FOOLS MADE WISE

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Brothers and sisters, 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. God 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. It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”

1 Corinthians 1:26-31

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

In yesterday’s message, we read the word of God make it clear that true wisdom doesn’t come from within ourselves or anywhere else in the world. Rather, it comes from surrendering our own way of thinking, speaking, and behaving and exchanging it for what the Lord expects. In other words, we allow His thoughts to be our thoughts, His words to be our words, and His will to be ours in regard to the things we do as we allow Him to dictate our actions.

In sum, to lean on one’s own understanding and wisdom or seek understanding and wisdom from worldly sources is an exercise in foolishness for the only way to wisdom is through the Lord who grants it to anyone who turns to Him for it.

This process of making fools wise through their submission to the Lord is central to Paul’s message to the Corinthian Christians as we finish up the first chapter of his first letter to them. Look again at his words here:

Brothers and sisters, 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. God 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. It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”  1 Corinthians 1:26-31

Here we find that the Lord doesn’t target only the elite to join in company with Him. This is because the elite see themselves as just that, elite, and therefore distinguished in power and majesty over others who they see as subordinate. People adopt this elitist attitude in regard to their status, their riches, and their wisdom and intellect. They don’t see themselves in need of anything from anybody because they have been the one who has caused their great success to happen. All you need to do is ask them because those who see themselves as privileged and superior to others will tell you. They love to boast about themselves, about everything they have achieved and about everything they have. There is no acknowledgement of the Lord at all.

So how does the Lord handle such narcissistic, arrogant behavior?

The scriptures tell us.

For He takes the foolish things of the world and shames the wise. He uses the weak things to shame the strong. And He chooses the lowly and despised things of the world, the things considered worthless, and he nullifies the things that are.

In the context of what God is getting at here, He isn’t interested in those who are prideful or self centered or famous, those who want the focus to be on themselves. Rather, our Lord looks for the humble, those who see themselves as sinful and in need of salvation. He wants people who realize that they only become rich in Christ when they become poor unto themselves and the world. He desires those who see they are incapable of having any righteousness or holiness without turning to the God who brings them redemption and salvation through His Son Jesus, the One who became “for us” the “wisdom of God”.

In other words, our hope now and forever doesn’t come from anything we do ourselves. Rather, it only comes through our God and His Son who that we don’t boast in anyone else except them.

When we see this and act accordingly, laying ourselves down for the Savior who gave up everything to save us, we see us moving from foolishness to being counted among the spiritually wise, smart enough to make ourselves second so our Lord can be first in everything.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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FOOLISH WISDOM

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In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

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. For it is written:

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”

Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher 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 know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.

Do not deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wise by the standards of this age, you should become “fools” so that you may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness”; and again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.”  So then, no more boasting about human leaders! All things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God.

1 Corinthians 1:18-25, 3:18-20

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Our bodies are amazing structures. Do any study on anatomy and it doesn’t take long to draw that conclusion. It also doesn’t take long to know that only someone with amazing creative power could have designed us and the Bible tells us that God was that Creator. He knits every person together within the womb of a mother, a procreation process He also designed by the way, and a central part of that bodily formation is the brain, the body’s central processing system as well as its control and command center.

Of interest, the brain controls certain functions immediately at birth but for the most part it is grossly underdeveloped, right? A baby learns to comprehend words spoken, then will start to try and speak those words before achieving the ability to speak without prompting. Within their preschool years, they will learn to read and learn from the things they watch. Their brains begin to fill with knowledge.

Children then reach school age and sit in classrooms for at least twelve years before adulthood, receiving instruction from teachers who work hard to provide them information to help them in adulthood. Through the latter part of this twelve year period, when children advance into their teen years, independent thought emerges so much so that teenagers on the brink of becoming an adult start to think they know more than those that are older, those who have a lot more life experience.

This emergence of independent thought is fully encouraged when young adults choose to attend college but this is typically within a certain intellectual framework established by the institution of higher learning. College professors, a fresh voice in the ear of a young impressionable adult, often indoctrinate their students into a liberal mindset on the world. I can speak with experience as I observed it myself as I earned first an Associates, followed by Bachelors and Masters degrees. Within a majority of our universities, conservative thinking is rejected and even intentionally repressed which makes it very challenging for young people raised with Christian values, values that lead a person to rely on the Lord for knowledge and wisdom instead of on oneself.

Consider these verses which form the most fundamental primer in regard to what God desires when it comes to the way His people approach understanding and wisdom:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes. Proverbs 3:5-7a

God expects us to rely on Him with full submission. No one is to try to be wise on their own or to let anyone else dictate what wisdom is to them unless they are sharing God’s word and the wisdom it contains within.

So what happens when we do this? What do we gain when we refuse to lean on our own understanding?

We can be certain that the Lord will make our paths straight. In other words, we will always do or say the right things at the right times because God is dictating everything we do and He will always lead us to right and righteous living.

How does He view someone who rejects Him and seeks their own wisdom, either internally generated or from other worldly sources?

This quest for freedom is viewed by the Lord as being foolish and as we see in our scripture passages from chapters 1 and 3 of 1 Corinthians, He will take action against anyone who snubs Him. Look at these words again now:

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. For it is written:

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”

Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher 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 know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.

Do not deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wise by the standards of this age, you should become “fools” so that you may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness”; and again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.”  So then, no more boasting about human leaders! All things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God.  1 Corinthians 1:18-25, 3:18-20

Want to depend on yourself, relying on your own wisdom and intelligence?

Then expect those efforts to be destroyed, leaving you frustrated for the Lord has and will continue to make foolish the world’s wisdom and that would make anyone who leans on that wisdom a worldly fool for doing so. Interestingly enough, the world considers someone who would rely on the Lord fully as a fool in their eyes but this “fool” is actually the one with more sensibility. He way to true wisdom is through surrendering one’s own thoughts so the Lord’s thoughts can inhabit that vacant space. In other words, the Lord desires that we think as He thinks and we can do that when we relinquish our thinking for His.

When we do this, when we give up our will and wisdom in exchange for the Lord’s, then He will lead us to Jesus where His wisdom and power were perfectly manifested in human form. And when we come to Jesus and place our hope in Him, then we gain not only wisdom and understanding but eternal life.

And that’s how it works?

Trust in God with all your being and He will lead you to believe in His Son Jesus, the Savior of the world and the only way one can get to everlasting life with God, His Father and ours.

Choose to do your own thing, living as if you don’t need the Lord?

Well, that would be nothing short of foolish. The scriptures tell us as much.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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THE WAY TO CHURCH UNITY

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In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought. My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow Christ.”

Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, so no one can say that you were baptized in my name. (Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don’t remember if I baptized anyone else.) For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

1 Corinthians 1:10-17

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Why did Paul write to the Corinthian Christians and what application is there to the church today?

We find those answers in today’s message as Paul gets past his standard opening and into the meat of his reason for writing, beginning in verse 10 of chapter 1. Look again at his words here:

I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought. My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow Christ.”

Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, so no one can say that you were baptized in my name. (Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don’t remember if I baptized anyone else.) For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. vv. 10-17

Here we find the apostle Paul trying to get ahead of an issue before it moved any further, possibly leading to the dismantling of the Christian church in Corinth as people warred with one another from the inside out. It’s obvious there was disunity within the church and it was grounded in opposing allegiances that has developed among the believers.

Some aligned with Paul. Others followed another apostle named Apollos. Still others associated with Cephas, another name that Peter was known by. And of course, there was a faction that had allegiance to Christ. The latter were the only ones who were in the right place.

So we find Paul speaking into these divisions and even taking it personal. He didn’t want anyone to place him ahead the Christ he served for the cause of the Gospel, the King of all kings and Lord of all lords, the One who was crucified and paid the penalty for all sinners to bring salvation to anyone who believed in Him. There was only one Savior and that was Jesus. And anyone baptized was done so in His name, not in the name of Paul or Apollos or Peter.  

Paul implored the Corinthian Christians, and all Christians who have read this passage over the ages, to make Jesus the focal point of the church. There was to be no schisms due to differing allegiances to leaders in the church. Rather, all Christians were to place Christ first at all times. He was to be lifted up, worshiped and honored through the Gospel work He called the church to carry out. Placing the emphasis on anyone else would essentially serve to empty the cross of its power.

Do you see cracks developing in the unity of your church today?

If so, it’s most probably because the focus has moved away from Jesus, the One who gives all Christian their common, shared identity. Exposing this problem, which first happens when we objectively admit we have a church division problem to start with, also unveils the solution, the way to move from disagreement and dissension toward unity.

This happens when we collectively choose to turn our eyes back upon Jesus and keep Him front and center. We are Christians because of our shared belief in Jesus as the source of salvation. Christ Jesus puts the Christ in Christian. He is the head of the church, period, and He expects to be worshiped and honored as such.

The church in Corinth was beginning to lose their way because they stopped making Jesus the sole recipient of their mind’s attention and heart’s affection. They came together in the first place because of Jesus and He was the One who would reunite them, His body with one Spirit dedicated to place Him first in all things.

Friends, this is the formula for our division problems in the Christian church today. Healing and restoration will happen if all Christians within any one church choose to come to Jesus in unity, celebrating the One who makes it possible for them to be called the Christian church.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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THE BEST FELLOWSHIP EVER

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com

In Christ, Mark

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** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

1 Corinthians 1:9

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

We were created for relationship. It’s true because God made it that way.

We can go back to Eden’s garden where Adam was placed and given full domain. He wasn’t left alone there with the flora and fauna. No, God saw a problem and when that happens, He always comes up with a perfect solution. In Adam’s case, it was this:

The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” Genesis 2:18

Enter Eve, forged from Adam’s rib to become his life companion. The two became one flesh in relationship because God ordained it and He has continued to ordain relationships ever since.

Now, in the church, we have used a different word to talk about relationships and that word is “fellowship”. It’s a word used ninety-four times in the Bible, starting as early as the Book of Exodus where we read about “fellowship offerings”, also known as peace offerings. These offerings were given in regard to one’s fellowship relationship with God, often to show appreciation for His goodness and provision, and we see them across the landscape of the Old Testament all the way through to the prophet Amos.

When we cross over to the New Testament, we see the discussion around fellowship shift from offerings to how people in the church were relating or how they should be relating to one another.

For example, in the Book of Acts, after thousands people converted to Christianity, choosing willingly to believe in Jesus as Savior, the scriptures tell us they devoted themselves to the teaching of the apostles and to fellowship with one another, to the breaking of bread and to prayer (Acts 2:42). Again, we see God ordaining relationships between people, this time connecting them through His Son.

But God wasn’t just interested in bringing like-minded Christ believers into fellowship with one another. He also was very intentional about making sure every individual Christian believer had a personal relationship with Jesus. He wanted them to be in fellowship with Him and friends, there is no better fellowship we could ask for than having a personal, intimate relationship with the Savior of the world, the One who is the Way and the Truth and the Life (John 14:6) as well as the good Shepherd (John 10:11-16).

As mentioned, this is the relationship God ordained and it is the relationship He desires. We see this affirmed in our single verse from our continued look at the first chapter of 1 Corinthians where we find the apostle Paul share these words:

God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. v.9

God calls us to enter into fellowship with Jesus. Some answer the call and become Christians while others pass up the relationship opportunity. That’s the truth of the matter and we know God doesn’t respond favorably to anyone who decides to accept the salvation He offers through His Son.

As for those who do choose to enter into relationship with Christ, becoming a part of the Christian family as a result, they quickly find that they have the best fellowship ever, a special divine fellowship that isn’t just for the moment but eternally. For those who place their hope and trust in Him, Jesus becomes one’s holy B.F.F. (best friend forever for those who are acronym challenged), now and forever.

Have you decided to accept God’s call and enter into fellowship with Jesus?

If not, today is the day to change that and I encourage you to do so. It’s a choice you’ll never forget.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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