1:4 - Because of the grace of Jesus Christ, in every way our speech and knowledge should become more enriched...become better. As a follow filled with the Spirit of Jesus, my words and mind should consistently move towards godliness. Is that happening?
1:10ff - What in the world has happened to us? The should be no divisions between us! Why are there fifty different kinds of Christ following churches in Houston! We have fallen a long way from the early church. They just had divisions within the church...we have mastered the art of turning divisiveness in the church into a whole new church moved down the road. We have people shouting, "I follow Luther!" "I follow Calvin!" "I follow Campbell!" When verse 31 tells is that we should clearly only boast in the Lord Jesus Christ. What can you do to help the Church move towards unity and not towards chaos?
1:17 - I like Paul's attitude here...as a minister, it is awesome to see people you have shared the gospel with baptized by somebody else. It is awesome to see your own disciples go out and baptize. Baptism isn't an ordained minister only kind of gig. What steps can you take to baptize somebody within the next year? Get to work!
1:18 - The Word of God lived out is death and destruction when witnessed by the world. When you refuse to work 70 hours a week because you take seriously the call to live out a Sabbath - that looks like the death of a career to the world. When you take 10% or more of your income and give it away - that looks like lunacy and financial destruction to the world. Fortunately we have a secret...we know that living out the Word, as crazy and life-altering as that is, brings about true life and resurrection. This is a secret we need to be telling people!
1:22ff - It is absolute folly, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is crazy. The call to die...understanding that you cannot save yourselves...the call to take up your cross daily...the call becoming living sacrifices...the call to follow a master that was slaughtered at the hands of the Roman juggernaut...these things are absurd to the world. It is absurd, yet the only way.
1:27 - The church is the home of the weak, rejects, losers, broken people of the world - and God chooses these same people to reflect His person to the world. Again, folly. Beautiful, powerful, God-ordained folly.
2 comments:
NIV 6 - because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you.
Msg 6 - The evidence of Christ has been clearly verified in your lives.
If I was put on trail for being a Christian, would I be convicted? Would there be enough evidence and testimony from eyewitnesses that Christ occupied the center of my life?
I pray so. 26-27 - I would rather be a Christ following, heaven bound nobody than a hell bound somebody. Look around – look at the people you admire – do you find them on Google or in your home or church?
Most of the admired of the world are currently under God’s wrath. And The Way, Jesus, is just plain stupid to them. (18)
So - be thankful for Jesus – share Him with others. Christ is The Ultimate Gift.
Peace
j
It is amazing to me how God can take anything and use it for his glory! It is perplexing to me, but it is also a bragging point for me as to the God I serve. Thank you Jesus for being able to take our brokeness and incompleteness, and doing incredible things with it!
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