I Corinthians 3

I haven't posted any Enterprise columns in a while.  I've been working to make them more exegetical in nature.  Here is this week's, the third in a series on I Corinthians.

           In the early verses of chapter 1 of his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul rebukes the saints there for the divisions in their congregation.   Members were identifying themselves as followers of Paul, Apollos, Peter, or Christ, rather than emphasizing the unity that belonged to them all in Christ.  God used Paul to plant the church in Corinth.  Apollos was a knowledgeable and eloquent preacher whom Priscilla and Aquila met in Ephesus.  He later came to Corinth and “greatly helped those who through grace had believed, for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, showing by the Scriptures that the Christ was Jesus” (Acts 18:27-28).  In the remainder of chapter 1 and throughout chapter 2, Paul explains that human “wisdom” is foolishness compared to God’s wisdom, and he demonstrates that Christ, the wisdom and power of God, cannot be believed apart from the work of the Holy Spirit in one’s heart.

Now, at the beginning of chapter 3, Paul again speaks sharply to the Corinthians, pointing at the jealousy and strife among them as evidence that they valued human foolishness more than spiritual wisdom.  He insists that they are too worldly minded to digest deep spiritual truths.  In chapter 14 Paul admonishes them, “Brethren, do not be children in understanding; however, in malice be babes, but in understanding be mature.”  Those who are spiritually mature understand that God is “no respecter of persons” (Acts 10:34).  That is, God does not show partiality or favoritism to anyone on account of their personality, talents, social status, or influence.  Thank God for those who walk openly with Him, serve as examples, and encourage us in the faith.  But take care that you do not derive your identity from a particular theologian, commentator, denomination, or movement rather than from Christ.   We must “point to those who follow Christ well, but only to encourage others to see Christ more clearly.”[i]

            Paul, Apollos, and Cephas were nothing more than servants of God’s church, laborers in His field, and builders of His temple.  God’s temple is that holy, spiritual building of which you and I are living stones, for the Holy Spirit dwells within us (I Peter 2).  Jesus Christ is the foundation of God’s temple, the cornerstone on Whom all of our salvation depends.  All things are ours because He is the heir of all things (Hebrews 1:2) and by His death we are made fellow heirs with Him (Romans 8:17)!

God, “who without respect of persons judges according to every man's work” will try the work of all men one day (I Peter 1:17).  The works of Paul, Apollos, you, and I will be made manifest, and God will reward us according to the things we have done.  Does that motivate you to be busy doing good deeds?  It is impossible for those who have been saved to desire to continue sinning (Romans 6:1).  Let’s live thankful to God for His wisdom, which teaches us that “denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.” (Titus 2:14).

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[i] Thorn, Joe.  Note to Self.

day of rest

Not only does my husband usually make Sunday dinner...

I've got a 3-man crew that tackles Sunday dish duty as well!

:-)

Face plant

70+ degree weather + kids = bumps, scrapes, and bruises.

Ouch...

...but we're still smilin'!

So we are facing it again, a family member forsaking.


And it's this, last week, along with all the sickness, that I'm fighting.  There are late phone calls with a lonely sister and long night hours tending sick kids and wondering why.


"He says it's God's will and that I should be content with that."


Tuesday afternoon, the two middle tykes asleep, and Nath, all fevery and his ear running, in the bathtub.  I can't breathe, so I shut the door and leave the shower blasting hot, so that the room fills with steam.  I take deep breaths, my head back against the bathroom wall.

I've got three versions of the Bible on my lap, all open to Romans 1.  It's not the why I'm wondering now, it's the how.


"I get it.  I mean, who doesn't want freedom?  No doubt you're freer when you forsake all your responsibilities."


It's the how.


The how you go from admitting that to actually walking out the door and going through with it.

An Ann Voskamp post leads me here, to a chapter I'd always thought was about those who had never heard the Word with their ears.  But now I see: it can also be about those who don't hear with their hearts.

And how does it happen that God gives one over to sin, when what can be known of God is made plain to him?  It starts here:

“For although they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened…And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.

They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless.

Though they know God's righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.”

Nathan reaches again and again for the soap as it floats through his fingers.

This, this gets me: how often do I refuse to honor Him as God, do I fail to give Him thanks?

It starts here.

Rivers run down the window's face.

I feel a like a baby crying, and there's no daddy in the room...

...like Nathan, reaching for soap that's slipping right through...

Ladies night out

What we were doing last week Friday...

My mom, Char, and sisters: Erin, Sherry, Michelle, Valen, Bethany, and Anna (and me)!

I love these ladies!  What fun!

Cinderelly

I had lunch the other day with a group of dear ladies.  There was a brief discussion about third children and how they don't fit a mold.  Our third child would be Marie, and she certainly doesn't fit any mold that I know of.

But she does follow suit when it comes to drawing and coloring.  We consume a massive amount of paper in this house.  Marie refuses to draw or color while sitting, however - apparently she doesn't have the time to do that.  Throughout the past few weeks, her daily drawings have centered on a certain curious theme:

Cinderelly and the Prince?  (That's what Auntie Sherry wrote in her thank you for one such drawing.)

This makes Marie laugh and laugh.  "Silly Auntie Sher!  Of course it's me and Daddy!"

Oh, of course.  Marie and Daddy.  Getting married.  Hence the crowns.  "That's what people wear when they get married."

This begs a question.  (At least in my mind.)  "Where am I, honey?"

"Oh, you're little.  You sleep in my bed."

"Oh, so it's like we switched places?"

"Yup!  You're right, Mom!"

I make it into one drawing, the detailed one with tables and candles around the perimeter.  I am little, but Marie reassures me that I'm wearing a fancy dress.

"Oh, how nice!  Am I the flower girl?"

"Nope."

"No?  What I am doing then?"

"Hanging."

"Hanging?"

"Yup.  That's why there's a string on the top of your head.  You're just hanging from that string in the corner."

Yikes.
Let's not let a child psychologist get a hold of this one.

It's not every day...

...that a bald eagle lands in the tree outside your kitchen window.

Too bad it flew away as soon as I stepped outside to get a better shot!

We are on the mend...

...slowly, but surely, on the mend.  The flu morphed into bronchitis, a ruptured ear drum, and a nasty sinus infection.  Here's a peek at the kitchen counter.  :-)

But, oh, the sun is shining!  Let's go outside!

For the Lord God is a sun and shield;

the Lord will give grace and glory;

no good thing will He withhold

from those who walk uprightly.

O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man who trusts in You!

Psalm 84:11-12