KJB Daily Devotion – Following Jesus Through Every Chapter
Date: Saturday, December 02, 2017
Chapters: I Corinthians 9-11
Message: Glorify God In All Things
Hello My Friend,
There is no doubt that being faithful to God brings great blessings, not only spiritual, but as the Bible often puts it, carnal as well, carnal meaning we receive the things the world enjoys as well. Think about it, we may not have everything we want or desire as Christians, but we are truly blessed, and we often receive much more than we do desire. We have to be careful though, we can get this attitude that as long as we are serving Him that we deserve these things and lose sight of what the purpose of them are, and that is so that we glorify God, and not ourselves. And let me tell you, if we continue to bask in our blessings without acknowledging God as the source, He will take it away. “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” – I Corinthians 10:31.
You know, it is one thing to be saved, many are, and that is about it, there is no sign of Christ in them, but it is another to allow Him to live in and through us. The more we let Him in the more like Him we become, oh, we are not perfect, not by a long shot, but we do lose the tendency to live life just to please our flesh. Paul stresses to the Corinthians the importance of not only being a minister of the Gospel, but to also live it.
“Do ye not know that they which minister about holy things live of the things of the temple? and they which wait at the altar are partakers with the altar? Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel. But I have used none of these things: neither have I written these things, that it should be so done unto me: for it were better for me to die, than that any man should make my glorying void. 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! For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward: but if against my will, a dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me. What is my reward then? Verily that, when I preach the gospel, I may make the gospel of Christ without charge, that I abuse not my power in the gospel.” – I Corinthians 9:13-18.
“a dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me.” Everything we do for God needs to be done willingly, especially when it comes to preaching the Gospel, we are speaking on behalf of Christ, therefore, we are to not only believe in, but are to live the Gospel as well. And we are to never think that the things we do for God are for our own glory, we are blessed for our willingness to serve Him, not because we deserve it for serving Him. “So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.” – Luke 17:10.
Since God created man His main objective in creating us in His image was so that we could fellowship with Him. While He could have used anyone, He chose the Jews, they were not perfect, and they were not exempt from hell, but they were His examples of the blessings that come when they are faithful to Him. They were also examples of what happens when they turn on God and He is not glorified through His blessings.
“Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; And did all eat the same spiritual meat; And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” – I Corinthians 10:1-6,12-13.
“But with many of them God was not well pleased:” The Jews were under the same judgment everyone else is under, just because He chose them to be His people that did not mean all of them were, and He proved that several times in their forty years of being in the wilderness. God is faithful when we are faithful to Him, He does not need to bless us, but by His grace and mercy He does, even when we do not deserve it. We do not have to be perfect for God to bless us because His Son is in us, but we must not forget to acknowledge His blessings, even the ones that are not joyful. We may not like everything He blesses us with, but it is through those tough love blessings that He helps us bare the burdens that come with them and bring us closer to Him. “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.” – James 4:8-10.
Since everything we do reflects Christ, that means if we are living our lives only to please our flesh than we are not only making Him look just as bad, but other Christians as well. Think about it, if we are saved we are all one body of Christ, that means we cannot blend in with the world, if we do it brings consequences. Paul reminds us that we are all joined together by His body and blood, and need to take that seriously, and he has a warning for those whom are not saved, yet appearing to be.
“For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come. Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.” – I Corinthians 11:26-32.
“shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.” We must understand that we are saved by the grace of God through our faith in the Gospel, and we cannot make light of that. The Lord’s Supper is an observance that many churches participate in today, the purpose of it is to remind those who are saved of why they are saved. The Corinthians distorted this observance by first, including it in with a normal feast, and second, denying the poor to partake of the observance. If they are not saved and they participate in this observance God will chasten them, the sad thing is many never realize it is God and suffer needlessly. We must examine ourselves, are we living our lives in a way that glorifies God, and if we are, are we acknowledging Him through it. He will start taking things away if we get lax in the thanking and praising Him for them. We are to glorify God in all things, the good, the bad, and the ugly, just like Jesus does. “For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:” – I Peter 2:20-21.
Jesus Christ Magnified: “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?” – I Corinthians 10:16.
Today’s Prayer: God, I want to thank You for Your goodness in supplying all my needs. Certainly You have blessed me with physical blessings such as food, clothing, shelter, jobs, but You also shower me with spiritual blessings as You allow me to serve You. Lord, I want my testimony to be an example of Your life changing, all sufficient, and all sustaining mercy, grace, and love to all who need to know Your Son. Lead me and guide me, make me who You need me to be, let me accept and acknowledge all Your blessings, and let me forever praise You for You are good even when You take things away, for even they are blessings. I love You Lord, and pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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