Daily Inspirations

Good morning. Therefore let us celebrate the feast (not just during Passover), not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. I wrote you not to associate with immoral people; I did not mean those of this world, for then you would have to go out of the world. I wrote to not associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or… - not even to eat was such a one. Again, this is part of the “shunning” process. What have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church? Remember that bad company corrupts good morals. Why, because it always spreads to the entire church. There are two extremes. Some accept everyone no matter what kind of lifestyle they have; and the other extreme immediately condemns those who even have a hint of what the accusers think is wrong (not necessarily what the Bible says is wrong). Those who are outside, God judges. Remove the wicked man from amo...

Good morning. Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough? This probably refers back to the procedure right before Passover. Many times in the Scriptures, leaven represented sin. So before Passover began, they made sure that there was no leaven whatsoever in the house. They would sweep it just to make sure. If there was even a tiny speck of leaven in the dough, the dough would have to be thrown out. Similarly, there’s no such thing as a “little sin” in your life. Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed. This verse is one of the reasons why I believe that the last supper was not the Passover meal. If it were the Passover meal, then Jesus our Passover sacrifice died 24 hours after the Passover lambs were sacrificed. Father help us to clean out all the old leaven of sin in our lives. Help us to start each day a pure and fresh lump of do...

Good morning. Remember last time that Paul said he was going to find out the power of those who were arrogant. For the kingdom of God does not consist in words but in power. You can give all kinds of fancy “teachings”, but they are useless if there is no power in you or in what you say. The Gospel has transforming power. It can not only bring about healings and so on, but it can also bring a change in your heart and your attitude. He then goes through the thing about someone among them having his father’s wife (not talking about his mother – stepmother). Paul gets a bit “hot under the collar“. I on my part, though absent in body but present in spirit, I have already judged him who has committed this, as though I were present. In the name of our Lord Jesus, when you are assembled, and I with you in spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus, I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan (my Bible says that means to put him out of the church, so that he does not have the fellowship of be...

Good morning. Paul then gives a list of a lot of things that he has gone through as an apostle. I do not write these things to shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved children. For if you were to have countless tutors in Christ, yet you would not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. There could be many people that you listen to either in church or through the Internet or other means; but there was only one person (as a general rule it was a person) that lead you to Christ. Therefore I exhort you, be imitators of me. He was saying that just like a child imitates his or her father, they were to imitate him. He says that again seven chapters later. Since it is easy to forget some things about people we have not seen in a while, Paul says that he sent Timothy to them to remind them of his ways which are in Christ, just as he taught everywhere in every church. Some have become arrogant, as though I were not coming to you. I shall find out, not...

Good morning. Back to those who are arrogant: For who regards you as superior? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast is if you had not received it? All of that is why they are arrogant. Paul then gets sarcastic: you are already filled, you have already become rich, you have become kings without us; and indeed, I wish you had become kings so that we also might reign with you. For I think, God has exhibited us apostles last of all, as men condemned to death; because we have become a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men. My Bible says that the word spectacle in Greek means theater. Paul is referring to the gladiatorial contests in the arena or perhaps to the triumphal procession of a victorious Roman general. He pictures all the world and even angels looking on while the apostles are brought in last to fight to the death. How would you like to live your life that way with everyone rooting for your failure or demise? Father th...

Good morning. Last time Paul said that it was no big deal if he were examined by them or anyone else, and that he was conscious of nothing against himself. It was the Lord who was to examine him. And so what should we do? Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men’s hearts; and then each man’s praise will come to him from God. Ultimately, God is the one who will judge. However, as the old saying goes: we are to be fruit inspectors. Is the one ministering bearing the fruit of the Spirit? If not, then their ministry is suspect. Now these things I have figuratively applied to myself and Apollos for your sakes, so that in us you may learn not to exceed what is written, so that no one of you will become arrogant in behalf of one against the other. Sometimes Christians who follow certain “evangelists” think that theirs is better than others’, which make...

Good morning. So then let no one boast in men. For all things belong to you, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas (not us belonging to some leader) or the world or life or death or things present or things to come; all things belong to you, and you belong to Christ; and Christ belongs to God. Some ministers think that they deserve special privileges and don’t have to lift a finger. But Paul says about himself: let a man regard us in this manner, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. In this case, moreover, it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy. But to me it is a very small thing that I may be examined by you, or by any human court; in fact, I do not even examine myself. For I am conscious of nothing against myself, yet I am not by this acquitted; but the one who examines me is the Lord. We should listen to others, because they may see something wrong in us that we do not see. However, just because they think we are doing something wrong does not ...

Good morning. Let no man deceive himself. Did you realize that you can deceive yourself? We do that all the time in the natural. We want something so badly that we come up with all kinds of reasons or excuses to justify obtaining it. “If we buy this or that, we can use it for God’s glory”. In the end though we are just deceiving ourselves. If any man among you thinks he is wise in this age, he must become foolish, so that he may become wise. Say what? Remember that in the beginning of Corinthians we were talking about the difference between the wisdom of this world and God‘s wisdom. It is foolishness to believe in the power of the cross, but that is where true wisdom lies. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God. For it is written, “He is the one who catches the wise in their craftiness.”; and again, “the Lord knows the reasonings of the wise, that they are useless.“ In the book of James, he says that the wisdom of this world cannot compare to the wisdom from above. Wh...

Good morning. Now we come to a couple of verses that are commonly misapplied. Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are. Sometimes people apply these verses to an individual’s body. However, Paul has just been talking about building the church. In chapter 6 he is talking about your own personal body. My Bible says that when it says temple of God, Paul is talking about God’s church. Paul does not mean here that each of his readers is a temple of the Holy Spirit. He says, “you yourselves (plural in Greek) are God‘s temple (singular in Greek)”. All of us together are a holy temple of God. Here he is not talking about each of us individually being God‘s temple. If you ruin God’s church, He will ruin you. Father help us to always work together to build Your church, not to tear it down. Keep the Destroyer and his allies from even ...

Good morning. All right so we have laid the correct foundation for the church – Jesus Christ; now what? Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man’s work will become evident; but the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. The one building upon the foundation chooses which materials they’re going to use to build with. Even though the foundation is solid, if the builder uses flimsy materials, the house will not stand during a storm (I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll blow your house down). It may be “cheaper“ to use wood, hay, or straw; but they won’t last. Paul just said it would be tested with fire: if any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer a loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. My Bible says that that last statement is perhaps a Greek proverbial...

Good morning. According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. Paul was the one that helped start the Corinthian church. He laid the foundation, which is what an apostle does. If the foundation is bad, the building won’t stand up under a storm. You remember Jesus talking about the man that built his house upon the foundation of sand. But just laying a good foundation is not enough. If the ones building upon the foundation do not do a good job, the building will also collapse. For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. If you lay a foundation of good works etc. instead of Christ, the building will not stand. It will crumble at the least disturbance. Once the foundation is laid, then one must choose what type of materials to use the build the building. Of course there is a parallel with our own lives. The stro...

Good morning. I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. The building of a church generally takes more than one person. Each one is important for a particular stage of the work. In the end, no matter how many or how great the people that build, the church will be nothing without God causing the growth. So then neither is the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth. Therefore no one can claim that it was their doing that established the church. Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are God‘s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building. God used several different ways of describing His church. Each way gives a different aspect of the meaning of the word church. It’s OK to expand a little bit on the interpretation of those different ways. Sometimes people will take it too far and make generalizations that really don’t exist in real life. Father...

Good morning. And I could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food; for you were not able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not able, for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men? They were still trying to operate in human wisdom, and not the wisdom of the Spirit. When you do that, your human desires get in the way of hearing from God. What jealousy, and what strife? For when one says, “I am of Paul,“ and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not mere men? They were looking to men for their teaching, not to God. Paul did not want even himself to be the one they looked to, but rather for them to look to God. What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one. Sadly even today Christians look to men rather than to God for their inspiration. This gi...

Good morning. The things freely given to us by God: which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words. Paul did not talk about things that his human mind came up with. He only talked about things that the Spirit of God revealed to him. Why did he do that? A natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. Paul was not trying to persuade them about anything from the natural point of view. Once they were born again, he could then speak to them about the things of God. Unbelievers try to reason out the things of God; but their reasonings never come up with the truth. But he who is spiritual appraisers all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one. For who has known mind of the Lord, that he will instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ. That does not mean that we hav...

Good morning. In Isaiah: Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him. That sounds encouraging. Man can think of many wonderful things; but they are all temporal. For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. That would mean that you cannot know anything about them unless you have the Holy Spirit dwelling within you. Who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. That would mean that there would be no way that we could know about these things unless the Spirit of God revealed them to us. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God. The spirit of the world seeks for things of the world; but the Spirit of God seeks for heave...

Good morning. So Paul did not preach in persuasive words of wisdom: yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature (it’s kind of like in math in that I cannot talk about calculus to those who are in Intermediate Algebra); a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away; but we speak God‘s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory; which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. It was a mystery in that people did not understand it; it was not a mystery because God did not hint about it in the Scriptures - for He did. God had to hide it or Jesus would never have been crucified, and we would not have salvation today. The Jewish religious leaders certainly would not have turned Him over to Pilate (they saw the messiah as the conquering king, not as the suffering servant), and the devil would have tried to prevent th...

Good morning. So Paul says that he didn’t come with an arrogant attitude but: I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of man, but on the power of God. When you read Paul’s words in all of his letters, he doesn’t sound like he was in fear and in much trembling; and he even mentions that fact specifically later. He didn’t just have a bunch of pretty words; but he had words ignited by the Holy Spirit that produced salvation in the listeners, confirmed with power. My Bible says that the Greek word translated demonstration is used of producing proofs in an argument in court. I guess you could say that Paul was the Perry Mason of the gospel. Father help us to have Your words and not ours when we speak to others about salvation. Go with your people during the coming storm. Move and control it so that it d...

Good morning. So it is not by our greatness or achievement; but by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, “let him who boasts, boast in the Lord“. It is all because of God’s doing, not ours. Some people use these verses to say that we have the wisdom of God through Jesus. But remember I said we would revisit an earlier verse which said “Christ the power of God and the wisdom (His dying on the cross) of God”. We do obtain God‘s righteousness and sanctification and redemption through Jesus. We have nothing to boast about. Then Paul says to the Corinthians: and when I came to you, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom (unlike some evangelists today) , proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. Others tried to wow the Corinthians with their oratory; but Paul preached the simplic...

Good morning. For consider your calling that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God. That’s easy for you to say, Paul. If man were going to devise a system of religion, he would set it up so that the people that were involved in it would be intelligent, strong, rich - the cream of the crop. Then man could say that he did it; that it was his vision that created the salvation. But God says like Lee Corso on College GameDay, “not so fast“. It cannot have anything to do with you; it has to be strictly My doing. He did the impossible thing with improbable people. Now no one can boast in himself; it strictly depends on God and ...

Good morning. For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom. And so if God chooses to reveal Himself in a way different from these, then they will not believe it. But we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness. To the Jews, the Messiah was supposed to remain forever (in the book of John you even had the public saying that to Jesus); and so saying that the Messiah was crucified was heresy. The whole thing sounded ridiculous to the intellectuals. Surely you had to seek God in some philosophical way, and by using your great intellect find Him. But to those who are the called, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God (we will refer to this last phrase again at the end of the chapter). The Jews wanted signs - Jesus rose from the dead. The Greeks wanted wisdom - God‘s wisdom had the perfect way to bring about salvation, so that it depended on Him and not man. Because the foolishness of God (simply believing in what Jesus did for us a...

Good morning. 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. It does sound foolish in the natural. How can someone dying on the cross save me, and all that is required of me is to believe that it will? Shouldn’t I have to do something to obtain salvation? “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the cleverness of the clever I will set aside“. People today are trying to show off their “wisdom“ by saying they have figured out how salvation should come about. And of course it is not the way that God says it is to come about. 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? Mankind through its various philosophies has concluded that it has found another way to God; in fact there are many ways. In all of these various supposed ways to God, they all depend on man’s beliefs or actions instead of solely on God’s. For since in the wisdom...

Good morning. So after Paul tells them to all agree and that there be no divisions among them, He says: I have been informed concerning you by Chloe’s people, that there are quarrels among you. Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, “I am of Paul,… and I am of Christ“. Has Christ been divided? We have that today in the church, in that people will say I am of this evangelist or of that apostle or this Pastor. And what’s worse, if you don’t agree with what my idol is saying, then you are not a good Christian. Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you except…, so that no one would say you were baptized in my name. For Christ did not send me to baptize (remember that in the book of John people were saying that Jesus was baptizing, but John said that it was not Jesus, but rather His disciples that were baptizing), but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ woul...

Good morning. God is faithful (even when we are not), through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Now I exhort you by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree (literally, speak the same thing) and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment. That’s pretty harsh, Paul. Sadly though, it can be necessary in some churches. It’s hard for any group to do much of anything unless there is agreement on most topics. This is especially true in the church. My interlinear New Testament translates the phrase that is here translated “be made complete“ as “having been joined together”. Instead of division, we are to be joined together. The only way we can do that is to be “in the same mind and have the same judgment”. Father help the church to be in agreement and that there be no divisions; instead that we be made complete, in the same mind, and in the same judgment; that we may show ...

Good morning. I think my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, that in everything you were enriched in Him, in all speech and all knowledge, even as the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed in you, so that you are not lacking any gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will also confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. Whew, what a sentence! It is only through the grace of God that we can have or be anything of worth. Some people get all puffed up about their knowledge or about their eloquence of speech. We need to realize that we depend on Him for any speech or knowledge that is worthwhile. In chapters 12 and 14 he will be speaking specifically about their giftings in the Holy Spirit. What everyone who operates in the gifts of the Holy Spirit needs to realize is that it is a gift; it is not through some special power or ability of your own. We should be eagerly awaiting the r...

Good morning. Last time we finished the book of Romans, and today we start the book of first Corinthians. My Bible says that in Paul’s day the city of Corinth had a population of about 250,000 free persons, plus as many as 400,000 slaves. Paul starts out like he does a lot of times listing his credentials. Paul, called as an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God. As was the custom, he starts the letter with his name instead of having it just at the end. An apostle was a messenger, or one sent by some one or group. Paul says that he was sent by Jesus according to the will of God – he did not go out on his own. We now find out to whom he wrote this letter. To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all in every place who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours. My Bible says that the term “church of God“ was only used by Paul and only in one place in Acts, here, and one place in second...

Good morning. For the report of your obedience has reached to all; therefore I am rejoicing over you, but I want you to be wise in what is good and innocent in what is evil. There are a lot of people in the world today claiming to be wise; but their wisdom is not in what is good, but in what is evil. The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. Satan is all about discord and unrest. God is all about peace. It is through His peace that we will overcome. Notice that it was under their feet – they were the ones that were going to be walking all over Satan. Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which has been kept secret for long ages past, but now is manifested, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God, has been made known to all the nations, leading to obedience of faith. God only gave hints throughout the Scriptures of the old ...

Good morning. Now I urge you, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from them. We do have to watch out for those people. Their “doctrines“ can be insidious, and if we listen to them for very long, we will start to believe the way that they do. Remember that the Bible says elsewhere “be careful how you listen”. That’s also why you need to be careful what you listen to or read concerning the news. If you listen to or read news that is slanted, you will eventually start to believe that it is true. That’s why advertising works. For such men are slaves, not of our Lord Christ but of their own appetite; and by their smooth and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting. I’ve mentioned this type of person before who flatters pastors to get the pastors to accept them as being men or women of God. By the time their true self is revealed, it is too late – the sheep have been sheared. Father keep ...

Good morning. Paul says that he’s going to Jerusalem, and that he will be taking a contribution for the poor from Macedonia to the saints in Jerusalem. This trip that he’s talking about is the one that ultimately led to him being put into prison. Now I urge you, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God for me, that I may be rescued from those who are disobedient in Judea (it looks like he already knew that there was going to be problems in Jerusalem), and that my service for Jerusalem may prove acceptable to the saints; so that I may come to you in joy by the will of God and find refreshing rest in your company. He finally did make it to Rome, but it was years later, and he was in prison. That was definitely not the way he intended it to be. Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen. He then mentions a large number of people, some that lived in Rome, and some that might be coming to Rome. Father thank You that You warn...

Good morning. What Paul reminded them of was: the grace that was given to me from God, to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, ministering as a priest the gospel of God, so that my offering of the Gentiles may become acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Therefore in Christ Jesus I have found reason for boasting in things pertaining to God. For I will not presume to speak of anything except but what Christ has accomplished through me, resulting in the obedience of the Gentiles by word and deed, in the power of signs and wonders, in the power of the Spirit; so that I have fully preached (in the region) the gospel of Christ. Paul was not just full of hot air. There were signs and wonders that accompanied his preaching. God was putting His stamp of approval on the words. And thus I aspired to preach the gospel, not where Christ was already named, so that I would not build on another man’s foundation. Paul went where no other one would go. Father help there to be great weath...

Good morning. Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. It is one of those two way things. If you don’t have joy and peace, it’s extremely hard to have any hope. If you don’t have any hope, you definitely will not have any joy or peace. This hope is not just wishful thinking. People will say, I hope that this or that will happen; but there is no real conviction that it will occur. This hope comes by the power of the Holy Spirit, and it is as real as it gets! I am convinced that you are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able also to admonish one another. Paul likes to give the people he’s writing to the carrot before the stick. He butters them up first, and then smacks them upside the head. But I have written very boldly to you on some points so as to remind you (as he has been doing in the previous verses). We all need to be reminded now and again about things we are supposed to...

Good morning. Therefore - remember that when you see the word therefore, check to see what it is there for. In order for us to be of the same mind, with one accord, and with one voice, we need to: accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God. Christ accepted us despite all of our faults and failures; and so we should accept our fellow believers despite their faults and failures. I say that Christ has become a servant to the circumcision on behalf of the truth of God to confirm the promises given to the fathers, and for the Gentiles to glorify God for His mercy. God promised the Jews through Abraham, and so Christ came for them to confirm that promise. They had a “right“ to that promise, being Jews. The Gentiles did not deserve anything but death and destruction; but God wanted to show us mercy, so He sent Christ to die for us also. Father help this to be a super week for the reader coming up. Show him/her how to find true happiness.