“Devoted to the Lord”

May 28, 2024

May 28, 2024

Read Joshua 8, Proverbs 23, 1 Corinthians 7

What’s something you are devoted to? I know the “Sunday school” answer if you grew up in a church, it’s probably “Jesus.” But what other things are you devoted to? Family, a spouse, a job, a hobby? The list could go on and on. In 1 Corinthians 7 Paul addresses the church at Corinth about a new problem they were having because of their new faith in Christ. They had some questions about what to do in their marriage relationships when one person in the family became a believer and the other spouse was not. In summary, Paul encouraged them to first devote everything they did to the Lord and His will for their lives, not acting in their own interests. “I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord” v. 35. He discussed that in either way a husband or wife should not leave their spouse just because they were not both Christians. “To the rest I say this (I, not the Lord): If any brother has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her. 13 And if a woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him. 14 For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy. 15 But if the unbeliever leaves, let him do so. A believing man or woman is not bound in such circumstances; God has called us to live in peace. 16 How do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or, how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?” vv. 12-16.  Paul’s advice was to stay married or stay single and allow God to use them as they were, married or single.

What else do you see in these chapters? What words, phrases, or themes stand out to you?
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Posted by John Weldon

“Is Christ Divided?”

May 22, 2024

May 22, 2024

Read Joshua 2, Proverbs 17, 1 Corinthians 1

My wife and I are “a house divided.” She grew up about 30 minutes from Auburn, Alabama and is a die-hard Auburn fan. I grew up about 45 minutes from Athens, Georgia and am an equally loyal Georgia fan. What are some ways that you might be divided in your house? Is it over schools, sports teams, movies and music, or something else?

The one thing that we want to avoid dividing over most as Christians is in our faith. The letter to the church at Corinth starts out with a short greeting and then Paul gets right into the first problem they faced, a divided church. “I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought” v. 10. What were they divided over? We might not know everything but apparently Paul calls them out for which one of their teachers and leaders was their favorite to follow. Paul even mentions that he was glad they he had not baptized only a few so that they could not fight over that too. Paul boldly asks, “Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul?” v. 13. Paul was telling them they had their eyes on the wrong person. It wasn’t supposed to be on Paul, Apollos, or Cephas. They were only to have their eyes of Jesus Christ.

We might laugh at this and say, “how silly they are,” but we must be careful not to fall into the same trap today. We might have our favorite podcasts, preachers, or teachers but these need to come secondary to our Savior. Do we favor a book over “the book?” Do we prefer to listen to an eloquent speaker over listening to the Word of God? Do we prefer “a new word” from some contemporary Christian over the old Word of God that never changes? What else do you see in these three chapters? What words, phrases, or themes stick out to you?
Add your thoughts below.

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Posted by John Weldon