Daily Devotionals

“Am I not an apostle? Am I not free? Have I not seen
Jesus Christ our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord?”
(1 Corinthians 9:1).

Paul defends his freedom, but renounces it for the good of others: he is filled with the Spirit of Christ, and therefore is willing to strive for the advancement of the interests of the kingdom of God.

“The Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel
should live from the gospel”
(1 Cor. 9:14).

Just as the soldier receives his livelihood from those who emply him, it is right that the minister of the gospel, who lives for the church, be supported financially by the church. Just as the man who plants a vineyard does not want his work to be ini vain, and longs to eat from the fruit of his labor, in the same way, it is right that the minister who dedicates his life to the vineyard, which is God’s church, be supported by it. However, despite all his arguments for supporting the ministry, Paul himself decided to be self-supported.

Finally, Paul compares the Christian life to a race (1 Cor. 9:23-25). Everyone competing in Greek races tried their best to win the prize. The brought into play all their skill and used the vigor acquired through hard, intensive training. None of them was indifferent, apathetic, or careless.

The crown of eternal life is offered to all, but only those who go through the training will obtain the prize. This means that at all times the Christian must be guided in word, thought, and action by the high standards of the Bible, and hence will not be controlled by the desires and inclinations of their own heart.

Let us ask ourselves at every step of the way: What would Jesus do? Is this attitude, this plan, this pastime, this music, or this friendship going to increase or decrease my spiritual strenght?

Anything that somehow interferes with spiritual progress
must be rejected; otherwise, victory cannot be won.

Since 1992, there has been an international obstacle course competition held in Finland called “wife-carrying.” The male must carry the female on his back through a course that includes several obstacles. The couple who arrives first, without having the woman drop at any moment, wins. A Lithuanian couple took the 2019 prize. The team completed the 253.5-meter course in one minute and six seconds.

In our race in life we face obstacles, and many are very difficult to overcome.
And we, too, have to take others with us, because no one
will get to heaven alone. In this race, everyone can get first place
and win an equal prize. Paul himself, who was certain of his crown,
said that there was not only a crown for him,
but also for all who love the coming of the Lord.

May the Lord bless you today…

“Yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things,
and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things,
and through whom we live”
(1 Corinthians 8:6).

Paul says that for us believers “there is one God.” That contrasts with the thousands of gods of the heathen, which are false or non-existent. Ours is true and eternal. This God created all things, including life, which He also sustains, maintains, and protects (Col. 1:17; Heb. 2:10).

Unlike the other non-existent gods whose anger must be placated, or their favor won over, ours presents Himself as Father, which makes the bond closer. He does not relate to us only as Creator-creature, Worshiped-worshiper, Sustainer-sustained, Protector-protected; but also in a Father-child relationship. He is a Father who can do anything, is everywhere, knows everything, loves, sympathizes, and is affectively and effectively close.

The heathen said there were many gods; for Christians, there is only One. Through the Son all things were created, and through His sacrifice we are redeemed, recreated, saved, and adopted. We cannot do anything; He is the only One who can do it all. In the New Testament, this Father is the “heavenly Father”; Paul says that for us He is “our Father” (Rom. 1:17; 1 Cor. 1:3; Eph. 1:2; 4:20; Col. 1:2; 1 Thess. 1:1-3; 3:11-13; 2 Thess. 1:1; 2:16; 1 Tim. 1:2; Phil. 1:3).

Pastor Fernando Stahl (1874-1950) and his family, dedicated pioneer missionaries in Bolivia and Peru, arrived in Queñoani, Peru, near the border with Bolivia. One day, a mob of about five hundred men, armed with whips, stones, and clubs, instigated by religious leaders and authorities, attacked the hut where the missionaries were. They were incited to kill them with the promise that it would be an honor to do away with the heretics, and that they would suffer no consequences. There was a shout: “Pichantañani Catuñani!” (“Grab them and burn them!”). But suddenly, they all fled terrified.

A native, still frightened, said, “Can’t you see that huge group of armed natives who are coming to defend you?”

It is wonderfully comforting  to remember that the God who created us from nothing continues performing miracles to care for and sustin the lives of His children. It is even more wonderful to know that He surrounds us with His strong arms as a Father. While the accuser seeks our death, our Defender sustains our lives.

Even if five hundred people surround your hut, even if the fire
is lit and the mob rages, even if the enemy wants to apprehend you
and burn your faith, your dreams, and your life, keep going!
Live faithfully, remembering that we were created and redeemed
by the eternal God. Because of Him we exist and because of Him,
very soon, we will live forever.

God bless you, you were wonderfully created by Him…

“So this is what I say about eating meat [sacrified to idols]:
We know that an idol is really nothing in the world,
and we know that there is only one God. It’s really not important
if there are things called gods in heaven or on earth – and there are many
of these ‘gods’ and ‘lords’ out there”
(1 Corinthians 8:4-5).

An idol represented a diety that supposedly lived in heaven and from time to time visited earth. The pagans believed in imaginations they called gods. They were representations of things from heaven and earth, such as the sun, moon, stars, fire, water, earth, animals, and birds, as well as mythological beings, such as Apollo, Jupiter, and Venus.

In addition, the Roman emperors declared themselves gods, raised statues of themselves, and then persecuted to martyrdom those Christians who did not worship them. Paul claims that the idol is nothing – it represents a god that does not exist. Nothing lacks life, and consequently lacks spiritual power.

The idol is made of wood, stone, or metal, and means nothing, whether on heaven or earth. The word “idol” refers not only to the image, but to the god ot is supposed to represent. The belief that various deitied dwell in man-made idols is only a fantasy of their worshipers. Some idols were false, other were manifestations of demons. Whether imaginations of mythology or human vainglory, they are nothing… nothing at all. They deserve neither adoration nor trust, nor dependence.

How “pagan” our way of life is. We too can have idols. Things we hold in high regard, almost at the level of veneration, they can be certain consumer goods, certain political or cultural figures, musicians, or athletes. They may be certain ideas, concepts, or practices that we idolized. We could be building our own idols to be worshiped.

Worshiping idols is both foolish and a sin. It is a sin, because no image can capture or represent God; He is not represented by idols. And it is also sin because the comandment itself expressly asks us not to make or worship images of anything.

“It is a solemn, fearful time. There is no time now for cherishing idols,
no place for concord with Belial of friendship with the world.
Those whom God accepts and sanctifies to Himself are called
to be diligent and faithful in His service, being set apart
and devoted to Him” (Testimonies for the Church, vol. 2, p. 168).
Like Luther, we should ask for forgiveness “because we have gone
from faith to disbelief and worship of idolatry.”
May our prayer be:
“Lord, help me to leave all my idols,
to be diligent, faithful, set apart, and dedicated.
In Jesus’s name, Amen.”

God bless you…

“Now concerning things offered to idols:
We know that we all have knowledge.
Knowledge piffs up, but love edifies”
(1 Corinthians 8:1).

Before entering into the subject of foods sacrificed to idols, the apostle Paul established an essential principle: knowledge fills us with pride, but love strengthens us in the faith. In this way, Paul condemns pride in intellectual knowledge, which leads to contempt toward, and belittlement of, the less educated.

Those who are proud of their knowledge, to the point of looking down on others and ignoring their needs, show that they have not yet learned the principle of true knowledge. Those who are truly learned are humble and modest, and care about others.

In saying this, Paul is affirming that the issue of food “sacrificed” to idols would not be solved by mere knowledge, but by love for one’s neighbor. It so happens that the true Christian knows that and assimilate it; for many, it is difficult to immediately abandon old superstitions and customs. Therefore, it is necessary to have love, patience, and kindness with these people.

In this sense, care must be taken so that the conduct of some, who consider themselves to understand an issue correctly, does not lead others, with less understanding, to conduct themselves errouneously. This is a general principle of Christian behaviour, a golden rule even in minor cases.

Remember: the weak person is the one who must be treated with the most patience and tolerance. Christ died for the strong and the weak; therefore, nothing should be done that makes Christ’s sacrifice for a person fruitless.

There is a misleading idea that everyone has the right to do whatever they want without considering the effect on others. We cannot think like that. Those who have the love of Jesus in their heart do not wish to use their freedom in a way that leads their brethren to stray. On the contrary, they are happy to refrain from privileges and pleasures if that will prevent someone from being discouraged. This is what it means to use knowledge with love.

Using knowledge with love is only possible
to the extend that we are joined
to the Most High and Sublime One.
“The more of heaven there is in our lives,
the less of earth we shall covet”
(Charles Sourgeon).
May it be so. Amen.

Allow yourself to be filled with His Wisom and Love…

“Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing,
but keeping the commandments of God is what matters”
(1 Corinthians 7:19).

What makes us Christians?Is it a mark on our bodies? In Paul’s day, the Jew was circumcised and the Gentile was not, and the debate was whether the Gentiles needed to be circumcised in order to become Christians. Neither the Greeks nor the Romans practiced circumcision.

Circumcision was considered a physical mark of distinction for the Jews. For some this was a mark that should always be applied, while for others, it was not obligatory as a rite passage in the faith. In the New Testament, baptism replaced circumcision as the act showing commitment to accept the Lord (Col. 2:11-12). Paul says it makes no difference whether circumcision was practiced or not.

Rites must be accompanied by dedication and commitment. It is no use having a cross as an amulet, kneeling down to pray without humbling my heart, or being baptized without committing to live daily with Jesus.

Are we apparent or evident Christians? Sporadic or permanent?

The great paradoxes of our time were notably expressed by Pastor Bob Moorehead:

We have taller buildings but shorter tempers; wider Freeways, but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less, we buy more but enjoy less.
We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgement, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness.
We… get too angry and pray too seldom.
We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We’ve learned to make a living, but not to live. We’ve added years to life, not life to years. We’ve been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor.
We conquered outer space but not inner space…
We’ve cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul.
We’ve conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We’ve learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.
These are times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small characters… of fancier houses, but broken homes. These are times of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality… and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill.

How paradoxical that we strive for appearances
and not for being who we are.
Strengthen your relationship of faith and obedience with Jesus,
now and forever.

May the Lord bless you today. Stand for what is righteous…

“Let each man have his own wife,
and let each woman have her own husband”
(1 Corinthians 7:2).

In 1 Corinthians 7, the apostle Paul presents marriage as a protection against fornication. Thus, he consistently defends and argues that the marriage covenant should not be broken and that there should be no separation. In the face of possible separation, the apostle asks,

“For how do you know, O wife, whether you will save your husband?
Or how do you know, O husband, whether you will save your wife?” (v. 16).

As for relationships, the apostle presents reasons to prefer chasity and to likewise prefer the unmarried life: he says that difficult times are good reason to remain single. Let us agree that Paul’s extremely difficult life would have made a possible marriage very complicated.

As the end of his letter, Paul presents reasons for marrying or remaining single. He is not prohibiting a certain marital status or promoting on to the deteriment of another. What he does is warn people about marriage relationships in difficult times.

The other topic present in this chapter is circumcision.

Neither the fulfillment of the Jewish rite of circumcision nor ceasing to practice it could affect the individual relationship with God through faith in Jesus. Paul emphasizes that outward ceremonies and observances have no value without faith in Christ. Converted Christians are accepted by God not through any work that they can do, but by faith in Christ’s work on the cross on their behalf.

Thus, the author of the Epistle starts from the biblical premise that God is the Author of marriage, and that what is established by God is the union of a man and a woman, in a bond of love and faithfulness. Marriage was created by God for four specific purposes:

1. Companionship: “It is not good that man should be alone” (Gen. 2:18).
2. Growing love: “Flesh of my flesh” (2.:23).
3. Perfecting the personalities: “And they shall become one flesh” (2:24).
4. Procreation: “Then God blessed them, and God said unto them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth’ ” (1:28).

The enemy attacks the family as an institution created and established by God. That is why we need to strengthen our prayer and vigilance.

“You are not secure a moment against the attacks of satan.
You have no time to rest from watchful, earnest labor.
You should not sleep a moment at your post.
This is a most important warfare. Eternal consequences are involved.
It is life or death with you and your family.”
(Child Guidance, p. 185).

Dear Heavenly Father, today we pray for You to protect, rescue, and restore the families…. 

“Dare any of you, having a matter against another,
go to law before the unrighteous, and not before the saints?”
(1 Corinthians 6:1).

In 1 Corinthians 6, Paul deals with another serious problem in the church: brethren who accuse each other before unbelieving judges, rather than resolving their differences with brotherly love. This was contrary to Christ’s teachings. Christians were not to take their brethren to the courts of unbelievers, so as not to expose the weakness of the church to those who did not love the Lord.

The apostle also shows how sin blinds those who practice it so that they do not perceive that they are in error:

Familiarity with sin makes us
lose sight of its real nature.

Sinners end up believing that they can live in transgression of God’s law and, at the same time, confidently expect salvation.

God makes it clear that there can be no agreement between sin and righteousness, and that anyone who adheres to sin will have his reward (2 Cor. 6:16; 1 John 3:8). Even in these circumstances, there is hope for all kinds of sin and sinners.

Christians are free to participate in all that is part of the lifestyle shown by God to be the most beneficial to mankind. They are free to do what they want, but there is one condition to meet: they should not do something that causes scandal to their neighbor. Jesus sums it up: loving God and others are the principles that govern the life of the true Christian. We have full freedom to do what we want, as long as we are not in conflict with these two principles.

The only sure way to practice God’s will is to flee from all impurity, from all sin. In this way, we please God and perserve the holiness of our bodies.

Paul felt that the church was losing internal balance and external strenght to fulfill the mission. As with an individual, who has to to have internal balance, through communion with God, and an outward presence of fidelity and mission. Likewise, the church: an internal balance and external strenght to fulfill the mission.

There was once someone who would drop garbage over the wall that divided his house from his neighbor’s. His neighbor would kindly return the “courtesy” with a box of vegetables that he had grown, with a note that read: “Each one gives what they have.”

As people and as a church we give what we have.
Whoever is filled with the garbage of conflict and sin
weakens his contribution to the community.
Whoever is filled with Christ and His Word
gains strenght to fulfill the mission.

May the Lord bless you today, may His Word be filled in you, to give you strenght to fulfill the mission…

“And you are proud! Shoudn’t you rather have gone
into mourning and have put out of your fellowship
the man who has been doing this?”
(1 Corinthians 5:2).

Paul abruptly introduces a new matter: a cas of incest, which had brought discredit to the church and, above all, to the name of God.

Such nefarious conduct was very scandalous and shameful. Despite this, church members felt pleased and proud of their spiritual condition. Instead, however, they should have hung their heads, ashamed that such ungodliness could be taking place among them. They were full of arrogance; therefore, they had to humble themselves before the Lord and take measures to remedy the situation. Hence, Paul asks,

“Don’t you know that a little yeast
leavens the whole batch of dough?”
(1 Cor. 5:6).

Keep clearly immoral members in the church, with justification of wanting to help them restore their life, is to ignore the danger of their influence on the group of believers. It is often better for the individuals to be separated, so they may perceive that their actions are not in harmony with Christian norms, and therefore cannot be tolerated. The church must disapprove of sin and help the sinner. Always!

We must never forget, above all things, that it is God who judges the thoughts, words, and actions of all. Whether or not the person recognizes divine sovereignty, it is the Lord who judges all aspects of life. He approves or condemns according to His wise justice.

Here, the problem was not only social, it was also a moral and spiritual problem. The Bible clearly tells us how someone who is in error should be treated, taking the biblical steps of disapproval, correction, and reinstatement (see Matt. 18:15-20). In addition, prevention should be emphasized, because it is always better to prevent than to cure.

“Do not envy the oppresor, and choose none of his ways;
for the perverse person is an abomination of the Lord,
but His secret counsel is with the upright” (Prov. 3:31-32).

We must have deep respect for human life and dignity. We are to teach and apply the principles that value children, adolescents, youth, adults, and elderly. This also involves sexuality, which is considered a gift from God within the context of mutual love and trust between a man and a woman, expressed in marriage.

The church needs to protect those who suffer and act
to restore victims and aggressors. We need to lift up the fallen,
as well as strenghten those who are standing.
“Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, so also to them,
for this is the Law and the Prophets” (Matt. 7:12).

God bless you, may you always walk in integrity…

“For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display
at the end of the procession, like those condemned to die in the arena.
We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels
as well as to human beings”
(1 Corinthians 4:9).

A spectacle is a performance or public exhibition to draw attention or to entertain. It also refers to something that is a cause of scandal, astonishment, or admiration.

Paul says that God had put them, the apostles in the last place, and they became a spectacle for the world, for angels, and for men. In writing this, he had in mind the figure of the Roman gladiator, defeated in the Colosseum arena and condemned to a certain death. These gladiators were left naked for the grand finale, which included wild animals. The world, men, and even angels watched in amazement.

Paul defends himself before the church using irony, “according to the wisdom of Christ,” and “the madness of the gospel.” We are “fools,” “weak,” and “distinguished” (1 Cor. 4:10). With this, he sums up his present experience of hunger, thirst, inadequate clothing, wounds, fatige, and mistreatment. He concludes that they became “as the scum of the earth, the garbage of the world” (v. 13). They did not care about losing everything in order to win Christ and souls for Him.

Today we live in a large Coloseum, ready to witness the last act of the performance. Believers are often looked down upon, exposed to ridicule for their faith and faithfulness. On this stage is fought the finall battle between good and evil, justice and injustice, truth and error, the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of earth.

Are we really a spectacle that attracts the people’s attention and draws them in?
Are we a spectacle for entertainment or for growth?
For condemnation or for salvation? To pass the time or prepare for the eternal?

We need to analyze, understand, and live in accordance with the end times of history, and be ready for the final battles of God’s great day.

“Those wo place themselves under God’s control, to be led and guided by Him, will catch the steady tread of the events ordained by Him to take place. Inspired with the Spirit of Him who gave His life for the life of the world, they will no longer stand still iin impotency, pointing to what they cannot do. Putting on the armor of heaven, they will go forth to the warfare, willing to do and dare for God, knowing that His omnipotence will supply their need” (Maranatha, p. 161).

Our time as spectators before men,
angels, and the world has ended.
Let us be a spectacle of salvation for everyone.

God bless you, be strong, be faithful…