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For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.Eph 2:9 |
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| Archived Manna: | |
Dear
Friend,
If you do not already have a habit of gathering daily manna the first thing in the morning (we can look at the example given to us in Exodus 16 and find the pattern for collecting daily manna), make it a habit. Establish your life and your schedule to allow you the necessary time to do your daily collection first thing every morning to give you the strength to make it through the day. And remember that today’s manna will not be sufficient for tomorrow; tomorrow’s manna must be collected tomorrow morning. Friday, October 13, 2017
Today's Passage : Today's Passage: Subject:The Scum of the World Bible Verse:1 Corinthians 4:8-14 (ESV "Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! Without us you have become kings! And would that you did reign, so that we might share the rule with you! For I think that God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, like men sentenced to death, because we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men. We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute. To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are poorly dressed and buffeted and homeless, and we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we entreat. We have become, and are still, like the scum of the world, the refuse of all things. I do not write these things to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children." Message:
When we read this passage, in which Paul seems to get a little carried away, it is important to remember what Paul is arguing for. It sounds like he is doing what he just warned the reader not to do — boasting about how abased he is, in God’s service.
I cannot resist an old Jewish joke about this: during a Sabbath service a rabbi is seized by a sudden wave of guilt, prostrates himself and cries out, “God, before you I am nothing!”
The cantor is so moved by this demonstration of piety that he throws himself to the floor beside the rabbi and cries, “God, before you I am nothing!” Watching this scene unfold from his seat in the first row, the synagogue’s janitor runs up, flops down in the aisle and cries, “God, before you I am nothing!”
The rabbi nudges the cantor and whispers, “So look who thinks he’s nothing!”
Anyway, if it sounds like Paul is boasting about his piety, he is. There’s no way to read this other than Paul is offering himself (and others like him) as an example, to contrast against the behavior of the Christians in Corinth. But he says he does not do it to shame them, but to admonish them, and we must believe in his sincerity.
At several points, lines of right and wrong behavior are difficult to draw from the New Testament. The line between boasting about one’s own actions and using one’s life as an example of piety is, at best, thought provoking.
Similarly, the line between refusing to judge others and admonishing a brother or sister who has fallen into clear sin, and the line between a duty of forgiving others and suggestions that sinners be excluded from the company of Christians, are difficult to follow in the New Testament. It is a challenge, sometimes, not to find them confusing or even contradictory. We will study these problems more in the next few chapters.
But who are we to criticize Paul, if he offers himself as an example of a person who is reviled and persecuted for Christ? He is not in Corinth, where he might simply lead by silent example. He feels he must convey, to the wayward church such a long way off, that there are people who practice what they preach. If we feel feel critical of him, while sitting in our comfortable residence with breakfast in our stomachs, let us look to the beam in our own eye.
Meditation : Prayer : Into your hands, O Lord, Jesus Christ, my God, I commend my spirit. Bless me and all those who pray in faith of You this day; save us and grant unto us everlasting life.Amen |
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