Author: Dana Hagstrom

Read 1 Corinthians 6:12-21

More focus on sexual sin.  Not a good sin…but no sin is good, but this one seems to be particularly bad.  This passage gives a helpful explanation however.

If we realize that we belong to God, and that our bodies are God’s temple, then it makes sense that if that same body, joined with God, does something sinful, that is definitely NOT a good thing.  It almost seems like it should be impossible, just as it was true that Jesus did not sin, then so the Holy Spirit, living in us should not sin.  That’s it, the Holy Spirit in us cannot sin, it is us and our free will that causes sin,  we can’t help ourselves.  There is the rub, and you might call is conscience.

So why set apart sexual sin?  We are connected to our bodies 24/7, and if we do some other sin, that same Holy Spirit is right there with us.  So again, I ask, why is so much focus on sexual sin?  I suppose it’s that “oneness” that happens when the flesh connects, and other sin isn’t so intimate and connecting.  Our bodies belong to God, and we should honor him with how we use them and care for them.

So are you using your body to glorify God?  In what ways may you be falling short in preserving it and keeping it holy?  After all, the body matters, and to misuse it is like holding the creator in contempt.  I don’t think I’ve ever thought of it quite so intensely, but isn’t that true?

Have you ever made something you found special, like a piece of art or clothing, only to have it trampled on, spilled on, torn apart, etc.?  How did you feel when your work went to waste?  I remember cleaning the house every Saturday morning and everything would be just right, everything in its own place, no dust, no grime, and then the kids would get up from their naps.  Chaos again.  I wondered more times than I can count why I had even gone to the trouble of cleaning!  What if God felt that way about us when we didn’t take care of ourselves?

Let’s pray.  Holy Father thank you for the body you’ve given me.  While I haven’t always taken good care and been mindful of you living in me, forgive me.  Help me to remember WHO I belong to and cherish that truth. Guide me in my relationships so that I can honor you and help others to do the same.  In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Read 1 Corinthians 6:1-11

As someone that has worked in the legal field for many years, these verses really struck a chord with me.  There are so many frivolous lawsuits to be sure, yet there are many that are filed because of simple injustice and unfairness.  Paul is again calling the church to be the church.

Recently, I enjoyed devotions from Rick Warren which focused on sin and the brokenness of our world because of sin.  In this vein, he would say that injustice is going to happen because of sin, and we can’t fix that because we can’t stop people from sinning.  Does that mean that the court system should not exist?  And, if Christians have a beef with other Christians, those “beefs” should not go to court, if it does exist, but instead seek judgment from other believers?  

As an aside, the court system in Corinth, at the time Paul was writing this to the church, was led by judges who were not necessarily believers. Rulings and findings would often go to the one with the highest place in society, not necessarily the “right” choice.  Believers were putting their “dirty laundry” out for all to see publicly, while it could have been handled more discreetly “within the family of God”. Legal disputes were seen to betray and jeopardize the solidarity of community in Christ.

So what does this look like for us today?  It seems to be saying we need to bring the church back into the mix and let elders and leaders of the church decide our disputes (like in Moses’ day, and the span of time of the “JUDGES”). The church has enough on it’s plate, inner struggles and such, is this the proper venue? Or perhaps the wisdom of verse 7 should speak to us and we should just “accept” the injustice. Let it go.  Forget about it.  Get on with our lives.  After all, trials are messy, drag on forever, and many times the resolution is less than ideal or satisfying.  Not to mention the financial strain.  But accepting, turning the other cheek? That can be hard, but many people do it.  Maybe that’s what’s right?  What are your thoughts on this?

There is justice, after all, in heaven, and how startling are verse 9 and 10, that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom.  We can probably see ourselves in that list of wrongdoers, but we have the chance, if we are cleansed and made right with God by calling on the name of Jesus.  How many people need to hear this?

I don’t work in the trial arena anymore, but my years in the legal field were rewarding in the sense that we helped many people.  My favorite areas of law were workers’ compensation where we helped the injured worker through a tough time in their lives, and the estate work, where we helped grieving families walk through the legalities of closing the estate of a loved one. While there is a lot of injustice in this world and crazy lawsuits filling up the court dockets, there are believers in the ranks of lawyers and judges, just as Paul would have hoped.  

How did this passage speak to you?  What are your takeaways?

Let’s pray.  Lord, your world is broken and I grieve with you.  Your mighty power and wisdom is available for us all, help us to ask for it.  Help us to follow your plan for us no matter where it leads.   Help us to focus on you and your will and set aside the issues the world puts before us.  Help us to be strong and faithful.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

Read 1 Corinthians 5:1-13

This chapter was a little confusing to me, so I’ve read some other translations and looked at some commentaries.  If you have access to those, sometimes it can help when a passage is somewhat confusing or hard to understand.  A lot of times, we find that things in the context to the time written differ from what we know today. Paul’s words to the Corinthians have taken a different turn, almost a turn of admonition. What I take away from this is that it is not our place to judge non-believers of their sins, but when a believer, or person who “claims” to be a believer sins, then that is a different story.  I suppose a believer should “know better”.  

Here Paul is speaking to the young church giving them direction in how we should live and what is acceptable behavior for believers in the church. An extreme example would be that we wouldn’t want an axe murderer teaching the Bible (if they were still killing people). We are called to judge them and according to this reading, “as the Scriptures say, ‘You must remove the evil person from among you.’”

The example here, of a man living in sin, or having relations with his father’s wife, speaks to adultery.  It is also against Scriptural references in the book of Deuteronomy. We know adultery to be frowned upon, one of the ten commandments, and the Corinthian church was not paying attention to these laws or didn’t think they applied to them.

So what happens when we throw this man out of the church fellowship? Where does he go? It says to “hand him over to Satan so his sinful nature will be destroyed and he can be saved.”  Again, I feel like I am missing something, maybe in context, maybe in the ways of the day.  How does handing someone over to Satan make them clean? Only Jesus can forgive, right?  The act of “handing over to Satan” is actually a way of exposing the sin and by that act, and the redemption of Christ, this man may repent and turn from his sin.

Then Paul goes on and reminds us that he warned us to avoid people, in particular only believers, who sin sexually, and then he adds more, those who are greedy, cheaters, abusive, drunkard or those who worship idols. He told us we really couldn’t avoid non-believers who do those same things, but we should not “associate” with believers who do.  This is clearly speaking to the Corinthians and the types of behavior they were seeing at the time.  How true that list is still today!

Paul was trying to help the church set standards.  The church should have the authority to discipline and expect the believers to understand right from wrong.  We are sinful and need a Savior, but the purpose of this writing to give churches the authority to discipline those who flagrantly misbehave.  One might say that the fact our churches don’t exercise this discipline, tending toward “tolerance”, would suggest unfaithfulness. What do you think?

What area of your life needs some cleansing?  Are you struggling with something, a habit, an addiction, laziness, greed, gossip or worry?  Turn that over to God and ask for his help.

Let’s pray.  Lord, we should all be more mindful of our behavior and how we are seen by the world. Forgive our churches for looking the other way at times and not disciplining us when our behavior is sinful.  Help us find loving ways to help other believers understand your truth and your justice.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

Read 1 Corinthians 4:1-21

I can only do my best.  The Lord will be the final judge, to examine me, my heart, my ways.  My job is to follow him, acknowledge him as Lord of my life, and thank him for his grace and forgiveness….every day of my life, every moment of my being.  He has given me everything.  So while my conscience is clear, most days, God will be the final judge of my worthiness.

God has gifted us with so much, not only my physical, material goods, but my spiritual gifts. He has given me passions and skills, and the key is “given”, they are gifts.  “All good gifts around me, are sent from heaven above”, the lyrics to a familiar song.  How many times do we take for granted all that we have?  I just need to slow down, empty my cluttered head, and truly relish all the gifts God has given me.  When I do that, there is such a feeling of gratitude.  How can I not act in ways that are pleasing, how can I not jump for joy at the thought of a loving God who wants to give me good things, how can I not shout from the mountain tops that EVERYONE needs to know this awesome God. Yet, I sit here quietly at my computer….

It’s fear I think.  Fear of judgment, fear of being laughed at, lose a job all because I started singing or dancing with the joy inside me.  So we contain ourselves, I think that’s the best way to describe it.  I contain my exuberance, and in so doing, the potential to be transparent vanishes or at least is not as visible.  To be treated like garbage, as this passage suggests, I’m not sure I worry about that, but maybe I do.  I know that I am more valuable than garbage.  God doesn’t make junk after all.  

So, how do we respond to what God has given?  Ponder this

I do know that I want people I come in contact with to know, without a doubt, that there is something different about me, that there is something alive and vibrant, a sense of confidence.  Where does that come from, why does it happen? It’s because I am assured of my salvation.  If only that light in me will open doors to speak, I hope and pray for those moments.

Let’s pray.  Lord, help me to stay focused on you and not on what the world around me might think.  Use me and the talents you have given me to make this world a better place.  Help me not to judge others for how they act or what they say and remember that you are the only judge. Thank you for the many blessings you bestow.  In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Read 1 Corinthians 3:1-23

Do you see it?  The theme running through this passage is: teamwork. Our team’s goal is to bring others into relationship with Jesus. We can’t take credit for the growth, but we are called to plant and water.  It really bothers me when I hear people say “I brought so-and-so to the Lord.” No, YOU did not.  You may have helped in some way, but it was NOT YOU! How arrogant!!  Maybe they just don’t know any better or really believe that it is all about them? I suppose I need to just get over it, and worry about myself, make sure I don’t make that same mistake and take credit for something I didn’t do.  Semantics really.  Only God can grow the heart to the point where there is no question.  God grows us so that to follow Jesus becomes non-negotiable, a no-brainer, something we must do, something we can no longer live without.  

To be sure, to be used by God, to be part of a person’s story of redemption and salvation is an honor beyond compare.  More times than not we don’t know how our actions have impacted the lives of those around us. It doesn’t matter, we don’t need to see the outcome, we just need to plant and water.  Our seeds may be planted years before any true transformation takes place.  So, we can’t focus on the results.

So if my job is to plant seeds, I need to look at those around me and get busy.  Where do you see a need or hunger?  Who is empty and feeling alone because they don’t have the love of Christ burning inside?  Maybe it’s the youth at church, maybe it’s someone at the nursing home, maybe it’s your neighbor?  Take a moment now to thank God for such an opportunity to be planting seeds. What a privilege.  

For years, I would do the children’s sermon during our worship time on Sunday mornings.  Gotta love those seeds.  Those young hearts were very open, and it wasn’t because sometimes I had candy or other surprises. But when I stop and think – oh my — such responsibility to be a sower of seeds! But no, I need to focus on providing good seed, very good seed, others will water and God will grow.  I know that.  I trust that.  How about you?  Are you sowing and watering the seeds?

That same Spirit that is at work to grow others is also in me and you. Because he takes up residence inside me, I want for his home to be the most comfortable, most healthy place it can be.  My body, the temple of God.  Can you even imagine that.  God lives in me!  How can I be worthy? I need to really wrap my head around that.

It saddens me when I look around at the gluttony and selfishness of people in this world.  God lives there, too.  Those temples are in a bit of ruin or disrepair.  I want to shout, “Don’t you know your body is a temple for God?  Do you really think you’re giving God the best place to dwell?” My body is not perfect, but I’m working on that, too. But, holiness.  Me? Crazy, I don’t feel holy.  What does that even feel like?  

And finally, the other verse that really spoke to me today, that EVERYTHING belongs to me, I belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God. There is certainly a lot of belonging going on, but what a peace and joy the thought of that brings.  Right?  In the midst of any struggle, any despair, any state of questioning “why am I here”, the mere promise that everything belongs to me, that I belong to Jesus, and Jesus belongs to God. By association, I belong to God, too!  I am not a lone wolf out here.  I belong even when I feel alone.  Even when I look around and am not surrounded by a ton of friends, busy with going this way or that, posting new adventures, meeting new people.  I still belong to the God, the Almighty, the King of Kings, my Heavenly Father.

Let’s pray.  Thank you for your word today.  There is so much I feel convicted of in just these few verses. Reveal yourself to me today. May I be prepared to plant and water seeds where you show me the need. Thank you for the assurance that you live in me and that I belong to you.  I am empowered by your holiness.  In Jesus’ name. Amen.