1 Corinthians 2

A theme of 1Corinthians is a call for us 2 know God’s great desire for us to mature spiritually(1Cor2:6-7”Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom...secret and hidden wisdom of God,which God decreed before the ages of our glory.”) so that we may know God’s gifts&blessings that are UNimaginable(1Cor2:9”...What no eye has seen,nor ear heard,nor heart of man imagined,what God has prepared for those who love him.”),the primary ONE being to KNOW GOD PERSONALLY!When we turn our lives over to Christ for Him to be our Savior & Lord,He gives us the GIFT of His Spirit to live in us...so we can know the TRUTHS about God and about His Purposes for our Life(1Cor2:10-12,”these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit.For The Spirit searches everything even the depths of God....Now we have received the Spirit who is from God,that we might understand the things freely given us by God.”).God desires for us to KNOW HIM-HE desires a personal relationship w us...for our BEST(Romans8:28”And we know that for those that love God,all things work together for good,for those who are called according to his purpose(Loving personal relationship relationship w God)”)!BUT, standing between us and this AWESOME LIVING VIBRANT RELATIONSHIP with GOD,are our own tendencies to be lured away by “the natural”-those things that tug our hearts/minds/bodies back to our old ways that are at odds with Spiritual Discernment(1Cor2:14”The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God,for they are folly to him,&he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.”).When we succumb to our “old natural ways”,we allow the natural person we once were(before turning to Christ for His Saving Mercy&Grace)to create an interference in our hearts/minds/lives that can confuse us and eventually lead us away from truly knowing God’s Personal Heart for us(“things of the Spirit of God”).This is why another major theme of 1Corinthians is to make us aware of the many different ways that our “old natural person” can creep back into our lives through sin and sin’s ways.Dear Lord,THANK YOU for the GIFT of Your Spirit! Dear Holy Spirit....please lead me;guide me;and give me YOUR strength/discipline/courage so my heart/mind/life may veer further and further away from my old natural ways and be ever truer to the ways of Your Spirit and Your Word.

1 Corinthians 1

In the 1Corinthians1,the church in Corinth has become divided because of a “distraction” in their faith.A “distraction” that the devil uses to distance us from knowing God’s True Voice in our lives!Even though true believers have Jesus’ Spirit living inside,we can become distracted/misled and “out of tune” with Jesus’ Spirit when we do not have God’s Word as “THE TUNING FORK” for our hearts/minds/lives.Just as an orchestra must have all instruments tuned to a single source before beginning a symphony,to prevent the unpleasing sound produced by a lot of out of tune instruments playing the same musical piece terribly out of tune,so our minds/hearts/lives must be tuned to a single source...or the body of believers does not have the beautiful resonance&purpose the Master Composer envisioned when HE created the Symphony!And even if all instruments are tuned to a single source,once the Symphony begins all instruments must follow the beat of THE Conductor! Can you imagine the audible mess if all the instruments played on different beats,following different “little conductors”?In essence the Church n Corinth had become out of tune and they were following different “little conductors”!The people in Corinth were tuning their hearts/minds/lives to what different church leaders were teaching,instead of first tuning their hearts/minds/lives to Christ (1Cor1:10-17).The people had become followers of men(“little conductors”rather than followers of Christ(THE Conductor)!And their effectiveness/impact for The Gospel of Christ suffered because of it.The same thing has happened in America today!We are inundated with messages from well meaning pastors,speakers,authors,etc.,to the point that we spend more time listening to,reading&watching their “stuff” than we do seeking the teaching of God’s Word and the Voice of Jesus’ Spirit in our lives!Our lives become tuned to all things other than God’s Word.And we in reality follow a myriad of “little conductors” instead of seeking to follow “THE Conductor” of LIFE!No wonder the Church in America is losing ground for The Gospel of Christ over the last several decades,in spite of the growing influence of mega churches and their pastors,& the exploding number of Christian books being read and taught by so many!It has been said that our Bibles impact our hearts/minds/lives less and less,while these other things have a growing impact on our hearts/minds/lives!The very thing that Paul is addressing in the 1st chapter of 1Corinthians!And why Paul is urging the church n Corinth to remember their “calling” to follow Christ and nothing nor anyone else!(1Cor1:28-31,”For consider your calling....and because of him(God’s Gift of Mercy&Grace) you are in Christ Jesus who became to us wisdom from God(THE Conductor),righteousness and sanctification and redemption,so that as it is written,’Let the one who boasts,boast in the Lord’.”Dear God in Heaven,I have allowed my life to be tuned to so many sources other that Your Word/Your Truth,and I have followed many “little conductors”/many beats other that the Beat coming from Your Heart!Forgive me...and May Your Spirit help me and guide me to be tuned to the only Your Word,& follow only the Beat of Your Heart.

Romans 12-15

N Romans12-15,Paul is summing up what the lives of true followers of Christ should “look like/act like/think like”!Paul knows that the life seeking to be true to this calling is going to be challenged from all angles,& with all sorts of things meant to wear us down and discourage us....many of these will be totally unfair and unjust.During these times of unfairness & unjust circumstances n our lives,Paul calls us to think of our witness(our Godly Purpose)to the lives of those around us,before thinking of ourselves-(Romans15:1,”We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak(those that lack the encouragement&endurance of the Scriptures in their life-see below reference to Romans15:4),and not to please ourselves.Let each of us please his neighbor for his good,to build him up.”These verses call us to have an Eternal Perspective for how we live our lives,& to not get caught up n how unfairness and lack of true justice impacts our temporal existence.Especially when defending ourselves for selfish reasons will negatively affect our witness for Christ n the lives of those around us.Paul reminds us that Jesus endured such for our sake,”For Christ did not please himself,but as it is written,’The reproaches of those who reproach you fell on me’”.This last statement echoes what David experiences as he is living with a personal zeal for The Lord(Psalm69:9),and it is what Jesus ULTIMATELY SUFFERED on the Cross when He took upon Himself all sin ever committed...on our behalf!This brings Paul to tell us what the PURPOSE is for ALL SCRIPTURE(Romans15:4,”For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us,so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope”.During Paul’s time they had the Old Testament that they needed to study and meditate on(in Joshua1:8-9 The Lord says,”This Book of The Law shall not depart form your mouth,but you shall meditate on it day and night,so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it...Be strong and courageous.Do not be frightened,and do not be dismayed,for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”),we now have the Old Testament,AND the New Testament.The Old Testament gives us the context and the foundation for having REVERENCE for how God The Father reveals Himself in the New Testament through God The Son,and how God The Spirit has been given to us to teach;guide;strengthen;encourage us real-time.As seekers/followers of Christ,we must have the Scriptures as a consistent/persistent part of our everyday life through study and meditation of them.The devil knows this...he knows that we will become discouraged and wear down when we are not making God’s Word a regular part of our day.So, The devil will throw all sorts of things at us too bombard our time in God’s Word.This is why God told Joshua to “be strong and courageous”,knowing the first place of attack for the devil will be God’s source of encouragement and endurance for us->The Scriptures!Dear Lord Jesus,may Your Spirit that lives in me remind me of the significance The Scriptures have for my life...and my need for the encouragement and endurance that is only found in Your Word.Dear Holy Spirit,help me to have my heart/mind/spirit receptive to what You desire to show me and teach me, in Your Word....every moment of every day!

Romans 12

After several chapters of Romans telling about the Holiness&Righteousness of God,HIS Sovereignty....,& how God PERSONALLY enables us to be cleansed from all unrighteousness and be welcomed into a personal relationship with HIM...,n Romans12:1-2,Paul tells us how we protect and nurture a living relationship with GOD->”Therfore, I urge you,brothers,in view of God’s mercy,to offer your bodies as living sacrifices,holy and pleasing to God,this is your spiritual act of worship.Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world,but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is,his good,pleasing,and perfect will.”Paul is telling us that there is a battle for our bodies and our minds,raging to veer us away from a real and vibrant relationship with Almighty God.A relationship that is near the Heart of God...,near enough to know His Heart/His good,pleasing,and perfect will!If we do not take Paul’s advice,we will not know God’s Heart,& become confused...ultimately becoming fools about life,it’s meaning&purposes(Proverbs1:7 says,”The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge(an awesome Respect for God and His Word is the beginning of the pursuit of TRUTH about all things),but fools despise wisdom and discipline”.).The first thing Paul urges us to is the discipline of our bodies->applying what God says are the important disciplines for a healthy overall life(physically;emotionally;cerebrally;spiritually) as He plainly lays out for us throughout His Word and the life of Christ.This is where the second part comes into play!For without this second part,there is no way that we will be victorious in the first aspect of the battle for us to have a personal relationship with The Lord!Paul says that we must recognize that there is a battle for ABSOLUTE TRUTH,in what we think;the patterns of how we reason;what we allow into our imaginations,etc.Paul says we must be deliberate in how we battle this front,&be aggressive in transforming our minds away from things that are NOT TRUE by seeking to learn and know TRUTH in and about all things!As Proverbs1 above teaches->an awesome Respect/Reverence for God and His Word is the beginning of the pursuit of TRUTH about all things!If we do not accept this as TRUE,we become fools that despise wisdom.AND then,even if we do accept this as TRUE and do not assimilate God’s TRUTHS into our lives by applying what we accept/believe as TRUE,then we also become fools that despise wisdom!Paul is saying that even if we are diligent in our study of the Bible,and we learn all the details of the Bible that enable us to ACE a “Bible Test”,& yet do not seek to know the life changing impact of God’s Word in our lives/hearts...then we also choose a path of becoming fools that despise wisdom.We come back to the equation of Wisdom-> Knowledge + Application = Wisdom! Which reveals that, Knowledge - Application = FOOL; AND, Application - Knowledge = FOOL!A way that Satan and his minions have proven successful in still making us fools,even when we apply the first equation in our life,is by contaminating TRUE KNOWLEDGE,with anything that is UNtrue.Paul knew that our knowledge will be contaminated,& that the enemy will continue his efforts to contaminate TRUTH w lies.This is why Paul says,”but be transformed by the RENEWING(continual process)of your mind”,referring to our need to regularly have our minds challenged by seeking to know God’s Word&His Ways....,then back to APPLYING what we learn into our lives-weaving God’s Word&Ways into the fabric of our lives.Dear Lord,I am so guilty of fouling up the equation for True Wisdom...,by either letting lies slip into my thinking,or by skipping over the life changing impact You intend for Your TRUTHS to have for me.Forgive me... Help me to know the Presence of Your Spirit that desires to inspire and encourage me to have the TRUTHS of Romans12:1-2 bless and change my life for Your Loving Purposes in and through my life.

Romans 8:26-28

It has been said that “prayer is the converse of the soul with God”.This means that God intends Prayer to be so much more than I usually “make of it”!I have a list of things that I “rattle off” when I pray “TO” God,and I will regularly have things throughout the day that I am compelled to “rattle off”/pray “TO” God about.I am certain that God hears these “rattling offs”/prayers of mine!BUT,I am also certain that HE has given me so much more in HIS GIFT of Prayer...so much more that I usually miss! Romans8:26-28 says,”Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness.For we do not know what to pray for as we ought,but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit,because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.And we know that for those who love God,all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”When I do nothing but “rattle off” before God,I am for certain missing the first important part of what God intends prayer to be(The Spirit helps us....for we do not what to pray as we ought)!When I limit my prayers to “rattling off”,I miss this HELP from The Spirit of God...HELP to know more about what else may be part of the CONVERSATION that God would like to have with me relative to my “rattlings”,let alone where HE would like to take the CONVERSATION to,from these starting points.And I also miss the AWESOME God intended opportunity to maybe become aware of the “groanings too deep for words”...the Spirit’s help in distilling my true heart concerns and desires.This includes the discernment God wants me to have so that I am not led astray by desires that are not good for me;nor led into despair over concerns He does not intend to for me to have.And the concerns He does reveal to me as important,The Spirit wants to encourage me with absolute TRUST in GOD’s Sovereignty that says,”And we know that for those who love God,all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose”,which includes the awesome promise that HE has a PURPOSE for my life!This is the part of the conversation where I am changed by being in The Presence of God/Conversing WITH God.When we take the time to turn prayer into what God created it to be,our hearts are changed and our lives become tuned to The Heart of God.We have confidence in His Will over our own,because in conversation with God we have The Spirit’s HELP in knowing far more about what is TRUE,and what is BEST,and what is full of Eternal Purpose for our lives.Dear Lord,I usually “pray to” You instead of taking the time and making the effort to converse with You.I totally forget about Your purpose and Your definition for Prayer.Forgive me!May Your Spirit make me aware of Your desire for my personal times with You,& what You gave me the Gift of Prayer to be.Help me to unpack all the blessings You have intended Prayer to be for my life!