#1Corinthians14 - Order in the Pews!

Click here to read 1 Corinthians 14:

1. What stood out to me from this chapter?

After explaining about some different spiritual gifts, how we are all one in the body of Christ, and reminding us to do everything in love, Paul speaks specifically about using some of these gifts in worship. What stood out to me is that even though we might think of someone speaking supernaturally in tongues as being a more amazing gift than prophesying, Paul says that prophesying does more to bless those in earshot. He says that speaking in tongues is a miracle and a supernatural gift, so unbelievers may find it amazing and trust in God. But a prophetic word will reach the hearts of all who are listening, as the word from God comes in their own language. That seems backwards, but most of the things of God are like that. :) I also really love Paul's closing plea and lesson. He reminds people that our God brings order out of chaos. He wouldn't give people gifts that throw people into confusion and disorder. God desires order and patience. There's no need for everyone to shout all at once. It's as if Paul were saying, "Order in the Pews!"

2. How does this relate to any other Scripture I know?

In Acts chapter 2 the Holy Spirit comes on the disciples, and the sign is that they are all speaking in various tongues. Many who were visiting Jerusalem from other nations were amazed that someone was speaking in their own language. For the Jews who witnessed this, it was a sign that God was at work. However, when Peter stood up and spoke plainly and prophetically, the word of God reached deep into the hearts of many who heard, and 3,000 people became believers that day. Now that's church growth.

3. What does this mean for my life?

As a worship leader, I am so used to having everything planned out and orderly, but verse 30 convicted me a little that I should be open to the Holy Spirit moving during the worship service through anyone else. I know that the point was to bring order to worship, but it sounds like their services were pretty chaotic with everyone chiming in and speaking in tongues at once. I think maybe if Paul were visiting churches today, he would see that in many there is no room for the Holy Spirit to work. The service flows like clockwork, and everyone gets a little edgy if things start to drag a bit or if something has to go to Plan B. So, I really do want to be more open to the Holy Spirit in worship. EXPECT GOD TO SHOW UP!

4. What questions do I have about this passage?

I'm going to ask a question that I know separates some denominations from each other, but because this chapter is all about supernatural gifts, I'm going to ask it anyway. "Are all believers suppose to speak in tongues? Or is it just those that the spirit has gifted in that way? Do other supernatural gifts count? How about the other gifts mentioned in chapter 12 that don't "seem" supernatural? I know those are more like spaghetti than real questions, but that's kind of how I was thinking about it. :)

Those are my thoughts for this chapter. I'd love to hear yours. God's blessings to you and KEEP DIGGING IN!

In Christ,
Dan

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#1Corinthians13 - The Wedding Passage That Isn't

Click here to read 1 Corinthians 13:

1. What stood out to me from this chapter?

This is one of the most commonly read passages of the Bible at weddings, because it's all about love and service and sacrifice. Now while all of this is actually really good advice for loving your spouse, the context of the passage actually has nothing to do with weddings. It is sandwiched in between two chapters describing the church as the body of Christ and the gifts that are given to God's people. Paul must have felt that there would be a temptation to focus so much on spiritual gifts, especially the supernatural ones, that the church would forget the main thing. Paul is reminding the believers that our primary focus is to show love to one another, both within the church as a family and outside the church. The Greek word that is translated to love in this passage is "agape" which describes the unconditional love and benevolence of God, who served and sacrificed for us when we didn't deserve it. We are called to show that love to others, even when they don't deserve it.

2. How does this relate to any other Scripture I know?

I thought immediately of the time in Matthew 22:34-40 the Jewish leaders tried to trap Jesus by asking him what the greatest commandment was. They figured if he picked one of the ten, they could then nail him about why the others weren't important. Instead he gave this answer: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" The Pharisees could not dispute this, but it sounds like 1 Corinthians 13. Paul is trying to keep the main thing the main thing - Love God and Love others.

3. What does this mean for my life?

There are some things in this chapter that are hard for me to do. Oh I can be patient, but "love always trusts." That seems like a good way to get let down quite a bit. "Love always hopes." That seems like a good way to be disappointed often. I need to try and bring out the best in people always, and paint them in the best possible light in an honest way. That's part of showing love. I guess part of loving is being willing to be hurt sometimes. God is hurt almost every day by every person, even those who love him...

4. What questions do I have about this passage?

I actually don't think I do have any questions about this passage.

Those are my thoughts for this chapter. I'd love to hear yours. God's blessings to you and KEEP DIGGING IN!

In Christ,
Dan

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#1Corinthians12 - Paul vs. Picasso

Click here to read 1 Corinthians 12:

1. What stood out to me from this chapter?

I love this passage about the body of Christ. Paul brilliantly uses the example of a human body to describe how every member of the church is important. Even though some are in positions of more public recognition (like the hands or eyes or mouth), and others virtually go unnoticed until there's a problem (like the liver or kidneys or alveoli), every part of the body is important. God has created each of us differently on purpose. So rather than wishing you were a different part of the body or attached in a different way (like some bizarre Picasso painting), recognize that God made you exactly the way you are, and wants to use your gifts and personality for his kingdom purposes.

2. How does this relate to any other Scripture I know?

While part of Paul's message here is about individuality and differences within the body, the main point is that though we are different, WE ARE ALL UNITED AS ONE BODY. This is true for each congregation, each denomination, and the whole Christian church worldwide. It's easy to forget that we are one. In John 17, Jesus prays that we as believers would all see ourselves as one. Despite our differences in practices, stylistic preferences, even biblical interpretation, we should all be one in Christ.

3. What does this mean for my life?

One of my biggest takeaways from this chapter is that I can stop trying to be all things to all people, in terms of excelling in everything. I will try my best at whatever I do, but sometimes it is far better to acknowledge a weakness and bring people into your life who can fill that need. As a leader in a ministry organization, that is huge for me to realize.

4. What questions do I have about this passage?

What are the greater gifts mentioned by Paul at the end of this chapter? Why does Paul encourage believers to desire the greater gifts after seemingly telling them to be content with who God made you to be?

Those are my thoughts for this chapter. I'd love to hear yours. God's blessings to you and KEEP DIGGING IN!

In Christ,
Dan

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#Ephesians4 - Unity and Maturity is the Goal

Ephesians 4: 

1. What stood out to me from this chapter?

In this chapter, there seems to be a progression of sorts that Paul is building up as it relates to our faith walk. We were called, we became a part of a family, we were given gifts to equip God's people, until we all reach unity and maturity. It seems that all of it builds up to unity and maturity. I think it's important to clarify that Paul links these two together. It would be easy to find unity if we all just gave up all of our convictions and interpretations of the Bible and our general sense of what's right and wrong. Then we wouldn't have to disagree about anything. But that's not what Paul is saying here. In verse 13 he describes the unity as being in faith AND in the knowledge of the Son of God. In verse 15 he describes that unity and maturity by saying that we will not be blown here and there by every wind of teaching and deceitful scheming. So Paul is linking unity and maturity to knowing Christ more and living it out in the world. It's also important to note that Paul uses the word "unity", not "uniformity." He just gets done telling us that we are all gifted differently, so he's not advocating that we all should look the same and think the same and worship in the same way. Unity means that despite our differences, we recognize that we are all part of the same body and we work to support each other and build each other up as we speak the truth in love to each other.

2. How does this passage relate to any other Scripture I know?

This language of being the body of Christ appears in 1 Corinthians 12 where Paul uses the analogy and expounds on it even further. It is one of my favorite analogies for understanding the Church, and Paul is even humorous in his use of the example in his explanation in that chapter. Also, verses 17-32 really mirror a passage in Colossians 3 which also talks about putting off the old self and clothing ourselves with the new. It lists several of the same behaviors to put behind us and many of the same attributes we need to let God develop in us. Even the title of that chapter in some translations is "Rules for Holy Living".

3. So what does this mean for my life?

One of the verses that struck me a number of years ago from this passage is Ephesians 4:29. "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen." I always feel like I've had a filter for my language, especially in regards to avoiding profanity. But this verse challenges me to take that filter even further. I have used this verse to help me think before I speak and ask myself the question, "Is this going to build others up and speak into their needs? Or am I just speaking to gain attention for myself? Or is this at someone else's expense?" James 3 contains some strong words about taming our tongue, as well as numerous proverbs which echo the same thought. I think this should be one of the verses every Christian memorizes. I need to keep it at the forefront of my mind.

4. What questions do I have about this passage?

Verses 7-10 almost seem out of place in this chapter, except that it pertains to God giving us gifts by his grace. My question is, does verse 9 talk about Christ coming to earth, or going to hell (as we state in the apostles' creed)? It's kind of a weird question, but I'm just curious because it sort of sticks out like a watermelon on a grape vine.

That's it. I'd love to hear your thoughts. Feel free to leave your own comments below. God bless.

In Christ,
Dan

#Romans12 - Caterpillars in the Bible? Well, sort of...

Romans 12: 

1. What stuck out to you from this chapter?

Romans 12:2 is one of my favorite verses in the Bible. Recently I paid close attention to the verb tenses in the verse and realized something very important. It says "Do not CONFORM...but BE TRANSFORMED..." Conforming is something we do to ourselves. We try to make ourselves "fit in" and look like everyone else around us. Like in the books of Judges and Samuel, the Israelites wanted a king so they could be like all the other nations around them. God warned them what would happen, but they still wanted one. But in the end, it is something we do to ourselves. On the other hand, the next verb says BE TRANSFORMED. Notice it doesn't say "conform yourselves" or "try harder to look like Jesus" or "transform yourselves." It says, "BE TRANSFORMED." That is a passive verb. Actually the Greek word that is translated "transformed" is "metamorphoo," which is where we get our word for metamorphosis. A caterpillar goes through a transformation, but it's not something that's done on it's own. It simply submits to the process God has created so it can "be transformed" into a new creation. In the same way, we ought to simply "be transformed" by God's word and God's processes to let him shape us into the image of his Son.

2. How does this passage relate to any other Scripture I know.

One of my favorite illustrations for what the church is supposed to be is found in verses 3-8, namely that the church is like one body with many parts. Each part performs different tasks and has different gifts, but is important to the function of the whole body. One of the longest passages where Paul talks about the body is in 1 Corinthians 12, and he also illustrates the church in this way in Ephesians 4. Each of these three passages provides insight into this illustration, as well as the different gifts found in the body of Christ. If you struggle with what your place is, look in each of these three places and see if any of the gifts describe you.

3. So what does this mean for my life?

I was struck by the end of this passage where Paul talks about loving your enemies. Especially striking was the final verse, "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." We use this verse with our children to talk about not "getting revenge" or hitting back, but rather showing love even to those who are being mean to us. It is an simple concept, but not an easy one for anyone to put into practice. I would have a really hard time actually thinking of anyone in my life right now as an "enemy," but there are plenty of times where even the people I love rub me the wrong way for a moment. My reaction is a good indicator of how I'm letting God transform me in this way.

4. What questions do I have about this passage?

This is a pretty big question, but how are we as Christians supposed to apply these types of verses to war and terrorism? Or even to self-defense on a personal level? At what point do we still bear arms and defend ourselves in the world, and how far is too far? I find myself having a hard time justifying 100% pacifism and 100% war mentality with a biblical backing. Yet everything in between is gray. That's hard.

Some big thoughts from a very practical chapter. I'd love to hear thoughts from others.

In Christ,
Dan