Devotional Thoughts

1 Corinthians 15:1-2    “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.” Paul tells the church at Corinth that what he has said to them and what he is about to say to them is not new. What he writes in his letter is the same gospel that he preached to them face-to-face for a period of a year and a half (Act 18:11). He reminds them here that they received that gospel, not just by hearing but that it found a lodging place within them. It was this gospel of Paul that had established caused them to stand as the church at Corinth. Scholars estimate that Paul came to Corinth around 51 AD. Depending on exactly when he arrived that would put his departure from them sometime between 52 and 53 AD. The date of this letter is put somewhere between 54 and 55 AD, so it did not take long for discord to cro...

Psalm 137:1-4    "By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.  (2)  We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof.  (3)  For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion.  (4)  How shall we sing the LORD'S song in a strange land?" There is no doubt about it that sins of the flesh produce pleasure for a while. We read in Hebrews 11:25 that Moses chose "... to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season." But for the child of God, there is a void that is left because those pleasures are only temporary. Today's Psalm was written about the time of captivity when Israel was taken away into the land of Babylon. The Lord allowed that captivity to take place because His people had turned away from Him. In contrast to Moses, they chose to enjoy the pleasure...

1 Corinthians 14:37-40    “If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord. But if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant. Wherefore, brethren, covet to prophesy, and forbid not to speak with tongues. Let all things be done decently and in order.” Paul gives us a very important insight here: the carnal mind is not going to like what he has had to say. That is why he addresses himself to those that claim to speak by God’s inspiration or walk in His spiritual kingdom. Without God’s grace and the leadership of the Holy Spirit, we will not acknowledge that Paul writes to the church the commandments of the Lord. In this Paul also makes another important acknowledgement. He is not claiming any wisdom from himself in these things. Paul clearly points the reader to the Lord as the true author of what he has written to the church at Corinth. The question then becomes for us today the sa...

1 Corinthians 14:34-36    “Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law. And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church. What? came the word of God out from you? or came it unto you only?” In our society, it is difficult to deal with Paul’s instruction here without being labeled as being misogynistic (strongly prejudiced against women). However, if we consider Paul’s writings as a whole, it should be clear that Paul had a deep respect for the sisters of the church. He mentions several by name as succoring himself and others (see Phebe – Rom 16:1), being helpers (see Priscilla – Rom 16:3), and laboring (see Mary, Tryphena, Tryphosa, and Persis  – Rom 16:6, 12) in the cause of Christ. In view of the fact that Paul commends these (and others) by name to the churches, it would certainly app...