1 Corinthians 1:10-25

Notice "For"s. All of 1 Corinthians is connected by them even though there are breaks.

Sectarianism Is Sin
¹⁰ Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. ¹¹ For it has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren, by those of Chloe’s household, that there are contentions among you. ¹² Now I say this, that each of you says, “I am of Paul,” or “I am of Apollos,” or “I am of Cephas,” or “I am of Christ.” ¹³ Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?
¹⁴ I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, ¹⁵ lest anyone should say that I had baptized in my own name. ¹⁶ Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas. Besides, I do not know whether I baptized any other. ¹⁷ For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect.

Christ the Power and Wisdom of God

¹⁸ 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. ¹⁹ For it is written:
“ I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.”
²⁰ Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? ²¹ For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. ²² For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; ²³ but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, ²⁴ but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. ²⁵ Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

I love the reminder that the message of the gospel isn't my words. Even Paul, a great father in the faith claims to have no wisdom without Christ. I far too often take pride in my own knowledge of Him. He has blessed me with opportunities to learn about Him but in spite of feeling intellectually prepared to speak about my faith, I need to rely more on His power of the message. The last thing speaks for itself.
It's hard to comment because I feel like it's all right there and what else can I say. :)

1 Corinthians 1:1-9

I've been reading 1 Corinthians and I'd like to share what I've been learning. And putting it down on "paper" will help me remember it too!

Greeting

¹ Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother,
² To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:
³ Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Spiritual Gifts at Corinth
⁴ I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus, ⁵ that you were enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and all knowledge, ⁶ even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you, ⁷ so that you come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, ⁸ who will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

I am always so thankful and reassured every time I read the words 'God is faithful' in the Bible. This is one of His greatest promises.

I Wish Wednesday

I wish I could read J’s mind.
This weekend we went to Nebraska Furniture Mart with the expressed purpose of buying some furniture off the long list of options we had discussed. We looked at bedside tables, bar stools, bookshelves and buffets. And we came home with absolutely nothing! I was particularly excited to get bedside tables since I currently have a pile on the floor next to my side of the bed. But I didn’t have a clear vision of what I wanted ahead of time and J had no idea what he liked. Soo now I know what I like and I know what he does not like so hopefully our next trip will be more successful. But mind reading sure would’ve been helpful. :)

I wish it was really Spring.
Let’s be real – it’s March in Nebraska. There is a very real possibility that it will be very cold yet again this month. I love 40-50 degree mornings. This week I’ve started running again. Even though it’s hard to convince my lazy winter bones to get outside and be active in the morning, I am trying. I find that running is a great stress-reliever. I want to be more consistent this summer than last year. It’s a continuous, slow growing process for me.

Ooo Friday the 13th

Friday the 13th makes me laugh! Superstitions make me laugh!! People are so silly.
Here's a more serious point from John Piper...

In Christ, There Is No Bad Luck
March 13, 2009 By: John Piper Category: Commentary

Today is Friday the 13th! Bad luck day.
In case this or any other superstition frightens you or, worse, controls you, take the sword of the Spirit and kill it.
Here’s a few sword thrusts that I use.
There is no enchantment against Jacob, no divination against Israel; now it shall be said of Jacob and Israel, “What has God wrought!” (Numbers 23:23)
Does this apply to us Christians? Yes. Because “It is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham” (Galatians 3:7). That’s us. We are Jacob. We are Israel.
And because we are, "all the promises of God find their Yes in him” (2 Corinthians 1:20).
So in Christ we cannot be cursed. There is no jinx or hex that can stick against those who are in Christ Jesus.
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. (Galatians 3:13)
Christ took on himself every curse that is against me. God is for me and no one can successfully be against me.
He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. (1John 4:4)

Creepy Picture

Check out this picture...
You know which two people this looks like right?

Sooo Creepy!

Here's the full article from Between Two Worlds that the picture goes with...

http://theologica.blogspot.com/2009/03/lincoln-created-in-our-own-image.html

Political Articles

Funny - I just noticed this draft from November. So I'm posting it today anyhow! Please enjoy if you want to go back and read election stuff. I recommend Between Two Worlds. The post-election perspective was very encouraging.

I really disliked reading all the pre-election articles but I have really been enjoying the post election ones! Enjoy:

A Different Path OPINION: After 30 years of trying to transform culture through politics, conservative evangelicals would be wise to try a different, God-glorifying direction by Cal Thomas. I agree that the GOP needs help!

Between Two Worlds is a great blog I've just started reading. I really enjoy the guest bloggers posts about the election. The guest posts by African-American men are especially good. It's a point of view that I don't often get to hear living in Nebraska and reading conservative information. These men are conservative and black and I enjoyed reading how they viewed Obama and the election in light of their beliefs.
Specifically: eric redmond living soli deo gloria and other guest posts around early November.

Newsweek's Behind the Scenes Wrap-Up by Greg Pollowitz. This is creepy.

Winning PropositionMarriage success. By Jennifer Roback Morse. I am so happy this passed! But I think the battle is only beginning on this front.

Can We Agree? Post-election issues by Gerard Alexander. Some interesting points and facts.

No retreat. Election 2008: Conservative reaction to the GOP’s defeat by The Editors. This article is a compilation of comments from different conservative leaders. This is one of the first things I've read that is more negative and hints at some radical thoughts about Obama.

I Wish Wednesday

I wish I had something to write about.
I have some pictures on our camera that will post and write about eventually. But that might be awhile. :)
I have been doing a lot of reading recently. I will try to continue to share via the Google Reader feed in the sidebar. Enjoy.