now, this particular letter refers to believers who suffer for Jesus' sake, but if we know that God is the source of ALL comfort, we can apply this to our own lives as well, even if our biggest burden today is not persecution for our faith.

"who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God."  Many people think that when God comforts us, our troubles must "go away."  But if that were so, then people would only turn to God out of a desire to be relieved of pain and not out of love for Him.  So we must understand that "comfort" from God can also mean receiving strength, encouragement, and hope to continue in the midst of our troubles.  This is what I have experienced this summer.  The pain didn't go away and healing on this side of Heaven wasn't granted.  But I did receive strength, encouragement, and hope to continue.  And because He doesn't always take us out of our troubles, we are then able to comfort others.  Let me tell you that much of the comfort I received came from other human beings.  I think God so often uses little ol' us to be His hands and feet (in fact, He tells us that He uses us in that way).  And so I experienced God's love and comfort through others, especially those who had walked a similar road as I was walking.  It's quite beautiful, really.  He doesn't have to make it this way, but He chooses to give us ways to use the experiences of our pain as a gift to others.

"For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ." Or as the NLT puts it, "For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ."  If your current suffering has anything to do with your belief in Christ, you can rest assured that you will experience even more comfort as your suffering continues.  There will be hard times when we follow Christ, but this assures us that those won't be more than the good times of His healing comfort.  He doesn't leave us out to dry alone.

"If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. ⁷ And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort."  Firstly, this verse tells us that suffering is for our benefit.  That theme is all throughout the Bible.  The donkey does not move until the sharp stick pokes him in the rump!  And so it is with us -- we will choose to stay right where we are (because it's comfortable) unless someone or something comes along that forces us to move forward and change.  Hence, God allows suffering into our lives, and perhaps even sometimes directs it to us, but only for our good.  And there is nothing more promising to observe in the life of a Christian, than their "patient endurance" in suffering.  

And so that is my prayer for us today: To be able to sit in the suffering without trying to run away, hide, or push it away, but instead with our eyes fixed on Him as He directs us through the darkness.  He DOES know the way, and He WILL lead us to the Light.  May you feel His strength, hear His encouraging words to you, and be filled with His hope to continue.  He is still working in this.

2 Corinthians 1:1-7 (The God of All Comfort, Part 1)

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

To the church of God in Corinth, together with all his holy people throughout Achaia:

² Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

³ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, ⁴ who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. ⁵ For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. ⁶ If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. ⁷ And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.

Greetings, my long lost friends!
So, I decided to take the summer off from blogging.  Normally, one would think summer would be the best time to blog, but I do much better when I have routine; and quite frankly, I just needed to rest.  Then, little did I know, that due to a few things that happened over the summer, a break from blogging was probably part of God's plan anyway.

And so, here is one main thing I have learned this summer: God comforts us.

When I decided to jump back into the blog this weekend, and saw that I had ended on 1 Corinthians pre-summer, I figured that 2 Corinthians was probably a great place to continue.  Oh my surprise when I saw what the first few verses had to say to me this morning...another reminder that God Himself comforts us. (Read the above verses and just soak them up. We'll dig into them tomorrow, but I wanted to share a story of God's comfort with you.)

It was early July when I found out I was pregnant.  I was shocked, over-joyed, thankful...everything!  I had wondered, and then the test confirmed...I am a mama, which, of course, got me thinking about my mama.  I wondered what she felt when she found out she was pregnant.  I was in a Target bathroom stall, and I hoped she was some place much more glamorous when she found out.  As one could expect, I immediately began cherishing the life that grew within me and started planning how I would tell Josh when he returned from a business trip a few days later.

And so over the weeks, the baby continued to grow, and Josh and I continued to get more and more excited.  It's incredible how quickly you get attached to this new person you don't even know.

Then, Friday night, July 27th, my mom's birthday,  the cramps and bleeding began.  My heart just knew this wasn't good news.  I sobbed as I began to say goodbye to this little life.  My mom had also lost her first and third babies, and I so desperately wished she were here to comfort me and tell me what to do.  We headed to the hospital.

We spent the evening in the ER.  Four of our friends met us there, held my hand, and prayed with us for hours as we waited.  Finally, the ultrasound tech arrived, and Josh and I saw the little heartbeat for the first time.  Baby wasn't gone yet!  So we went home and waited, though they warned us, it wasn't looking good.  But that was fine with me, I knew my God was bigger than any ultrasound image.  He could heal our baby -- He was the only one that could.  

For two weeks, we continued to wait.  Every cramp, every potty break, sent my mind running with thoughts about the future of our little family.  

Two weeks later, I had a follow up appointment which ultimately revealed there was no longer a heartbeat.  

We were crushed, and I wondered why God did not spare the life of my little one.  Then, the dreams of our future with this baby began to unravel.  The death of dreams can cause grief just as much as the death of people.  There was a lot of grief.

A D&C was required,  and again, friends and family came with us to the hospital, sat in waiting rooms with us, prayed with us, brought us food, called to check up on us, sent flowers and other gifts, and came by our home individually for 10 minutes unannounced just to give us a hug and cry with us for a few, short moments.  They were incredible.  They were God's love to us in those moments, and we were so incredibly thankful.  What would we have done without our community? 

And so we continue to grief the loss of "Blueberry" as we call him/her.  We still talk about that sweet baby and all that we experienced in those weeks, and we also are beginning to process this whole season.  I'm sure we will discover more revelations as we move forward, but I have been greatly struck by one thing:  All along, people sent us cards, texts, voice mails -- all that said they were "praying we'd feel God's love, peace, and comfort during this tragic time."  And here's the kicker...we did.  We absolutely do feel His love, comfort, and peace, in a way that is beyond human understanding or expectation.  What stuck out to me in all of this was how often we pray that prayer, but we don't really BELIEVE that He will answer it in a way that we will really feel His love, peace, and comfort.  How often do I pray prayers that I don't really expect God to answer?  But He does...and then we're surprised.  Why?

What also has been very apparent as I reflect on this summer is that in each trial of my life, I have wanted God to mold me more into who He wants me to be -- a person with more trust, a trust that comes quicker than the last time; a person with less guiding emotion and more guiding faith.  And here's another thing that shocked me: I am.  

I didn't know this until now, but this time, in the midst of my grief, I ran to God faster than I did when I lost my mom.  This time, I prayed more honestly.  This time, I recognized God's presence and His touch like a comforting, well-worn sweater that I was aware I had worn before.  I was able to look to Him, not perfectly nor in every moment by any means, but each day, I find myself choosing to turn back to Him and trusting Him to lead me in the dark.

...And so here is my new prayer.  I don't want to pray and ask God WHY anymore.  I don't want to say, "Why did you let my mom get cancer?  Why did you let her die?  Why did you let my baby die? Why are you making me go through this?"  Instead, I so desperately want my prayer to be WHAT.  "What are you trying to teach me in this, Lord?  What are you going to do in and through me because of this circumstance?  What can I do now for others because of this experience that I couldn't have done before?"  These are the questions of faith.  These are the questions that help me to focus not on the darkness in which I may currently find myself, but rather on the only One who knows the path in the midst of my darkness that leads to an unimaginable light.  He is the Light in all of my darkness.

He has comforted us.  Just like He said He would.  I continue to feel His arms wrapping us up, despite the tears that seemed to flow constantly this weekend.  He holds us, and He cries with us.  He comforts us, deep in our hearts.

In the meantime, I'm trusting Jesus and Mom to love on that baby until we get to meet him or her someday.  I had always felt so sad to think that Mom wouldn't know her first grandchild...and now she knows him or her even before we do.  I think they are probably all having a great time together, and that image also brings me comfort.

I love you, Jesus.  I love you, Mom.  I love you, Blue.

1 Corinthians 12 (The Comparisson Game Part 2)

I love the many metaphors in the Bible: water is truth and knowledge, a tree is used to describe Jesus and also to describe us when we're planted by the stream (water), as well as the many metaphors referencing light, the rock, storms, fruit, etc.

Notice what is true here: they are all things in nature!  I love that.  God didn't create a metaphor with the telegraph, since that lovely invention has come and gone; instead, He uses His own creation, which He know will outlast all of man's inventions.

So it is with today's metaphor: the human body.

The human body represents all Christians everywhere, all Christians in your church, all Christians in your family or on your street.  No matter which group of Christians you observe, this metaphor works for them all:  we are one body (through the Holy Spirit) with many different and equally important parts.

 ¹² Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. ¹³ For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free —and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. ¹⁴ Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many. 

This reminds us that we do not need other labels to define us -- our race, our gender, our political position -- but rather, the only label we need is Christ.  We used to independently call our own shots, but now we belong to something even greater than ourselves.  As I constantly remind myself: it's not about ME.  It's about HIM.

But, as I shared yesterday, in our humanness, we often think it would be better if we were given a different gift or task...

 ¹⁵ Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. ¹⁶ And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. ¹⁷ If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? ¹⁸ But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. ¹⁹ If they were all one part, where would the body be? ²⁰ As it is, there are many parts, but one body. 

All the parts are important!   But we don't always see that, so let's extend this metaphor a bit...  Let's say that I am an ear.  I'm kind of weird looking, not very large, often hidden by hair and hats.  So, I say to myself how I wish I could be more like the eyes, who are so pretty and expressive and get to wear certain make-up that makes them POP!  And I also wish I were like the hands because they get to touch everything and feel things that I will never get to feel.  Or the tongue...yes, he's kind of slimy and a little weird, but he gets to taste everything and be such an important part of speech.  Now THAT'S important.  But....imagine not being able to hear the beautiful music of symphonies and favorite bands, not being able to hear the birds chirp on a sunny, spring morning, and not being able to hear the giggles of babies and even the sorrowful wailing of your dear friend who's just lost his daughter.


Every single gift and task is important.  Without any one part, the body would be impaired!  So it is in the body of Christ.


²¹ The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” ²² On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, ²³ and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, ²⁴ while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, ²⁵ so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. ²⁶ If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

We are all connected, and we all matter.  Every single one of us.  Yet, by being part of a greater whole, the body, our significance is also kept from being blown out of proportion.  Yes, we are important, but we are not completely indispensable.  God will succeed in His plans with or without us!  We can still function without our hearing, can we not?  And having one enormous ear wouldn't be better, but would make us more into a monster!  Yes, we do need to stay in-check, don't we?

²⁷ Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. ²⁸ And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues. ²⁹ Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? ³⁰ Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? ³¹ Now eagerly desire the greater gifts.

Only when we can accept our "part" to be our part, can we flourish!  And let's not focus on the lesser gifts...like having voluminous hair and perfectly pouty lips.  Instead, let's focus on the greater gifts, the necessary things.  Is a good stomach not more important than good facial structure? :) 


And yet I will show you the most excellent way.

Tomorrow, we will dive in to what's the Most Important of All....

1 Corinthians 12 (The Comparisson Game Part 1)

Moment of truth here: lately, I've been really struggling with comparing myself to others.  I've gotten very talented at it, too.  I can pick out the slightest flaw in myself and run wild with it; likewise,  I can also squeeze the tiniest imperfection in someone else and make myself feel like a queen because of it.  This is not a flattering quality, I know.  And I don't know quite when it crept it.  Wait, actually I do.  It began in early May, when I was "too busy" to have my morning quiet time with God. It's amazing how my perspective gets skewed so quickly.   And so, here I return...I'm sorry, Lord.  I have placed You on the back-burner for the last month.  But I know that it's when we wander away that we remember how much we need You, Lord.  So, here I am again.  I'm glad to be back with You.

One of the areas that I have been comparing myself is in the abilities or gifts God has given me.  I wonder why I can't be more like _____, who seems to be succeeding in everything she does for the Lord.  Then I see _____ and wonder why I can't have as many talents as he has.  And then there's the worst one of all:  I see _____ and think to myself I sure am glad that I am doing better than them.  How prideful.  How ugly.  How incredibly sad.  I need to stop comparing!  Comparing is pointless, because someone always comes out on the bottom.  And that's not where God has put any of us! 

Apparently, some of the people during Paul's time struggled with the same comparison problem when it came to spiritual gifts. 

⁴ There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. ⁵ There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. ⁶ There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.   I'm sure they were all complaining about what they wish they could do for God that they saw their buddy getting to do, so Paul reminded them that there are many different kinds of working and doing...and they are all okay!  Differences are not always a negative thing.  Why is it that we always think we all need to be the SAME as everybody else?


⁷ Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.  That's the point, right there.  When I can remember for one moment that it's NOT ALL ABOUT ME, then I remember that I'm part of a bigger plan than I can even understand.  Who knows why, but God has chosen me, and He's chosen you, to participate with Him as He carries out His plan for everyone's common good.  We are all one puzzle piece in the enormous masterpiece of humanity that God is working to put together as He has planned all along.


I like how The Message summarizes the next part:
"God's various gifts are handed out everywhere; but they all originate in God's Spirit. God's various ministries are carried out everywhere; but they all originate in God's Spirit. God's various expressions of power are in action everywhere; but God himself is behind it all. Each person is given something to do that shows who God is: Everyone gets in on it, everyone benefits. All kinds of things are handed out by the Spirit, and to all kinds of people! The variety is wonderful:
   wise counsel
   clear understanding
   simple trust
   healing the sick
   miraculous acts
   proclamation
   distinguishing between spirits
   tongues
   interpretation of tongues.
   All these gifts have a common origin, but are handed out one by one by the one Spirit of God. He decides who gets what, and when."

Did you see that last line?  God decides who gets what, and when they get it.  That's not to say that we can't ask for gifts -- after all, He is the ultimate gift-giver!  There is one item on that list that I have prayed for for the past two years, and recently, two friends of mine, at different times, told me that I have that gift!  They didn't know I'd been praying for it, and I couldn't see it in myself.  I will tell you that I do not have the gift of tongues though! :)  Maybe except for a tongue that never seems to know when to stop sometimes!

So, there we have it.  We have what God intends us to have for right now.  The questions is can I trust that what He has given me is good and perfect for me?  Can I thank Him for the gifts He has entrusted to me, and also thank Him for the gifts He has entrusted to others?  And finally, can choose to stop comparing what I have and what I wish I had and rest in the fact that God knows what He's doing in me right now?

Tomorrow, we'll look at the importance of ALL gifts.  But for now, I am just focusing on trusting Him and thanking Him for even getting to play a part in His big picture plan.  Not only did He save me, but He also blesses me with gifts...and He does the same for you.

1 Corinthians 10:23-31 (Carefree)

²³ “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive. ²⁴ No one should seek their own good, but the good of others.
²⁵ Eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience, ²⁶ for, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.”
²⁷ If an unbeliever invites you to a meal and you want to go, eat whatever is put before you without raising questions of conscience. ²⁸ But if someone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, both for the sake of the one who told you and for the sake of conscience. ²⁹ I am referring to the other person’s conscience, not yours. For why is my freedom being judged by another’s conscience? ³⁰ If I take part in the meal with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of something I thank God for?
³¹ So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. ³² Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God — ³³ even as I try to please everyone in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved. 
 
There are so many "rules" in the Bible, but what I love about the verses today is the focus on freedom!  Yes, there may be many boundaries God has established for our protection, and yet, sometimes as Christians, we can get so hung up on being good little rule-followers, that we overlook all the freedom and fun that God intended for us, even this side of Heaven.  When we come to know the heart of God, we find that He is not only a protector, disciplinarian, and teacher (and all these things in love), but by looking at His creation all this week, I saw that He likes us to laugh (listened to a baby chuckle), He likes us to play (watched two bunnies in my neighborhood take turns chasing each other), and He likes to have fun (observed two squirrels play peek-a-boo in the tree in my backyard).  God whispers to us in everything we see, and when we aren't always looking for the serious stuff, we just might remember that beauty, love, creativity and humor were all invented by God Himself.

In all of our decisions, our actions must be motivated by God's love for us and in us, so that all we do will be for His glory.  We ask ourselves, "Is this bringing glory and honor to God?" or "How can I honor God through this action?"  And sometimes we can also honor Him by relaxing, having some fun, or enjoying one of the many gifts He has given us on this earth.  We can say that because of His immense generosity and grace to us, we don't have to scrutinize every miniscule action to see if it will pass the test -- make wise decisions, absolutely, but scrutinize, no.  I want to live well and live for the Lord and other people.

It is with this context that we look at verse 23.  “ 'I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive."  Are we not in a culture where our rights are everything?  I am so thankful for the rights and freedoms that we have in this country, and yes, we do have so many.  But, we must examine whether any right or freedom we have is beneficial and constructive at any particular time.  In everything, "No one should seek their own good, but the good of others" (verse 24).  Sure, we have the right to free speech and to speak our opinions.  But when our speech (or Facebook posting) is always with an agenda, no matter what our position, we push others away.   Yes, we have the legal ability to drink when we are 21, but if we find that we cannot stop ourselves once we begin, we are not pursuing beneficial and constructive actions.  In all things, how do your actions affect others?  Think about who these choices affect and how they will affect them.  We must not be so concerned with ourselves.  

I have been very concerned with myself lately.  I think, "Well how will this affect me?   Look how this is making me feel?  Well, I need to do this for me."  I don't want to be that way.  Just this weekend, the result of my self-focus was a self-consciousness that didn't allow me to enjoy my time with some dear friends as much as I could have, and the entire time my shoulders remained constantly up by my ears!  This is such a good reminder to be others-focused.  I need to put my rights, my feelings, and my desires aside, and be more concerned about His.

²⁵ Eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience, ²⁶ for, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.”
²⁷ If an unbeliever invites you to a meal and you want to go, eat whatever is put before you without raising questions of conscience. ²⁸ But if someone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, both for the sake of the one who told you and for the sake of conscience. ²⁹ I am referring to the other person’s conscience, not yours. For why is my freedom being judged by another’s conscience? ³⁰ If I take part in the meal with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of something I thank God for?  
Look at the freedom here.  Let's make this a current day example.  If an unbeliever invites you to have a drink with them in a bar after work and you want to go, you can go and have a drink without a bad conscience.  For the earth is God's and everything in it!  Everything belongs to him, even your glass of wine.  But let's say another co-worker is coming with the two of you, and he has a problem with you having a drink, then do not have a drink for the sake of his conscience.  Be okay to set your right aside so that he may have a clear conscience.   But, if no one opposes, and if everything belongs to God, why not thank Him for it and enjoy it?  (Let me be clear, however, that this is for matters not blatently objected in the Bible.  For no reason may we "enjoy" someone who is not our spouse, etc.)


I love how The Message paraphrases the rest of this chapter:
^29-30But, except for these special cases (when food has been sacrificed to another god or if the Bible speaks elsewhere about it),  I'm not going to walk around on eggshells worrying about what small-minded people might say; I'm going to stride free and easy, knowing what our large-minded Master has already said. If I eat what is served to me, grateful to God for what is on the table, how can I worry about what someone will say? I thanked God for it and he blessed it!
 ^31-33So eat your meals heartily, not worrying about what others say about you—you're eating to God's glory, after all, not to please them. As a matter of fact, do everything that way, heartily and freely to God's glory. At the same time, don't be callous in your exercise of freedom, thoughtlessly stepping on the toes of those who aren't as free as you are. I try my best to be considerate of everyone's feelings in all these matters, so that they might be saved; I hope you will be, too. 

I don't think I could have said it any better myself, Paul.  I said it last week, but I will remind us again that God richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment! (1 Tim. 6:17).  He doesn't desire us to be uptight, check-list Christians.  We do desire to have hearts that are holy, but with that, we should be full of joy, laughter, enjoyment and smiles (most days anyway).  But all the while, we don't want our desires and freedoms to be as a stumbling block to those around us. 

Because, at the end of the day, I don't want it to have been about me.

1 Corinthians 10:14-22 (Credit and Glory)

¹⁴ Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry. ¹⁵ I speak to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. ¹⁶ Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? ¹⁷ Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all share the one loaf.
¹⁸ Consider the people of Israel: Do not those who eat the sacrifices participate in the altar? ¹⁹ Do I mean then that food sacrificed to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything? ²⁰ No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons. ²¹ You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons. ²² Are we trying to arouse the Lord’s jealousy? Are we stronger than he? 

This section of Scripture refers to the Idol Feasts and Sacrifices that were common in Paul's day...multi-day celebrations to the pagan gods.  I'm quite sure none of us have ever seen one of these, let alone been tempted to whole-heartedly participate in one, so what's the big deal?  

The deal is who gets the credit.

When you do well at work, who gets the glory?  When your kids turn out well, who gets the glory?  When you have an ability or talent that is considered to be above the rest, who gets the glory?  When you learn lots of things and have increased in knowledge, who gets the glory?

In our culture, we celebrate ourselves and our own good doings when things happen.  We think that we are the ones who made everything fall into place.  The temptation is to take all the glory for ourselves...forgetting that it is God who blesses His people.  Look at these:
"If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! (Matt. 7:11)." And tell them to "...put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment (1 Tim. 6:17).  Don't you see?  We know where the good things in life come from!  We serve a God who doesn't just discipline; He loves to bless us.  Let's not rob God of the glory that is solely His!  Yes, we must get off the couch and choose to go to work to make a living, but if work is going well, thank God!  Literally!


We must flee from the idol of glory.  

All the glory belongs to God.  That is what this section of Scripture is about.


¹⁴ Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry. ¹⁵ I speak to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. ¹⁶ Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? ¹⁷ Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all share the one loaf.  If you are a Christian, you and the rest of us are one with Christ.  We don't just merely say, "I follow Jesus."  It is so much more than that.  He works in and through us with much more power than any of these other gods of our lives ever could.  And He deserves all the glory.  He is the reason your deepest longings are answered, your kids succeed, your boss promotes you, and that this crazy day that you thought could never succeed was successful.


¹⁸ Consider the people of Israel: Do not those who eat the sacrifices participate in the altar? ¹⁹ Do I mean then that food sacrificed to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything? ²⁰ No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons. ²¹ You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons. ²² Are we trying to arouse the Lord’s jealousy? Are we stronger than he?  In Old Testament days, when a Jew offered a sacrifice, he ate part of it as a way of restoring his unity with God, against whom he had sinned.  Christians do this when we take communion.  But, we also have multiple daily opportunities to unify ourselves with this world.

So, with what are we trying to unify ourselves -- Christ or satan and this world?  Do you see the difference -- are we leading two lives, following Christ and the world?  For we should only serve One.   Paul reminds that we should not offer sacrifices to demons -- our time, our money, our thoughts that help to advance the cause of Godlessness.  As verse 21 says, we cannot serve both God and the gods of this world.  Any sacrifices we make should be for God's Kingdom, not this current culture.  

Christ deserves our total allegiance.   And then He gets the glory, because He deserves the glory.  What makes us think that we are strong enough to do anything without Him?


May everything you do and everything you receive today remind you of Christ's presence and power in your life.  Point to Him in everything, because He always deserves ALL of the credit.

1 Corinthians 10:14 (Flee)

¹⁴ Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry. 

I ain't much of a Bible scholar, but one of the small tricks I do know is that when you see the word "therefore" that means make sure you look at what you just read because that was the cause and now here comes the effect.


If you didn't read yesterday's post, I highly encourage you to do so because they all build on one another.  But the gist of yesterday was this: 
-even the Israelites who witnessed God's miracles for them fell into temptation; 
-they thought they could control everything and that God would serve them; 
-the result was that thousands of them were left dead in the desert (God's doing); 
-but God is not out to slay us -- in fact, the last verse reminds us that He ALWAYS gives us a way out of our temptation, but we must run to it!


That word run is exactly what I want to focus on today.  There is just one command there in verse 14: flee from idolatry.  I can't imagine that the Israelites ever verbally said, "well, God should serve us!"  No!  I'm quite certain, because I know myself, that it was all an attitude of their hearts and in their thoughts.  And that's where idols live -- in our hearts.


When people reduce God to something they can use or control, it's an idol, including if their "god" is the control and use of money, power, prestige, beauty, or another human being.  It's a sneaky, slippery slope.  


It's no secret, if you know me well, that Josh and I have had a series of financial surprises in our first four years of marriage: lost jobs, no housing, major car repairs, debt collectors calling, and the like.  I know many people who have had these experiences in recent years.  But needless to say, we were not really in control of our finances for a long time, and just when we thought we finally had it all under control, one of us would find that our contract wasn't being renewed, or the car stopped working, etc.  We tried so hard to be in control of our money, and it seemed as if it would never happen.  We thought, well, once we have money in the bank and two steady jobs, we'll be fine.  It became a god to us.


We thought about it all the time.  We cried over it when it was taken from us.  We were brutal with each other some nights when the pressure to make ends meet literally "got the best of us" all day, and then nothing was left for each other.  It didn't help that I teach in the wealthiest elementary school boundaries in the state...I felt like a pauper compared to these people!  We were consumed, and because money had most of our attention and thoughts, it had become a god to us.  Our individual relationships with God and then with each other began to suffer -- no one can serve two masters.


Then, we finally got some money.  Things began to pan out and fall into place, but unlike we thought, everything wasn't automatically better, and the temptation to allow money to control us was still there.  It IS still here.  Money and I do battle every day...he wants to control me and I want to be controlled only by God.  So, many times, I must flee.


Flee means 'to run away from dangers or pursuers, to move swiftly.'   There is a danger with our idols.  They take us down a steep slope to no where, promising they will fulfill us but never doing it.  So we go deeper, thinking the pot of gold is still just around the corner -- but its a mirage.  And pursuer?  Oh yes, there is a pursuer.  His name is satan, and he uses our idols to direct as much of our attention and affection away from Jesus as he can.


We must flee from that!  Sometimes we must flee physically, if it's a physical temptation (sex, drugs, stealing), and other times it's fleeing from a thought (that if I could just have ____, it would all be better).  Both are equally important, and the only safe place to run during pursuit, is to Jesus and to His Word.  If the Israelites had done that, their spiritual lives with God would have been renewed, and perhaps they wouldn't have lost their physical lives, too.  Idols will do that to us -- they kill the very parts that God is working to grow in us.

Find some Scripture that applies to your temptations, and place them wherever you are during the day: work, home, in the car.  Say these verses to yourself until they sink in, and ask Jesus to give you the Truth you need in that moment, because the temptations are all lies.

Above all, we must flee.  We must make the choice in the moment of weakness.  But He will ALWAYS provide a way out!  God never leaves us alone in our temptations.  But we must choose it.  

For if we don't, we die.