Category: Bible (Page 82 of 396)

I love ice cream and pizza. I could eat a slice of pizza every day for the rest of my life, then finish each of those days with a bowl of ice cream. Nirvana. As an adult, I have every right to eat this way. Plenty of options for pizza and ice cream surround me. Nothing is stopping me (except my wife). But such a delightful diet is not beneficial.

Paul spoke to our rights and how we employ them. “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but I will not be mastered by anything. Later in his argument Paul offered up the logic behind these statements. Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you received from God? You are not your own; you were bought with a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.

As a follower of Jesus, I consider the ways I treat my body and then surrender my base desires to the Lord. I waive my rights to do anything I want—a counter-cultural idea.

I am to cast aside that which masters me. Be it pizza, ice cream, social media approval, scrolling for distraction, pornography, alcohol, shopping—any number of potential overseers. Paul speaks specifically of sexual immorality, but control comes in all guises. When I’m mastered by something that behaviour or habit owns me. I’ve become it’s slave.

Getting “unmastered” is complicated and painful. It’s different for different circumstances, but with the help of others and the Holy Spirit I can unshackle from the false owners of my soul. Surrendering my right to do anything I want starts this process.

As splendid as chocolate chip ice cream and pepperoni pizza are on my tongue, I try to avoid their siren call. I enjoy them in moderation, under flagging yet dutiful control. I work at surrendering my base desires knowing there’s room for only one Master—and He leads me to a flourishing life.

1 Corinthians 6 in Through the Bible in 2024

Photo by American Heritage Chocolate

Outside my window stands a beautiful ash tree. Twenty-six years old, planted when we moved into the house, the ash survived harsh winters and dry summers. But today the tree faces a new threat—the Emerald Ash Borer. This invasive beetle (originally from Asia) decimates North American ash trees. I cannot see the beetles, but the arborist who inspected my tree tells me they’re present. The beetles lay eggs, and the voracious larva feed inside the bark. Less than 1% of infested trees survive.

My tree has a problem on the inside.

Isaiah spoke of problems of the heart in his missive to Israel and Jerusalem. He wrote of the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, born out of long disregard for the Lord. But Isaiah also carried hope, reminding us that the Lord will keep in perfect peace those whose hearts are steadfast, because they trust in you.

Like my tree, I have problems on the inside. Worries and temptations, pride and laziness eats away at my core. Larva birthed from this world, my own flesh and the devil burrow and feast.

Fortunately for my ash, a treatment exists to counteract the actions of the borer. A pair of arborists injected the base with a pesticide that spreads up the tree and kills the larva. The remedy lasts for two years, then will need to be repeated. A healthy tree requires vigilance.

As does a healthy inner life. Treatments exist to obstruct the borers of my soul. God’s Word, prayer, and time with fellow believers come to mind. I cannot always recognize the issues eating holes in my core, but I can counteract them by surrendering to the ways of the Lord.

Isaiah 26 & 30 in Through the Bible in 2024

Photo by Annie Spratt

Messaging bombards us during this election season. U.S. presidential candidates compete for the ultimate prize—the most powerful office in this country and arguably the world. Every politician vows to bless us when they exercise power, but savvy voters know such talk rarely lives up to the hype.

Talk and power go together, among politicians and business leaders and preachers. But it’s surface level chatter, like dead leaves skittering across a sidewalk. Deeper power abides.

The Apostle Paul wrote to a community of believers struggling with concepts of authority. He said, the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.

A pulsing force underlies all human life. Although I might speak of such power, I cannot talk my way into receiving it. Only by welcoming the kingdom of God, by following the precepts handed to us by the Lord, might kingdom power emerge.

We do not vote in a leader to hold this power. God bestows it on the deserving, who tend to be humble men and women living out kingdom principles day after day.

Powerful people indeed walk among us, they just don’t happen to be elected politicians or yacht-driving moguls. These disciples sink roots into the soil of the kingdom and become conduits of God’s power on this earth. Thank the Lord for such quietly influential souls, for they make our world a place worth living.

1 Corinthians 4 in Through the Bible in 2024

Photo by Andraz Lazic

I recently read a surprising and encouraging report from a professor who referenced an influential talk he heard while a student on a summer mission in 1997. I served as the Bible teacher on that mission in Hungary and spoke numerous times, so it’s quite likely I gave that particular message (I really cannot remember). Regardless, myself and others cultivated the faith of this academic, a few of many who did so along the way.

When you think about your life of faith, who planted the seeds? Who watered the tender shoots? Who are those tending your garden today?

In a discussion with church members in Corinth, Paul reminded them that it really doesn’t matter who plants or waters, because God provides the growth:

What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.

Just like this professor, I received the seed of faith from someone before me and benefited from faithful watering. Of course, others worked before them, all the way back to Jesus our Lord. A cornucopia of growth extending back generations.

Enjoy those who plant and water in your life. Thank them of their hard work, then pass the favor on to others. Finally, always remember that God causes the growth, whether we hear about it in this life or not.

1 Corinthians 3 in Through the Bible in 2024

Photo by Jonathan Kemper