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1 Corinthians 16 Good Morning Brothers and
Sisters,
Passage is coming up this
weekend, anyone interested? I am planning to go with Chris, and will
have plenty of room for anyone else. Look it up online at www.passage2002.com It will be fantastic
for us to be involved in this. If you are a father and have a son,
you need to go and to take your son with you. I am considering laying
off from work today to go, it's that important. Let me know
if you are interested, purchasing the tickets in volume will give
us a free one for 10 purchased. Look at the brochures on the website
and the leaders guide, Jesus is Lord, no doubt about it.
It hardly seems like it has
been 16 days since starting the study on 1 Corinthians. But we are
in the final chapter. I am thinking that we will continue on to 2nd
Corinthians tomorrow, then after that, I am considering going to one of
the Gospels. John would be good, it will help us to understand
God's power in our lives. I had thought about going to John next,
but we already are primed in the Corinthian mentality, it may be better
to continue on. I also am thinking that after John, we'll grab a
few more epistles, then take another Gospel. Bouncing around to keep
variety as well as balance in our studies.
Paul leaves various instructions
in 1 Corinthians 16 for the Corinthian church to follow, but just as in
Romans, there are tremendous nuggets buried in the instructions.
I will dig out a few of them, feel free to speak up and point out others.
v. 1-3 Paul was asking
for a collection for the saints, apparently this collection was understood
since he doesn't go into justifying the need. What I find interesting
here is that he is not going to take up a collection while he is there.
Paul did not want them to wait to take up a collection, but that each person
should donate as his finances allowed. This probably cured two things
for Paul, first, this was not a barrier or a requirement which would interfere
with his ministry when he arrived. With this out of the way, no-one
would feel obligated to put money in the plate, therefore the giving was
taken care of in the quiet of their homes as they were led. Also,
this was to be set aside on the first day of each week, the first-fruits
are the Lords. I keep forgetting that in my life, bills and commitments
have always come first. I often forget who is really behind my finances.
He is in control of all of our lives, including our finances. v.
3 Paul either did not want to be bothered with the requirement to
go to Jerusalem or he wanted them to feel secure knowing that one of their
brethren were going to carry the gift. Perhaps this was to get someone
else involved in the ministry. I think that Paul didn't want to be
tied down with the obligation, he was needed elsewhere.
vs. 8,9 Reality check
is in place! God had started an effective service where Paul was
at, he wanted it to run its full course. Why walk away from something
that is working? Bird in hand is better than two in the bush.
How often have we seen a truly effective ministry started, grow, and blossom;
then the pastor or teacher feels he is called elsewhere. Then the
ministry will either take a hit and recover or die a slow death.
Sometimes I think we think too much. We get in a hurry for new and
better things and get in the way of God's work. Perhaps I am being
overly critical here, but it is a lot more fun to start a ministry
than it is to follow it through to the end. Paul is leading
us by example here.
vs. 10-12 Paul prepares
the way for Timothy here. At first I could not figure why Tim would
be frightened, then I referred to Matthew Henry, his contention is that
Timothy was being sent into an hostile environment. It would be Timothy's
job to try to straighten up this church with all its factions and problems.
He wanted to assure that Timothy would not be resented or mistreated for
the nitty gritty dirty work that had to take place. He was coming
basically to reprove and reform the Corinthian church. In the light
of what we have studied in Corinthians, I think any of us would be afraid
to tackle this task.
v. 13 A small verse packed
with affirmations. "be on the alert, stand firm in the faith" we
are not to be taken by surprise, let each of us prepare our hearts daily.
Building a firm foundation on which we can stand. We are like the
house built upon the rock. "act like men, be strong"
We are not to be timid or weak in the Gospel. We are to put it to
full use, exercising our spiritual muscles daily. Muscles do not
become strong without training, therefore train heartily. v. 14 "Let
all that you do be done in love" Again, this is the Greek word agape,
as we studied in chapter 13. Think on chapter 13, it is a sobering
thought.
Just a few nuggets out of
many, I hope that you enjoyed them.
I pray that each of us will
work diligently to build a firm foundation in each of our lives.
That we will be living examples of true Christianity to the world, and
that when others see us, they see Christ in our lives. I ask that
as we continue this daily study that our eyes will be open and our hearts
receptive to your will.
In Him,
Joe Turner
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