Faith, Hope Charity

1 Corinthians 13:13 KJV
And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

If everything else is childish and will vanish, Paul says there are three Christian qualities that still abide

Faith
The word means persuasion.

It is our constant persuasion that our God is and
That He is sovereign
That He is the One God and
That His Word is true
Hope
The word means anticipation.

This is our expectation that God promise of eternal life in Christ will one day be fulfilled. Though this world is cruel and Christians don't fit well here; God's promise and our hope, our anticipation is that one day we will go to dwell with Christ in a place where we are far more suited.

Charity
The word means benevolent love.

Paul says this is the greatest of the three.

And no wonder;
Matt 22:37-40
Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
This is the first and great commandment.
And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. (KJV)

We could not fulfill these greatest of all commandments without faith and without hope. But we have not brought forth the fruit of faith and hope without charity

God's Kindness

Ruth 1:20-21 KJV
And she said unto them, Call me not Naomi, call me Mara: for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me.
I went out full, and the LORD hath brought me home again empty: why then call ye me Naomi, seeing the LORD hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me?

Ruth 2:20 KJV
And Naomi said unto her daughter in law, Blessed be he of the LORD, who hath not left off his kindness to the living and to the dead. And Naomi said unto her, The man is near of kin unto us, one of our next kinsmen.

Naomi went from terrible depression "...the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me." To great joy "...Blessed be he of the Lord who hath not left off his kindness..."

No doubt life will hold some of both for us. There will be those times when we think God has dealt pretty harshly with us.
Sometimes it will be really the result of our poor choices.
Sometimes it will be the attacks of the devil and
There will be other times when it will be God himself proving us in our faith so that we grow.

In all of those times we will do better through them if we will lean on the Lord and remember that they all come to an end. We will one day again, and likely soon, experience the great kindness of God and realize that even that which was so hard on us at the first was really only for our blessing.

Tarry One for Another

1 Corinthians 11:33 KJV
Wherefore, my brethren, when ye come together to eat, tarry one for another.
John Gill said, "....the apostle's view is to promote unity, Christian respect, and brotherly love in the ordinance; ..."[1]

The context has to do with the Lord's Supper and with a meal the churches would generally partake in at the same time. Corinth was a divided church with several groups believing they were better than others and therefore not demonstrating respect and unity, even in these meals.

But I got to thinking today that it would not be wrong for we, who are the children of God to learn to "tarry one for another" in a variety of ways within the work of the Lord.

We might tarry one for another in Christian care, waiting on one another in times of need
We might tarry one for another in earnest prayer, seeking God's favor in their lives
We might tarry one for another in simple kindness, expressing thoughtfulness
We might tarry one for another in conversation, taking time to listen to one another.
We are too busy today. We seldom tarry for anything.
We want our fast food fast
We want our streets to be highways
We want our internet to be high speedToo often we want our relationships to be quality without quantity
And it just does not work that way.

[1] E-Sword 7.8.5, John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible, Dr. John Gill (1690-1771)

Give None Offence

1 Corinthians 10:32 KJV
Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God:
1 Corinthians chapters 8-10 connect very closely and should probably be interpreted as a whole unit. The context has to do with idolatry. Believers know that there are no other gods and our conscience can be clear in knowing that nothing we do can make them real.

On the other hand, there are others who believe in those false gods. While our actions cannot make those gods come to life, we can be a spiritual stumblingblock to those who believe they exist. This chapter gives us exactly the means not to be offensive to either Jews, Gentiles, or to the Christians. We must simply be gracious.
We do not have to do things that are offensive to the Jews just because they do not believe what we believe about Christ.
We do not have to fly in the face of the Gentiles just because we believe their practices are ungodly.
We do not have to be careless around Christians just because we know we have liberty in Christ.
Paul said in 1 Corinthians 6 "why do ye not rather take wrong?"
Thoughtfulness
Graciousness
ConsiderationOf the people you are around goes along way in not being offensive.

Not that we can do that perfectly. Paul's practice of this very principle had much to do with his capture in Jerusalem when the Jews there misunderstood his associations with Gentiles to mean he would bring one into the Temple. He was never able to convince them that he had not done that and they ended trying to assassinate him. Still the principle is true and every Christian ought to learn to practice it.

Long Term Goals

Proverbs 17:24 KJV
Wisdom is before him that hath understanding; but the eyes of a fool are in the ends of the earth.

This verse reminds me of
Matthew 6:34
Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. (KJV)

While long term goals are not necessarily an evil and the wise person puts stock in his eternal future at the very least; yet there are those whose chase for the future and it rewards miss the hand of God in their lives right now.

Several years ago I was in a store with my family. A Christian lady we knew was attempting to witness to the manager of the store and when she saw me she introduced me to the manager. As I briefly spoke with him he said that he was too busy to concern himself about spiritual things. He said he was 29 years old and had to devote himself to earning enough for a good retirement.

Such foolishness will neither meet the need of the hour nor will it secure the future a person really wants; especially when it has to do with eternity. A fool’s eyes look too far ahead. He does not see what God is doing in his life at the moment. Too often “Jesus of Nazareth passeth by” and he has missed perhaps his one opportunity to meet Him.

Incorruptible Crowns

1 Corinthians 9:25 KJV
And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.

Our world makes heroes of those who have attained masteries in this life.
Some have mastered their bodies in athletics
Some have mastered their minds in academics
Some have mastered their finances in economics
Some have mastered their emotions in theatrics
Some have mastered troops in military tactics
And on we could go with worldly masteries and crowns.

But the Bible is correct when it says these are corruptible crowns. Even in those that crowns that have some merit are at the very best temporary. I have recently read of a world renowned pole-vaulter from Washington State whose accident in 1963 left him paralyzed. Despite his past heroics on the field of sport, a Google search of his name found him buried in the names of others. He wasn't even the first person with his name that has had a spinal injury.

Paul encourages us to strive for masteries and crowns so much better; better in many respects, but among the top must be that they are eternal.

Who Correction Grieves

Proverbs 15:10 KJV
Correction is grievous unto him that forsaketh the way: and he that hateth reproof shall die.
Proverbs 15:5 KJV
A fool despiseth his father's instruction: but he that regardeth reproof is prudent.

Proverbs 15:12 KJV
A scorner loveth not one that reproveth him: neither will he go unto the wise.
Proverbs 15:32 KJV
He that refuseth instruction despiseth his own soul: but he that heareth reproof getteth understanding.

There is a direct correlation between accepting correction, instruction and reproof and the rebellious. The very ones who must be correction are the ones least likely to respond to it.

All of us, of course, must be corrected from time to time. People whose hearts are tender toward the things of the Lord also a tender toward such correction. They see it for what it is and, while I do not say they enjoy it, they do appreciate the purpose behind it.

Those who rebel and buck against such correction also have no heart toward the Lord. They view authority as an awful thing and that ultimately even means they view God as awful. They might attend church and speak kindly of the Lord - so long as the subject is on the kind things the Lord does - but when the subject is on judgment, especially when that judgment comes too near their home, then they stiffen their necks.

But hard hearted and stiff necked or no, the end is still the same. "he that hateth reproof shall die."

There is But One God

1 Corinthians 8:6
But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.

This declarative statement is made in the midst of a lesson concerning the view of the lost about idols. Paul says that we Christians know there is but one God and one Lord Jesus Christ. We know that the idols are in and of themselves nothing and that the devils they represent are powerless in contrast to the Lord.

But the truth is, just because we know this does not mean everyone knows this. The lost, the idolatrous, give credence and authority to these idols by their worship of them. We Christians must not embolden their worship through our own liberties.

This passage is not addressing worldliness
This passage is not addressing standards among Christians
This passage specifically addresses idolatry - false worship.
Just as in Paul's day he would not eat meat sacrificed to idols (even though he could have - it is only meat) because it emboldened a lost person to eat that same meat as a form of worship to idol, I must not yolk hands with worshipers of other gods - even for good purposes (such as political causes) because it lends credibility to those false doctrines in the eyes of the undiscerning lost.

Our nation's leaders (and many of our spiritual leaders as well) are making a horrible mistake in pandering to the worshippers of false gods in Islam and Mormonism.

Walking with Wise Men

Proverbs 13:20 KJV
He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.

This small passage has about as much to say on the subject of successful living as anything ever written.

There is a word about separation.None of us are ever wise to make close associations with people who are foolish:
Foolish in attitude
Foolish in actions or
Foolish in faith - the fool hath said in his heart there is no God.I have known a number of people whose greatest downfall was that they refused to see the damaging effects their poor choice of friends had on them. They were not being helped by their friendships, and neither were they helping their friends.

There is a word about fellowship
"He that walketh with wise men shall be wise."

That implies that
I have the discernment to see who is wise
I have the character to the wise would want to walk with me and
I have the discipline to walk with them.

Walking is exercise. It requires energy and stamina. It will not happen accidentally. There is purpose here. There are choices being made.

There is a hint about faith
The wisest of all men, and the One Whom Proverbs generally refers to as wisdom, is the Lord Jesus Christ.

Wise men walk with wise men. The wisest men walk with Jesus Christ.

Abide With God

1 Corinthians 7:24 KJV
Brethren, let every man, wherein he is called, therein abide with God.
The context is speaking of two stations of life a person might find themselves in
Whether a person is married or single
Whether a person is a freeman or servant

Whatever station of life we find ourselves, it is in that station we ought to abide with God.

This does not mean that our station cannot change in the course of life or that we can't do things to improve our station. Paul says, "if thou mayest be made free, use it rather" and "But and if thou marry, thou hast not sinned."

The gist of it is that we can abide with God, glorify God and rejoice in God in whatsoever state we may currently be in.

Joseph was able to abide with God
As the favored son of his father
As a slave in Egypt
As a prisoner in an Egyptian cell
As the leader of the nation
The point is that we choose to abide with the Lord regardless of the station. If we can improve our circumstances: wonderful. But if not, and until then, we need not fret and pout. God is still on His throne and can bless and use us in our circumstances; maybe even better in our current circumstances than in any other.

One Spirit

1 Corinthians 6:17 KJV
But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.
These are the words of Albert Barnes on this passage; ".... in a sense similar to that in which a man and his wife are one body. .... there is a close and intimate union; they are united in feeling, spirit, intention, disposition. The argument is beautiful. It is, “As the union of souls is more important than that of bodies; as that union is more lasting, dear, and enduring than any union of body with body can be, and as our union with him is with a Spirit pure and holy, .... The union with Christ is more intimate, entire, and pure than that can be between a man and woman; and that union should be regarded as sacred and inviolable.” O, if all Christians felt and regarded this as they should, how would they shrink from the connections which they often form on earth!”[1]

Barnes words about the union of the spirit being united in
Feeling
Spirit
Intention and
Disposition
Speaks to me. How I long for such a relationship with my Saviour that what God thinks, feels, and wills is all and all to me.

[1] E-Sword 7.8.5, Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible, Albert Barnes (1798-1870)

The Righteous Acts of the LORD

Judges 5:11 KJV
They that are delivered from the noise of archers in the places of drawing water, there shall they rehearse the righteous acts of the LORD, even the righteous acts toward the inhabitants of his villages in Israel: then shall the people of the LORD go down to the gates.

Barnes Notes says
"The sense of the King James Version is that, whereas formerly they could not go in safety to draw water from their wells, but were shot at by the archers of the enemy, now they were delivered from such tumults; and standing round the wells in security rehearsed the righteous acts of the Lord in delivering them, …”
Then shall the people of the Lord go down to the gates - Israelites, who had hid themselves in caves and deserts, could return in security to the gates of their own cities for justice, or commerce, or to dwell there, now that the Canaanite was subdued."[1]

Today is Sunday and people are preparing right now to attend church - a place where they draw water. People of many different ages and backgrounds will congregate around the Word of God and we will rehearse through song, testimony, and preaching, the righteous acts of the LORD on our behalf. We will rejoice in our blessings, especially that of being able to freely gather at this place to meet with the Lord.

Our God has been so very good to us. We have liberties of worship that were completely unheard of for centuries. We have deliverance from sin that is found only in the person of Jesus Christ. We have assurances of salvation that are as sure as God is.

So let's get together at the place God has given us to draw water. And let us rehearse the righteous acts of the LORD.

[1] E-Sword 7.8.5, Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible, Albert Barnes (1798-1870)

The Day Shall Declare It

1 Corinthians 3:13 KJV
Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.
John Gill says of the day mentioned in this text, "meaning not the day of judgment, though that is often called the day, or that day, and will be attended with fire, and in it, all secrets shall be made manifest; but the apostle intends a discovery that will be made of doctrines in this world before that time comes: wherefore this day rather designs a day of tribulation; as of persecution, which tries men's principles, whether they are solid or not; and of error and heresy when men are put upon a re-examination of their doctrines, whereby persons and truths that are approved are made manifest..."

I read this morning in the Judges 3:1 KJV
Now these are the nations which the LORD left, to prove Israel by them, even as many of Israel as had not known all the wars of Canaan;
God left these Canaanite nations to prove Israel. They served, if you will, as a day of judgment. So in our day, there is also for us all a day of judgment when our faith and our labor for God are tried as to what sort it is. Christians in our day have followed after many men whose work appeared magnificent, but whose day had not yet come. Over and over we hear of so-called heroes of the faith, who have gathered large followings, but in the end, have proven themselves to be builders of wood hay and stubble.

This is why none of us can afford to put much stock in men. We have our leaders to be sure, but our first loyalty must be to the Lord and to His Word. We must let our faith stand in the power of God and not in the wisdom of men, or it will not pass the proving of fire.
We must be Christians.
We must be disciples
We must have our eyes upon Jesus

Only then will we ourselves find our work is the right sort when it passes through the fires on that day.

The Power of God

1 Corinthians 2:5 KJV
That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
Gills says
The Spirit of God directed him, and he under his influence chose, and by his assistance pursued this way of preaching, with this view, and for this reason, that faith in Christ, and in the doctrines of his Gospel, which comes by hearing, might not be attributed to the force of human eloquence and oratory; or stand upon so sandy a foundation, as that which might, if that was the case, be puffed away by a superior flow and force of words;

Too much of today's ministry appears to me to be built upon the sandy foundation of riches and drama. People are enticed by the glamorous, gaudy, and appearances of success some so-called ministries flaunt. My assumption, and the claim of some, is that by flocking to these sorts of ministries they hope to share in that same glamor and success.

Our great need today is a call to rest in the power of God, which has little similarity to the might and power of man or man-made things.
God's power overrides the shallowness of the might of man
God's power transcends the waves of profit and loss this world is subject to
God's power holds tight through the dark times of humanity
When our faith stands in the power of God our faith will stand through anything.

Lead, Keep, Talk

Proverbs 6:20-22 KJV
My son, keep thy father's commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother:
Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck.
When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.
I don't think it would be completely improper to consider the father's commandment and te law of thy mother as being literal. A child is so much better off if and when the mother and father are in agreement on the instructions given to their children and when they give them in unison and in harmony. Further, a child who keeps and obeys those commands and laws will be in a much better position in life than those who ignore them.
But most students of the Bible believe that this should be taken in a more spiritual context and that it refers to the commandments and laws of God taught to children by their parents. It is in this light I take my thoughts today.

The Word of God does three things for us
It leads us as we goThe Word of God, when studied well enough to be in the heart and mind at all times, is a great aide in life's decision making. No decision a person may be faced with; from the simplest and most mundane, to those decisions that press upon us and that come upon us quickly, to those decisions that change our lives and sometimes our world, is excluded either in precept or in principle in the Word of God.

Truly the Word of God leads us as we go.

It keeps us while we sleepThe assurances that belong to the believer are such a comfort that the Christian can lie down in peace and sleep knowing that the Christian life is a good and right life. But more than that, God's Word literally gives us the assurance that God's providential hand will keep and protect us even as we sleep. Surely nothing can happen to the Child of God that is not supervised by our Heavenly Father. God is more than capable of preventing the thief from attacking His child in the night. And should that happen, we still know that God assumes responsibility for all things and we can lean upon Him for comfort and to find good purpose in it.

It talks to us as we awakenThe more I study the Word of God and meditate upon it through the day, the more I discover the truth of this. Often I wake in the morning with thoughts on God and His Word. Many times I awake in the morning with some piece of Scripture on my mind that I find to be a blessing and helpful to me.

Called

1 Corinthians 1:24 KJV
But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.

Comparing this verse with verse 18 it is possible to say that the called are also the saved. It is a great comfort to know that the saved are saved by a calling of God and not of any good thing they have done; for if the saved were saved by some good work it would be reasonable to argue that some other evil work might reverse it.

What joy belongs to the believer who finally realizes that salvation is a calling of God.
It is God who convicts us of our sin
It is God who convinces us that Christ is Saviour and
It is God who places in our hearts the longing to be saved

I rejoice in the knowledge that Christianity is completely about the Lord and not about ourselves. I revel in the doctrines of God's work in the lives of men; for it is only that work that has any eternal, lasting and solid substance. Everything man does is subject to change and corruption. Only what God does is immutable and incorruptible.

Separation

Joshua 23:7-8 KJV
That ye come not among these nations, these that remain among you; neither make mention of the name of their gods, nor cause to swear by them, neither serve them, nor bow yourselves unto them:
But cleave unto the LORD your God, as ye have done unto this day.

God did not even want Israel to make mention of the names of the gods of the Canaanites, let alone to swear by them, serve them or bow down to them. God's people are to be separate from this world.

And this is one of the most insidious problems we have as believers. The longer we dwell in this world and among the world, the more likely it is that we take a less offensive posture toward the attitudes, actions and even the idols of this world. Things that once were considered worldly and wrong are condoned by the believers and those few Christians who continue to stand against them are labeled legalists and mocked because they have a bad attitude and don't know how to reach the world for Christ anymore.

From time to time the Lord brings a revival of faith among the believers; there is a new wave of separation from the world, a fresh movement of believers who cleave to the Lord.

God grant us this wave today!

What a Testimony

Romans 15:14 KJV
And I myself also am persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another.

Even though the Apostle Paul had never met these believers and desired to meet them and impart some of what the Lord had given to him also to them, yet he said he was persuaded of them

They were full of goodness
They were filled with all knowledge
They were able to admonish one another
What a testimony and what a goal for us to have today.

Influence

Romans 14:7 KJV
For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself.

I spoke with a preacher friend of mine this past week. He made mention of this verse and commented that a lost parent might condemn his children to hell. The family follows his inclination sometimes to several generations. It is inestimable how much pain has been caused by just one person who refused to accept Christ as Saviour and, though they thought the decision was their own, that one choice leads to their sons and daughters refusing Christ, which leads to their grandsons and daughters making the very same eternal mistake.

On the other hand, the decision of one person to trust Christ has the potential to see untold others to the very same faith. Since our faith is shared from faith to faith; once one person believes, his influence almost surely will lead others to the same faith. It might be someone he has personally witnessed to. It might be a family member, a neighbor or a work mate. It might be someone he has never met until he went out of his way to speak to them about the Lord. And it might be someone he has personally not been able to witness to, but that he loves and God sends one they have not met out of their way to give them the Gospel.

Tough Love

Joshua 17:15-18 KJV
And Joshua answered them, If thou be a great people, then get thee up to the wood country, and cut down for thyself there in the land of the Perizzites and of the giants, if mount Ephraim be too narrow for thee.
And the children of Joseph said, The hill is not enough for us: and all the Canaanites that dwell in the land of the valley have chariots of iron, both they who are of Bethshean and her towns, and they who are of the valley of Jezreel.
And Joshua spake unto the house of Joseph, even to Ephraim and to Manasseh, saying, Thou art a great people, and hast great power: thou shalt not have one lot only:
But the mountain shall be thine; for it is a wood, and thou shalt cut it down: and the outgoings of it shall be thine: for thou shalt drive out the Canaanites, though they have iron chariots, and though they be strong.

The children of Joseph asked Joshua for a larger portion of land and Joshua told them to take the wood country. The Children of Joseph's answer was that they had tried; the people there were too well-armed and they couldn't take it. Joshua never batted an eye. He just told them they could take the land and would take it.

We like to be coddled. We like someone to tell us
Why we are right,
Why we can't do what God has called us to do,
Why we need
Another assignment or
Another place to serve or evenThe chance to step out of responsibility altogether so someone else has to do our job.

What we need are some more Joshua’s who will not allow us to run, reverse our course or wimp out of our work. We need someone who will tell us
This is what God has called us to
God has given us all we need to accomplish it
Now go out and do it.