Category: Building a Faith-filled Life

Work while Waiting for the Trumpet

I Corinthians 15

 

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So, two chapters ago we got to hear from the wise and lovely Susan Landry on the Love Chapter.  Today – we get to look at 1st Corinthians 15 – the Resurrection Chapter.  I find it just a little interesting that when chapters and verses were inserted it ends up being 13 powerful verses on love in the 13th chapter.  And, a mere 58 verses on resurrection in the 15th chapter of Paul’s first letter to the church in Corinth.  There are definitely some Important things that Paul wants to pass along regarding resurrection.

 

He starts right off saying that the gospel he preached to them IS what saves – IFFFF and only if they continue to hold firmly to it.  He tells how he passed along to them what he heard of Christ, “of first importance” – his death for our sins, burial, and resurrection.  What do we pass along of first importance?  Hopefully it’s more than the weather report, sport scores, family activities, or Hollywood gossip.  There is a gospel that saves – but only for those who hear it and believe and hold firmly to it.  I appreciated Jake Ballard’s writings here on the devotions blog (following Easter – April 23-26) on proving the resurrection – first Christ’s, then the coming resurrection.  If you know someone who could use some help in believing (even yourself?) it would be time well spent to do the research, ask the questions, pray for understanding, surround yourself with believers, find the answers, and seek ways to defend the faith and the resurrection.

 

For, as in Paul’s day, there are still many who will mislead (vs. 33).  Don’t be one caught going in the wrong direction.  There are many who are still ignorant of God – to our shame – we have work to do (vs. 34).  While we are preparing for the trumpet sound, we have work to do.  Looking forward to that great moment when we will be changed in the twinkling of an eye (vs 52)!  Looking forward to that moment when death is swallowed up in victory (vs. 54)!  And because of this . . . “Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm.  Let nothing move you.  Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” (1 Corinthians 15:58).

 

-Marcia Railton

Ahhhh, Love

1 Corinthians 13

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I Corinthians 13.  The ‘love’ chapter.  Has any passage of Scripture been read at more weddings?

Let me ask you, what’s the difference between the wedding and the marriage?  We typically spend years planning and orchestrating one to be perfect and we waltz into the other without a thought and expect it to go off without a hitch.  And that’s sad.

It’s sad that this passage that so eloquently captures what real love should be is relegated to a romantic poem.

This description of love is raw.  It is get your hands dirty, give up your ‘rights’, lay down what you want, doesn’t feel good kind of real.

Patient

Kind

Trusting

Humble

Not rude

Not selfish

Not angry

Doesn’t bring up past wrongs

Protective

Never gives up

Who wouldn’t want to be married to THAT person?!  Right?  But being that person, well, that’s a big ask.

I think it’s great if you want to read this passage at your wedding.  (Pro tip if you do: Rehearse)  But remember to take the time to dig in to each one of these descriptors that Paul gives us.  You know which ones are hardest for you.

Think about how many hours you put into wedding planning.  Does your marriage deserve any less?

Check out this post that includes some helpful resources for building a strong marriage as well as advice from a number of married couples that have stood the test of time:  https://thesparrowshome.com/marriage-resources-advice/

 

-Susan Landry

 

 

 

But how do I know what my Spiritual Gift is?

1 Corinthians 12

1 Cor 12 27

Do you ever think God sits up in heaven, listening to us, and just smacks his forehead?  I do.

Think about this:  He is so amazingly gracious and wonderful that He supernaturally equips believers with gifts to make life better for all of us.  But instead of doing that…we sit around and take Spiritual gift inventories.

Head smack.

1 Corinthians 12: 4-7

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.

Want to know how God has gifted you?  Here’s the super-complicated, algorithm-created, surefire way to find out.  Ready?

Try stuff.

Ta-da!

Seriously.  Try stuff.  See what fills your bucket.  What makes you light up.  What energizes, instead of drains you?

All believers are called to serve in lots of ways.  We’re all expected to demonstrate some amount of wisdom, knowledge, faith and discernment.  We are all supposed to serve through giving, helping, teaching, and working.

While I can serve by mowing the lawn or doing dishes, I don’t feel particularly pumped after doing so.  But my friend Cheryl does.  Serving others in these ways invigorates her and motivates her to do more.

Cheryl will step in and lead a class if needed, but she doesn’t love it.  I love (insert many hearts here) it.  Teaching fills my bucket, it drains hers.

So put down the Spiritual gift inventory and start doing.  Ask God to help you find your sweet spot.  I’ll bet He won’t say no.

“you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.”

 

-Susan Landry

Remember the Snakes

1 Corinthians 10

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Even though chapter 10 of 1 Corinthians is titled by Bible editors as ‘Warnings from Israel’s History’, I still didn’t expect the likes of this:

We should not test the Lord, as some of them did – and were killed by snakes. (verse 9)

Not getting eaten by snakes sounds like an outcome I’d like.  Don’t test the Lord–check.

But let’s take a minute here, what does that mean—don’t test the Lord?  In Malachi 3:10 God invites the people to test him and see if He’s faithful in what He’s promised.  Must be a different kind of testing.

What Paul is referring to here is recorded in Numbers 21:4-6.  The events took place while the Israelites were wandering in the desert.  We’re told that the people grew impatient and complained.

“Why did you…”

“We don’t have…”

“And we don’t like the food.”

So, like any good parent, God sent snakes.  hahaha   Seriously, though, he got their attention and the rest of the people repented.  Definitely good parenting.

Paul gives another example of the kind of testing that we’re not to do when he goes on to say,

And do not grumble, as some of them did – and were killed by the destroying angel. (verse 10)

Grumbling.  Complaining.  Apparently God doesn’t like these things.

Paul goes on to tell us why he’s bringing these examples up:

These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us… (verse 11)

The people of Israel had seen far larger acts of God than most of us can claim.  They had walked through a sea and eaten bread that appeared spontaneously.  And yet they questioned God’s care for them.  We can look at that and shake our heads at how fickle they were.  But how different are we?

Because we don’t have a map of the future, it can be frustrating to not see things lining up or happening as we think they should.  It can also become easy to question God’s care for us.

“Why did you…”

“I don’t have…”

“And I don’t like…”

Please remember today that God is big enough to handle our questions.  He invites us to test Him so we can be assured of His faithfulness.  But be intentional to catch yourself if you start to feel that God owes you something and is not coming through the way that He ought.

Remember the snakes.

 

-Susan Landry

Go! Fight! Win!

1 Corinthians 9

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.

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. (1 Corinthians 9: 24)

Being competitive is sometimes presented in a negative light.  Probably because competition can bring out the ‘jerk’ in people.  That’s too bad, because in his letter to the Corinthians, Paul is telling them (and us) to lean into that competitive spirit.

Paul is using this as an analogy, by the way, he’s not telling us that we are in competition with other believers.  He uses two phrases that I hope will inspire you as you run your race.

“strict training”

Athletes preparing for a big competition don’t eat whatever they want and binge Netflix all day.  What do they do instead?  They do things that will help them succeed in their goal.  (Winning!)  Paul’s goal, and ours, is “a crown that will last forever.”

How do we train for eternal life?

The word obey comes to mind.  In order to obey we need to really know Scripture.  If we want to hear the words “Well done, good and faithful servant,” we need to know what the Master expects of us.  And we need to do it, even when it’s hard.  Just like the athlete in training gets off the couch and goes to practice, even when he’s tired, we need to obey even when it doesn’t make sense to our human sensibilities.

“do not run aimlessly”

If you’ve ever been to a kid’s sporting event, you know that there are players that do not have their head in the game.  They are wandering around the field, chatting with friends, maybe even picking flowers in the grass.  Adorable.

Not so adorable when it’s adults in an Olympic competition and not cute when we’re talking about forever.

So many of us say that we are sharing our faith by they way that we live our lives.  But how much of that is a cop-out because we’re not comfortable evangelizing?  If we are actively sharing our faith through our life, we will be intentional in planning ways to do it.  We won’t just be going about our life, wandering aimlessly along.

I encourage you today to make a training plan.  How are you getting ready for Christ’s return?  I also encourage you to make a game plan.  How are you looking for ways to share your faith with those around you?

-Susan Landry

 

 

Knowledge Puffs Up, But Love Builds Up

1 Corinthians 8

Those who think they know something do not yet know as they ought to know.

Would it surprise you to know that in a discussion about issues that people disagree on, Paul would bring up the subject of pride?  The Corinthians disagreed on a lot, what to eat, how to worship, what was moral behavior, and more.  Paul kind of leads with this in chapter one (1:10) saying that he ‘appealed to them’ to get rid of the divisions and live in unity with one another.

Now here, in chapter 8, Paul is in the middle of working through one of their many dividing issues.  But instead of focusing on the issue, I’d like to hone in on some wisdom that Paul shares about unity in the body.

“Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up”

We shouldn’t be mistaken.  Paul is not saying that knowledge itself is bad, or that the desire to pursue knowledge is in itself prideful.  He’s not suggesting that we should pursue love instead of pursuing knowledge.  Not at all.  It seems that what Paul is concerned with is what that knowledge does in us and how we share that knowledge.

Do you like to be the smartest person in the room.  That’s pride.

Do you use your tone of voice to make people feel dumb because they don’t know what you do.  That’s pride.

And here’s an important thing to note… we’ll only really know that we are building up (or edifying) with our knowledge by how others respond.  Edifying is not something we can claim.

“I hereby edify you!”

Nope.  Not how it works.

If you think that you are sharing your knowledge with love, it will be evident by the unity that you are helping to create.  When Scripture calls us to be peacemakers (Matt. 5:9, James 3:18) it implies actively building peace and unity.  Being a peacemaker is more than just not shooting anyone.  A peacemaker makes peace as opposed to division, they edify and build up those around them.

Picture a person filled with knowledge who you just love to be around because of the way they make you want to know more, to be better, simply because of the kindness and grace with which they speak.  Their whole demeanor draws you to them.  Sounds a lot like Jesus, if you ask me.  It also sounds like the kind of person Paul is calling us to be.

 

-Susan Landry

 

 

 

Easy Life vs. Eternal Life

John 6 27 a

John 6

 

John 6 is a great example of the total disconnect between Jesus, and what he had to offer, versus the people following Jesus, and what they wanted.

The chapter starts with Jesus feeding 5000 men.  (I don’t even have space to discuss Jesus’ walking on the water right after that miracle.)  Once his followers enjoyed a free meal, they wanted more.  The chapter then has this recurring theme where the people want more food, and Jesus wants to focus on something more eternal.

I’ll paraphrase the story:

Jesus: You’re only following me to get more food.  You shouldn’t focus on food that spoils, but the food that I’ll give you that will endure eternally.

People:  Do a miracle for us.  Moses fed our ancestors in the desert. (Hint)

Jesus: I’m the true bread from heaven to give life to the world.

People: Feed us.

Jesus:  39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. 40 For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”

People:  Grumble

Jesus: 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. 50 But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”

People:  Grumble about eating Jesus’ flesh.

Jesus: 54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.  …  58 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.”

People: Desert Jesus.

Jesus then asked the twelve disciples, “Are you going to leave too?”

I love Peter’s answer, “Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life.  We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”

 

Application:

In Jesus’ day, I assume the people had to work pretty hard to acquire food.  If Jesus could have just supplied all the food they would have needed for the rest of their lives, life would have been so much easier.  After all, God wants us to have an easy life, right?

Jesus was focused on doing God’s will, and looking forward to the resurrection.  Four times in this chapter, Jesus repeats that he will raise people up at the last day.  Five times he talks about eternal life.

How often do we focus on (and pray for and long for) God making life easy for us?  Jesus is clearly pointing out that we just need to “believe in the one he [God] has sent.”  Live for Him, and look forward to the resurrection.

So, where will you focus today?

 

–Steve Mattison

Disputable Matters are Disputable

Romans Chapter 14

The faith which you have, have as your own conviction before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves.

Ah yes.  Disputable matters.  What are those exactly?  Well, that’s disputable.  We were only given a short list of what those are for sure.  Meat or no meat?  Days all the same or some more sacred?  And from a parallel passage in 1 Corinthians 8;  food sacrificed to idols able to be eaten?

 

What modern disputable matters can you think of?  Drinking alcohol?  Voting?  Putting up a Christmas Tree?  Playing Dungeons and Dragons?  Rooting on the New England Patriots?  No, we all know that last one is evil.

 

I have heard arguments for and against these so-called disputable matters.  I have also heard from those who hold a strong stand on them that they are NOT disputable.  In fact, those with opposing stands can often both point to scripture to back their conflicting viewpoints.  What then?

 

As Christians, moreover as people, we are going to disagree about things.  Paul knew this.  He saw it.  And he was concerned about the division within the church that would create.  And for good reason.  I once heard that a church actually split over the chosen color of the new carpet.  That is rather ridiculous.  I don’t know if that would classify as a disputable matter, but the point is that we are easily divided if we are not careful.  The enemy wants to divide us.  Don’t let the enemy win in regards to these issues.

 

Sometimes we have to agree to disagree and leave it at that.  And I am not saying that truth is not important.  It is of the utmost importance.  But there are some things that people are simply not going to agree on.  That doesn’t mean that anything we disagree on is automatically a disputable matter.  But if it is something that we can disagree on and still have fellowship together, then maybe we need to leave it at that.

 

Let’s strive for unity, and still be mature enough to disagree on some matters.

 

I’m sure I cleared this right up for you.  Or maybe you dispute that?

 

Greg Landry

 

 

Be Transformed

Romans Chapter 12 

 

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.  Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

 

This!

 

These are some of the wisest words that Paul shares in Romans.  And that is saying a lot.

 

“In view of God’s mercy.”

After the abundance of mercy that God has shown us, we should desire to please him and properly worship Him.  So how do we do that?  By offering our bodies as sacrifices to God by being HOLY and PLEASING to Him.

 

How do we know what holy and pleasing looks like to God?  By renewing our minds in God’s word.  Paul lays it all out right there for us.  Isn’t this easy?

 

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world.”

This warns us that the world’s system – the popular culture and manner of thinking that is in rebellion against God – will try to conform us to its ungodly pattern, and that process must be resisted.  And yet, many of us find ourselves being conformed to the world all the time.  It sneaks up on you sometimes.  Is our mouth just as foul as our coworkers?  Do we covet the latest ‘thing?’  Has your position on the sin of homosexuality moved?  Is viewing pornography ‘no big deal?’  Do you seek revenge against someone if they have wronged you?  (That one is addressed later in this same chapter.)

 

How do we know if these things are wrong or not?  By being transformed by the renewing of our minds.  This is the OPPOSITE of being conformed to the world.  Our minds start out being ruled by feelings, rooted in the flesh.  At that point we look just like the world.  But we need to have a source of truth – God’s world – that tells us what is right or wrong, despite what our feelings tell us.  Feelings lie.  The world lies.  But God’s word never will.

 

We can only be transformed in our minds by becoming more and more familiar with what God’s Word says.  Do you really stand out from the world?  As a Christian, you should.  The transformation you experience, from your old way of thinking and acting, should be as complete as Bumblebee or Optimus Prime from the Transformers movies when they transform from vehicle form to robot form.

 

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Finally, Paul is not calling us to be completely separate from the world, but instead to not be like the world.  We need to stand out in the world in such a way that we attract attention, and hopefully then draw others to God.  If we completely separate ourselves from the world, changing the lives of unbelievers would be impossible.

 

Greg Landry

 

 

Thankful for this Current Age

Romans Chapter 10 

 

Building off of the previous chapter, Paul again laments that his brethren have missed their Messiah.

 

But by God’s grace, knowing that His own chosen people would reject His son, He made the saving power of Christ’s sacrifice available to everyone, Jew and Gentile alike.

 

The Jews were full of knowledge, and knew all there was to know about the appearance of their Savior, but they still missed it.  Let that be a lesson to us all, to not be so stubborn and arrogant as to miss truths, whether they be large or small.

 

Another big shift at this time, beyond salvation becoming available to Gentiles, was the idea that righteousness with God was not going to be obtained by works, by keeping the law.  Instead, it is now attainable by confessing with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believing in your heart that God raised him from the dead.  Through these things you will be saved.

 

In verse 10, Paul says “For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.”  How seemingly simple that is, compared with the copious laws and rituals the Jews had to observe to obtain the same outcome.

 

I am so thankful for both of these changes.  We take them for granted today, but for thousands of years, things were quite different.  In fact, for the majority of history, God was the God of his chosen people Israel only, who were under the law, with no access to Christ.

 

To say that Jesus Christ is Lord seems so easy to us today.  But at this time, for a Jew to say this meant that they fully accepted that Jesus was the son of God, which was a very big step for them.  Likewise, for a Gentile to proclaim Jesus as Lord meant that they were putting the Lordship of Christ over whatever Emperor they were under.   As we know, this was a dangerous public statement to make in those times, for Jew and Gentile alike.

 

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Never take your position in history for granted.  I am thankful for many things based on our current technology, such as automobiles, air conditioning, modern medicine and indoor toilets.  But I am most thankful that we are living in an age where we have access to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

 

Greg Landry