Spirit Led Living

1 Cor 5:6-8 “Your boasting is not good. Don't you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough? 7 Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast — as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. 8 Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth.” This passage needs to be understood in its context because apart from that it makes little sense to the modern reader. Most of us are used to going to the store, be it a supermarket or a bakery and having a wide selection of breads to choose from. Most of our modern breads contain yeast so that they rise and have a soft and pleasing texture. The Jew of Paul’s time did not have this luxury. More to the point, the bread of the Passover feast or what we know as the Seder is made without yeast and eaten with bitter herbs to commemorate their deliverance out of Egypt when...

1 Cor 5:1-5 "It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that does not occur even among pagans: A man has his father's wife. And you are proud! Shouldn't you rather have been filled with grief and have put out of your fellowship the man who did this? Even though I am not physically present, I am with you in spirit. And I have already passed judgment on the one who did this, just as if I were present. When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord." In reading over various commentaries in order to shed light on verse 5, I am dismayed at the self-imposed limitations of the commentators who actually believe that miracles were only for the early church and ceased to exist with the passing of the Apostles. There can be no Scriptural argument mad...

1 Cor 4:9-13 It seems to me that God has put us who bear his Message on stage in a theater in which no one wants to buy a ticket. We're something everyone stands around and stares at, like an accident in the street. 10 We're the Messiah's misfits. You might be sure of yourselves, but we live in the midst of frailties and uncertainties. You might be well-thought-of by others, but we're mostly kicked around. 11 Much of the time we don't have enough to eat, we wear patched and threadbare clothes, we get doors slammed in our faces, 12 and we pick up odd jobs anywhere we can to eke out a living. When they call us names, we say, "God bless you." 13 When they spread rumors about us, we put in a good word for them. We're treated like garbage, potato peelings from the culture's kitchen. And it's not getting any better. (from THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language © 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved.) I chose to use The Message ins...

1 Cor 3:16-17 "Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?   If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple." This verse is very timely, especially on this Good Friday. The accounts of Jesus' death in the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark & Luke) have vivid descriptions of what took place in the instant the He gave up His spirit. Matt 27:50-52 "And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life." Mark 15:38 "The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom." Luke 23:44-45 "It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, for the sun stopped s...

1 Cor 3:1-3 "Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly — mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men?" Ouch! Most of us read this and our natural reaction is to think that Paul is talking to someone else. One of those people who refuse to grow up spiritually. The fact of the matter is that we need to look at all Scripture as applicable to us, to me.   Have I really disciplined myself enough to read His Word every day and spend time in prayer and meditation?   Do I spend enough time shutting out the world and listening to His whispers? To take it a step further, have I been obedient to all His whispers? Have I responded to the holy discontent He planted inside of me and made a difference in this world? Or to put it in the most simple terms possible...

1 Cor 2:10-13 "The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.   For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words.    We are most fortunate to be living in the time that we are.   Before Christ the Spirit was imparted to a very select few, often only one person in a generation. This one person then had the responsibility of communicating God's will to his generation. So high was the standard that death was the penalty for not correctly conveying God's thoughts to His people. The priests and the rabbis did not impart revelation, they merely attempted to interpret revelation. Whe...

1 Cor 2:4-5 “My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, 5 so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power.” When it comes down to it there is nothing that we can say that is going to convince anyone of their need for Jesus Christ. No amount of logic or persuasion will make someone want a relationship with Jesus. In fact, most people just want to get into a debate with you and convince you that this religion stuff is a load of nonsense. They will quote Bible verses out of context; they will question how God can be real when awful things happen to good people. Others don’t believe that there is an afterlife and that this existence is all we have so you might as well enjoy this life while you can. Those that do believe in God think they have their own arrangement with the man upstairs. Still others believe in the popular fiction of St Peter at the gate with a set of scales and if t...

1 Cor 1:26-29 “Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things — and the things that are not — to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.” So many times when God calls us to do something (and He calls all of us to something), the first thing we do is try to disqualify ourselves. Surely God can find someone more qualified to do what He is asking? There must be someone more gifted, more educated, more experienced out there. We can immediately think of many reasons why we’re not the right person for the job. Just so you know this is not something new. If you take a stroll through the Old and New Testaments you will find person after person doing the same thing. Rememb...

1 Cor 1:18-19 “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” Or the way The Message puts it: 1 Cor 1:18 “The Message that points to Christ on the Cross seems like sheer silliness to those hellbent on destruction, but for those on the way of salvation it makes perfect sense.” Think about it. God saves the world by making Hi son put aside His God-like attributes so that He can become human. He then proceeds to teach a philosophy that stands in direct opposition to conventional wisdom. Then to top it all off He has His chosen people accuse Him of heresy, hand Him over to the Roman occupiers who can’t find Him guilty of anything but kill Him anyway by hanging Him on a cross like a common criminal. Now, if it weren’t for your faith, would this make any sense or would you think, like so many do, that Christianity is just silliness? Come on, be honest? Not silly enough for you? OK then, think about this, Chri...

Rom 16:25-27 “ Now to him who is able to establish you by my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past, but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that all nations might believe and obey him—   to the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen.” In his final benediction, Paul gives God the glory for all that He has done and for whom He is. He is the one who establishes us in the faith. While it is our job to sow seeds by preaching the Good News of Jesus Christ and His salvation, it is God who is responsible for the results. We often forget that. We think that it is our job to make converts. It is not, it is our job to make disciples and then it is up to God to empower souls to make a decision for Christ. We proclaim, He establishes. He foreknew who would accept Christ and hid the nuggets of the Christ to come and His love for all nations...

Rom 16:20 “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.” This is truly one of the most misunderstood verses in the Bible. I have heard so many preachers misuse this verse to tell people to stomp on the Devil’s head. I have heard other’s tell people to rebuke Satan. Contrary to what you may have been taught, we do not have that kind of authority. Col 1:16 “For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.” First of all, we need to know that God has created an order to things here on earth and in the heavens and that order is hierarchical. In the KJV it talks about power and principalities. Eph 6:12 “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Secondly, we need to know that there ...

Rom 15:17-19 “Therefore I glory in Christ Jesus in my service to God. I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done— by the power of signs and miracles, through the power of the Spirit.” I was talking with some friends of mine and I was sharing how most of the time I would rather others receive praise and recognition than being publicly acknowledged myself. However, lately my insecurities have been creeping up and I have been a little torqued at the fact that others are being recognized for my work. I am after all human. We all crave recognition. The problem is that my head is at odds with my heart. In my head I know that all that I do, I do as unto the Lord. I know that the work that I do with our ministry partners is all about ministering to the poor and disadvantaged. I should glory in my service to God. In my heart the Old Man rears his ugly head. It seems as though if this ...

Rom 15:13 “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” The Greek word for hope, “ elpis ”, means to anticipate with pleasure. It is a joyous expectation of what it to come. Every year I count down the days and then the hours until I can head down to Fort Myers Beach for our annual vacation. I look forward to catching up on some reading, relaxing and soaking in some rays. This is the time of the year when the family is together and I get to enjoy my grandson for an extended period of time. It is with this same expectation that I look forward to an eternity with God. No more pain or sorrow; this will be a time of enjoying His pleasure. I will not be aware of time. I will not want for anything. I will just bask in the enjoyment of His presence. This hope keeps me moving forward. Whatever my circumstances I know that if I endure just a little longer, a time is coming when He will say to me...

Rom 14:19-21 “Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble.   It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall.” Having grown up in a legalistic type of church that was ruled by do’s and don’ts, no one appreciates freedom in Christ more than I do. Gal 5:1 “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” These words are music to my ears. I will not willingly yoke myself with any group, person or church that would have me trade in my liberty for a set of rules. I enjoy being able to share my faith freely and to come before God just the way I am. I won’t force my views on anyone else and neither will I allow them to force their views on me. I love reading t...