The last few weeks has been
spent going through and sharing some thoughts about the study of 1 Corinthians
6-9. Paul continues to discuss some issues within the early church. Ethics and
love of neighbor is already in the agreement of Christianity. If disputes
occur, try to handle them within the believer community rather than putting
them into our legal system that is bogged down with trivial matters.
Paul goes from legal matters
into the areas of family and health. He points out that the purpose of our body
is a holy place for the Spirit. We should therefor honor God with healthy
habits. Then he gives advice about marriage. If a decision is made to get
married, we should search for a spouse that has a good influence on us. Things
will not always be peaches and cream but desire to live in peace, find
contentment, and work as a team.
Marriage brings on
responsibilities like mortgages, raising children, chores around the house, and
other concerns in life. We worry about paying our bills, washing the car,
mowing the lawn, or passing a test when we need to be thinking more about God
and how He is big enough to handle our challenges.
Even though being married has
its challenges, there are great opportunities to do the Lord’s work. For
example: we can lead in giving the blessing at dinner time or we can lead in a
devotional time. This blog was started because I wanted a way to document
thoughts for my family about God’s principles and how to apply them in life.
Paul then goes into loving our
neighbor. There is no need to flaunt our knowledge to the detriment of someone
else. Instead build up others. Be interested in finding their strengths and
thinking of ways for them to have success.
For Paul, the reward was giving
time and resources to others. There was a freeing aspect in serving the Lord
out of personal generosity as his faith expressed itself through love. Paul’s
attitude was to be all things to all people in order to win them to Christ.
Paul used the principles taught
by Christ to train spiritually and we can do the same. Each day, we can be
excited like a team running onto a field before a football game. We can go into
training to change lives, win people to Christ, and receive the everlasting
reward that is beyond what we could ever imagine.
These are the same reasons for
the “This Day with God” devotional. A daily devotional that internalizes His
guiding principles and an instrument which pushes one to focus on Him in every
activity throughout the day. In order to balance career, family, and devotion
to the Lord, one must daily study His Word and seek the Lord’s will in prayer.
Feel free to respond with a
short note or a comment about any of the questions above. Also, I welcome any
other thoughts or ideas, favorite inspirational videos, photos, or favorite
Bible verses. Just add them to the comments or to a Facebook page I’ve set up
at this link: This
Day With God.
Resources and Supplementary Helps Used in Posts
Adeney,
Carol. This Morning with God: A Daily Study Guide to the Entire Bible. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1978. Print.
"Bible." The
Bible - The Word of God - ChristNotes. N.p., n.d. Web. 2017. <http://www.christianity.com/bible/>.
Nicholes, Lou. "Recent
Commentaries." Family-Times.net - Devotional Commentary Index.
N.p., n.d. Web. <http://www.family-times.net/commentary/>.
"Google Images." Google
Images. N.p., n.d. Web. <https://www.google.com/imghp?hl=en&tab=wi&authuser=0&ei=8IipWNPmOoPBmwHIpZ2ACQ&ved=0EKouCBcoAQ>.
"BibleGateway." BibleGateway.com:
A Searchable Online Bible in over 150 Versions and 50 Languages. N.p., n.d. Web. <https://www.biblegateway.com/>.
No comments:
Post a Comment