I Corinthians 8:1b-3  “While knowledge may make us feel important, it is love that really builds up the church.  Anyone who claims to know all the answers doesn’t really know very much.  But the person who loves God is the one God knows and cares for.”

Love wins.  Paul is so clear here as he writes about love and knowledge.  Love matters.  Love trumps all the stuff I’ve been taught, all the things I know, all the potential “answers” I may have.  Love is so much more important than all the “brainiac” type stuff.  It is good to know things and it is important to study and the value of knowledge is really good.  But theses verses put things into perspective and simply states…  “it is love that really builds up the church.”  That is powerful!!!  And the lover of God is the one that God knows and takes care of.  The heart is what God is after, the head can follow along later.  Paul wanted the church to be acting in love and to challenge them to let love rule the day and guide the knowledge part of things.  That is why in chapter 13 he spends a whole chapter on the importance and value of love.  Which is really cool!!!

So my life needs to be less about right answers and trying to prove how much I know and more about right motives and showing how much I love and care for those around me.

Lord help me to be more loving.  Please give me the ability to be motivated by my love for you as it relates to my actions and attitudes.  Thank you for giving me a mind to reason, discover, understand, contemplate, and know You.  But help me to have all of that knowledge and information to be dispersed through the filter of love!!!

Thank you Jesus for loving me.

Amen.

Our integrity will guide us and help us walk securely. Proverbs 11:3

My son and I are searching the word tonight for some nuggets of truth.  That can be hard to come by in 1 Chronicles 6-7 and nothing hit us over the head in 1 Corinthians 6. Not this day, at this time. This will be posted for Thursday morning, and we are sitting at the computer on this Wednesday night…the plot thickens. My son and I are leaving in the morning to be by my dying mother’s side…We are getting close…This could be it…only the Lord knows if it is time for her to go to be with Him. I asked my son to help me with the blog, and we hit a dead end in the journal reading for today. We decided to read the daily bread, and it told us that we need to stick with it. The topic was integrity.

Sometimes in life we feel as though we do not want to do things. I could have skipped doing the blog…If I receive my strength and peace from the Lord, why would I want to avoid seeking him in the word at a time like this. My son and I were able to search through the scriptures until something stood out to us. Now that I am typing this I realized that it ties in 1 Corinthians 6 from todays reading…Stick with me here…no pun intended!

All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any. 1 Corinthians 6:12,13

When we decided to do this blog together, we continued to seek the Lord outside of the “required reading” for today. That is sticking with it…integrity. We did not break a “law” we were led by the Spirit of God.

Lord please help us be people of integrity. We do not want to wear masks in front of you. We come to you at this time and ask You to help us as we face difficulties. We want to depend on You for strength, peace, and comfort. Thank You for giving us the freedom in You to seek wisdom from your word. 

  Jay Eads

1 Chronicles 1 “The sons of Cush were Seba, Havilah, Sabta, Raama and Sabteca; and the sons of Raamah were Sheba and Dedan.” My mind was all over the place with these two readings.  There are so many topics and issues that feel relevant and pressing.  First, admittedly, I skipped ahead to the New Testament passage… seeing as how the 1 Chronicles section is a genealogy.  Then I remembered something Eugene Peterson wrote about these types of lists and genealogies, and their importance.  So I went back to 1 Chronicles after reading Paul’s challenge and scolding to the immature Corinthian church. My mind settled there, on the genealogy.  Adam, Seth, Enosh… Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared, Enoch… on through Noah, and on, and on.  The Bible is full of lists of names, and not once has it been particularly exciting for me to read them.  But one or two truths about these family trees has managed to sink in, with the help of some wiser folks.  The first truth is this: the Bible is a story about God and His people.  God and His scripture writers have taken the time to document these people for all of history to see.  There are Biblically famous people, with great stories – such as Noah (he had the Ark and all the animals), Abraham (nearly sacrificing his only son, Isaac, and lying about being married to his wife Sarah out of fear).  But there are also people I’ve never heard of before – for example, Havilah and Naphish.  But they are named, right alongside Jacob the wrestler and Methuselah the old guy. Big names and no-names alike, all are given respect and honor in God’s story.  

For some reason this makes me feel good about the God I love – it communicates His love for me in return.  Sure, there are lots of other ways God communicates His love for me, but I add this to the long list.  The fact that God places my name on the same list as Billy Graham, the Apostle John, and Abraham is comforting… it’s reassuring.  Even more reassuring is where this genealogy finally ends up.  Through David the king and giant killer, Rahab the prostitute, and so many more… we get to Jesus.  Eventually.  And if a bunch of no-names and imperfect people can be a part of the plot alongside the heroes, well, let’s just say I am happy to be part of the continuing Jesus-bound story with my fellow “no-names” Sabta, Arphaxad, and Zimran. 

1 Corinthians 3   “What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task.” Oddly enough, the genealogy took up more of my time than the 1 Corinthians passage did.  However, one note I made to myself was this: we are all a part of One Body.  As Christians, we should not view each other as competition or rivals.  But we do.  I can feel threatened by people with similar giftings… or by fellow believers with complementary skills or strengths that FEEL like they are actually opposing mine.  The foot shouldn’t think of the leg as more important.  The feet should bear the weight of the body with stability, letting the legs do their thing, understanding that they are both vital to the athlete’s body - running towards their common goal (thank the Apostle Paul for this analogy).  The ears shouldn’t harbor jealousy towards the mouth.  The ears should listen intently and present what they hear, allowing the mouth to appropriately respond and deliver The Message to the folks who will listen.  The challenge, for me, was clear.  Make more of an effort to see the Christians around me as the Body, and not as individual parts.  To see the forest in relation to the individually valuable trees. 

God help us all to find the value in ourselves as a part of the story of God and His people… and to see the well-known and unknown characters in that story as friends in the mission of Christ’s Church, and not as rivals.  Thank You for giving us your Word to direct us and change us.

2 Kings 22:1-2   “Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years…  He did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight and followed the example of his ancestor David.  He did not turn aside from doing what was right.”
Josiah gets it.  He understands the need to follow after David’s example and to live for the Lord, obey His commands, and do the right thing.  In the midst of a bunch of kings that blow it and do their own thing.  Josiah does what God desires, makes changes, reforms the nation of Israel, and “does not turn aside from doing what is right.”

What an example for me today!  I needed to hear about an 8 year old being put in a position of leadership and then living that out faithfully for a lifetime.  It can be done.  Even in the midst of bad family examples, poor mentoring, and probably negative influence.  It can be done.  And Josiah shows me that it can be done.

Lord thank you for the example and encouragement of Josiah to me.  Help me to follow his example and to live for you faithfully on a daily basis.  I want to be first and foremost Christlike and Lord help me to use the example of this “good” king to accomplish that desire.

When I first read 2 Kings 20, I immediately drew the wrong conclusions about King Hezekiah. Why didn’t he want to die; was he afraid, unsettled or trying to tell God what to do? And then to ask God to let him live, that seemed a bit bold!
As I dug a little deeper I was able to better understand who Hezekiah was. One commentary said that he was a godly son of an ungodly father and a godly father to an ungodly son. So, whatever his past generations chose, he followed God.
I found out that Hezekiah’s plea to live was not due to fear of death. It was surrounded by the reality of his circumstance. His kingdom was at war with the Assyrians. A long and dreary war it seems. The facts I have found were that Hezekiah probably had not yet had any sons. What would happen to his kingdom? This was a man who defeated the odds of those before him in truly following God and was leading his people to do so as well. His plea to live was perhaps because he wanted his kingdom to be safe and not fall into the hands of the ungodly nation pursuing them.
Hezekiah’s prayer was also another glimpse of his humbleness. He made no demands, he does not ask God to spare him! In Hezekiah’s prayer it may seem he is telling the Lord to remember what good he has done. A commentary I read put it like this; “Hezekiah does not pray, “Lord, spare me,” or, “Lord, take me; God’s will be done;” but, Lord, remember me; whether I live or die, let me be thine.” A true sign of character to the end….to rely on God’s will and not his own.
I wonder…if I were told to put my house in order and prepare for my time, how would I react? I can admit that I would probably hesitate. Oh the thought of finally meeting my Savior! And to finally be in heaven. And yet selfishly…my kids need me, can I leave now? What would my response be to the Lord? “Whether I live or die, let me be thine”.
Lord God,
I praise you for another day. Thank you for eternal life and the hope it gives me. Open my eyes to those around me who are lost and hurting. Who need You to be their Savior. Use me however you want today God to further Your kingdom and share your love.

“…and you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the rich root of the olive tree.”  Romans 11:17b

 The eleventh chapter of Romans is my favorite chapter in the whole Bible.  I was more than a little excited when I discovered I would be writing my blog today.  Why is it my favorite?  Because without the truths of this one chapter, because of the kindness of God and His grace I would not be who or where I am today. 

In verse 22 we read, “Behold then the kindness and severity of God; to those who fell, severity, but to you, God’s kindness….”  God had dealt with the nation of Israel severely, He had cut them off for being a “disobedient and obstinate people.” (Romans 10:21) Then God showed His kindness to me, to us.  We were grafted into the vine.  God’s chosen people had been the Jews.  But He set them aside temporarily in order to offer us salvation by grace.  In Colossians 3:12 Paul addresses us, “Therefore as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved…”  What an honor, how merciful!

Because they missed the plane, we are invited to sit in their seats in First Class.  A great Bible teacher once said, “I could never be anti-Semitc.  I owe too much to them as a nation.”  You and I are benefiting from the nation of Israel.  Would God have given us a place in His kingdom had the Jews followed after Him?  As Paul says in verse 34, “who has known the mind of the Lord?” 

So I am humble and eternally grateful.  I never want to take my salvation for granted or respond to it with arrogance.  I am a wild olive grafted into the already cultivated, rich and blessed tree. 

I decided to Google “wild olive tree” and what I found was a profound if not prophetic statement:  The wild olive tree is a native North American evergreen.  This small tree is very rarely found and is even reportedly close to extinction.”  May this not be true for us.

Romans 10:10  “For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved.”

I need to believe in my heart and confess with my mouth, that I am a follower of Jesus.

My life needs to match my lips, and my heart needs to be guided by the Holy Spirit.

Lord, daily remind me of what you have done for me.  Help me to constantly give my heart to you and confess my sins.  Thank you Jesus for making me right with the Father.

As it is written: “Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and rock of offense, And whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” Romans 9:33 (quoted from Old testament passages Isaiah 8:14 , 28:16)

When I gave my testimony at the women’s retreat, I shared the scripture Psalm 40:1-3…I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me, and heard my cry.  He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps.  He has put a new song in my mouth-Praise to our God; many will see it and fear, and will trust in the Lord… At that time I promised myself that I would do a word study on “rock.”

Deuteronomy 32:4 He is the Rock, His work is perfect; for all His ways are justice, A God of truth and without injustice; Righteous and upright is He. Numbers 20:8 Take the rod; you and your brother Aaron gather the congregation together.  Speak to the rock before their eyes, and it will yield its water; thus you shall bring water for them out of the rock, and give drink to the congregation …1 Samuel 2:2 “No one is holy like the Lord, for there is none besides You, nor is there any rock like our God.”  Psalm 18:2 The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.  Psalm 18:31,46 For who is God, except the Lord? And who is a rock, except our God? The Lord lives? Blessed by my Rock!  Psalm 27:5 He shall set me high upon a rock. Psalm 62:6 He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be moved.  In God is my salvation and my glory; The rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God. Psalm 78:35 Then they remembered that God was their rock, and the Most High God their Redeemer.  Matthew 7:24 Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock; and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. 1 Corinthians 10:1-4 Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed throught the sea, all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ.

All things lead to Jesus. He is and was the rock, the living water.

Lord, I pray that you would help me as I go about my day to stay close to You. Lord please reveal more of who You are to me in Your word. Thank You Lord for the water of your word. 

Romans 7:14-15 “We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin.  I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.” Sin captures us all on a daily basis. Paul feels as if he is sold as a slave with sin as his master. One of the important facets of this verse is that Paul says I do not understand what I do.  On our own we cannot conquer the sin that controls our lives. Often times we selfishly try to combat our sins without the help of God, who is the one that we are seeking. Verse 18 says, “I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.” No victory will ever be found in our self unless we humbly and graciously accept the standing offer from our generous God. We as Christians have died with Christ and have risen with Him to walk in newness of life. He is ready and willing to help us lift away the roadblocks that are keeping us away from knowing the living God on a more personal basis.

Father God I pray that you show me the sins that are in my life and are keeping me from a more intimate relationship with you. I seek wisdom in how to defeat sin with your help. I seek discernment so that when I am faced with sin head on I know that we can overcome it. Thank you Father God for your ultimate sacrifice of giving up your body through death so that we can be made new and bear fruit to you.

“Because of your faith, Christ has brought us into this place of highest privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.”

There have been a few times in my life where I have been invited backstage after a concert to rub shoulders with someone that a lot of people paid money to come and hear perform and taste of the talent and energy that they had dispensed.  It’s a very special moment in one’s life to know that you are getting to do something that the greater majority could only dream of having the privilege to do.  As great as this experience is, nothing touches the experience of highest privilege that God offers.  I can not only be in the same room as God but I can speak to him as a friend.  I not only am going to be saved from eternal destruction but I’m going to share in His glory.

I thank you Lord God for the backstage pass that otherwise I would never have experienced.  Being able to stand in your presence as a friend is unfathomable.  Even more mind blowing is knowing that I get to share in the riches of your glory.