I Corinthians 6:19,20

I Corinthians 6:19,20 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's. Have you ever borrowed something? Aren’t you nervous the whole time that something will go wrong? It could be that someone will steal the item that you have borrowed and you will have to replace it. Or you are afraid of breaking it and having to replace it. Borrowing is not a good idea. But God has told us that everything that we have is borrowed from Him. God owns everything and we are just using God’s stuff. So, actually, we should be careful with everything that we have. After all, it really belongs to God!

I Corinthians 6:1

I Corinthians 6:1 Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints? Our verse is not forbidding someone from going to court for help. Our verse is forbidding Christians from going to court about disagreements between Christians. After all, Christian brothers and sisters should be able to work things out without having to get outsiders involved. All too often we insist on our rights without thinking of the feelings of others. When we have a conflict with another Christian, we should first try to look at the problem from their point of view. Only then can we understand their situation. And only then can we reach a solution that satisfies both sides. After all, God does not care if we are right; God cares if we love one another.

I Corinthians 4:20

I Corinthians 4:20 For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power. As Christians, we should not be timid. We should boldly stand up for Jesus Christ, our Savior. That doesn’t mean that we should be angry or hard to get along with. We should just be bold. If you and several of your friends were out on a hike and you came to a fork in the trail and you knew which of the two trails was the right one to take, what should you do? Should you meekly go the wrong way if that is the way all of them decided to go? Or should you confidently say, “I know the right way to go, and it’s this way.” And that is exactly how you should be in life. If you are sure of what is right, be bold and go the right way. That’s true for hiking and that’s true for living the Christian life. Connect with God and go His way. It will be the right way, and you will be right.

I Corinthians 4:7

I Corinthians 4:7 For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it? We may look around and see someone who is not as smart as we are. There may be others who are not as talented as we are. Of course, no one is as handsome as Granddaddy. JUST KIDDING! But really, did we decide how or where we were going to be born? Did we decide to be born in America? Did we choose which parents were going to be ours? If we were adopted, our parents chose us, but we didn’t chose them. But if we were born into a family, we didn’t choose nor did our parents choose. So why should we brag about our brains or skills? Actually, God gave us our gifts. If we can play sports well, God gave us those talents. Now we can practice and develop those skills, but they came as a gift from God. We have nothing to brag about. Everything that we have is a gift from God. Let’s not brag on ourselves; let’s thank our dear Lord for what He has given to us!

I Corinthians 4:1,2

I Corinthians 4:1,2 Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful. A steward is a trusted servant that takes care of his Master’s stuff.  And that is a good description of us as Christians. God has given us responsibilities and talents to fulfil those responsibilities. We are ministers with Jesus Christ. He has paid the price for salvation and given us the responsibility to tell others about this wonserful gift. Which leads me to the requirements for being a steward: the steward must be faithful. He has to do everything that his Master wants him to do. A steward doesn’t have to be talented. A steward doesn’t have to be well-liked or outgoing. The only requirement for a steward is to do exactly what the Master tells him to do. So, what has Jesus Christ, our Master told us to do? We are to go into all the world and preach the Gospel and to teach people to do the same. And in doing those things, we are to be faithful. And that’s it!

I Corinthians 3:16

I Corinthians 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? Often we confuse God’s work with the church building that we go to each week. But that isn’t God’s work. God’s work is in our hearts. He is trying to change us on the inside, not build buildings out of wood and bricks. And the Christians of Paul’s day knew that. They saw the beautiful white Temple in Jerusalem sparkling in the sun. But then they had seen the tremendous outpouring of the Holy Spirit at the day of Pentecost when 3,000 people were saved! Everyone had seen the change in their lives - the change on the inside that made a difference on the outside. And even though there was a Temple in Jerusalem, the temple of God is actually inside of our hearts. God dwells inside of each believer. So Paul is reminding all of us that, because we have the Holy Spirit inside of us, we had better be careful of where we take God every day. When we go to the soccer field, God goes with us. When we are playing with the neighbor in the back yard, God is with us. When we are looking at a show on TV, God is there with us. We must be careful where we go, what we say, what we do, what we think. God is right there with us on the inside.