Bible Reading Challenge #7
What does this teach me about my daily life?
For the last few years, the opening line of 1 Corinthians 4 has been a personal mission statement for me. Two things stand out:
Servant of Christ – As a follower of Jesus, I am to live my life in response to the One who gives me life. Without Christ, I am hopeless and helpless, so it is only right to willingly submit my life to God. Being a servant of Christ means daily striving to live out what John the Baptist said: “Less of me and more of You!”
Steward of the mystery – On Sunday, we talked about being good stewards of all that we have received from God. To steward is to wisely manage someone else’s treasure. We are called to steward our finances in a way that honors God, realizing that everything we have is received—only by His blessing. But not just finances: as followers of Jesus, we are called to steward the “mysteries of God.” While this phrase may sound cryptic, it simply means handling well the revealed truth that God loves all people, that Jesus came for all people, and that by believing in the work of the Cross and the Empty Tomb, life is offered to all.
If we do these two things well—serve Christ and steward the gospel—we can be confident that God will be honored through our lives.
What does this teach me about God?
Nothing is hidden from God. There are no secrets, no misdirection, no tricks that can conceal our sin. God sees all: our hearts, our desires, our thoughts, and our deeds.
In any other religion, this would create a terrible problem—leaving us unable to stand before God. But in Christianity, though we have many acts of rebellion against His will and way, our sin does not have the final word. The Good News—the very message we are called to steward—is also the message we must personally receive!
God is not deceived, but He is also not out to destroy us. The God who knows every thought and deed is the same God who loved us enough to send His only Son, so that through Him we might be made right and live with Him forever.
Bible Reading Challenge #6
There is so much to learn and be challenged by in this chapter. I encourage you to spend some extra time today rereading the text and considering our questions below and answering them multiple times in a journal or in your thoughts. I will give you the answers that stuck out to me the most for the sake of time.
What does this teach me about God?
The most glaring reminder in this text for me today was that Jesus is the foundation of our lives and especially He is the foundation of His Church. The Church is not rooted in any man or woman, Bible translation, style of worship, song selection, preaching talent, lighting setup, chairs vs pews, color of carpet, insert anything here!
Only Jesus is the foundation of the Church!
I cannot write firmly enough about how important this is, because if we miss this it will fundamentally change everything about how we think about and approach church.
The most important consequence of us misplacing the foundation is that we will fail in our mission of spreading God’s Kingdom, because we will be more concerned about how we are building up the church with “precious stones”, or “hay, straw” (I read here for our context, the various programs that make up a church’s calendar and the various arguments we have over minor issues that distract us) than we will be with worshiping God together, helping each other walk with Jesus, and serving our community with physical needs and by sharing the gospel with them. If we hold Jesus as our foundation of His Church, then we are not distracted by such issues from the work we have been called to.
How can I live in response to this?
I think our response is simple. Let us be those who build onto the church’s foundation (Jesus) with faithful and good work that He calls us to in His Word, not with the less important things of this world that easily distract us. And when we stand before God, and “the fire” (metaphor) tests our work, let it reveal…
lives rooted in God’s Word and in prayer
lives focused on sharing the gospel with and loving those around us well
lives focused on building up our Christian brothers and sisters in the faith
lives built around using the resources, gifts, and talents that God has given us for His glory and for His Kingdom to grow
Bible Reading Challenge #5
What does this teach me about God?
Today I am reminded that God’s ways, thoughts, and actions are far higher than mine—or anyone else’s. While we operate under the limitations of what we know and perceive, God has no such limitations. He is above all things, in all things, and works through all things.
As Job confessed in Job 42:2–3:
“I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’
Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand,
things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.”
No one can fully comprehend the thoughts of God.
How can I live in response to this?
While God’s ways are higher, He has given His Spirit to all who believe. The Spirit teaches us the things of God—truths that human reasoning alone could never uncover. Through Him, we are given glimpses of God’s goodness and His plan, things we would remain blind to apart from Christ.
I appreciate that Paul makes clear Christianity is not an ignorant submission to God, but a growing trust and understanding of the One we follow. Today I am reminded of the power of the Holy Spirit at work within me—a power I so often overlook.
On a personal note, I was confronted with temptation in a few areas of my life today. But thanks be to God, the Spirit within me actually detests the sin that once seemed so appealing. That is not from me—that is the newness of the Spirit’s work in my life.
Have you experienced that newness?
Have you felt the Spirit grow in you a holy hatred for an old sinful habit?
Bible Reading Challenge #4 (Copy)
Daily devotional for 8/21. Join our Read the Word Challenge and see how it changes your life!
Today we are continuing our Bible reading challenge and reading through 1 Corinthians. If you are reading these words, I want you to stop just reading and give me all of your focus for just the next few sentences, because I have two challenges for you.
We are 4 days into our Bible reading challenge, and maybe this is the first day you’ve read, or maybe you missed a day. I want to encourage you to not give up on this challenge. Whether you miss a day or a week or a month, it only takes 60 days to form reading God’s Word into a habit that will change your entire life radically for the better. Stick with it!
Share something you learned about God or a way you need to live in response to the text with a Christian brother or sister. Maybe text someone from our church, or use our Men’s/Women’s groupme chats, or even reply to this email!
1 Corinthians 2:1-5
1 And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. 2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3 And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, 4 and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
What does this teach me about God?
What I learned about God struck me immediately on my first read through of the passage at the end of verse 4 into verse 5. Here is what I was reminded of…
God is the one who does the work!
Whether that work is saving us, leading us to sanctification (becoming more like Jesus), leading our lost friend/family member to Jesus, freeing us from a sin struggle, insert literally anything here.
This doesn’t mean that we have no responsibility or work to do, like Paul going to Corinth to faithfully share the gospel (sidenote: if we are honest how often do we fail at step one and not even do what God has called us to do). But if we do what God has called us to do, we must not become convinced that we are capable of accomplishing anything good on our own.
We cannot think that if we are eloquent enough someone will be saved, we cannot hope to earn enough money to help everyone who needs help, we can’t pretend that we can love our family well enough to show them a perfect image of how God loves them.
For anything in our life, we must rest in the absolute reality that God is the one accomplishing the good and great things in us, through us, and around us. He is calling us to a simple and full obedience and He desires to use us as a part of doing these good and great things!
How can I live in response to this passage today?
I need to respond with full obedience to God’s call, and go to do whatever He calls me to do (serve, evangelize, pray, read the Word, join or start a Bible study group, etc) with confidence because I know God is able to do all things and He desires to use me for the purpose of seeing His Kingdom grow and His will be done.
Bible Reading Challenge #4
Daily devotional for 8/21. Join our Read the Word Challenge and see how it changes your life!
Today we are continuing our Bible reading challenge and reading through 1 Corinthians. If you are reading these words, I want you to stop just reading and give me all of your focus for just the next few sentences, because I have two challenges for you.
We are 4 days into our Bible reading challenge, and maybe this is the first day you’ve read, or maybe you missed a day. I want to encourage you to not give up on this challenge. Whether you miss a day or a week or a month, it only takes 60 days to form reading God’s Word into a habit that will change your entire life radically for the better. Stick with it!
Share something you learned about God or a way you need to live in response to the text with a Christian brother or sister. Maybe text someone from our church, or use our Men’s/Women’s groupme chats, or even reply to this email!
1 Corinthians 2:1-5
1 And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. 2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3 And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, 4 and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
What does this teach me about God?
What I learned about God struck me immediately on my first read through of the passage at the end of verse 4 into verse 5. Here is what I was reminded of…
God is the one who does the work!
Whether that work is saving us, leading us to sanctification (becoming more like Jesus), leading our lost friend/family member to Jesus, freeing us from a sin struggle, insert literally anything here.
This doesn’t mean that we have no responsibility or work to do, like Paul going to Corinth to faithfully share the gospel (sidenote: if we are honest how often do we fail at step one and not even do what God has called us to do). But if we do what God has called us to do, we must not become convinced that we are capable of accomplishing anything good on our own.
We cannot think that if we are eloquent enough someone will be saved, we cannot hope to earn enough money to help everyone who needs help, we can’t pretend that we can love our family well enough to show them a perfect image of how God loves them.
For anything in our life, we must rest in the absolute reality that God is the one accomplishing the good and great things in us, through us, and around us. He is calling us to a simple and full obedience and He desires to use us as a part of doing these good and great things!
How can I live in response to this passage today?
I need to respond with full obedience to God’s call, and go to do whatever He calls me to do (serve, evangelize, pray, read the Word, join or start a Bible study group, etc) with confidence because I know God is able to do all things and He desires to use me for the purpose of seeing His Kingdom grow and His will be done.