Tag Archives: 1 Corinthians 1:18-2:5

August 5, 2015 Bible Study

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 20:22-23

    Do not seek revenge for the wrong you perceive others to have done you. If they have truly done wrong, God will handle the matter. If your perception is in error and you take revenge, you will be the one in the wrong. Trust in God to bring everyone justice.

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Psalm 27:7-14

    God desires that we come and talk with Him. He is calling us to do so, let us listen to His voice and answer Him. When we come to the Lord in prayer, it is not enough to tell Him of our desires, we must also listen to what He has to tell us. If we enter into conversation with God, He will never reject us. Our friends and our family may reject us, but God never will.

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1 Corinthians 1:18-2:5

    The message of the Gospel is foolish to those who rely on human wisdom. We will never find God by seeking out what mankind thinks of as wise. The victory of Christ was dying on the cross. Christ did not achieve His victory by dying. Dying was His victory. Without the Holy Spirit working within us we can never understand this.
    Christ may be foolish to those who are wise by the world’s standard, but for those who have been called by God He is the power and wisdom of God. It is not by what the world views as power, or wealth, or wisdom that we come to God. God chooses those whom the world calls foolish, those whom the world calls powerless, those whom the world calls impoverished, or to sum it up, those whom the world calls worthless. Through those He has called God shows His power, His wealth, His wisdom, and most importantly He shows us that no person is worthless. I will boast about nothing but the power and wisdom of God.

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Ezra 1-2

    When Cyrus of Persia had defeated Babylon he not only allowed the Jews to return to Jerusalem, he encouraged them to do so. In this way God fulfilled the prophecy He had given through Jeremiah regarding the length of the Exile.

August 5, 2014 Bible Study — The Message of the Cross Is Foolishness

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 20:22-23

    It is not our place to seek revenge for the wrongs which have been committed against us. God will avenge us if we have been wronged. If we seek revenge for perceived wrongs, we risk being guilty of committing wrongs against the innocent, because we may be mistaken about who was responsible, or even about the nature of what happened. If we allow God to avenge the wrongs done to us we can be sure that those who suffer are those who deserve it.

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Psalm 27:7-14

    When my heart hears God ask me to come and talk with Him, I respond. But how often has God asked me to come and talk with Him when I was not listening. I am determined to be listening when God calls me to come and talk with Him in the future. God will not forsake us, not even when our own parents do so. I will learn how to live from God’s instructions. I will seek His guidance along the paths of life. I will wait for God to show me the way before I begin my journey.

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1 Corinthians 1:18-2:5

    The message Paul delivers here is one we need to always remember. The world is convinced that the Gospel message is foolishness. The Gospel teaches that victory comes through Jesus death. This is foolishness to those who have not been saved. How can victory be obtained by allowing yourself to be killed? God did not bring about our salvation because of, nor by way of, our wisdom or power in this world. Ultimately, God offers His salvation to those who admit to their powerlessness and those who are not afraid to look foolish. All too many people have fallen away from the Gospel because of their desire to appear wise.
    When we preach the Gospel let us follow Paul’s example. Instead of trying to convince people by our clever words and by demonstrating our great wisdom, let us speak plainly of Christ’s death and resurrection. It is by the power of the Holy Spirit that others will come to know God, not by our skills at putting together a good argument.

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Ezra 1-2:70

    When Cyrus, the king of Persia, defeated the Babylonians he not only decreed that the Jews could return to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple, he encouraged them to do so. He sent from his own treasury those items which had been seized by the Babylonians from the Temple when they conquered Jerusalem. In addition, he encouraged those who were neighbors of the Jews in exile to offer them financial support to return to Jerusalem. As a result of this decree a large number of Jews returned to Jerusalem with enough wealth to begin the process of rebuilding Jerusalem and the Temple. When God’s time arrived, God provided for His people.

August 5, 2013 Bible Study — God Chose the Foolish Things

     I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.

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Ezra 1-2:70

     Today’s passage tells us that shortly after Cyrus the Persian conquered Babylon he issued a decree permitting, even encouraging, the Jewish people to return to the lands of Israel and to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem. This fulfilled the prophecy that God had given through Jeremiah. In response to Cyrus’ proclamation a large number of Jews, in particular Levites and descendants of priests, were moved to go to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple. God led their neighbors to donate towards the expense of the journey. Cyrus gathered together the articles that Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the Temple when he conquered Jerusalem. Cyrus gave those articles to the leader of the exiles returning to Jerusalem.
     When they arrived at Jerusalem, some of the family leaders gave from their own funds towards the expenses of rebuilding the Temple. The priests and Levites, along with some other people, settled in and around Jerusalem. The rest of the returning exiles settled in their ancestral towns throughout what had been Israel.

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1 Corinthians 1:18-2:5

     Today’s passage begins with verse 18, but I am going to back up and start with verse 17 because I think it is necessary to get context. In verse 17 Paul says that God sent him to preach the Good News, but not with clever speech (or as the NIV says, “not with eloquence and wisdom”). He goes on from there to say that the message of the cross is viewed as complete foolishness to those who have not accepted God’s free offer. However, to those whom God has called it is the power and wisdom of God.

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     I was going to do what I normally do and write a synopsis of this and then make my comments on what it meant, but that just was not working for me today. Paul tells us that people demand proof that God exists. Some people are looking for miraculous signs that prove God’s existence, others want to have God proven by logical argument starting from the assumptions they make about the world. But that is not what God offers. Instead, God offers the Jesus crucified, the opposite of a miraculous sign and logically ridiculous. We cannot discover God on the basis of our own wisdom and power. God chose the foolish and the powerless in order to shame those who relied on their own wisdom and power. We can never boast about anything except for the power of God.
     Paul goes on to tell them that when he came to them, he resolved to know nothing except for Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. If we look at Luke’s account in the Book of Acts, we see that Paul first went to Corinth after spending some time in Athens. In Athens, Paul tried to argue with the philosophers and was laughed out of town because they thought the idea of resurrection from the dead was preposterous. This led Paul to realize that he would never bring anyone to follow Christ by his personal power of persuasion.
     I used to have this image of Paul as a persuasive, engaging speaker who could lay out the argument for Christianity in careful, logical ways. Over the last few years, I have become ever more convinced that Paul was a boring speaker whose arguments never quite connected for those who did not share his basic worldview. On top of that, he was physically unimpressive. As a messenger of the Gospel, he had only two things going for him. The first was his absolute, unwavering belief that accepting the Gospel he preached was the only path to leading a truly fulfilling life (and that those who failed to do so would suffer as a result of that failure). The second was a to-the-bone fear that somehow it might be his fault if someone failed to accept that Gospel. Actually, he had one more thing going for him, a complete and utter trust that the Holy Spirit was capable of reaching even the most depraved sinner (resulting from his utter conviction that he had been the most depraved sinner to ever live). I am convinced that if we met Paul in the flesh, we would be utterly baffled by how he was able to reach so many people for the Lord.
     We will never lead someone else to Christ by the logic of our arguments, nor by the persuasiveness of our speech. It is only by the power of the Holy Spirit that someone will come to faith in Christ.

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Psalm 27:7-14

     There were two pieces of this psalm that stood out for me today. The first was:

My heart has heard you say, “Come and talk with me.”
And my heart responds, “Lord, I am coming.”

Have you heard the Lord calling you? I can assure that He is. I would like to add that when I hear God say to me, “Come and talk with me,” I do not always respond, “Lord, I am coming.” All too often, I respond, “I’m busy. I’ll be with you shortly.” I do this despite knowing from experience that I am passing up a blessing by doing so. I pray that God’s Spirit will move within me so that in the future I no longer do that.
     Then at the end of the psalm there is a message for me in the situation of my life right now. I am asking God to bring about a change in my life and this seems to be His answer for now:
Wait patiently for the Lord.
Be brave and courageous.
Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.

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Proverbs 20:22-23

     If someone has wronged you, do not attempt to get them back. Leave the matter in God’s hands, if they have truly wronged you, God’s justice will be so much more fitting than anything you could exact yourself. And if by some chance you are blaming the wrong person, you will not be guilty of bringing harm on the innocent.
     An important reminder that God does not approve when we treat some people different than others. We should treat all people fairly and make honest exchanges.

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August 5, 2012 Bible Study

     I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.

Ezra 1-2:70

     Today I begin reading the book of Ezra. The passage starts by recounting that at the beginning of his reign, Cyrus sent out a decree encouraging the Jews to return to Jerusalem and other traditional lands to live and rebuild the Temple. He instructed their neighbors to voluntarily assist them with the expense of returning and rebuilding the Temple. We are told that about 50,000 people took advantage of this decree and returned to the land of Judah. In addition, Cyrus sent back the Temple furnishings that Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the Temple. The people who returned fell into two groups. The first were those who had a record of their ancestry going back to before the Exile. The second group were those whose family tradition said they were descended from Israel, but they did not have a record of their ancestry.
     We see here that a large group of people decided to return to the land of Judah and rebuild the Temple. We do not know what their individual motives were, but we are told that God stirred their hearts to make this move. In addition, their neighbors contributed to assist in the rebuilding of the Temple. They contributed not only to the cost of rebuilding the Temple, but to the costs of relocating to the land of Judah. Perhaps these neighbors were fellow Jews who did not wish to disrupt the lives they had built for themselves by returning, or perhaps they were just neighbors who wanted to help their fellow-man live out their dream. Even if they were Jews who did not wish to return, we should not condemn them. The costs of the return and rebuilding were such that some needed to contribute so that others could do the work. Just as today, not everyone can go into the mission fields. Some must work mundane jobs to support the expenses of those who go into missions.

1 Corinthians 1:18-2:5

     Paul tells us that the message of the cross looks foolish to those who do not accept it. This is something very basic that Christians must come to accept. We can make no argument that will make us look wise in the eyes of those who do not believe. Paul sums up the world’s reaction to Christianity this way, “So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it’s all nonsense.”
     But Paul has more to say on the subject of the wisdom of Christianity. Paul tells us that God chose to use those the world considers foolish to shame those it thinks wise. We need to take the attitude of the man born blind that we are told of in John 9. When the wise men told him that they knew Jesus was a sinner, he responded, “Well, I don;t know about that. I don’t have your education and knowledge. What I do know is this. I was blind and now I can see.” We as Christians should not try to convince the world that we are wise. We must fully rely on God to convince them. We can merely tell them what we have experienced. I know what I know. I was blind and now I see. Many people will look at us and think us fools, but the Spirit of God will work in the hearts of some and they will come to know the Lord.

Psalm 27:7-14

     As is often the case, this psalm makes its point in words that it is hard to find a better way to say. How often has God said to me, “Come and talk with me,” and I have replied, “Not now, I’m busy?” I want to never do that again. I want to try to make my answer that of the psalmist, “Lord, I am coming.” God will not abandon us, even if all else have. I strive to constantly follow the model of this psalmist and ask the Lord to teach me how to live. I desire to patiently wait for God to act. When He calls, I will answer.

Proverbs 20:22-23

     The first proverb tells us not to seek revenge, we should wait for God to handle the matter. How often have we seen someone do even more harm to themselves in the effort to make someone else pay for a perceived wrong? Which brings up another reason to leave payback to God. It may be that the person that we perceive as having done us wrong did not do anything that deserves payback. Perhaps, we are wrong in attributing the harm we suffered to that person.
     The second proverb, on the surface, is unrelated to the first. Yet, sometimes the reason we think someone deserves payback is because we are judging them by a standard that we ourselves do not live up to.