Day 187: Being a Servant

1 Corinthians 9; 2 Kings 1-2; Amos 7

Chapter 9 is full of awesome stuff! I'll try not to spent too much of your time here.

First, Paul says "we each have the right to marry one of the Lord's followers and take her along with us." Lots of people marry for love. But I would challenge that and say that the purpose of marriage is to find a partner to do ministry with. Now, this doesn't mean that you shouldn't love them. But, what this does mean is that the purpose of the marriage is to give glory to God, share his kingdom, and then love each other. If that is yours and your spouse's mission, the marriage will be so much stronger because it is more than just the two of you. With God, it can be so much more meaningful (and permanent).

Then Paul references the Law of Moses (Old Testament) and asks, is "God concerned only about an ox?" when he was talking about the laws. No, the point was to teach about what humans should do. We share in the harvest (the blessings and glory) that God helps us to do. Yes, it is good to treat our pets well, but the point is bigger than that--it's about us serving him.

And finally, Paul talks about becoming everyone's slave in order to win them for the kingdom. The point of this is to show a servant's humble heart. Paul isn't concerned about his own comfort. It is all about God's kingdom, so he doesn't force people to do what he wants, he meets them where they are to teach them about Jesus. I think sometimes the church gets so caught up in our own ways that we forget to embrace others to win them for Christ. This doesn't mean that you accept or agree with their wrong practices, but you see life as they see it so that relationships and bridges can be built.

In the first two chapters of 2 Kings, there is a lot of power revealed! Fire comes from heaven twice, the Jordan river is parted twice, a chariot of fire takes Elijah to heaven, salt turns water pure, and bears attack 42 unruly boys. That stuff is kind of crazy.

I feel like God can put up with a lot, but at some point all of the disobedience, idol worship, and abuse just makes him so angry he wants to be done with us. Two times in Amos 7, God sends a vision to Amos that he is going to destroy something major that would be detrimental to the people. He's had it, he's fed up. He's God and yet the people were treating him like junk. Thankfully, both times, Amos begs God not to annihilate all the crops and people, and God feels sorry for us and so he doesn't. First, I think, man, people can really tick him off. Secondly, God is totally capable of wiping all of us out. And third, God LISTENED to Amos, little Amos who isn't even a prophet, but just a shepherd. Wow. God is a personal God and is willing to love, listen, and forgive.