I Corinthians 14

Dear RTB’ers,

… edification, exhortation, and consolation … (v. 3b) Paul speaks of uplifting activities – just the opposite of divisiveness or quarreling or judgmentalism. He also mentions edification twice more in the next few verses (vv. 4, 5). It’s a lesson we could all take when discussing church matters, whether in personal conversations or in small groups or in larger settings. Paul is seeking unity in the Corinthian church, something that he senses is lacking there. I daresay that God would have us speak edification, exhortation, and consolation to just about any church body in the USA!

Here in Slovakia Carol and I attend one church regularly (unless we are traveling). The entire service is in Slovak – the music, the prayers, the sermons, the announcements. We have a translator and headsets, but my weak hearing still leaves me far short of all that is sung or said. Today’s verse 11 rings true to me, in church and out in the general public: So if I do not know the meaning of the language, I will be unintelligible to the one who speaks, and the one who speaks will be unintelligible to me. It’s difficult being the minority!

Blessings!

I Corinthians 13

Dear RTB’ers,

I think that I am not very loving. I am cheerful and friendly and helpful and responsible and a lot of other good things, but I’m not sure that I am very loving. Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful… (vv. 4-5) Paul lists nine attributes of love in these two verses; I daresay at various points in my life that I have violated every one of them. So while today’s text is one of the most beautiful in all of Scripture, for me it’s a further call to action. To confession. To repentance. To forgiveness.

Even with all the baggage that I carry, I know that I am loved, that GOD IS LOVE, and that He loves me fully, completely, unendingly. That’s more than enough for me to move on.

Blessings!

I Corinthians 12

Dear RTB’ers,

But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as He chose. (v. 18) When I take time to reflect, I am in awe of the human body. Paul spoke of the eye, the ear, the nose, the hand, the feet, and even the “unpresentable parts” –with more still not mentioned by Paul, each part performing what needs to be done for the body to work. And then there are the dramatic differences between males and females, both external and internal, that makes each gender different in who they are and what they are called to do or be. Finally, I can barely comprehend what goes on inside the body – the relationships between the heart, the lungs, the liver, the kidneys, the veins, the arteries, the nerves – all controlled by the brain and its central nervous system. I close this reflection with verses that I quoted a few days ago: Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. (I Cor. 6:19-20)

Blessings!

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See also: December 6 (2023) / I Corinthians 12-14

I Corinthians 11:2-34

Dear RTB’ers,

When pondering about our readings and praying about what I might say, I often go back to what I have written in the past, both to get ideas and to not repeat myself. Today, however, I need to repeat myself – verses 23-26 strike me every time I read them, more so that just about any other Scriptural verses. Back in 2020 I wrote the following (slightly edited) and those words that I wrote are valid today:

I can remember vividly the first time I read verses 23 to 26 in today’s reading. I had been raised in the Catholic Church and was born again at age 26. Somewhere along the line I started reading the Bible – it surely was not long into my born-again life that I read this passage for the first time and it jumped off the page at me. These words formed the Consecration portion spoken at every Catholic Mass – the elevation of the host and the chalice and for Catholics, the Transubstantiation of the bread and wine into the body and blood of Jesus. At that point it dawned on me that the Catholic Church was Scripture-based and that I should not completely abandon those roots in favor of this new Protestantism that I was beginning to embrace. So I spent a great deal of my first born-again year doing what I could to reconcile my Catholic roots with my newly energized faith. I left the Catholic Church in the late 1970s, but I still cherish much that I gained in my youth from that upbringing.

From May 6 (2020) / I Corinthians 11:17-34

I don’t know if Anglicans refer to the elevation of the host and the cup as the “Consecration”, but (unless I am somehow fully distracted!) our repetition of Paul’s words in verses 23-26 still strike me today. It’s a powerful reminder to me of Jesus at the Last Supper, and of His broken body and shed blood on the cross. Thank you, Jesus.

Blessings!

I Corinthians 10:1-11:1

Dear RTB’ers,

Today, distracted again with the results from yesterday’s election – the Presidency, the Senate, the House – and my own students’ results from their exam yesterday. Distracted.

One item pops out for me in today’ readings – imitation. Paul summarizes it in today’s last verse, Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ. (11:1) As with Paul, we are to be the people who should be imitated. We need to set the example, be the guide for those around us. We learn from others: Now these things took place as examples for us … Now these things happened to them as an example… (vv. 10:6a, 11) Others learn from us: All things are lawful, but not all things build up. Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor. (vv. 10:23b-24) Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God … (v. 10:32) Be the example, be the guide. A final summary verse, So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. (v. 10:31)

Blessings!

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See also: December 5 (2023) / I Corinthians 9-11

I Corinthians 8-9

Dear RTB’ers,

During my years as Treasurer at St. Andrew’s I was able to see first-hand where our parishioners’ contributions went. And a very large chunk of our parish income went as Paul directed: In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel. (v. 9:14) None of our staff members were getting wealthy from the salaries that we were paying, but in fact they were getting their living from their work in our church spreading the gospel. It’s always good for me to see Scripture being displayed in the world around me.

It’s election day in the USA (and then the aftermath!), plus my students have an exam today here in SK. I’m distracted! Please pray for our country, no matter who wins today!!

Blessings!

I Corinthians 7

Dear RTB’ers,

Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him. (v. 17) Each one should remain in the condition in which he was called. (v. 20) So brothers, in whatever condition each was called, there let him remain with God. (v. 24) I think that Paul here is speaking of contentment, but I don’t think that he is ruling out promotion or advancement. Being part of the world, most of us married, with jobs or retired, naturally we have (or have had) to provide for ourselves and our families. So “getting ahead” is good, but that should not be our driving force. Unfortunately, however, doing only the absolute minimum is also not good. Paul offers the best advice regarding work in a later epistle: Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. (Colossians 3:23-24) Contentment. It’s a good thing!

Blessings!

I Corinthians 5-6

Dear RTB’ers,

Two thoughts today. First, one from my Catholic childhood, a sentence offering advice on moral behavior, containing a few phrases and ending with “and to avoid the near occasions of sin”. Yeah, the “near occasions of sin”. I think Paul is talking about those “near occasions of sin” in both chapters today.

And a second thought… A few years back, together with an accountability group I sought to lose some weight. I was successful, losing some thirty pounds that I had been carrying for far too many years! Paul’s ending sentences in today’s reading were helpful: Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. (6:19-20) I had printed those sentences and hung them above my desk where I could see them every day. You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. Powerful!!

Blessings!

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See also: December 4 (2023) / I Corinthians 5-8

I Corinthians 3-4

Dear RTB’ers,

Forty verses is a lot of material when we are reading Paul’s epistles! What to cover, what’s important? Mostly, as John has done with Proverbs and with the entire Bible last year, we tend to post on whatever hits us. But that leaves a lot of good material behind.

Today…, divisions within the church. We’ve certainly seen that at St. Andrew’s. Carol and I have also seen that in the CZ church in Olomouc, where Mark Bruner spent many years ministering and where we are today. And it’s been in our “home” church in Nitra, SK just in the recent past and they’re still recovering. Yes, divisions. I truly hope and pray that we do not have divisions within our RTB group over what we are doing. John and Carol and I step out in Holy Spirit faith every year when we begin RTB anew, seeking the Lord each day before we post. Thankfully we have Paul’s encouragement and guidance: For we (John, Carol, and I) are God’s fellow workers; you (RTB’ers) are God’s field, God’s building. According to the grace of God which was given to me (us), like a wise master builder I (we) laid a foundation, and another (you RTB folks!) is (are) building on it. But each person must be careful how he builds on it. For no one can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. (3:9-11, edited with parenthetical additions) So let’s be careful, each and every one of us, as to how we build.

Blessings!

I Corinthians 1:18-2:16

Dear RTB’ers,

Yesterday I commented that Paul had spent a year and a half in Corinth (plus a second trip some years later), so he knew the Corinthian people to whom he was writing. And to these people he wrote that not many of them were wise or strong or of noble birth (v. 1:26). Suppose we reverse his “not many”; then it follows that Paul knew that some of these people were wise, some were strong, and some were of noble birth. Imagine Paul speaking to us today, knowing all of us, and knowing that some are wise, some are strong, and some are of “noble” birth. What would he say to us? The same thing he said to the Corinthians: God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, … so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. (1:27-29) Paul is taking our pride out of the picture. Our pride is our foolishness, is our weakness, is low and despicable before God. Instead He offers us His Spirit: Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. (v. 2:12) And with that Spirit,

“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
nor the heart of man imagined,
what God has prepared for those who love him” —

these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. (v. 2:9-10) Setting aside our (my!) pride allows us to see God’s creation, including ourselves and all those around us in a wholly different light. Later we will learn that “the greatest of these is love” (I Cor. 13:13). I daresay that the lowest of these is pride. Your thoughts?

Blessings!