Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature.

1 Corinthians 14:13-25

One would be wise, I believe, to not make more of this teaching on tongues than is being taught.  The message is others first, relationships count, give thought to what builds up another brother or sister in Christ, not self-gratification.  If you have been given this gift follow these guidelines, and then like all the gifts of the Spirit it will be of great value to the kingdom of God.

Today as we examine verses 20-25 you and I should ponder on what the apostle Paul is saying: “Brothers, do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature. In the Law it is written, “By people of strange tongues and by the lips of foreigners will I speak to this people, and even then they will not listen to me, says the Lord.” Thus tongues are a sign not for believers but for unbelievers, while prophecy is a sign not for unbelievers but for believers. If therefore, the whole church comes together and all speak in tongues, and outsiders or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are out of your minds? But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or outsider enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all, the secrets of his heart are disclosed, and so, falling on his face, he will worship God and declare that God is really among you.”

What is the thinking of a child?  From birth they are the most considerate of their mothers, will go hungry, stay in a wet diaper and never make a sound, now anyone who knows about babies thinks I need to work with some bed babies.  No, babies have no thought about mom needs sleep, so I will lay in bed with a wet diaper, or be hungry, that is wrong to the bone, it is all about number one has a problem, and I’m yelling till someone fixes me.  What about a two or three-year-old, not a self-centered bone in their cute little bodies; wrong!  If you have more than three in a room you need someone to watch your back, they are only looking after their own desires, favorite words of one this age are mine and no.

Maybe as a follower of Christ that should not be our thought pattern, and I believe most of us are in agreement in this area.  But are we; “Be infants in evil”?  What does one look like that is an infant in evil, I’m not sure, in this present darkness evil is at all fronts, look with me at 1 Peter 2:2, “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.”  As we grow in our relationship with Christ we come to a deeper understanding of our value, of our worth, and not to this world and its requirements but to a loving Father, who has promised to never leave us or forsake us.

Some months ago I met a great example of this, her name is Loraine Burleson she was sitting in her front yard in a plastic chair, and inside her house was a crew of volunteers from Samaritans Purse cleaning the mud out of her house, removing the floors and sheetrock and Jan and I were part of that group.  Mrs. Burleson sat in that chair all day long and knew that her home was in shambles.  As we were leaving I gave her my card and told her that if I could be of help to please call me.  Her reply was this “Bob, My Father has made promises to me, He has promised never to leave me or forsake me, and I’m putting my trust in Him.  That’s a great example of being mature in one's thinking, and being an infant in evil. 

The rest of Mrs. Burleson’s story is that God put into the hearts of men to come and rebuild her home, and it was very nice when finished.  New floors, new appliances, new counters in baths and kitchen, and Loraine once more witnessed that her God and loving Father is a promise keeper.

From the Back Porch,

 Bob Rice

Who Got Crucified?

1 Corinthians 14:6-12

Could the key to this Scripture be self or others, I’ve shared that to understand the battle that is taking place in one's life, it is not between the old man, and the new person in Christ, for the old man got Crucified?  And if he did not get crucified then who or what got crucified in Galatians 2:20?  “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”  The old man died the moment Jesus came into your life by invitation, but the flesh and the patterns it learned about getting its needs met outside of Christ are very much alive.  So each day this is the battleground, will I look, will I study, and will I listen to the Spirit of Truth, or will I listen to my emotions and mind that have yet to be renewed in Christ?

I’ve come to this understanding of my type of flesh, it likes to be noticed, it likes to be right, it likes to look good to others, even people it does not know, and the main battle is it likes to have you perceive it is better than both God and I know to be true.  This quote from Bill Gillham is on the spot: “God has no plan to make something beautiful of your life (in Adam).  The plan is to kill it and start over again.”  Your true identity is when you come to the realization that Jesus Christ is your life and that the flesh is in conflict with the Spirit, and your need each day to run to the Holy Spirit who Jesus tells us was sent to be our Helper.

So the conflict of walking by feel, or flesh, or by the Spirit, and often, way too often you must choose to walk by what God’s word says rather than by what you feel.  This is the conflict-taking place in the young church at Corinth, many were speaking in tongues, but tongues did not build or encourage for no one but the Spirit knew what was being said.  One might look good, even very spiritual, who is speaking in tongues but it does not build up and encourage those who listen. 

Better to teach and the apostle Paul compares it to lifeless instruments in 1 Corinthians 14:7-12, “If even lifeless instruments, such as the flute or the harp, do not give distinct notes, how will anyone know what is played? And if the bugle gives an indistinct sound, who will get ready for battle? So with yourselves, if with your tongue you utter speech that is not intelligible, how will anyone know what is said? For you will be speaking into the air. There are doubtless many different languages in the world, and none is without meaning, but if I do not know the meaning of the language, I will be a foreigner to the speaker and the speaker a foreigner to me. So with yourselves, since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in building up the church.”

Much of religion 99.9% is from the flesh, and a good example is Saul before his encounter with Christ on the road to Damascus.  Saul was a very religious man, and this is religion at its best in Acts 8:3, “But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.  More of the story in Acts 9:1-2, “But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.”

I’ve often stated correctly the enemy of the cross is religion its end game is always death.  The flesh drives religion, and like Saul it has an abundance of zeal, it believes it is doing what is best and it serves a God that has been molded in their minds to their own liking.   My pastor, Ray Still had this to say on the subject in a sermon: “Do I believe God agrees with my attitude and if I do then I’ve adjusted God to my liking.”  Many a person who is a follower of Christ is doing this, many who are pew sitters also, and it is foolishness, but it sure feels good to have God adjusted to your liking.  But God has spoken in Isaiah 55:8-9, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

So be O so careful in your walk, for the days are evil, and the evil one is a master of deception, he delights in your flesh, and his favorite song is “I did it my way.”  The enemy of your life in Christ has no problem with you serving if the goal is to bring glory to self, he wants churches to be full of people who serve to be noticed, and not to build the kingdom of God.  Bible studies are not a problem if the enemy can get you to bask in your knowledge and never apply the teaching of Scripture to your daily life. 

Give thought to who the object of your worship is and ask the Spirit of Truth to give you the tools to live out verse twelve, and in doing so recall the church is not a building it is the body of Christ, it goes by many names and it has many members but one Spirit.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Spiritual Gifts

1 Corinthians 14:1-5

“Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy. For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit. On the other hand, the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation. The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself, but the one who prophesies builds up the church. Now I want you all to speak in tongues, but even more to prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be built up.”

Pursue love that is not a suggestion it is a command and yet for many of us, the world has molded us into a false understanding of love.  We are like that old song, "Looking for love in all the wrong places” wanting to be loved and yet not seeking the source of love, for God is love.  So shall we review how God defines love in 1 Corinthians 13”4-8, ^“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth.  Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.”

The next command to a follower of Christ is; “earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy.”  One does not have to wonder why would the Father desire this of us, for the heart of God is that all people would enter into a relationship with His Son, and by doing so they will enter into God the Father.  Do you recall the prayer of Jesus to the Father, it is recorded in John 17:20-24, “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word, that they may all be one, just as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You have sent Me. The glory that You have given Me, I in them and You in Me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that You sent Me and loved them even as you loved Me. Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, may be with Me where I am, to see my glory that You have given Me because You loved Me before the foundation of the world.” 

My prayer for each of us is that we spend time on things that will last, someday we will have no need for prophecies, but that is not today for only Jesus has the answer for the needs of this world. 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Love has no ending

 1 Corinthians 13:11-13

 “When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”

“When I was a child, the youngest of three, life was good in my circle and tree, I had no fear of people or things only mom and dad when they used my middle name.  But as I grew into becoming a man, I became wise to the things at hand, and soon I understood so much about becoming, or not becoming a man.  The journey from childhood to becoming an adult has many lessons, I’ve learned so much.

But this I know and so should you, that when we see Jesus what a day that will be as one understands fully what He has done for me and thee.  Face-to-Face we meet and He removes the veil from me, what a day that will be.” 

My attempt at poetry and to tell my story in verse, Paul is using the analogy of a young child versus adulthood to explain the difference of our present understanding and when we come face to face with Jesus in eternity.  Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. This verse does not mean we become all knowing about all things, but that we will have a full understanding of ourselves.  Some who believed they would have instant knowledge has told me, they will be like God knowing all things.  That is not only foolish, but that is very dangerous, for that is what caused Lucifer to become Satan.  Heaven will be a time of learning, eternal learning, and the source of that learning will be God, it’s going to be wonderful, but we will never even desire to be God, for we are His Children, and He alone is Father.

In that God is Love, love has no ending, we will bask in love for the rest of eternity, and this I can say with a clear mind and heart, you want to be part of that!  Do you have a relationship with the living Christ, I did not ask are you a church member, or even are you a moral person, that’s good but you will fall short of Heaven, you must know Jesus.  If you have any doubt Romans 10:9-10 will show you a path to asking Jesus into your life. “Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

“Love never ends.”

1 Corinthians 13:8-10

“Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.”

Ponder on those three words; “Love never ends.”  When thought is given to those words they take on new meaning, God is love, and the Scriptures are clear, Revelation 1:8 - “I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God, who is and who was, and who is to come. The Almighty.”  As we keep contemplating on God we must look at Isaiah 40:28 - “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth, He will not grow tired or weary and his understanding no one can fathom.”  And do not stop considering for we find more help in 1 Chronicles 28:9 - “…for the Lord searches every heart, and understands every motive behind the thoughts. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever.”  As we deliberate on those three words, this Scripture will be of help; Matthew 19:26 - “Jesus looked at them and said. ‘With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.’”  Love that never ends, and these words are so encouraging; 1 Chronicles 16:34 - “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; his love endures forever.”

Jan and I sat at the breakfast table talking about love, I shared how it seems to me that our world is fixated on fear, and fear sells, in fact, it has become clear that it has become an addiction for many much like coffee and sugar are to me.  But is it not one of the Commandments?  Jesus has spoken clearly on this in John 14:27 – “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”  And in Matthew 6:34 – “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”  And this word from the apostle John from 1 John 4:18, “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts our fear.  For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.” 

We are told to set out minds on certain things, and God would not be good if He required us to do something that was impossible to do, as a follower of Christ begin today to set your mind against the merchants of fear, for the evil one is the instigator of fear.  As a follower of Christ it is good to look at the world through this lens; that car I just bought is passing away, that house I spent so much time and money on is passing away, even time is passing away, but people and God’s Word are eternal, and that is where a follower of Christ through their life should stay.  This quote from Gandhi says volumes, “The enemy is fear.  We think it is hate; but, it is fear.”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Substitute the word Love for God,

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

We would not be in error to substitute the word Love for God, for love is God and God is love.  So as we engage these verses to do that, it will give you a profound appreciation for our Father, for He is love.  “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things.”

As I ponder on “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude,” I understand how patient the Father has been with my sinful life.  After I entered into a relationship with Christ and Father God, over and over the Spirit of Truth sent people and resources to guide me into the Truth, for Jesus is the only truth.  Have you noticed that God does not boast, He only states; I Am, and yet not one thing has ever been made that God was not the architect.  Can you grasp that the word envy is a human problem; it wants what somebody else has.  The apostle Paul gives us this insight in his letter to the church at Colossae; “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.”  (Colossians 1:15-16)  He is Jesus, and unlike you and me He has no envy, but He is a jealous God when we put others above Him and they become a source of our worship.

God is never arrogant or rude, but those traits or qualities seem to come out in you and me.  One must ask what is the source, why does a small child tell another kid, my dad is better than yours, or you’re not good enough to play ball with my team.

God/Love is patient and kind, He does not envy or boast, He is not arrogant or rude, He does not demand His own way, and He is not irritable or resentful; and He never rejoices at wrongdoing but only in Truth.  God/Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things.

As a student and maybe not yet a follower of Christ, can you see how these qualities would add to your life and how you would look at parents, teachers, the girl or boy you are dating or want to date in a very different light?  As a husband can you imagine the difference applying these virtues in your marriage will make?  And as a parent or grandparent how will these traits change the landscape of your relationships?

After 74 years of living life, my greatest desire is to love, not to live in fear and hate people I do not know or understand.  Not to acquire more stuff, but to love my neighbor as myself, to do what Jim Elliot states in this quote: “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Trust is a fragile thing

2 Corinthians 1:12-14

This morning in my time with the Lord I was reading in Psalm 19, verses 13 &14, became my prayer for my friend Paul who God has given many gifts and responsibilities and for myself.  These were the words of those two verses I prayed back to the LORD, “Who can discern his errors?  Declare me innocent from hidden faults.  Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me! Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great transgression.

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock, and my redeemer.” 

As I turned to 2 Corinthians 12 and read through verse 14, it is important for each of us who follow Jesus to have a testimony of simplicity and godly sincerity, but not by worldly wisdom but by the grace of God, and supremely so toward each other.  And I believe the apostle Paul often prayed for others and He also prayed for himself in verses like I prayed this morning.  For the biggest con job I’ve ever seen is the one where I believe I’m on the spot, all is well with my soul and that the Father is totally pleased with my thoughts and actions.

It has always been easier to see the shortcomings of another brother or sister than to discern the errors in my own life.  I believe the Psalmist is calling that our hidden faults, they may happen because we are not under the authority of Scripture and the teaching of a person who rightly handles the Word of God.  Now with it comes presumptuous sins, those are willful sins where one knows not to do so but wants what they want at that moment.  Those sins are very dangerous and will only lead to the breaking of fellowship with God and others.

Before one enters into willful sins they always test the water, it may begin with a little voice, she sure looks and acts better that my wife or he looks and acts better than my husband, and what is wrong with a little flirting, and in one's mind the battle has already begun and most often you have entered into darkness, into willful sin.  Willful sin happens in all kinds of ways; one is in the workplace where we use our time in a manner that steals from our employer, or you take supplies home knowing you will use them for personal use and not what the employer intended them for.

As a follower of Christ, we are to be His ambassadors to the world without hope and as teachers and encouragers to others in the faith, it’s called trust, we are building trust with one another.  Two quotes that address trust; “Trust is like an eraser it gets smaller and smaller after every mistake.”  “Trust is a fragile thing.  Easy to break, easy to lose and one of the hardest things to get back.”

The false teacher that had come to the churches at Corinth after Paul had left.  It was designed by the enemy of their souls to cause a trust issue in the relationship between Paul and the churches at Corinth, and it did.  His letter we refer to as 2 Corinthians was meant to help return the two parties to a relationship of oneness.

Paul is making sure that the church understood that it was not by human effort but by the grace of God, and so all boasting should be in God and His grace.  So as you pray for your brothers and sisters in Christ, remember these words, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock, and my redeemer.” 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

“The Way of Love.”

1 Corinthians 13:1-4

The last sentence in chapter 12 states, “And I will show you a still more excellent way.”  My New English Version gives chapter 13 this title; “The Way of Love.”  Love is an amazing thing, it will lay down its life for the one loved, but one must ask what is its origin?  The apostle John who outlived all the other 11 disciples that followed Jesus has much to say about the source of love in 1 John 4:7-8, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”

How many teenage boys have thought they love the girl they are dating, but love and hormones are not the same.  When I entered into marriage I believed I was in love, but how wrong I was!  It took years to learn how to love my wife, in fact, I’m still learning much about love.  I was a Baptist when we got married and later became a follower of Christ, and it has been the Spirit of Christ that has shown me how to love Jan, and He has sent men like Carroll Ray Jr. and others to show me how to love Jan and other people, and I’m still learning.

So let’s explore love, as we look there should be many questions an honest seeker of truth would ask.  Verse one: “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.”

Noisy gong, that sounds like the world of politics and they are much like the sixteen-year-old that tells the girl what she wants to hear to have his way with her.  In fact, so many in and out of the church are a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal, often we are overcome with the noise.

 Verse two and three make clear that love is essential to enter into a relationship: “And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.”  Now if you could fulfill either verse you would have the world’s acclaim, but God has stated you would have fallen short of the prize.  Let’s return to 1 John 4:9-12, “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.”  We are the objects of God’s love, so should one not look deeply into love to understand if we have the political love or relationship love.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

What does flesh look like?

1 Corinthians 12:12-31

If you are not a follower of Christ, or if you have not been under the authority of godly teachers of Scripture, when the word flesh is used one might think of the soft tissue of the body or human skin, put that is not the meaning of the word when one encounters it in Scripture.  An example of it being used in Scripture is found in many places but these are two examples you might look into, Ephesians 6:12 and Galatians 5:17.

 I’ve learned that everyone in Christ is going to battle with this thing God calls flesh, and I’ve also learned it’s unique to each of us.  Flesh is best defined as baggage you bring into your relationship with Christ, where you learn how to get your needs met living independently from God’s authority.  As you grew up your mind and emotions learn to respond to stimuli, and as Bill Gillman often said, if you are chronically exposed to harmful stimuli, your emotions can become stuck.  One of Bill’s key concepts – “Walking in the Spirit most often requires you to choose to walk by what God’s Word says rather than by what you feel.” 

With that as our backdrop let’s look into 1 Corinthians 12:12-31, and beginning in verses 12-13, “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit, we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.”   

Jesus is teaching us through the Holy Spirit leading the apostle Paul, that His church is designed like your body.  And I’ve never had anyone tell me what great lungs you have, or it is your kidneys that I find to be so attractive.  If we began to list all the parts of our body it would take a lot of ink and I bet we would leave some parts out, but each is there for a purpose, and the same is true with the Church.

The apostle Paul goes on to share how each part of our physical body needs the others, and in verses 18-20, “But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.”  As a child going barefooted often I stumped my toe and guess what, the hand always grabbed that toe and ministered to it.  So by nature God has made this very clear to each of us; “If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.”

As we move into verses 27-30, we see God’s design for the Church, as the body of Christ.  “Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? But earnestly desire the higher gifts.”  The answer to those eight questions in verses 29-30, is not even close, we all have gifts, but some never developed theirs, others let the flesh take over and are envious of someone else’s gift, and when flesh is active there will always be division in the body, and it brings shame on the name of God.

Now flesh will not go away it must be put to death, and that is going to hurt, that is going to take discipline.  Do you recall us reading in 1 Corinthians 11:18, “For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you.”  The churches at Corinth were each looking to self, not to building up the body, not to serving those in the body of Christ that is flesh at its best.  But the apostle Paul in verse 31, tells us there is a better gift, and tomorrow we will look at a more excellent way.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Object of worship

1 Corinthians 12:1-11

Have you known people who were gifted with good looks, talent, intelligence, and the ability to lead others?  Many would call this natural talent or a gifted person, but I’ve observed such people and some have been seekers of God and others have been seekers of self. 

Much of my younger days in middle school and high school I was drawn to guys who had a lot going for them, and they became my object of worship.  Now if anyone had told me that they were an idol in my life I would have thought them to be crazy.  But looking back on my foolish actions, it’s clear I looked to them, I went with them and followed their lead.  Is that not what one does when engaging in worship? 

We must always go back to we choose, yes, it was a choice, and yes, I had   options but like a puppy, I was led, or as this verse states; “Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however, you were led.” 

Don’t you find the word pagan offensive?  Does it not insult anyone who does not acknowledge the God of the Bible?  But it matters not for God has rightly stated that one like me seeking to get my needs met outside of Christ is placing self in the place that is reserved for God alone.  But God is faithful and merciful and allowed me to keep being lead into the lifeless life, and yet always gave me enough light to know I was on the wrong road, money but not peace, happiness but no joy, and all that this pagan was worshipping left an only emptiness.   

As a Baptist, I proclaimed Jesus as Lord, but it was only empty words, for nothing in my life gave support to such a claim, empty words coming from an empty life.  But God, I love those words, for Jesus saw a frightened little boy trying to be a man, and one night in a hotel room after reading and agreeing that my life needed to know the Jesus I was only informed about, I bowed my knee to His will and ask Jesus to come and live in me.

I was not perfect, I was a long way from that and that holds true today, but I was changed, I knew Jesus was Lord, and my actions are in line for He is the source of my worship.  I’m learning that in this body we call the church, there are varieties of gifts, but one Lord, and one Spirit. 

So let us close with these thoughts: “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Warning Signs

1 Corinthians 11:27-34

As an American, I’ve become very aware of warning signs and labels, and they seem to be everywhere.  Have you noticed in some fast food places they warn us that fries and burgers could be a source of cholesterol, and the people who oversee the food industry are warning us to read labels to see what ingredients the food contains?  What about road signs, they tell us how fast to drive, when to show caution and when to stop, but have you noticed when driving in the Texas hill country, we have signs that tell us the curve or hill will block our view?  All medicine must be labeled and it is a wise person that examines with caution before taking it, for often the drug can do more harm than the symptoms one has.

Yes, life is full of caution and warning signs, but many a person has never been taught there is danger in studying or even reading the Bible.  Now do not misunderstand what is being said, studying the Scripture to gain instruction in righteousness with the intent of doing it, that is a wise person.  In Matthew 7:24-27 we are given a very clear warning about a wise and foolish man.  In the gospel of John 8:31, Jesus turns the spotlight on abiding in His Word.  Every person who has followed Jesus must give thought to what Jesus’ brother James is telling us; James 1:22-25, “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.”

When you take Communion, or as one who was brought up as a Baptist, you might call it the Lord’s Supper, has anyone ever told you it comes with a warning?  If not, shame on them for God is very serious about this covenant and it is my opinion that not giving this warning is like not telling someone the bridge is out.  The apostle Paul gives us a very clear warning in 1 Corinthians 11:27-32, “Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. But if we judged ourselves, truly we would not be judged. But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.”

No one in their right mind would ignore the sign “bridge is out,” and keep going and yet many who are in Christ act as if this Scripture is not speaking to them, and then blame God for not protecting them.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

The immature in the faith

1 Corinthians 11:17-26

“But in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse. For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you. And I believe it in part, for there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized. When you come together, it is not the Lord's supper that you eat. For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, another gets drunk. What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I commend you in this? No, I will not.”

When we talk about the Church today, most have this connotation, it’s a building where religious people meet, and sad but true that hits the spot on many who go by the title of Christian.  That is not what the apostle Paul is making reference to.  The Church was not a building, it was a place where they came together to assemble as a united or corporate body of Christ, in fact, it was never referred to as a place of meeting in the New Testament.

Paul goes on to state that some are genuine among you and is saying those are not the ones causing this problem.  They were the true followers of Christ and had matured and were a light during times of strife and division.  

When they came together as an assembly to celebrate the Lord’s Supper, many of the immature in the faith looked at this as a time to party, and it was built around self and not Christ.  Some went hungry while others brought the china and enjoyed the best lamb chops with apple pie and blue bell ice cream.   This picture that comes into my mind is a 10 & 20-year high school reunion, where many are showing pictures of stuff they have acquired and even the second or third wife as they moved up the social ladder.

The apostle Paul shares this insight in verses 23-26; “For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.”

Paul states that he received this from the LORD, and one must believe it was a special revelation from Jesus to Paul.  What a contrast between Christ giving His life and those in the church of Corinth during the Lord’s Supper.   It is in verse 26 that you and I are reminded that Christ is coming back, but until then we as a body are to honor and hold as a solemn remembrance the price that Jesus paid for sin, all sin, my sins and yours.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice