WATCHWORD:
1 Dear brothers and sisters, when I was with you, I couldn’t talk to you as I would to spiritual people. I had to talk as though you belonged to this world or as though you were infants in Christ. 2 I had to feed you with milk, not with solid food, because you weren’t ready for anything stronger. And you still aren’t ready, 3 for you are still controlled by your sinful nature. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn’t that prove you are controlled by your sinful nature? Aren’t you living like people of the world? 4 When one of you says, “I am a follower of Paul,” and another says, “I follow Apollos,” aren’t you acting just like people of the world? 5 After all, who is Apollos? Who is Paul? We are only God’s servants through whom you believed the Good News. Each of us did the work the Lord gave us. 6 I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow. 7 It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow. 8 The one who plants and the one who waters work together with the same purpose. And both will be rewarded for their own hard work. 9 For we are both God’s workers. And you are God’s field. You are God’s building. 1 Corinthians 3:1-9
Meditation:
Shirts vs. Skins?
Have you ever been caught-up in the political political maelstrom, a nonsensical, go nowhere, political struggle that shed more heat than light? I did, and when I returned to the morning devotionals which included Paul’s letter to the Corinthians in Our Daily Bread, I laughed out loud! How bloody stupid I had been, too much like the sillies in Corinth, choosing up sides, seeking a human idol to worship.
In the light of this spiritual awareness, it seemed obvious to me that I was tasting unspiritual milk and struggling with the solid food of the Word. Do we follow our Lord when it fits our political bent, or do we follow our Lord despite what they may proclaim? Besides, who are these “teams” anyway? Shirts and skins? Dumb and dumber?
There is much in the political landscape to cause serious concerns for the believer, the follower of Christ. What is our position on this and that and the other thing? Maybe the better question is, why do we tend to take that malarkey so seriously?
Often, when strife and other kinds of disruption strike, it seemed that whatever devotional I was reading, my Lord’s Word addressed the matter. Do you ever experience that? One reading of an Oswald Chambers devotional starts with this: “Whenever anything begins to disintegrate your life with Jesus Christ, turn to him at once, asking him to reestablish your rest.” Too often our own distractions take us away from His Word, His Peace.
Remember this passage from Matthew? “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”
When we get all caught up, emotionally, in the junk of the day and it takes away our peace, and causes us to worry; one of our greatest sins. God has graced us with His peace. He’s cautioned us not to worry. He invites us into a yokefellow relationship with Him. Can you imagine what a great peace that brings? So, what are you waiting for?
NOTE: Pardon me for dipping into the political landscape, but sometimes the evil in our world needs to be addressed, one way or another. My apologies to those whose sensibilities have been bruised. Stan
Morning Prayers:
Dear Lord, I don’t know who or what will cross my path today. But I do know that You are my Rock and my Fortress. You are my Shield and my Strong Tower. Help me to anchor myself to You today. Teach me how to stand strong in You and choose only Your way today. Help me walk by Your truth and not my feelings. Help me to embrace anything that comes my way as an opportunity to see You at work and as an opportunity to point others to You. Thank You that You love me, and nothing can ever take that away from me! Even if I fail today and fall short, You whisper Your unconditional love deep into my soul and remind me that Your mercies are new every morning. That truly amazes me, Lord. Thank You for meeting with me today. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
