Reading your Bible for Today July 12

July 12: 1 Corinthians 9:16-18

KJV Key Verse: 1 Corinthians 9:16
16 For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!

Devotion:
People are odd! If you try to make sense of what someone else is up to, quite often we get the complete wrong story because we have not bothered to get half of the story in the beginning. But there is one common theme throughout most people’s lives, their need to be seen and heard of more than the person next to them. This should be one of the things we should be avoiding as Christians.

This does not mean hiding away in holes and worshiping God in secret – far from it. God wants us to be able to worship Him openly, but He also wants us to be able to show others about Him too. He wants us to be able to take His Word out to others so they will have a chance of hearing it. Without them first being able to hear The Word, how will they be able to know God.

But there is a fine line between being able to show others God's Word and just showing others you know more than them. One thing I have found out is the more I try and learn, the more I realise just how much there is to learn and the more I know just how awesome God is. Any showing off should be our glorifying God and not glorifying ourselves.

If we try to show someone something which we own, we should be doing it in a manner where they will be encouraged rather than discouraged by us showing off we own something they don’t. This is so true with God's Word as well. We must show God's Word in such a way we allow them to see how wonderful God is and not bragging about us being Christians. As soon as we do that, we are in effect lifting ourselves above God's Word! I know it is easy to get carried away with our worship of Christ, but we have to make sure our worship is to glorify Him and not to promote ourselves. Promoting our own feelings above glorifying God is one trap we do all fall into time after time. Knowing our place in God's house is a vital thing in our worshipping Him.

Points to Ponder:
How often do you go to church?

How many times is it just to have a good time?