O. Addison Gethers e-mail address [email protected] [email protected]
twitter URL http//:twitter.com/OAddisonGethers Messenger contact window live/msn messenger: [email protected] aim: durangoadd64 skype: cowboys62 yahoo messenger: OADDISONGETHERS rs ----- Original Message ----- From: "Donnie Parrett" <[email protected]> To: "Donnie Parrett" <[email protected]> Sent: Sunday, November 22, 2009 9:23 PM Subject: Daily Bible Reading For Monday November 23 > Day 327 > > 1 Corinthians 4 > 1-4Don't imagine us leaders to be something we aren't. We are servants of > Christ, not his masters. > We are guides into God's most sublime secrets, not security guards posted > to protect them. The > requirements for a good guide are reliability and accurate knowledge. It > matters very little to me > what you think of me, even less where I rank in popular opinion. I don't > even rank myself. > Comparisons in these matters are pointless. I'm not aware of anything that > would disqualify me from > being a good guide for you, but that doesn't mean much. The Master makes > that judgment. > 5So don't get ahead of the Master and jump to conclusions with your > judgments before all the > evidence is in. When he comes, he will bring out in the open and place in > evidence all kinds of > things we never even dreamed of-inner motives and purposes and prayers. > Only then will any one of us > get to hear the "Well done!" of God. > > 6All I'm doing right now, friends, is showing how these things pertain to > Apollos and me so that > you will learn restraint and not rush into making judgments without > knowing all the facts. It's > important to look at things from God's point of view. I would rather not > see you inflating or > deflating reputations based on mere hearsay. > > 7-8For who do you know that really knows you, knows your heart? And even > if they did, is there > anything they would discover in you that you could take credit for? Isn't > everything you have and > everything you are sheer gifts from God? So what's the point of all this > comparing and competing? > You already have all you need. You already have more access to God than > you can handle. Without > bringing either Apollos or me into it, you're sitting on top of the > world-at least God's world-and > we're right there, sitting alongside you! > > 9-13It seems to me that God has put us who bear his Message on stage in a > theater in which no one > wants to buy a ticket. We're something everyone stands around and stares > at, like an accident in the > street. We're the Messiah's misfits. You might be sure of yourselves, but > we live in the midst of > frailties and uncertainties. You might be well-thought-of by others, but > we're mostly kicked around. > Much of the time we don't have enough to eat, we wear patched and > threadbare clothes, we get doors > slammed in our faces, and we pick up odd jobs anywhere we can to eke out a > living. When they call us > names, we say, "God bless you." When they spread rumors about us, we put > in a good word for them. > We're treated like garbage, potato peelings from the culture's kitchen. > And it's not getting any > better. > > 14-16I'm not writing all this as a neighborhood scold just to make you > feel rotten. I'm writing as > a father to you, my children. I love you and want you to grow up well, not > spoiled. There are a lot > of people around who can't wait to tell you what you've done wrong, but > there aren't many fathers > willing to take the time and effort to help you grow up. It was as Jesus > helped me proclaim God's > Message to you that I became your father. I'm not, you know, asking you to > do anything I'm not > already doing myself. > > 17This is why I sent Timothy to you earlier. He is also my dear son, and > true to the Master. He > will refresh your memory on the instructions I regularly give all the > churches on the way of Christ. > > 18-20I know there are some among you who are so full of themselves they > never listen to anyone, let > alone me. They don't think I'll ever show up in person. But I'll be there > sooner than you think, God > willing, and then we'll see if they're full of anything but hot air. God's > Way is not a matter of > mere talk; it's an empowered life. > > 21So how should I prepare to come to you? As a severe disciplinarian who > makes you toe the mark? Or > as a good friend and counselor who wants to share heart-to-heart with you? > You decide. > > 1 Corinthians 5 > The Mystery of Sex > 1-2I also received a report of scandalous sex within your church family, a > kind that wouldn't be > tolerated even outside the church: One of your men is sleeping with his > stepmother. And you're so > above it all that it doesn't even faze you! Shouldn't this break your > hearts? Shouldn't it bring you > to your knees in tears? Shouldn't this person and his conduct be > confronted and dealt with? > 3-5I'll tell you what I would do. Even though I'm not there in person, > consider me right there with > you, because I can fully see what's going on. I'm telling you that this is > wrong. You must not > simply look the other way and hope it goes away on its own. Bring it out > in the open and deal with > it in the authority of Jesus our Master. Assemble the community-I'll be > present in spirit with you > and our Master Jesus will be present in power. Hold this man's conduct up > to public scrutiny. Let > him defend it if he can! But if he can't, then out with him! It will be > totally devastating to him, > of course, and embarrassing to you. But better devastation and > embarrassment than damnation. You > want him on his feet and forgiven before the Master on the Day of > Judgment. > > 6-8Your flip and callous arrogance in these things bothers me. You pass it > off as a small thing, > but it's anything but that. Yeast, too, is a "small thing," but it works > its way through a whole > batch of bread dough pretty fast. So get rid of this "yeast." Our true > identity is flat and plain, > not puffed up with the wrong kind of ingredient. The Messiah, our Passover > Lamb, has already been > sacrificed for the Passover meal, and we are the Unraised Bread part of > the Feast. So let's live out > our part in the Feast, not as raised bread swollen with the yeast of evil, > but as flat bread-simple, > genuine, unpretentious. > > 9-13I wrote you in my earlier letter that you shouldn't make yourselves at > home among the sexually > promiscuous. I didn't mean that you should have nothing at all to do with > outsiders of that sort. Or > with crooks, whether blue or white-collar. Or with spiritual phonies, for > that matter. You'd have to > leave the world entirely to do that! But I am saying that you shouldn't > act as if everything is just > fine when a friend who claims to be a Christian is promiscuous or crooked, > is flip with God or rude > to friends, gets drunk or becomes greedy and predatory. You can't just go > along with this, treating > it as acceptable behavior. I'm not responsible for what the outsiders do, > but don't we have some > responsibility for those within our community of believers? God decides on > the outsiders, but we > need to decide when our brothers and sisters are out of line and, if > necessary, clean house. > > 1 Corinthians 6 > 1-4And how dare you take each other to court! When you think you have been > wronged, does it make > any sense to go before a court that knows nothing of God's ways instead of > a family of Christians? > The day is coming when the world is going to stand before a jury made up > of followers of Jesus. If > someday you are going to rule on the world's fate, wouldn't it be a good > idea to practice on some of > these smaller cases? Why, we're even going to judge angels! So why not > these everyday affairs? As > these disagreements and wrongs surface, why would you ever entrust them to > the judgment of people > you don't trust in any other way? > 5-6I say this as bluntly as I can to wake you up to the stupidity of what > you're doing. Is it > possible that there isn't one levelheaded person among you who can make > fair decisions when > disagreements and disputes come up? I don't believe it. And here you are > taking each other to court > before people who don't even believe in God! How can they render justice > if they don't believe in > the God of justice? > > 7-8These court cases are an ugly blot on your community. Wouldn't it be > far better to just take it, > to let yourselves be wronged and forget it? All you're doing is providing > fuel for more wrong, more > injustice, bringing more hurt to the people of your own spiritual family. > > 9-11Don't you realize that this is not the way to live? Unjust people who > don't care about God will > not be joining in his kingdom. Those who use and abuse each other, use and > abuse sex, use and abuse > the earth and everything in it, don't qualify as citizens in God's > kingdom. A number of you know > from experience what I'm talking about, for not so long ago you were on > that list. Since then, > you've been cleaned up and given a fresh start by Jesus, our Master, our > Messiah, and by our God > present in us, the Spirit. > > 12Just because something is technically legal doesn't mean that it's > spiritually appropriate. If I > went around doing whatever I thought I could get by with, I'd be a slave > to my whims. > > 13You know the old saying, "First you eat to live, and then you live to > eat"? Well, it may be true > that the body is only a temporary thing, but that's no excuse for stuffing > your body with food, or > indulging it with sex. Since the Master honors you with a body, honor him > with your body! > > 14-15God honored the Master's body by raising it from the grave. He'll > treat yours with the same > resurrection power. Until that time, remember that your bodies are created > with the same dignity as > the Master's body. You wouldn't take the Master's body off to a > whorehouse, would you? I should hope > not. > > 16-20There's more to sex than mere skin on skin. Sex is as much spiritual > mystery as physical fact. > As written in Scripture, "The two become one." Since we want to become > spiritually one with the > Master, we must not pursue the kind of sex that avoids commitment and > intimacy, leaving us more > lonely than ever-the kind of sex that can never "become one." There is a > sense in which sexual sins > are different from all others. In sexual sin we violate the sacredness of > our own bodies, these > bodies that were made for God-given and God-modeled love, for "becoming > one" with another. Or didn't > you realize that your body is a sacred place, the place of the Holy > Spirit? Don't you see that you > can't live however you please, squandering what God paid such a high price > for? The physical part of > you is not some piece of property belonging to the spiritual part of you. > God owns the whole works. > So let people see God in and through your body. > > > > > > > > ~~~~~ > Please join us on Skype Monday thru Friday at 8:00 EST for our Morning > Skype Prayer Time. > Also, follow my tweets on Twitter @ http://twitter.com/Donnie1261 > > > Contact Me At: > Donnie Parrett > 1956 Asa Flat Road > Annville, Kentucky 40402 > Home Phone: 606-364-3321 > Church Phone: 606-364-PRAY > Skype Name: Donnie1261 > Email: [email protected] > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Deaf-Blind Inspirational Life Group" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/dbilg?hl=.
