Good day dear friends.
First a personal word of thanks to all who planned and participated in my farewell luncheon yesterday after church. The food was the best I had ever seen and tasted and everyone went "all out" in getting the food table to look so exquisite. A special thank you to all who shared a word of appreciation of the Lord's work through Nellie and I. I was especially touched by the bravery of the youth and children and their willingess to say very kind words of appreciation. I am proud of you! May the Lord continue to richly bless you is my prayer.
My sermon yesterday was from 1 Corinthians 3:1-9. I'll use that as the foundation for my devotional for this morning, but I will preface it with the words of thankfulness that Paul shares with his brothers and sister at the Corinth church:
I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus, 5 for in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind— 6 just as the testimony of Christ has been strengthened among you— 7 so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ. 8 He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful; by him you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
1 Cor. 3:1 And so, brothers and sisters, I could not speak to you as spiritual people, but rather as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. 2 I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for solid food. Even now you are still not ready, 3 for you are still of the flesh. For as long as there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not of the flesh, and behaving according to human inclinations? 4 For when one says, "I belong to Paul," and another, "I belong to Apollos," are you not merely human? 5 What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you came to believe, as the Lord assigned to each. 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 7 So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 8 The one who plants and the one who waters have a common purpose, and each will receive wages according to the labor of each. 9 For we are God's servants, working together; you are God's field, God's building.
The words we read in chapter three are a bit more harsher as Paul is reminding the readers that they were called into faith of Jesus Christ, which is a spiritual first step. What has happened is they have not taken a second step or steps towards spiritual maturity. All during his ministry there, Paul shared the gospel in baby steps, for they were infants in the faith. Here it is some years later and Paul is hearing complaints from them about how they don't like their new pastor, Apollos. As I shared with the congregation no pastor likes to hear that. It hurts the body of Christ when complaints are being lifted up against those who have come to serve among you. We are called to build upon that which is left for all to carry on.
Have you taken steps towards your maturity in Christ? How do you do that you ask? By following the spiritual disciplines of prayer, fasting, Scripture reading, devotional time, time alone with God, worship, tithing, etc. That will take you into the realm of a deeper walk with Christ that Jesus mentions as "abundant life." (John 10:10).
Take those steps today! Become the people God has called you to be!
PRAYER: Loving God, speak to my heart and let me grow in faith and in spirit. Let me be guided and directed by The Holy Spirit. Take me into abundant living. I ask this in Jesus' Name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
e.v.
