Author: David Short

1 Corinthians 1:25-29

Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence.

Encouraging Words

Throughout the scriptures, both the old and the new testaments, we see God doing and saying things that are upside down from our earthly perspective. He chose David, the smallest and meekest of all his brothers to be the King. He used Moses who had difficulty speaking to be His spokesman to Pharaoh, He chose a young girl to be the mother of His Son. And, the list goes on. By doing this, God elevated those who were humble and submissive. He showed us all that it is not by our power and capability that we accomplish His work but that it is Him, and only Him, that accomplishes His work through those who are willing to submit to Him. It is up to us to be willing to submit to Him and those that He has chosen to use in order to be used by Him ourselves. We do this out of our love for Him and our desire to glorify and magnify Him and not us. Glory be to God!

1 Corinthians 1:18

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

Encouraging Words

God’s ways are so much different than the ways of men. He used the cross, the most abased image in the history of mankind, to lift up His Son as the salvation of mankind. In our human mind, we believe that glory and honor is what is needed to be leaders of others. For God, humility is the key to this, not glory and honor. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

1 Corinthians 1:10

Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

Personal Challenge

We live in a very contentious age where the concept of us versus them has become prevalent and the norm. This has even worked its way into the church. Mob rule is not an acceptable way for a follower of Christ. Coercion and undermining others are not acceptable Christian practices. We have been given a model of leadership to follow and ways to have civil discourse amongst our fellow brothers and sisters in order to maintain unity in the body of Christ. When we choose to abandon this we end up with divisions and anarchy, which are antithetical to our God’s way. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Romans 16:17-18

Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them. For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple.

Personal Challenge

In the early church, Paul and the other church fathers had to deal with those who were bent on causing divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrines of the church. We still have this problem today in our churches. For many years it was the pew hoppers that would go from congregation to congregation in their denominational preference always trying to either find that one thing that tickled their ears or trying to make their new church conform to how they wanted the church to be. When that did not work, they would jump again. Today we are seeing people jump from one faith practice to another with the intent to make the new one that they end up in like the one they have just left. This is not how it is supposed to be and Paul is telling us to avoid these people. There are times when we should turn away those who are not willing to accept aid embrace the teachings and ways of the church. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Romans 15:13

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Encouraging Words

Who do we put our hope in? God, the Father, the son, and the Holy Spirit. Where does this hope come from? God, the Father, the son, and the Holy Spirit. These are encouraging words. God fills us with hope in Him. He fills us with joy and peace as we act upon that gift of hope by trusting in Him. This is why Jesus promised us the filling of the Holy Spirit when He ascended into heaven. Glory be to God!

Romans 15:1-3

We then who are strong ought to bear with the scruples of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, leading to edification. For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached You fell on Me.”

Personal Challenge

Living in a community can be difficult. We believe in Orthodoxy that our salvation is worked out, or exercised in community, in our church family. Part of this entails observing and understanding the weaknesses of our brothers and sisters and then giving up some of what we want or desire in order to meet their needs. This is clearly loving our neighbor and putting their needs above ours. Where the difficulty comes in this is when those who are weak have needs and desires that are leading to error or heresy. At this point there is no room for allowing those errors or heresies to take root. In love we must confront those going down the wrong path. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Romans 14:19

Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another.

Personal Challenge

Why should we be doing the things that God calls us to do in our lives? Initially it is because we love our God and desire to please Him and in our own way give back to Him some of the gift He has given us. It is never possible to repay Him for His great mercy and love that He has poured out on us. As we continue to live this way, we begin to understand that part of this way of living also ends up edifying those around us because our love for God overflows for love for those whom we come into contact. This whole section in the book of Romans talks about food and how eating certain foods at certain times can be a stumbling block to others. This was so important in the time when much of the food available was leftover from sacrifices to pagan gods. We do not have that situation today, but for those of us who practice fasting in our church life, there are similar issues, for both those who fast according to very strict rules and those who fast according to more flexible rules. Both parties can have a tendency to look down on the other if they take their eyes off of God and set them on their brothers and sisters. This is why Paul teaches us to pursue the things which make for peace and which edify one another. It is the things of God that are important and not the things of man. This applies to so many other things in our church life other than food. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!