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Now I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you should be in agreement and that there should be no divisions among you, but that you should be united in the same mind and the same purpose. For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there are quarrels among you, my brothers and sisters. What I mean is that each of you says, ‘I belong to Paul’, or ‘I belong to Apollos’, or ‘I belong to Cephas’, or ‘I belong to Christ.’ Has Christ been divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, so that no one can say that you were baptized in my name. (I did baptize also the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) For Christ did not send me to baptize but to proclaim the gospel, and not with eloquent wisdom, so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its power. For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. (1 Corinthians 1:10-18)
If you stop to think about it, the first four books of the New Testament are about the Gospel; the Good News of Jesus Christ. They share the stories and teachings of Jesus, and His life, death, and resurrection. Then the next book is a book of history of the early Christian Church. And after that, it seems the rest of the books are letters to Christians asking them to behave! And this passage is a sample of that. Paul encounters in the church of Corinth a division about who baptized who; and I know this no longer happens in the church, right? People love each other, love and serve God, and never argue nor quarrel, right? I wish! This was a sad quarrel, as most quarrels are (ask a married couple about them). But people in that church began to compare baptisms. Some said, "I belong to Paul," others: "I belong to Apollos, or Cephas, or Christ..." Paul asks the question, "Has Christ been divided?" Then he thanks God that he did not baptize any of them with the exception of Crisps and Gaius; and the household of Stephanus," but other than those, none. And then he stresses that his purpose and mission was to preach the gospel and strengthen the message of the cross. Anything else would be foolishness, as is quarreling in the church. And his message is still as true today as ever: "For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."
Dr. Gil Rendle is a noted writer and speaker/teacher who shared his life cycle of a church: Birth, Visioning, Structure, Ministry, (these on an upward spiral); then Nostalgia (downward spiral) where he stresses the church should either go back to Ministry or Visioning or face Polarity, then Death. And this may apply to us in our lives as well. We should always have a vision for what we were called to do; then we must do it in the ways we've prepared for it, and when we reach the point of Nostalgia, that of thinking back to "the good ole days" we need to re-think our purpose or retrain ourselves for new and better work or we will find ourselves fighting within ourselves and others and we will spiritually die before we physically die. No bueno. Churches that are quarreling have reached the point of Polarity, that is, division, and the message is simple as illustrated in today's graphic: Divided We Fall. Christ stresses unity in that He shared the new commandment of loving one another; and we know that in love we give and take, we compromise, we seek common ground, and we seek ways to mend our paralyzing differences so that we can continue to move onward and upward. There is strength in unity and that strength comes from a common vision and purpose. And that is to save those who are not yet saved. And the message is still as powerful and as needed as always; Jesus died for us and we should accept Him as Lord and savior and share that with the world.
Where do you find yourself, dear friend? Have you prayed about a vision for yourself? For your church? Do you have the right structure in place for your life to do what Christ calls you to do? If not, now is the time to see what training and preparation could bless your ministry as a believer.
Let's get busy!
PRAYER: Loving God, help me in my life be the person You called me to be. Help me pray, study, worship, praise, and love You as I learn and grow and prepare for better and more effective service. This I pray in Christ Jesus' precious name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
Here is the link to see and hear today's devotional(CUT & PASTE in your URL): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNa2xX-mZtQ
