Two Brothers Building up the Body

  C ontinuing in 1 Corinthians, you’ll remember last time that we finished up chapter 1 where Paul concluded that section with a scathing rebuke for the worldly philosophers and Jewish scribes trying to find a way to God apart from Jesus Christ. He mentioned that God had caused the foolish and base things of the world to shame the wise, and that the message of the cross was foolishness to them who were perishing. He had also written in verse 17 that Christ had sent him “to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made void.” He opens chapter 2 with the same sentiment, writing:      And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom,         proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you                except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness and in f...

  A Son Forever " And Abraham took Ishmael his son...and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame day, as God had said unto him. " (Genesis 17:23) God gave Abraham a strange command: be circumcised. No explanation, no delay—just obedience required. Abraham's response was immediate. The very same day God spoke, Abraham obeyed. He was already loved by God, already counted righteous by faith, but this act of childlike obedience brought him into even closer intimacy with his Creator. Through this painful self-sacrifice, God established a covenant with Abraham that changed everything. He received a new name—no longer Abram, but Abraham, father of many nations. God promised him an inheritance beyond imagination. God entered into intimate fellowship with him, speaking to him as a friend. The name change happened immediately, but the other promises required patience. Abraham had to trust that God would fulfill His word in His own time. For Abraham's part, th...

    As I had mentioned last time, Paul was calling the Corinthians believers to focus on Christ Himself rather than on the one from whom they had heard the message. I had mentioned in my first post on Corinthians, this was actually the second letter Paul had written to the assembly there in Corinth. He mentioned in verse 17 that his purpose was, “...to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech…” and so he continues that theme in the next verse. We’ll be covering verses 18 to 31 in this post: For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, And the cleverness of the clever I will set aside.” Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolis...

  Another Way "And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. " (Matthew 2:11) The wise men had journeyed far to find and worship the King of Kings, expecting grandeur—a palace, royal attendants, the trappings of earthly power. They came through all the official channels: the holy city of Jerusalem, the court of Herod, the religious leaders who should have known. Yet through these expected routes, they found Him not. Religious institutions and political powers couldn't reveal what only God could show. Their dedication would be rewarded by the all-knowing Father, who guided them by a star to the very place where Jesus lay. What they found was far different than they expected: a young child in a humble house with His mother. Yet they didn't allow their preconceived ideas to obscure the reality b...