Devotional Archives - Page 39 of 47

Daily Devotional-August 2

August 2, 2020

For the next 13 days we will be spending time together walking through the book of Hebrews! Hebrews is written to Jewish Christians who were undergoing persecution for their faith and considering running back to Judaism. The author of Hebrews takes an in-depth look at the practices and regulations of the Old Testament as articulated in the Torah and argues for how Jesus is both superior to each of them and supreme over all of them! The author also warns his audience of the grave danger facing them should they choose to now reject Jesus and return to their former way of life. These warnings can and should make us feel uncomfortable as we read through the book together; allow the Spirit to do what He wants to do in your heart through them! Overall, the message of Hebrews is that Jesus, the Son of God as well as our Savior and Messiah, is infinitely superior to anything or anyone else we could give our lives to, and He is worthy of all our devotion and worship. Jesus is greater!

The author continues his warning from the previous chapter, here asserting that we should fear and obey God while there is still time to enter into His promised rest! Those who followed Moses failed to enter in because of unbelief and subsequent disobedience, but the author states that the “Today” David references in Psalm 95 is an indication of the fact that there is still time! As long as Jesus has not yet returned, there is still time to hear, believe, and enter into the promised Sabbath rest of God!

The audience is then urged to strive to enter into that rest by persevering in the faith, being warned that God’s Word will reveal even the deepest thoughts and intentions of their heart and that they will have to give an account before the Lord, from whom nothing can remain hidden, on the last day.

Finally, the author encourages his audience to hold fast to their confession in view of the glorious and gracious gift of the high priesthood of Jesus! Because Jesus is our high priest, we can hold on to hope no matter our circumstances. The author states here that Jesus, because he took on human form and lived among us, experiencing life and temptation just as we do but without once sinning, we can both trust that his sacrifice on the cross is sufficient to cover all our sin and draw near to God’s throne with confidence because we know that He understands our weakness!

Because Jesus came and dwelt among us, He is uniquely equipped to serve as our high priest: He is able to sympathize with us and show us abundant mercy as well as know exactly what we need in order to give us grace to help in the moment of need! Let’s believe that truth and draw near to Him in confidence every step of the way!

Hebrews 4

4 Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it. ²For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened. ³For we who have believed enter that rest, as he has said,

“As I swore in my wrath,
‘They shall not enter my rest,’”

although his works were finished from the foundation of the world. ⁴For he has somewhere spoken of the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all his works.” ⁵And again in this passage he said,

“They shall not enter my rest.”

⁶Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience, ⁷again he appoints a certain day, “Today,” saying through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted,

“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts.”

⁸For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on. ⁹So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, ¹⁰for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.

¹¹Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. ¹²For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. ¹³And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

Jesus the Great High Priest

¹⁴Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. ¹⁵For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. ¹⁶Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Family Discussion Question:

How does the high priesthood of Jesus urge us to live our lives? If we can draw near to His throne with confidence because of what He has done, and if we can expect to receive both mercy to cover our failure and grace to help us live in a way that glorifies Him when we need it, what could possibly hinder us from living with boldly for His glory?

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Daily Devotional-August 1

August 1, 2020

In the beginning of this chapter the author explains that not only is Jesus greater than the angels, but He is also far greater than Moses himself! Moses led God’s people out of slavery in Egypt; Jesus delivered God’s people from the slavery to sin. Moses built the tabernacle; Jesus built the entire universe! Moses was faithful in his calling and was a servant of God; Jesus was faithful in His and is God’s own Son!

After demonstrating the superiority of Jesus over Moses, the author goes on to give another strong warning concerning the rebellion that the people of Israel who followed Moses participated in. This time the author, having just contrasted Moses with Jesus, contrasts the response of those who followed Moses with the response we who follow Jesus ought to have to His leadership.

Quoting extensively from the Old Testament (Psalm 95 specifically), the author reminds his audience that those who followed Moses were unable to enter the rest that God had prepared for them in the Promised Land due to their hard hearts, their willful rebellion and unbelief. In contrast, he calls followers of Christ to exhort and encourage one another to continue in the faith!

If Moses was great (and he was), and if the revelation of God through Moses was great (and it was), then how much greater should our devotion and belief towards Jesus be? If Christ is so vastly superior to Moses and all that Moses represents, we must take great care not to fall into the same trap that Moses’ followers fell into. We must hold fast to Jesus and give Him our all!

Hebrews 3

Jesus Greater Than Moses

3 Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession, ²who was faithful to him who appointed him, just as Moses also was faithful in all God’s house.³For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses—as much more glory as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself.⁴(For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.)⁵Now Moses was faithful in all God’s house as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later, ⁶but Christ is faithful over God’s house as a son. And we are his house, if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.

A Rest for the People of God

⁷Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says,

“Today, if you hear his voice,
⁸do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion,
    on the day of testing in the wilderness,
⁹where your fathers put me to the test
    and saw my works for forty years.
¹⁰Therefore I was provoked with that generation,
and said, ‘They always go astray in their heart;
    they have not known my ways.’
¹¹As I swore in my wrath,
    ‘They shall not enter my rest.’”

¹²Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. ¹³But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. ¹⁴For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end. ¹⁵As it is said,

“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”

¹⁶For who were those who heard and yet rebelled? Was it not all those who left Egypt led by Moses? ¹⁷And with whom was he provoked for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness?¹⁸And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient? ¹⁹So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.

Family Discussion Question:

How can we know if our hearts have been hardened by the deceitfulness of sin? What are some ways we can encourage and exhort one another every day, as we are commanded to in this passage, and take this warning seriously?

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Daily Devotional-July 31

July 31, 2020

This chapter begins with the first of the author’s warnings to his audience. He has just finished arguing that Jesus is greater than the angels and therefore the revelation which is in Him is greater than that which was delivered by the angels (i.e. the Law of Moses). He now warns that, if those who disobeyed the Law of Moses were punished for their transgression, how much greater will the retribution be against us if we neglect the far greater revelation which is in Christ, this great salvation which is in Him alone!?

This warning should cause us to pause and consider: have we somehow neglected this great salvation? Have we truly and fully surrendered to the absolute authority of Jesus over our lives? Have we truly given ourselves and our all over to Him? Consider this warning carefully; the author is clear that those who fail to heed it will not escape.

The author then goes on to complete his case for the superiority of Jesus over the angels. This time he uses the Old Testament to point to the supreme rule of Jesus over everything! Because Jesus willingly took on flesh and humbled Himself to the point of death, the Father crowned Him with the highest glory and honor and put all things in subjection under Him! Jesus holds all the authority and all the glory, far above the angels!

The end of this chapter is very good news for us. After explaining how Jesus had to be made like us (humans) in order to accomplish God’s purposes in salvation, he says that Jesus’ death on the cross not only atoned for all of our sins, and not only did He taste death in order that we might not have to, but it also made Him a great high priest for us so that He is now the mediator between us and God!

The author tells us that “because he himself suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted” (v.18). Jesus is able to help us in our weakness because He not only experienced weakness for Himself but also overcame it once and for all! Let’s celebrate His victory and His priesthood on our behalf today!

Hebrews 2

Warning Against Neglecting Salvation

2 Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. ²For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, ³how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, ⁴while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.

The Founder of Salvation

⁵For it was not to angels that God subjected the world to come, of which we are speaking. ⁶It has been testified somewhere,

“What is man, that you are mindful of him,
    or the son of man, that you care for him?
⁷You made him for a little while lower than the angels;
    you have crowned him with glory and honor,
⁸    putting everything in subjection under his feet.”

Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him. ⁹But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

¹⁰For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. ¹¹For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers, ¹²saying,

“I will tell of your name to my brothers;
in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise.”

¹³And again,

“I will put my trust in him.”

And again,

“Behold, I and the children God has given me.”

¹⁴Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, ¹⁵and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. ¹⁶For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. ¹⁷Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. ¹⁸For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted

Family Discussion Question:

How does the warning in verses 1-4 make you feel? How might the Lord be calling you to repent, to change, and to seek the mercy of our great high priest, Jesus, through this passage?

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Daily Devotional-July 30

July 30, 2020

The author begins the book of Hebrews with a sort of thesis statement explaining what he’s going to be talking about for the rest of the letter. He says that Jesus is the ultimate revelation of who God is, far above all of God’s revelation which came before Him. He calls Jesus “the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature” (v.3). His point is clear: Jesus is supreme over all things!

The author then begins making an argument for the superiority of Jesus over the angels. This may seem strange to a modern audience, but to first-century Jews angels were the object of much curiosity and speculation. Angels worship God in His very presence, before His throne, and carry His messages to mankind; their job description is one of awe and wonder!

Besides this, the author’s argument concerning superiority of the revelation of God in Jesus to any other revelation has everything to do with Him also being superior to angels, since Jewish tradition also teaches that the Torah was delivered to Moses by angels (see Deuteronomy 33:2). Angels revealed God to humanity through the Law of Moses, but the revelation which is in Jesus is so much greater!

The author quotes numerous Old Testament passages concerning Jesus as well as the angels to make his case for Christ’s supremacy over them. The author’s point in this chapter is clear: the way that God has chosen to reveal Himself in and through Jesus Christ, His Son and His very Word, is far superior to any other revelation! Jesus reveals God perfectly to us because He isGod, and He alone is worthy of all glory and worship!

Hebrews 1

The Supremacy of God’s Son

1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, ²but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.³He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,⁴having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

⁵For to which of the angels did God ever say,

“You are my Son,
today I have begotten you”?

Or again,

“I will be to him a father,
and he shall be to me a son”?

⁶And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says,

“Let all God’s angels worship him.”

⁷Of the angels he says,

“He makes his angels winds,
and his ministers a flame of fire.”

⁸But of the Son he says,

“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever,
the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom.
⁹You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;
therefore God, your God, has anointed you
with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.”

¹⁰And,

“You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning,
    and the heavens are the work of your hands;
¹¹they will perish, but you remain;
    they will all wear out like a garment,
¹²like a robe you will roll them up,
    like a garment they will be changed.
But you are the same,
    and your years will have no end.”

¹³And to which of the angels has he ever said,

“Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”?

¹⁴Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?

Family Discussion Question:

How does the supremacy of Jesus over all things move us to worship Him and to pursue Him?

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Daily Devotional-July 29

July 29, 2020

Over the next 16 days we will be reading through the book of 1 Corinthians together. The church in Corinth was an absolute mess! They were plagued by serious issues of arrogance, division, sexual immorality, and confusion concerning doctrine as well as the particulars of their moral living under the gospel. This church needed a wake-up call, a call to repentance and purity, to renewed devotion to Christ, to love and unity, and to zeal for the gospel. The church has changed little over the last 2,000 years, but praise God that there is abundant grace for the mess! Each of us needs this same call to humility faithfulness, unity, and fervor today as much as they needed it then. Let’s heed this call which God gave the church at Corinth through the apostle Paul and let it shape the way we live as Christ’s body!

In this last chapter of his letter to the Corinthians, Paul addresses a few final issues before giving them some closing instructions. He reminds them to be collecting funds to send to the needy brothers and sisters back in Judea and tells them that he plans on coming to them soon and spending some time with them. He also tells them that the evangelist Apollos plans to come to them at some point in the future, before launching into his final instructions for them.

Paul urges them to “Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong,” and “Let all that you do be done in love” (v.13-14). He instructs them to submit themselves to the authority of the church elders and cries out for Jesus to return soon!

As we await the return of our Lord and Savior, Paul urges us to do the same. As he points out throughout the letter, all that we do should be done in love, in selfless consideration of the needs of others, and to the glory of God. We must maintain a steady watchfulness so that we do not drift towards false doctrine or into complacency concerning sin, as the Corinthians did. We must stand firm in our faith in spite of opposition and be strong and courageous in the Lord!

When we live this way as the body of Christ, God uses us to put His glory, His wisdom, His power, and His love on display through us. May we each do our part in letting Him use us to this end!

1 Corinthians 16

The Collection for the Saints

16 Now concerning the collection for the saints: as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do. ²On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come. ³And when I arrive, I will send those whom you accredit by letter to carry your gift to Jerusalem. ⁴If it seems advisable that I should go also, they will accompany me.

Plans for Travel

⁵I will visit you after passing through Macedonia, for I intend to pass through Macedonia, ⁶and perhaps I will stay with you or even spend the winter, so that you may help me on my journey, wherever I go. ⁷For I do not want to see you now just in passing. I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits. ⁸But I will stay in Ephesus until Pentecost, ⁹for a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.

¹⁰When Timothy comes, see that you put him at ease among you, for he is doing the work of the Lord, as I am. ¹¹So let no one despise him. Help him on his way in peace, that he may return to me, for I am expecting him with the brothers.

Final Instructions

¹²Now concerning our brother Apollos, I strongly urged him to visit you with the other brothers, but it was not at all his will to come now. He will come when he has opportunity.

¹³Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. ¹⁴Let all that you do be done in love.

¹⁵Now I urge you, brothers—you know that the household of Stephanas were the first converts in Achaia, and that they have devoted themselves to the service of the saints— ¹⁶be subject to such as these, and to every fellow worker and laborer. ¹⁷I rejoice at the coming of Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicus, because they have made up for your absence, ¹⁸for they refreshed my spirit as well as yours. Give recognition to such people.

Greetings

¹⁹The churches of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Prisca, together with the church in their house, send you hearty greetings in the Lord. ²⁰All the brothers send you greetings. Greet one another with a holy kiss.

²¹I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. ²²If anyone has no love for the Lord, let him be accursed. Our Lord, come! ²³The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you. ²⁴My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Family Discussion Question:

Which of these final commands of Paul to the Corinthians do you need to apply most right now? How can you take steps today to live it out?

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Daily Devotional-July 28

July 28, 2020

Paul now turns his attention to yet another issue he had heard of which was plaguing the Corinthian church. Apparently there were some of them who were denying that there will be an actual, physical resurrection from the dead. Paul asserts that if this claim is true then our believing is in vain, for that would mean that Jesus was not raised from the dead either!

But, Paul asserts, Jesus was raised from the dead, and the hope of His resurrection is that we will also experience the resurrection of our bodies! The historicity of Christ’s resurrection from the dead is the hinge on which our entire faith swings. If it is not true, then all of us have believed and been faithful for absolutely nothing! But if it is true (and it is), then we also will get to share in Christ’s resurrection with Him when He returns!

Paul elaborates on the nature of the resurrected body when it comes and reminds the Corinthians that God has already given us the victory in and through Jesus! When Jesus rose from the dead He rose in victory, and now we who live by faith in Him also get to walk in the victory that He has already won! This should fill us with such awe, such wonder, and such genuine, passionate worship!

This chapter ends with a practical application of these truths about the resurrection for us: because Jesus has already won the victory and because we, solely by the grace of God, get to share with Him in His victory, we are to be steadfast, immovable, and abounding in the work of God’s Kingdom. We do this because we know, based on the fact that Jesus has already won the victory in His resurrection, that nothing we do for the Lord will is ever wasted, but will bring repercussions that will last into eternity!

1 Corinthians 15

The Resurrection of Christ

15 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, ²and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.

³For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, ⁴that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, ⁵and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. ⁶Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. ⁷Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. ⁸Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. ⁹For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. ¹⁰But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.¹¹Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.

The Resurrection of the Dead

¹²Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? ¹³But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. ¹⁴And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. ¹⁵We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. ¹⁶For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. ¹⁷And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. ¹⁸Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. ¹⁹If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.

²⁰But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. ²¹For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. ²²For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. ²³But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. ²⁴Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. ²⁵For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. ²⁶The last enemy to be destroyed is death. ²⁷For “God has put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when it says, “all things are put in subjection,” it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. ²⁸When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all.

²⁹Otherwise, what do people mean by being baptized on behalf of the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized on their behalf? ³⁰Why are we in danger every hour? ³¹I protest, brothers, by my pride in you, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die every day! ³²What do I gain if, humanly speaking, I fought with beasts at Ephesus? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” ³³Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.” ³⁴Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning. For some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame.

The Resurrection Body

³⁵But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?” ³⁶You foolish person! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. ³⁷And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. ³⁸But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body. ³⁹For not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. ⁴⁰There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly is of another. ⁴¹There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory.

⁴²So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. ⁴³It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. ⁴⁴It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. ⁴⁵Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. ⁴⁶But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. ⁴⁷The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. ⁴⁸As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. ⁴⁹Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.

Mystery and Victory

⁵⁰I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. ⁵¹Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, ⁵²in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. ⁵³For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. ⁵⁴When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:

“Death is swallowed up in victory.”
⁵⁵“O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”

⁵⁶The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. ⁵⁷But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁵⁸Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

Family Discussion Question:

How does it change the way we live to understand and believe that we have been given the ability to live our lives in the very victory which Jesus has already won on our behalf? How does that spur us on to abound in the work of God’s Kingdom?

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Daily Devotional-July 27

July 27, 2020

After urging the Corinthians to pursue love above any spiritual gift, Paul turns his attention back to the gifts themselves as well as their use in corporate worship. Paul commends the gift of speaking in tongues and its usefulness for building up the person who does it, but commends the gift of prophecy even more because it does not build up the individual who prophesies but rather the whole church. He goes on to explain how corporate worship ought to be conducted in an orderly fashion so that everyone present is built up.

Paul’s point in all of this is that the building up of the church as a whole is of far greater importance than the building up of the individual. When we gather together for corporate worship our goal ought not to be to see what spiritual benefit we can get out of it, but rather how God can use us to see everyone else built up in their faith! This flies in the face of everything our culture tells us and, far too frequently, what our church culture here in America tells us too. But God’s Word is clear, and we are to put others before ourselves that they may be built up, following the self-sacrificing way of Jesus in corporate worship as in everything else!

Paul, in describing how the supernatural way of the gathered body of Christ ought to affect unbelievers who witness our worship services, says that it ought to cause them to fall on their faces, worship God, and acknowledge that God is really among the church (v.24-25). What would it look like if, in our corporate worship services, our devotion to the Lord was so undivided, our worship so passionate, our desire to see God move on behalf of others so fervent, our prayers so zealous, and our dependence upon the Holy Spirit so real, that it would force people who don’t even believe to acknowledge the presence of God among us? What would it look like for our corporate worship to look this supernatural to the outside world?

When the citizens of God’s kingdom, those who live in the world but do not belong to the world, gather together to worship the One whose kingdom is not of this world, shouldn’t it look otherworldly?

1 Corinthians 14

Prophecy and Tongues

14 Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy. ²For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit. ³On the other hand, the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation. ⁴The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself, but the one who prophesies builds up the church.⁵Now I want you all to speak in tongues, but even more to prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be built up.

⁶Now, brothers, if I come to you speaking in tongues, how will I benefit you unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or teaching? ⁷If even lifeless instruments, such as the flute or the harp, do not give distinct notes, how will anyone know what is played? ⁸And if the bugle gives an indistinct sound, who will get ready for battle? ⁹So with yourselves, if with your tongue you utter speech that is not intelligible, how will anyone know what is said? For you will be speaking into the air. ¹⁰There are doubtless many different languages in the world, and none is without meaning, ¹¹but if I do not know the meaning of the language, I will be a foreigner to the speaker and the speaker a foreigner to me. ¹²So with yourselves, since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in building up the church.

¹³Therefore, one who speaks in a tongue should pray that he may interpret.¹⁴For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays but my mind is unfruitful. ¹⁵What am I to do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also; I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will sing with my mind also. ¹⁶Otherwise, if you give thanks with your spirit, how can anyone in the position of an outsider say “Amen” to your thanksgiving when he does not know what you are saying? ¹⁷For you may be giving thanks well enough, but the other person is not being built up. ¹⁸I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. ¹⁹Nevertheless, in church I would rather speak five words with my mind in order to instruct others, than ten thousand words in a tongue.

²⁰Brothers, do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature. ²¹In the Law it is written, “By people of strange tongues and by the lips of foreigners will I speak to this people, and even then they will not listen to me, says the Lord.” ²²Thus tongues are a sign not for believers but for unbelievers, while prophecy is a sign not for unbelievers but for believers. ²³If, therefore, the whole church comes together and all speak in tongues, and outsiders or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are out of your minds? ²⁴But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or outsider enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all, ²⁵the secrets of his heart are disclosed, and so, falling on his face, he will worship God and declare that God is really among you.

Orderly Worship

²⁶What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up. ²⁷If any speak in a tongue, let there be only two or at most three, and each in turn, and let someone interpret. ²⁸But if there is no one to interpret, let each of them keep silent in church and speak to himself and to God. ²⁹Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said. ³⁰If a revelation is made to another sitting there, let the first be silent.³¹For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged, ³²and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets. ³³For God is not a God of confusion but of peace.

As in all the churches of the saints, ³⁴the women should keep silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be in submission, as the Law also says. ³⁵If there is anything they desire to learn, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church.

³⁶Or was it from you that the word of God came? Or are you the only ones it has reached? ³⁷If anyone thinks that he is a prophet, or spiritual, he should acknowledge that the things I am writing to you are a command of the Lord.³⁸If anyone does not recognize this, he is not recognized. ³⁹So, my brothers, earnestly desire to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. ⁴⁰But all things should be done decently and in order.

Family Discussion Question:

If we serve a supernatural Lord and are empowered by a supernatural Spirit, why don’t we expect our gathered times of worship to look more supernatural to the outside world? How can we pursue this vision for corporate worship when we gather together, a vision of selfless giving so that everyone else is built up and a vision of supernaturally empowered worship?

Devotional

Daily Devotional-July 26

July 26, 2020

In this chapter Paul outlines for us the way of love, which he says is far greater than any spiritual gift we can possess or any righteous act we can perform. Paul says that if we have every spiritual gift and use it to its maximum potential, or if we possess the greatest faith and even give up our lives and ourselves in martyrdom, but do it without love in our hearts, all we are doing is making a bunch of noise: nothing is gained in the end.

Paul tells us what genuine love looks like and that, in the end, love will be all that remains. As the church, we are to look to the coming kingdom with eager anticipation, and Paul reminds us here that all the spiritual gifts of this present age will pass away when the kingdom comes, because they will no longer be necessary. But love will endure forever, and we will live forever in the full light of God’s love. Even faith and hope will no longer be necessary in that day; we won’t have to hold on to belief or to hope, because we will be with the Lord! But love will endure.

Love is meant to characterize the entirety of our lives as believers. If our actions, words, and lives are not motivated by love for God and for others, we are not fulfilling the law of Christ. Those who have encountered the love of God in Jesus Christ show that love to other people, and Paul calls us here to the way of love!

1 Corinthians 13

The Way of Love

13 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. ²And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. ³If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

⁴Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant ⁵or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; ⁶it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. ⁷Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

⁸Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. ⁹For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. ¹¹When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. ¹²For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

¹³So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

Family Discussion Question:

Assess the way that you love God and others by Paul’s list of loves characteristics in verses 4-7. In what ways could your love look more like Christ’s?

Devotional

Daily Devotional-July 25

July 25, 2020

Paul now turns his attention to a third aspect of the life of the church in corporate worship, namely the exercise of the spiritual gifts. The Corinthians seem to have been elevating the gift of tongues above the others, as it was more “showy” or impressive in their eyes than the others. Paul rebukes this kind of thinking and reminds them that all the gifts are empowered by one and the same Spirit, that every one of the gifts is necessary for the overall health and upbuilding of the church, and that the entire point of the gifts in the first place is to use them to build others up, not ourselves.

This, once again, goes back to the way in which we approach corporate worship and the church in general. So many of us approach the life of the church looking to see what we can get out of it, how we can be “fed” or benefitted, and we buy into this consumeristic mindset that is worldly and unspiritual. Paul reminds us here that if all you are doing is consuming and never contributing you are being a leech on the body of Christ!

The metaphor Paul uses of the church being like a body is one of the most vivid and beautiful descriptions in the Bible of what the church is meant to be and how it is meant to function. Like a body with all its individual members, the building up of one builds up the whole. If one is harmed, the whole body suffers. Each member is absolutely necessary to the whole. This picture of mutual care and upbuilding and love is something we miss so frequently in the church today, and something we need to strive for!

1 Corinthians 12

Spiritual Gifts

12 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. ²You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led. ³Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit.

⁴Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; ⁵and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; ⁶and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. ⁷To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. ⁸For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, ⁹to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, ¹⁰to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. ¹¹All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.

One Body with Many Members

¹²For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. ¹³For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.

¹⁴For the body does not consist of one member but of many. ¹⁵If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. ¹⁶And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. ¹⁷If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? ¹⁸But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. ¹⁹If all were a single member, where would the body be? ²⁰As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.

²¹The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” ²²On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, ²³and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, ²⁴which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, ²⁵that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.²⁶If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.

²⁷Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. ²⁸And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues. ²⁹Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? ³⁰Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? ³¹But earnestly desire the higher gifts.

And I will show you a still more excellent way.

Family Discussion Question:

Do you feel that your contribution to the life of the church is necessary to its overall health and growth? Why or why not? How can we strive to better embody the idea of the church that Paul lays out here?

Devotional

Daily Devotional-July 24

July 24, 2020

In the next section of his letter to the Corinthian church, Paul applies the truths he has been discussing about putting others in the church before ourselves to the ways we participate in corporate worship. He lays out the principle we are to follow in this regard in verse 1, that we are to “Be imitators of [Paul], as [he is] of Christ.” In this chapter he applies this principle to two aspects of corporate worship: head coverings worn by women and partaking of the Lord’s Supper.

Paul’s first instructions about corporate worship concern the wearing of head coverings by women in the church. The wearing of a head covering by a woman in first century Roman society was a symbol that she was married and under the authority of her husband; to remove her head covering would bring shame on her husband, and Paul therefore instructs that they should not remove it even when praying or prophesying in the church.

Though we may initially gawk at what Paul seems to be saying here, it is vitally important to note that Paul is not in any way demeaning women, their role in the church, or their worth in relation to men. Paul actually goes on to affirm the mutual interdependence of men and women and to say that the church should be a place where the differences between men and women, their distinct but equally valuable and necessary roles in family, church, and society, should be celebrated rather than diminished or demeaned (v.11-16).

The principle at play here is the same as it was in chapters 8-10: the wife should, out of respect for her husband, lay aside what she believes to be her right for the spiritual good of others! While the cultural form varies (we, thankfully, do not expect married women to wear head coverings now), the principle remains the same, and wives are to honor their husbands even as husbands are to love their wives sacrificially and provide for all their spiritual, emotional, and physical needs (Ephesians 5:22-33)

Paul’s next set of instructions for corporate worship involve abuse and social snobbery taking place during the Lord’s Supper. The Corinthians, in their characteristic arrogance and disregard for others, had been partaking of the Lord’s Supper in a way which excluded the poor and needy and allowed the rich to go first and over-indulge themselves. Paul says that what they are doing falls so short of what the Lord’s Supper is and represents that they cannot even truly call what they are doing the Lord’s Supper at all!

Paul sternly warns them that having such a casual, selfish approach to the Lord’s Supper leads to judgment and discipline from the Lord. Instead, those who have much ought to leave more of the bread for those who have less, thereby following in the selfless and sacrificially loving example which Christ left for us!

The way in which we relate to one another in the church as we gather for corporate worship is of huge significance. We cannot treat it casually, and when we gather we had better make sure that the way we treat one another resembles the way that Jesus treated us! If we don’t, we could find ourselves under God’s discipline!

1 Corinthians 11

11 Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.

Head Coverings

²Now I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions even as I delivered them to you. ³But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God. ⁴Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head, ⁵but every wife who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, since it is the same as if her head were shaven. ⁶For if a wife will not cover her head, then she should cut her hair short. But since it is disgraceful for a wife to cut off her hair or shave her head, let her cover her head. ⁷For a man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God, but woman is the glory of man. ⁸For man was not made from woman, but woman from man.⁹Neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. ¹⁰That is why a wife ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels. ¹¹Nevertheless, in the Lord woman is not independent of man nor man of woman; ¹²for as woman was made from man, so man is now born of woman. And all things are from God. ¹³Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a wife to pray to God with her head uncovered? ¹⁴Does not nature itself teach you that if a man wears long hair it is a disgrace for him, ¹⁵but if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For her hair is given to her for a covering. ¹⁶If anyone is inclined to be contentious, we have no such practice, nor do the churches of God.

The Lord’s Supper

¹⁷But in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse. ¹⁸For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you. And I believe it in part, ¹⁹for there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized.²⁰When you come together, it is not the Lord’s supper that you eat. ²¹For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, another gets drunk. ²²What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I commend you in this? No, I will not.

²³For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, ²⁴and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” ²⁵In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” ²⁶For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

²⁷Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord.²⁸Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. ²⁹For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. ³⁰That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. ³¹But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. ³²But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.

³³So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for one another— ³⁴if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home—so that when you come together it will not be for judgment. About the other things I will give directions when I come.

Family Discussion Question:

If the gathering of the body of Christ for corporate worship and to celebrate the Lord’s Table is such a sacred thing, why do we often treat it so casually? How do our attitudes towards others in the church expose our irreverence for Christ Himself?