Category: Bible (Page 338 of 419)

As a kid, I loved church potlucks. Being in the Ozarks, someone always brought fried chicken, someone always brought jello with fruit (which I considered then, and still today, a salad), and most everyone brought a dessert. A plate full of fried chicken and jello salad laid the foundation for a similar-sized plate of desserts. That holy bliss of fats and sugars hangs in my memory.

The church members in Corinth also joined together for shared meals, but they apparently didn’t get any training on potlucks. When together, instead of sharing their food equally, the rich took more and the poor received less. Some even went home hungry—hard to imagine at a church potluck.

Paul hammered the selfish church members—you despise the Church of God by humiliating those who have nothing. Paul seemed frustrated and embarrassed for the less privileged members.

As I read 1 Corinthians, a theme emerges. As Paul instructs this young church, he continually labors to move the members of the body from getting to giving.

Perhaps the most fundamental and profound step of living out our Christian faith involves moving from getting to giving. Do I look to my faith only for what I receive, or do I also look to serve others? Do I reach out and meet someone obviously new at church, or do I slip by with a nod? Do I respond to appeals for help, or assume someone else on the email thread will take care of it?

Getting to Giving. The crux of discipleship.

So I must ask myself—would I share my heaping plates of fried chicken and jello salad and desserts? As a junior high boy, no chance. But as an adult, and hopefully more mature follower of Jesus, I believe I would.

Maybe.

1 Corinthians 11 in week thirty-six of reading the Bible cover to cover

Photo by Tim Cooper

I cannot read Isaiah 40 without thinking about the movie Chariots of Fire, featuring the story of Eric Liddell, the British olympian and missionary to China. Here Liddell reads a section of Isaiah 40, and if you’ve never seen the movie, or watched it in a long time, it’s well worth the effort of punching those keys on your remote.

I also find the words of Isaiah encouraging for those of us non-olympian types. In a couple of weeks my wife and I will walk a section of the Camino de Santiago, a pilgrimage in Northern Spain. Covering 70 miles in 6 days, the hopefulness—they will walk and not be faint—stands out to me. Sore feet and achy muscles go with the experience, a long walk in the same direction.

A long walk in the same direction also represents our life of faith. Which makes these words from Isaiah especially significant:

He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

Amen. Let’s hope in the Lord, and renew our strength.

Isaiah 40 in week thirty-six of reading the Bible cover to cover

Photo by Rachel McDermott

As we approached the ancient marble bust, my tour guide nodded to the head and instructed me to do the same. After I nodded he said, “you have now prayed to Shiva, would you like to pray some more?” I said “no thank you,” out loud, and silently shot up my own prayer—“Lord, I really didn’t mean to pray to Shiva.”

When I told my friend, “Hey, I really didn’t mean to pray to Shiva,” he replied in his understated way, “Well, it sure looked like you were praying to Shiva.” Lord forgive me, led astray by a kind little tour guide.

This incident of alleged idol worship occurred several years ago in Calcutta, India, a city with shrines and representations of deities on every corner. Paul wrote to the Corinthian church about similar issues they faced as they navigated a society filled with gods.

Paul addressed the question of eating food formerly offered to idols. Not surprisingly, the gods never ate any of their presents, so before going bad, the pagans sold these delicacies at a good price. Many Christians, hankering for a choice cut of meat, enjoyed the bargains. But some of their fellow church members struggled with the practice.

Which brings me to Paul’s argument. Pauls said they could eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience. But he also said that while I have the right to do anything, not everything is constructive. No one should seek their own good, but the good of others.

Seeking the good of others trumps a great sale on beef. I’m to consider the good of others in my decision-making, my consumption of goods, and my life-style. Yes, I have a right to most anything as a follower of Jesus (it’s really quite freeing), but I must couple my rights with my obligation to fellow believers.

Paul preached an other-centered life. Paul subjugated his rightful desires in order to build up the faith of others—for I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved.

I’m to consider the same thought. How do my actions benefit, or harm, my fellow believers? Sometimes hard to remember, and certainly to practice, but I must think about more than just myself.

I Corinthians 10 in week thirty-six of reading the Bible cover to cover

Photo by PK

The Assyrian army outside Jerusalem felt like a tidal wave cresting against the walls. No other city had survived their attacks. No previous gods rescued their people from these conquering warriors. Nothing and nobody slowed the steady march of Sennacherib, the Assyrian king, through the nation of Judah. What possibly could be done to stop them? Would the meager defensive preparations hold? For how long?

All these thoughts and more rolled through the mind of Hezekiah, the king of Judah, as he stood on the wall and gazed at this vast collection of men and war machinery before him. All of them there to end his life and to destroy Jerusalem.

In this dark hour, with the barbarians at the gate, Hezekiah gave a speech. He assembled the people and told them, Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged because of the King of Assyria and the vast army with him, for there is a greater power with us than with him. With him is only the arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles.

That’s it. Short and to the point.

How did the besieged people respond? And the people gained confidence from what Hezekiah the King of Judah said. Hezekiah’s words, his trust in the Lord, his vision of who fights for the nation instilled confidence in these besieged citizens. His speech helped them to stand firm in the face of an overwhelming force.

A leader motivates. A leader may not be a gifted speaker or a talented writer, but a leader figures out how to motivate his followers to a desired end.

In this case of Hezekiah, his well-spoken words come at just the right time. As we watch the story unfold, the Lord responded to Hezekiah’s faith and the blasphemy of Sennacherib by sending an angel who wiped out every fighting man of Assyria.

The beaten king withdrew in shame and returned home where his sons assassinated him in the temple of his god. The Lord proves a point like no other. No arm of flesh stands a chance against the Lord. Mock the living God? Never a good idea. Wiser to pray and trust the Lord like Hezekiah.

Also, like Hezekiah, better to transfer that trust to others. The people gained confidence from what Hezekiah said. Have you ever been the recipient of a well-spoken word? Perhaps a compliment when you needed it most, or a note of courage when afraid? How about a good yelling from a coach, or a challenge to excel from a teacher? A leader motivates. An influential leader motivates in such a way that the people gain confidence. Confidence breeds action. Confidence is contagious. Confidence paired with the Lord wins battles.

Learn to instill confidence in others as you lead. Better yet, learn to instill confidence in the Lord among those you lead and you might just change the world.

2 Chronicles 32 in week thirty-six of reading the Bible cover to cover.

This post is from Seers Sayers Schemers & Saints; Lessons on Leadership from Overlooked Men and Women of the Bible

Photo by K. Mitch Hodge