Reading your Bible for Today December 30

December 30: 1 Corinthians 4:7-13

KJV Key Verse: 1 Corinthians 4:10
10 We are fools for Christ's sake, but ye are wise in Christ; we are weak, but ye are strong; ye are honourable, but we are despised.

Devotion:
Oh how easy it is to get carried away with the things we are blessed with... As did the leaders of the Corinthian Church. After the apostles had been there and given them all manner of teachings for them to take forward the Gospel, they assumed a “high and mighty” approach to those around them. They assumed that because they knew so much, they should be acting as if they were kings! How often do we take that sort of approach too?

Sometimes we need to be brought down to earth with a bump to remember just where we are from and what we are. God created Adam from dust... but He breathed life into him so he could become a living soul (see Genesis 2:7). He sets us forth like kings, but we do not have the position. He sets us forth with all authority, yet we are not in charge. As king Solomon put it, “All is vanity”. When God gives us a position in His church, it is for life, not just for the moment. We need to accept that position for what it is, a position within His church, not a building block for our own church!

We need to grow within God's grip, not try to grab hold of things and think we can take on His position. We need to remember we are servants of God, not that we deserve servants because we are so pious or that we have outgrown our faith and need more in our life. God's universe is eternal and infinite. We are but a speck in it. Yet He has given us a position within His universe which is above all other things. He has given us such a position because of His love for us.

When someone gives you things through love, you do not use those things against them to bring them down! Why should we use everything which God has given us to exclude Him from our lives? I was pleased to see there were many people who continued to include God in this year’s Christmas festivities – if only they acknowledged Him as their ultimate creator as well…

Points to Ponder:
The words of Matthew Henry: “Note, Due attention to our obligations to divine grace would cure us of arrogance and self-conceit.”