Devotional from 1 Corinthians 12 --To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.1 Corinthians 12:7Consider the Mona Lisa: da Vinci spent hours capturing the spirit and personality of his subject and "manifesting" it in his painting. Mostly it was for her own benefit - she was a wealthy woman who wanted a self portrait. But it was such a unique piece of art that through the ...  Read More

Daily Devotional from 1 Corinthians 11--Verse 18For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you.Paul is admonishing the church in Corinth because they were not only divided—but they were dishonoring the Lord’s Supper by not considering those at the end of the line. They were eating their fill and getting drunk! The poor especially were going h...  Read More

Daily Devotional from 1 Corinthians 10—Verse 23“All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up.What are we to do with our time now that we are saved? We don’t need to be legalistic and always be doing something but we ought to put some thought into our actions and have some serious dedication to seeing God’s Kingdom here on earth. God c...  Read More

Daily Devotional from 1 Corinthians 9--Verse 26So I do not run like one who runs aimlessly or box like one beating the air.Paul’s metaphor in this chapter discusses the importance of being sharp and ready to share the gospel. He compares it to running a race to receive a prize. There is an end goal—it’s not some aimless life.The Church has an end goal—to make heaven crowded— so as part of the Chur...  Read More

Daily Devotional from 1 Corinthians 8--Verse 1Now concerning food offered to idols: we know that “all of us possess knowledge.” This “knowledge” puffs up, but love builds up.We all have our ideas about what is right and what is wrong. Some of these ideas come from conscience, some from what we were taught, some from our personal interpretation of the Scriptures. But just as important as it is to b...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Proverb 15--Verse 33The fear of the Lord is instruction in wisdom, and humility comes before honor.This proverb provides tons of examples of what it's like to walk in wisdom and righteousness, and what it's like to walk in foolishness and wickedness. How are we supposed to remember it all? Well, Jesus boiled all the laws down to two:Love God more than anything or anyone else,...  Read More

Daily Devotional from 1 Corinthians 7--Verse 17Let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him. I love the part at the end of John’s Gospel where Peter gets his commission from the Lord on what he is to do in life and how he is to honor the Lord in death. But then Peter points to John and inquires, “What about him?” And to that the Lord retorts, “Do...  Read More

Daily Devotional from 1 Corinthians 6--Verse 6 ...but brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers?Unity is so important to the Church, and so is accountability. Paul would rather we settled trivial matters not in the court, but in house. He talks about how the Corinthians were so quick to defraud or wrong their own brothers and sisters—instead of being humble with one another....  Read More

Daily Devotional from 1 Corinthians 5--Verses 12-13 For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? God judges those outside. “Purge the evil person from among you.”When it comes to people who don’t know Christ, they have no standards, and they are bound by their sin, so when they are out of line we are to love them back in. We are also to be ...  Read More

Daily Devotional from 1 Corinthians 4--Verse 5 (NIV)Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God.The presence of God will be filled with those we won’t expect. And we must come to it with the attitude that WE are one of th...  Read More

Daily Devotional from 1 Corinthians 3--Verses 1-2But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready...Puppies are so cute! We sometimes wish they could stay the same (without the chewing and “accidents”) and never grow up. But we can’t st...  Read More

Daily Devotional from Psalm 120—Verse 7I am for peace, but when I speak, they are for war!Do you know someone who always has to argue every point? They thrive off playing the devil’s advocate, and you feel like you can’t make any statement to them without them counteracting it somehow? I often find it exhausting to have a conversation with people like that. Because I am for peace, as the psalmist ...  Read More