1 Corinthians 15:54-57

Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled:“Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory?O death, where is your sting?” For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 15:54-57

Dear God, I have to admit that death stings. It still does. Especially when it’s young and tragic. Is there hope? Yes. Is there comfort? Yes. But it can really, really sting.

Maybe I should focus on how it’s swallowed up in victory. When listing what I was grateful for this morning to a friend, I simply wrote, “God wins!” You do win. You do guide us and provide for us. But I do still get sad at senseless loss.

Right now, there is pain in our community. Can you use this to bring a greater healing. Can your victory swallow up death? Can you use this to unite your church and minister to our youth? What are you calling me to do?

Father, I truly believe your victory swallows up death. I do. Help me to know what role you have for me to play in your world. Help me to know how to do it for your glory. And give comfort to those who have experienced terrible, tragic loss.

In the name of my Triune God, I pray,

Amen

 

1 Corinthians 1:30-31

God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin. Therefore, as the Scriptures say, “If you want to boast, boast only about the Lord.”
1 Corinthians 1:30-31

Dear God, I just read most of this chapter, starting with verse 18. It’s all about your wisdom and our foolishness. So as I sit here and think about how grateful I am for my connection to you through Jesus, and how you are my only thing in which I can boast, I wonder how should I pursue wisdom and knowledge.

My temptation is to still seek wisdom in the world’s way. To make “smart,” “wise,” and “rational” decisions. But somehow I need to be more sensitive to the Holy Spirit and your still small voice than that. I need to tend to the soil of my heart and make sure it is clear of thorns and rocks so that you can grow a good crop within me.

Father, help me to continue to turn loose of the cares of this world and the pursuit of wealth. My soil isn’t terrible, but it could be better. Help me to be mindful of you today.

I pray this in your holy name,

Amen

 

10 Observations by Adam Neder: #5. The point of the Church is to receive and reflect the love of God in Christ.

I was reading an article from the H.E.B. Foundation Magazine Echoes, and I came across a description of a summer retreat led by Adam Neder. The retreat was titled “Faith in the Ruins.” A description of the retreat in the promotional material for it sums it up: “…as challenges multiply, as the church perfects the art of discrediting itself, as friends leave the faith, many Christians are feeling exhausted, disoriented, and discouraged. Some wonder how much longer they can stick with Christianity–or even if they want to.”

That’s where the 10 observations by Neder came in. I looked at them and thought I would do a series of prayer journals on the 10 observations the article mentioned Neder covered during the retreat.

#5. The point of the Church is to receive and reflect the love of God in Christ.

Dear God, my first thought when I read this observation was to question it. Is that the point of the (capital C) Church? I want to think through that a little this morning. Pray through it like this. Ask the Holy Spirit to speak to me as I process it. What is the point of the Church?

I guess I should start with the body of Christ to which Paul refers (1 Corinthians 12:12-31). We are all one body. So how should that body act and what should it do?

First, it should worship. Well, I guess the first thing all of us should do is repent before you and submit to you. Then we should worship you as individuals and corporately.

Second, we should commit to pursuing you and discipling as individuals and corporately. This is where I think 90% of Christians miss the mark, but it is foundational. There has to be time spent consistently communing with you in one way or another. If that is not happening then it gives Satan too much freedom to influence us.

Third, we should live out our faith in the world and let you use us to draw others to yourself. This is where I am both good and bad. I think my life is pretty representative of a life submitted to you, but I am terrible about actually bringing people to you and offering you to them.

Fourth, we should collectively help each other in our discipleship and life decisions. This happens through relationship and a willingness to be confronted and to lovingly confront.

Fifth, we should collectively reach out and help those in need. Of course, that includes evangelizing, but it also includes simply loving others and meeting their needs in a appropriate way.

Sixth, we should collectively be an example of your love to the world. It should generate naturally as a fruit of the Spirit in our individual lives brought together as one body.

I might have missed some things in there, but there is nothing about influencing the world through political power, top-down ruling, or force. It’s grassroots. It’s love. It’s healing. You don’t force us. Why would we force others?

Father, if I were to boil the six things I’ve said here down into a 16-word sentence, I am comfortable with what Neder has here. “Receive.” “Reflect.” Those two words summarize what I’ve listed here. Help me to do that today. Help me to receive your nature into my life. Use me as the sun uses the moon to reflect your light into the world.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 

1 Corinthians 15:54-57

Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled: “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? ” For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 15:54-57

Dear God, I learned of a couple of deaths yesterday. One man I had met bit didn’t know and another man I didn’t know at all, but he was known well by friends. One was sudden but of natural causes and the other by a violent car accident. Now, I’m thinking about the pain both deaths left behind. I’m thinking about the sting. I don’t know how either man felt about you and I don’t know the state of their souls now. But I do know that you loved them.

Now, there are family and friends left behind. I am sorry for them. Please comfort them. And please make these two painful situations count. Use them to heal relationships, addictions, and attitudes towards you. Draw each person who is touching these situations to yourself. As they experience the funerals and hear from pastors. As they visit with friends and seek comfort. Help everyone to not miss the opportunity to know you better and to experience your complete healing. Bring your kingdom into the world through these tragic losses. Redeem the sting for your glory.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 

1 Corinthians 15:12-19

¹² But tell me this—since we preach that Christ rose from the dead, why are some of you saying there will be no resurrection of the dead? ¹³ For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised either. ¹⁴ And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless. ¹⁵ And we apostles would all be lying about God—for we have said that God raised Christ from the grave. But that can’t be true if there is no resurrection of the dead. ¹⁶ And if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised. ¹⁷ And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins. ¹⁸ In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost! ¹⁹ And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world.

1 Corinthians 15:12-19

Dear God, I still remember a conversation I had with a coworker about 30 years ago that involved this passage. Funny how some things stick with us. I was about 22 at the time and I was telling him how I used to tell campers when I was a counselor that, even if there was no heaven and when we died we died it would still be worth it to be a Christian and follow you because of the joy you give us through relationship with you. He told me I was wrong and quoted this verse at me. And while I think he was technically correct, I don’t think he was correct for the right reason.

Basically, he was saying at the time that it was all about heaven and getting to be with you eternally, and he quoted Paul saying in verse 19 that we are to be the most pitied in all of the world. The difference between us is that I was not proclaiming there is no resurrection of the dead, and I was certainly not saying Jesus hadn’t been resurrected. What I was saying was that if that wasn’t how you designed everything, relationship with you, freedom from our sin, our ability to share your mercy with others, and the process of willingly submitting my plans and how I think the world should be to your will would still be worth it because of the peace and joy that comes with it.

I was talking with a friend on Friday who has a family member who is gravely ill. We talked about how some things in our lives hadn’t worked out how we hoped, but we were willing to yield to the idea that you weren’t letting anything happen that was outside of what you could use in the lives of those we love, our lives, or even for the good of those we don’t know. He asked me, “How do people who don’t believe in God cope?” I answered, “I don’t know.” Some people derisively call Christianity a coping mechanism or a crutch to get through life. That’s not how I see it. Do I lean on you? Yes! Do I find my hope and peace in you? Yes! And to be sure, some people do just use the platitudes of Christianity to live in denial as opposed to living by faith. But for those who have truly learned the letting go that faith leads to, Christianity is not a way of using denial to avoid reality, but an acceptance of reality and the idea that sometimes you are doing things we cannot see and may never see in this life. Frankly, part of my hope in heaven is to get to see all that you are doing that I haven’t been able to see.

Father, I often pray for people going through a struggle that you would make their pain count. I’ve asked that you would make my pain count. I’m willing to go through it, but please don’t waste it. Use it to improve me or anyone who touches the situation. Use it to bring us to repentance, to you, and so that your kingdom will come and your will will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 

1 Corinthians 2:14-15

But a natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. But the one who is spiritual discerns all things, yet he himself is discerned by no one.
1 Corinthians 2:14-15

Dear God, I absolutely need you and your discernment. I need to see the world through your eyes and be about your kingdom and will instead of my own.

I have a friend going through divorce mediation today. My perception is that there has been a lot of pain in this marriage, and now there is a lot of contention in the divorce. I’m not praying that the marriage be saved. I’m not even sure you want that at this point. But as both of these people, their attorneys, and the mediator go through this process today, my prayer for them is that the Holy Spirit will guide all of their hearts. I know what “winning” last oks like in the eyes of the world, but I don’t know what “winning” in today’s mediation from your perspective looks like. I know Jesus’s death on the cross looked like losing to everyone who was there, but it was actually part of the greatest victory of all time.

Of course, I have my own life situations, and from my own perspective it can certainly look like I’m losing. It can look like I’m failing. But I’ve been down this road with you before. I’ve trusted you and sought your guidance before, and I’ve seen the long-term “win” that comes from a short-term “loss.” In some of my current “losses,” my prayer is simply that you would guide everyone involved and make all of this pain count for your glory.

Father, I have this friend today going through the mediation. I have another friend with heart issues in a San Antonio hospital. Please be with them both. Comfort. Guide. Provide. Let your kingdom come to earth today in their lives. Let your will be done in their lives. For my mediation friend, give them your eyes so they can react to the situation as you see it. Use this pain to accomplish your will for everyone involved. Help everyone to see what a victory from your perspective looks like and to reject a worldly victory that brings a defeat for their soul. And for my friend with the heart issue, of course I ask that you heal her. But also comfort her. Use this to accomplish things in her life and the lives of her family and friends that you would never have accomplished otherwise. And in my life, give me your eyes so I can see beyond the physical world. Help me to see the powers and principalities at work around me, and to respond out of your victory 2,000 years ago.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 

1 Corinthians 6:12-20

You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is good for you. And even though “I am allowed to do anything,” I must not become a slave to anything. You say, “Food was made for the stomach, and the stomach for food.” (This is true, though someday God will do away with both of them.) But you can’t say that our bodies were made for sexual immorality. They were made for the Lord, and the Lord cares about our bodies. And God will raise us from the dead by his power, just as he raised our Lord from the dead. Don’t you realize that your bodies are actually parts of Christ? Should a man take his body, which is part of Christ, and join it to a prostitute? Never! And don’t you realize that if a man joins himself to a prostitute, he becomes one body with her? For the Scriptures say, “The two are united into one.” But the person who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him. Run from sexual sin! No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does. For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body. Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.
1 Corinthians 6:12-20

Dear God, I suppose there comes a point when all of us have to decide that it’s okay to deny ourselves. Maybe it’s for reasons that Paul discusses here as we figure out what is good for us and what harms us. And maybe it’s sacrificing a right that we have so that someone else can be safe.

I think that a lot of the sin that Paul addresses in these verses—mostly sexual immorality—comes down to dying to our own desires and seeking what is right. Sure, that might seem obvious, but it’s also true.

With COVID-19 and the whole “wearing a mask” issue, what I’m seeing is so much anger and indignation. I had to be confrontational with a patient yesterday who refused to wear a mask in our clinic. He claimed I was violating his “rights” and he was going to sue us. He came into our clinic spoiling for a fight. Why? Oh, something on the news or social media probably had him riled up. That stuff can rile me up too. The things I watch can get me going. I’ve learned that there are certain things I have watched that will stir thoughts of sexual immorality in me so I have to avoid those things.

Father, I feel like I’m just rambling now, so I will end my saying that I didn’t sleep well last night because I am scared. I am scared of what today will hold for me at work. We might have some significant challenges today that will be complicated to resolve. So I ask for your mercy. Guide me. Guide all of us. Show us your path forward. We want to be there for our patients as much as possible. We also want to be safe for them, for each other, and for our community. Help me, Father. Show me your path forward and pour your peace over me.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 

1 Corinthians 12:27-13:13

All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it. Here are some of the parts God has appointed for the church: first are apostles, second are prophets, third are teachers, then those who do miracles, those who have the gift of healing, those who can help others, those who have the gift of leadership, those who speak in unknown languages. Are we all apostles? Are we all prophets? Are we all teachers? Do we all have the power to do miracles? Do we all have the gift of healing? Do we all have the ability to speak in unknown languages? Do we all have the ability to interpret unknown languages? Of course not! So you should earnestly desire the most helpful gifts. But now let me show you a way of life that is best of all.

If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing. Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever! Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture! But when the time of perfection comes, these partial things will become useless. When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely. Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.

1 Corinthians 12:27-13:13

Dear God, I do not think I have ever read the end of 1 Corinthians 12 in context with chapter 13. What a travesty for me. It is another example of the divisions that the Bible translators put in to make it easier for us to cross reference and find things created an unintended consequence of sometimes removing the context for a passage.

This one is a good example. After Paul spends a lot of time talking about the greatness and importance of being an apostle, a prophet, a teacher, a healer, etc., he concludes with this important sentence:

But now let me show you a way of life that is best of all.

And what trumps all of these great things? It’s pretty simple. Love. Love. Love. Patient love. Kind love. Merciful love. Humble love. Courteous love. Generous love. Unselfish love. Justice-focused love. Good-tempered love. Faithful love. Hopeful love. Persevering love. If I don’t have this love then I can take anything I have about me that might be impressive and throw it away, for all it is worth. It’s worth absolutely nothing. If I teach great things about you, but do not live out these types of love, my teaching is hypocritical and actually does more harm than good. Or if I only have one aspect of love, but am not merciful or humble then my other actions are muted and probably have a negative effect.

Father, help me to be patient, kind, merciful, humble, courteous, generous, unselfish, justice-focused, good-tempered, faithful, hopeful, and persevering. And do all of these things for your glory and for the advancement of your kingdom, and not for me.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 

1 Corinthians 10:13

The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.

1 Corinthians 10:13

Dear God, this is yet another one of those Bible verses that is taken and changed by a lot of Christians. I hear this one quoted a lot as, “God will not give us more than we can bear.” Well, that’s not what this says. In fact, you often give us more than we can bear so that we can be reminded that we cannot bear it alone. We need you. Some people call that using religion as a crutch. I call it the reality of life. Are you a crutch for me? Sure. It’s arrogant to think I don’t need that crutch in my life.

So, as for the temptations mentioned in this passage. That’s a different story. There are times when I simply give in. Selfishness. Lying. Lusting. Coveting. Hating. Worshiping idols. Gluttony. I do it all. You don’t bring me anything that is beyond me resisting, but sometimes it feels irresistible.

Father, help me to recognize the temptation when I see it, name it, and seek you, my crutch, in resisting it. Lead me not into temptation, but deliver me from evil.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 

1 Corinthians 6:13-20

You say, “Food was made for the stomach, and the stomach for food.” (This is true, though someday God will do away with both of them.) But you can’t say that our bodies were made for sexual immorality. They were made for the Lord, and the Lord cares about our bodies. And God will raise us from the dead by his power, just as he raised our Lord from the dead. Don’t you realize that your bodies are actually parts of Christ? Should a man take his body, which is part of Christ, and join it to a prostitute? Never! And don’t you realize that if a man joins himself to a prostitute, he becomes one body with her? For the Scriptures say, “The two are united into one.” But the person who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him. Run from sexual sin! No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does. For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body. Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.

1 Corinthians 6:13-20

Dear God, our sex drive is a fascinating thing. From the outside looking in, it makes no sense. Logically, the way it can control us (especially men) is bizarre. Why is it this way?

I’m going to take same sex issues off of the table right now and talk completely about promiscuity, whether it is heterosexual or homosexual because I’ve started to come to the conclusion (and maybe I’m wrong) that the real problem isn’t as much about same sex sexual relations as it is promiscuous sexual relations.

There is something with sex that is fascinating. I’ve gone to a Catholic Church as a Protestant for nearly (maybe almost exactly) 10 years at this point, and I’ve seen where the church actually has some contradictions when it comes to sex. On the one hand marriage is a sacrament and sex between man and wife is an important part of marriage. However, as part of the holiness of Mary, they teach that Mary was sinless before and after Jesus’s birth, and she remained a virgin her whole life. My wife is the one who brought this question up to me so I won’t take credit for it, but if sex between man and wife is part of the sacrament of marriage, why did Mary have to remain a virgin her whole life? I don’t know the answer to this, but my suspicion is that somewhere along the way the writers of the catechism allowed their own emotions about sex filter into the writing of history and didn’t really believe that sex between a husband and wife can be pure and holy. And I can get where they are coming from. Even in a physically monogomous relationship, impure thoughts can creep in. Certainly over the course of a lifetime, it’s just about impossible to keep your thoughts 100% pure when it comes to sex. So I can see where they felt the need to keep Mary sexless if they were going to maintain that she was sinless.

As for me, there are times when I have hated my sex drive. Especially earlier in marriage, it caused a lot of conflict with my wife. Before I met her, well, you know everything about me so I don’t need to write it here, but I’ll just say that I did not enter our marriage pure of heart–and she knows this. You designed something so incredible and beautiful. Something so unique and powerful. Perhaps that is why Satan goes after it so hard. He can use it as part of his plan to cause division between couples and damage to relationships. Then things like pornography can be the gateway drug into other lecherous, debaucherous, and even illegal activities.

Father, help me to be exactly who you designed me to be, and that includes sexually. Help me to be exactly who my wife needs me to be–better said, help me to be who you need me to be for my wife. Love her purely through me. Use sex in our marriage to be the uniting process you intended it to be. We are united in heart, mind, body and soul. Help the uniting of our bodies to be how you designed it, and please forgive me for my sexual sin.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen