Daily Inspirations

  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. T...

  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...

  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 h...

  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 preven...

  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.

  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 sim...

  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 ...

  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 ...

  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 wi...

  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 ...

  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 s...

  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 t...

  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 ...

  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 ...

  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 k...

  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 ...

  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...

  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 suppose...

  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.

  Good morning. Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus, so that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It would take a lot of perseverance and encouragement for believers to be of the same mind. Otherwise, we would give up and not even try. Being of the same mind does not necessarily mean that you will all believe exactly the same. The motivational force behind our thinking, though, will be the same. We will want the same results, though we may use different means to get there. Why do we want to be of one mind? So like an orchestra playing in tune with one another, we will show forth the glory of our God and Father. You cannot have the members of an orchestra all playing the way they want to instead of the way the conductor wants. Father thank You that we can all blend together in harmony. Then the world will truly know that we are one w...

  Good morning. Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength and not just please ourselves. Yeah, right! I can see that happening. If we love our neighbors as ourselves… Each of us is to please his neighbor for his good, to his edification. We have our great example: for even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached You fell on Me “. If Christ, knowing that that would happen to Him came to do the will of the Father anyway, shouldn’t we take His name with us into the world, knowing that those reproaches will fall on us? In the following, Paul is talking about the old testament. Whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. We should do the same thing. Mostly we would read the New Testament, but we can even get some guidance from the old. We can see what hard times the early church went th...

Good morning. So then we pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another. That is so the opposite of what a lot of Christians do. Do not tear down the work of God for the sake of food (or anything else). All things indeed are clean, but they are evil for the man who eats and gives offense. Again this applies to all areas not just food which he is talking about. Still we don’t necessarily give up things just because another Christian thinks they’re wrong. It is good not eat meat (that might have been sacrificed to idols though not known for sure. They only burned part of the animal; the rest was sold in the meat market) or to drink wine, or to do anything by which your brother stumbles. The faith which you have, have as your own conviction before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves. But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin. So if you’re not sure whether o...

  Good morning. Do not let what is for you a good thing be spoken of as evil. Remember back in Matthew 6:33; but seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. I said that the Greek word that was translated “and” between His kingdom and His righteousness, in that case should’ve been translated either namely or even. That is, it should have been translated seek first His kingdom even/namely His righteousness and all these things will be added to you. When you translate it as “and“, it makes it sound like two different things – His kingdom and His righteousness instead of two different ways of talking about the same thing. Notice that it says His righteousness. Paul writes different times about the Jews seeking to establish their own righteousness. This next verse in Romans helps to confirm that His righteousness is synonymous with His kingdom. For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking (yesterday we talked about the Jews being concern...

  Good morning. To the Jews there were a lot of things that were considered unclean. I know and am convinced in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself; but to him who thinks anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. He is talking about food here; but it could apply to other things for Christians. In today’s world, there are some things that are in a gray area – are they OK, or are they sin? There are some things that come to mind, but I’m not going to mention them because I don’t want to get your dander up 🤗 . If you think they are wrong, then it is wrong for you to do them. Then there are some things that you believe they are OK to do, but if a fellow Christian sees or knows that you do them, they might take offense, because they believe they are wrong. For if because of food your brother is hurt, you are no longer walking according to love. Do not destroy with your food him for whom Christ died. Again we are not talking about food here, but rather those things whic...

  Good morning. But you, why do you judge your brother? And you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. Take care of your own little red wagon. When someone feels inadequate, he/she always looks down on others and puts them down, hoping to lift themselves up. As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall give praise to God. We always compare ourselves to someone who is “less than“ we are. We wouldn’t dare to compare ourselves to God. So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God. So you better watch out you better not cry you better not pout I’m telling you why; God is watching you each day. Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this – not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother’s way. The stumbling block was the part of a trap that held the bait. It would be the person through whom the temptation came. He/she is the one who ...

  Good morning. Then Paul goes through a bunch of verses about eating versus not eating, but you can actually apply it to just about any topic that Christians have different opinions about. The one who eats is not to regard with contempt the one who does not eat, and the one who does not eat is not to judge the one who eats, for God has accepted him. Again pick a topic about which Christians have opposing views. This applies in most cases. There are certain topics though in which there is only one way, and that is the Bible way. A few verses later Paul writes: for not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself; for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord, therefore whether we live or die we are the Lord’s. That is an excellent attitude to have in life. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead, and of the living. He was the epitome of someone living and dying for others. Father help us to view othe...

  Good morning. Let us behave properly as in the day, not in .... Remember that most of the bad stuff goes on at night. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts. It’s almost like a mission impossible episode where people cannot tell that it is Tom Cruise; instead they think he’s really that bad guy.  When people look at you, they’re not supposed to see you, but rather Jesus. This does not mean that we’re pretending that we are Jesus. The transformation that takes place inside of us is supposed to come forth in our lives, and we are supposed to behave just like Jesus would if we really were He. Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions. It is too easy to look down on others who do not believe the way we do, and in fact come up short (at least in our opinion). One person has faith that he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats vegetables only – vegan! There were ma...

  Good morning. What has Paul been saying? Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. Why didn’t you just say that in the first place? Wake up! Actually Paul said: do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. Of course he is not talking about being born again, but about the return of Jesus. The night is almost gone, and the time is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Remember that this is 2000 years ago that Paul was saying that the day is near. My Bible says that these verses do not mean that the early Christians believed that Jesus would return within a few years, and they were mistaken. Rather they regarded the death and resurrection of Christ as the crucial events in history that began the last days. Since the next great event in God‘s redemption plan is the second coming of Jesus, “the night“, no...

  Good morning. What everyone likes to hear: for because of this you also pay taxes (now come on Paul )  for rulers are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing. Render to all what is due them: tax to whom taxes; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor. And then a verse we all need to follow: owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. That’s very “simple “. If you truly love your neighbor like you are supposed to you won’t be breaking the following commandments: you shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not covet, and if there is any other commandment it is summed up in this saying, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. Those are the commandments that relate horizontally to people. It does not include those that relate vertically to God. Father help us to give to others what is due them (love). Help this to be a very spiritual day for t...

  Good morning. Rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same; for it is a minister of God to you for good. If you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil. We can all point out situations where it seems like this is not the case – that there are authorities who do wrongly to the people. We have to remember that Paul lived under the authority of the Roman government, and there were a lot of times that it had rules and regulations contrary to the word of God. Of course we can’t obey those rules; but we have to be willing to face the consequences of disobeying them. Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also for conscience’ sake. All of this emphasizes the necessity of Christians to continually pray for their govern...