Day 1: Genesis 1, 2 and 3

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1).

One of the advantages of reading through the Bible in a year is seeing how diversity and unity can go hand in hand. Sixty-six books, dozens of writers, over a thousand years, and yet the finished product is a beautiful unity, made all the more enticing because of its multiple textures and genres.

In 364 days we will focus on the word omega (the end). Three times God refers to himself as the end, always coupled with alpha (the beginning). Even when our struggles seem to be never ending, God is present and faithful and will be with us long after our troubles have been resolved.

Here at the beginning of a new year and a new excursion through the Scriptures, we focus on the other half – the beginning. Again the unity of the biblical texts catches our eye. In the beginning God created (Genesis 1:1). I am the Alpha (Revelation 1:8). You are worthy . . . for you created all things (Revelation 4:11). When we journey through the Old Testament prophets, we will find a repeating theme in new beginnings beyond each ending (judgment followed by blessing). How beautifully the Word comes full circle.

God still creates; God still re-creates; God is the ultimate artist of beginnings. God is the great Initiator, and is at work even now initiating new life in us, and new and deeper relationship with us. Behold, I make all things new (KJV, Revelation 21:5).

TODAY’S MEDITATION

What does God want to make new in you this year?

Day 334: 1 Corinthians 13, 14, 15 and 16

Love . . . always hopes (1 Corinthians 13:7).

Eugene Peterson translates this phrase as: Love . . . Always looks for the best (The Message). My own paraphrase reads: Love . . . always gives the benefit of the doubt. And yet that is one of the most difficult things we will ever be called upon to do.

The antithesis of giving the benefit of the doubt is assuming the worst. Easy to do, and probably the default setting for most of us. Unfortunately this lack of trust is a killer for relationships. Countless marriages have succumbed to the ravages of distrust, and countless hours of counseling have been spent in an attempt to stem the tide of disbelief.

And the church is not immune. When circumstances can be taken in more than one way, too often we err on the side of misgiving (we miss giving the benefit of the doubt). When a simple statement can be received as innocent or sinister, our insecurities make it too easy to come down on the negative side of things.

In fact, an inability to trust says a lot more about us than it does about those in whom we lack faith.

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). Doubt? There was none. We were guilty and God still chose to believe in us.

Is there someone whom you need to give the benefit of the doubt?

Day 333: 1 Corinthians 10, 11 and 12

Something from the Spirit can be seen in each person, for the common good (NCV, 1 Corinthians 12:7).

Paul reminds us that everyone has a gift.

Here's the thing: the gifts of the Spirit are not for personal use. Your gifts are not for you; they're for me, and my spiritual gifts aren’t for me; they're for you. To be fulfilled, I must share my gift with the church.

Lots of people can preach better than me. Lots of people can sing better. Lots of people can write better music. Many are more discerning, more merciful, and more filled with faith. But when God put my spiritual gift mix together, he made me just the way he wants me, and I'm the best me there is in the whole world.

But even in being the best me in the whole world, I'm still falling short, because no matter how good a me I am, I'm not you. We were not meant to work in isolation, but in community. We really do need each other. No one has every gift; not everyone has the same gift; but everyone has a gift. And in God’s kingdom, everyone’s a 10 at something! It is in joining our gifts together, uniting for a common purpose that we function as the Body of Christ.

Together you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of that body (v. 27).

It’s almost Christmas. What's your gift to the Body?

Day 332: 1 Corinthians 7, 8 and 9

Be careful, however, that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the weak (1 Corinthians 8:9).

What should I do when standing up for my rights hurts other people? In yesterday’s text, Paul states we have the right to do anything, but that some things aren’t good for us and other things, if indulged in, could enslave us. In today’s reading, Paul gives us another assessment as to whether or not a decision is wise.

Specifically Paul is writing about eating meat offered to idols. Those whose faith is strong know that idols have no inherent power, and for them meat offered to idols would not be considered guilty by association. However, for those whose faith is weak (those who still associate said meat with their earlier pagan worship rituals), the problem is very real. Paul says those who don’t see a problem have more to consider than just that. They have brothers and sisters in Christ who would feel like they were betraying their Lord if they were to eat that devil meat.

In Romans 12, Paul writes: Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves (v. 10). This suggests that when my rights clash with those of another, I should consider carefully whether or not it’s worth it to assert my rights. Perhaps it would be better, in that instance, to honor someone else by setting my rights aside.

Is standing up for your rights hurting someone else?

Day 331: 1 Corinthians 4, 5 and 6

I have the right to do anything (1 Corinthians 6:12).

Paul rebukes the Corinthians for abusing their freedom in Christ. “I have the right to do anything,” you say – but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything,” – but I will not be mastered by anything (6:12 in its entirety).

In a self-indulgent society that sometimes rubs off even on the church, Paul gives us some guidelines for discerning whether or not certain choices are wise. Just because something is legal or permissible doesn’t mean it’s smart. Paul gives two assessments.

It’s permissible, but is it good for me? Some things won’t hurt me, but they won’t help me either.  They aren’t necessarily bad for me, but they’re definitely not good for me. Does that mean I can never indulge? No, of course not. An occasional chocolate bar is a delicious treat, but eating one every day is diabetes waiting to happen.

It’s permissible, but could it master me? Though I personally choose not to drink, I know the biblical writers never say we should avoid alcohol completely. At one point Paul actually recommends wine for its medicinal value (1 Timothy 5:23), although in another place he warns against drunkenness (Romans 13:13). My father and both my grandfathers struggled with alcoholism, so my decision not to drink at all is based more on family history than religious conviction.

Is it good for me? Could it master me? God leaves some things to our own discretion.

TODAY’S MEDITATION
How do you use good judgment regarding “permissible” things?

Day 330: 1 Corinthians 1, 2 and 3

I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow (1 Corinthians 3:6).

 

Paul writes to the Christians in Corinth how neither he nor Apollos can claim all the credit for their conversion. Paul may have been the first to tell them about Christ, but Apollos had followed up with faithful teaching. Working together, they brought the message that resulted in salvation.

In John 4, Jesus teaches his disciples to be on the lookout for kingdom opportunities. He borrows two agricultural axioms. The first: Four months more and then the harvest (v. 35), is addressed on Day 310 (November 6). The second: One sows, another reaps (v. 37), was commonly used in a fatalistic sense. One might do all the hard work, but someone else would surely reap the benefit. But Jesus applied it in a new way. He taught, like Paul, that evangelism is a team sport. Paul said one plants and another waters. Jesus said one plants and another harvests. Same thing.

Nineteenth century preacher Dwight L. Moody preached in Chicago the night of the great Chicago fire. By popular account he did not give an altar call and many of those who delayed making a decision for Christ perished. Moody vowed to never again put off asking for a spiritual commitment. While I admire Moody’s conviction, I am relieved that the responsibility for evangelizing lost souls is a shared one.

Are you prepared to either plant the seed, water, or harvest this week?

Day 329: Romans 13, 14, 15 and 16

Accept those whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters (TNIV, Romans 14:1).

 

St. Augustine is usually credited with the statement: In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity.

Paul tells us there definitely are such things as non-essentials. He says we are to accept those who disagree with us on these gray areas without feeling the need to set them straight even though we think they’re wrong.

Disputable matters are those about which God has not seen fit to give us detailed instruction. But even though God did not set down in black and white what we are to do or believe in regard to these things, he left nothing to the imagination about how he expects us to treat those with whom we disagree.

Too often in today’s polemical atmosphere, we have taken what are rightfully matters of opinion and elevated them to the level of doctrine or even dogma. If not quarreling (feeling the need to prove someone wrong) is how Paul describes acceptance, then quarreling must be a synonym for rejection, and we will never win someone over to our way of thinking while at the same time rejecting them.

If God, rather than giving us a paint-by-numbers Christianity, chose to leave some issues to our discretion, then perhaps even more important than defining answers to these disputed matters is how we treat one another.

Is there someone you need to accept without struggling to set them straight?