1 Corinthians 10

1 Corinthians 10:13 No trial has come to you but what is human. God is faithful and will not let you be tried beyond your strength; but with the trial he will also provide away out, so that you may be able to bear it.

O: We were never promised to have an easy life on earth. Here is one of several places that tells us we will be tempted. But God is always with us, there to help us out of the temptation.

A: It’s easy for us to just say “I tried and I failed.” I know it is for me. An easy thing to relate to is sweets. I can’t have sweets atriums the house or I will eat them. I was tempted to eat some Thin Mint cookies yesterday. I told myself I didn’t need them, but before I knew it, I ate the whole role. God was giving me an out. The voice inside my head telling me not to. But I chose to eat them anyway.

Everything we do in life is a choice that we may. The devil didn’t make me eat those cookies. God didn’t make me eat them. God did try to help me walk away from them. I knew full and well I didn’t have to eat them. I chose to ignore the fact that they would give me terrible aches and ate them. It’s the same with other sins in our lives. God always is there, waiting to pull us away from them. The devil is also there, waiting to pull us in. It’s our choice which way we are going to go. 

K: Lord thank you for being there time and time again to pull me out of the fire. Thank you for all the gifts you have blessed me with. Thank you for loving me enough to stay by my side. 

"Paul warned the Corinthian church against idolatry and also against taking advantage of their Christian liberties.  All things may be lawful but are they helpful?  We are not to seek our own good but rather the good of our neighbor.  This takes great maturity, wisdom, sensitivity and sacrificial love.  Whatever we do, we must do to the glory of God.

God has given us great freedom and he wants us to enjoy all the good things he has created for us.  But we must never forget how our freedoms affect our neighbors.  God does not want us caught up in legalism and man-made rules, yet there are times when we must lay down our rights and liberties, out of love for our neighbor.  Sacrificial love is so needed in the church today, but more freedom is also needed in the church today as well.  Which way do you tend to swing, towards legalism or towards freedom? Is there an area in your life where it would be more loving for you to do something different?" (https://womenlivingwell.org/2019/09/good-morning-girls-resources-1-corinthians-6-10/)

1 Corinthians 9

Before my SOAK, I wanted to look into what the rights of an apostle actually were. Paul kept talking about his rights, though he didn’t use them, so I got curious as to what they indeed were. 
Apostles at this time did have the right to eat and drink at the expense of the churches they served. They also had the right to be supported by the church for the work they did preaching to others. They did have the right to have a wife and begins family, and the right for all in the family to be supported by the church also. Paul didn’t partake in these rights because he didn’t want to be accused of preaching only to be paid. And the Corinthians Christians were trying to refuse to support him. Some gratitude. Lucky for us, Paul was willing to gratitude to spread the gospel. He followed his calling even though he didn’t get paid and got mistreated. 

S:1 Corinthians 9:24-27 Do you know that the runners in the stadium all run in the race, but only one wins the prize? Run so as to win. Every athlete exercises discipline in every way. They do it to win an imperishable crown; but we an imperishable one. Thus I do not run aimlessly; I do not fight as if I were shadowboxing. No, I drive my body and train it, for fear that, after having preach to others, I myself should be disqualified. 

O: Paul uses an example from the Greek sporting to reach the people here. All athletes train hard and dedicate themselves knowing only 1 person can win (really, participation trophies are pointless). They deny themselves certain wants/needs to be the best at the tasks. Paul is saying that we as Christians all are should be in the race for and the crown that never falls away. We should train as to win.

A: Our task here on earth is more than just being a wife or mother or grandmother. We are called to serve the Lord in these roles and others. We should be showing our husband, children, grandchildren the Lord’s word through our daily lives. Daily we must train ourselves and prepare our bodies for this life event, as if we were in a race for the imperishable crown. We can not let the desires of the body rule over ourself. 

Getting up (or making the time) for daily readings is a start. Going to Church services is another. Keep asking that family member who doesn’t want to go to join you. No matter how many times they have said no. Help your neighbor (that may really annoy you) in a small task. Keep persevering for the goal. Let no one disqualify us in this race, let no one think we don’t deserve our prize in heaven. 

K: Lord thank you for this place. Thank you for the path you have laid out for me. I pray you continue to guide me along it so I won’t stumble. Help me to persevere in this life, so I can reach your glory. 

"The Corinthians were familiar with the ancient Olympic Games. So, Paul used the example of both a runner and a boxer to show the way in which we as believers must live our Christian life.  Winners are not slackers.  Winners work and train hard to obtain the prize.

Paul tells us to put effort into living the Christian life and into sharing the gospel.  We should live just like an athlete that competes to win.  There is a reward awaiting us in heaven.  We are to run hard and fight hard.  Are you living your Christian life in this way?  What is one thing that you need to change so you can run more effectively?" (https://womenlivingwell.org/2019/09/good-morning-girls-resources-1-corinthians-6-10/)

Those Aren't My Pants

We listen to K-LOVE on the radio every day. One morning, I heard the "one-minute of encouragement" segment, and this is what Francis Anfuso said:

"A friend of mine is a police officer. He told me the funniest thing he ever heard a drug dealer say to him happened when he was frisking him and found a stash of drugs in his pockets. The busted man blurted out, “These aren’t my pants!” Ha! Ha! As if he had put on somebody else’s pants and hadn’t realized there were drugs in the pockets. But, like most of the time when I hear of someone else doing something wrong or foolish, God invariably shows me how I do the same thing. I’m busted by God’s Spirit, and I begin to come up with some lame excuse for why I did it, said it, or thought it. Those ARE my pants! Accept it, Francis! Believe it! Own it! Repent of it, and let Jesus forgive you and restore you."

I see this with my young children daily, trying to dodge the blame for some task not completed. Instead of taking the blame, they easily throw it on someone else. The other day, when one was supposed to be washing the table, but hadn't gotten their sibling's spot cleaned, instead of taking the blame for the lack of work, my child said, "well she didn't pick up her plate, so I couldn't clean her spot." Most often lately, one sibling blames the other sibling in this fashion, "Well he was talking and it distracted me, so I couldn't finish (insert chore)." I remind them that sibling talking didn't stop their hands from completing their work. 

Quite often in life, I know I have done the same. If I didn't get something done, I just blame someone or something else. Instead of admitting to my own laziness, or my choosing to do something more fun. But we cannot seek forgiveness for what we have done wrong if we don't own it and repent. Psalm 69:5 reminds us God sees everything we do. "God, you know my folly; my faults are not hidden from you." Proverbs 28:13 goes further, saying "He who conceals his sins propers not, but he who confesses and forsakes them obtains mercy." In the New Testament, Peter tells people in Acts 3:19, "Repent, therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be washed away."

So, I will wear the pants, I will accept my mistakes, I will own it. And I will pray for forgivneess. 

1 Corinthians 8

S: 1 Corinthians 8:9 But make sure that this liberty of yours in no way becomes a stumbling block to the weak.

O: Paul was talking of people following pagan traditions of sacrificing food to idols, and if someone of knowledge or higher up was seen following old traditions, someone of lesser knowledge would think it was ok to follow suit. The higher up would be causing the lesser to sin.

A: The people we associate with are influencers. As are we. If we hang around people who sin, we are more likely to follow suit. And then those who see us do it might think “well if that so-called Christian can doit and be forgiven, I can do it too.” But we should set ourselves to “do first, ask for forgiveness later.”

If we are causing someone else to sin, we have also sinned against God. Romans 13:13-23 also talked about this. In Matthew 18:6-9, Jesus said, “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.” And continues about if a hand causes us to sin, cut it off. Whether it is a specific food, a person, or a place, if it causes me to sin and may lead someone else to sin, I need to be done with it. 

K: Lord, you are most gracious for bestowing gifts upon me. Thank you for today and yesterday. I pray for tomorrow and each day coming that I will stay on the right path, with you guiding me. 

"Idol worship was a huge part of the culture in Corinth. Most of the new believers would have come out of this idolatry. So, eating meat sold in the market place, that had first been offered to idols, became an issue for the church.    Many in the church most likely suffered for their choice to follow God and so their conscience would not allow them to eat the meat offered to idols. It may have felt like a denial of Christ for them. So, Paul reminded the church that love should trump their freedom to eat meat.

Sacrificial love is needed in our churches today.  Freedom in Christ is a delicate balance.  While we are free to enjoy many things, we must consider if abstaining from certain things would be the more loving choice.  Have you been in a situation where you felt free to enjoy something that a sister or brother in Christ felt convicted about?  Is there an area where perhaps you need to abstain out of love for them?" (https://womenlivingwell.org/2019/09/good-morning-girls-resources-1-corinthians-6-10/)

1 Corinthians 7

This chapter is definitely one that different religions have different views on. But, we are all here for God, and will respect each other’s points of views and thoughts. Also, we haven’t lived in each other’s shoes so we will not judge. I love each and every one of you for being here on the spiritual journey with me.

S: 1 Corinthians 7:13b-16 And if any woman has a husband who is an unbeliever, and he is willing to go on living with her, she should not divorce her husband. For the unbelieving husband is made holy through his wife… Otherwise your children would be unclean, where as in fact they are healthy. 

If the unbeliever separates, however, let him separate. The brother or sister it not bound in such cases; God has called you to peace. For how do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband…

O: Paul emphasizes Jesus call against divorce is not the case in which one person is not baptized Christian. He extends a principle of non separation as long as the union is peaceful. If it is no, the unbeliever can ask for an out. (Apparently this is called the “Pauline privilege” in Catholic marriage legislation). 

A: This area was very hard to read, as I have an unbelieving husband. His history and beliefs is not on blog mode, and I will keep those secrets. After reading this chapter, I remember I once had fear that my beliefs would not being important, but the love and respect that my husband and I have for each other trumps those fears. He agreed when we got married that I would raise the kids Catholic, and he wouldn't stop me. 

Our marriage, like most, have had ups and downs. But we have not jumped for the exit. 

K: Lord, thank you for all the blessings you have given me, even those hard to understand. My love for my family is strong, but to you is stronger. Guide me down the path you have chosen for me, and I will do your Will.

Are you being affirmed?

Words of affirmation and praise are things that most people need. In relationships, both parties desire support and encouragement. Husbands are less likely to admit this need, though. Most husbands still do have a need to feel like they are the protector, that they are doing things right, that they are wanted and needed. This was hard for me to understand early on in our marriage, especially once we had children. I was the one up all night nursing and changing diapers. I would be the one to get up and get breakfast made, and get the kids ready for school before going to work. I would then go pick them up after work, go home make dinner, do homework with them, do bath time, put them to bed, and then when it was time for my husband and I to actually talk, I was drained. And then I was still to say thank you for him taking out the trash or doing the dishes once in a while? I never got a thank you. I was never encouraged to keep on keeping on.

After struggling with this for months, I found counsel with a Christian friend, who recommended I read The 5 Love Languages. It made me realize that acts of service is what made my bucket feel full and me loved. And I did love seeing my husband do the dishes, because I felt like I wasn't the only one taking care of things. But I also realized that my husband felt full when he was being affirmed. This may be as little as saying "thank you" for washing the dishes once a month, or giving encouraging words when he was feeling stressed about work. I didn't know that hearing these things for the tasks he did made him feel needed. I also delved deeper into the Bible, seeing that I should do my daily tasks for the glory of God, because He is the reason we are where we are. So lately, I try to remember to say praise and thanks for our house as I'm cleaning it, for the food as I'm cooking and washing dishes, for our provisions as I'm doing laundry, etc.


Even if words of affirmation isn't the top of your "need" list, hearing affirmation can make our hearts feel good. The action of giving words of affirmation is easier for some people than others, but we should learn to encourage one another. In the Bible, Elizabeth was a great example of affirmation of others. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, and her baby jumped in her womb, she delivered the affirmation that we now have in our prayer Hail Mary. There are many young mothers who need to be affirmed, though not pitied. We all know being a new mom, a mom of several, or a mom without is hard. We all have face struggles now and again in this journey. What a blessing it could be to another mom if we just reached out and say "I just want you to know you matter. Everything you do matters. And God sees you." Older Christian women need to be godly roles for other women, as we are called to in Titus 2:3-5, "so they may train younger women to love their husbands and children..." I think that seeing another woman grow in her love for God can be just as encouraging and affirming as hearing "thank you."

1 Corinthians 6

1 Corinthians 6:18-20 Avoid immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the immoral person sins against his own body. Did you not know that your body is a temple of the holy spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been purchased at a price. Therefore glorify God in your body.

O: Paul here tells the Corinthians that through the death of Jesus, God has purchased our beings. And the body should be used to glorify God, not for our own selfish wants and desires.

A: Our body is a temple. If we hold the Holy Spirit in us through communion, we are like the sacred temple and ark that held the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament.  Would we allow any destruction to come upon the ark or the sacred temple? Then why upon ourselves?

However your church celebrates communion, each time when you receive communion, you are taking the promise of God and consuming it. You are accepting the Holy Spirit within you, and you belong to God. We consume the Eucharist weekly at our church, and this passage is a great reminder that I am taking in the promise of God into my body, which belongs to him. And I shall not allow myself to indulge in anything that would tamper my body. But instead I will glorify the Lord. 

K: Lord thank you for all the blessings in my life. Thank you for the greatest gift, your son, so that I might be saved. Thank you for the Holy Spirit so that I may remember that I belong to you. Thank you for wanting me. 

"Our bodies are a temple of the Holy Spirit and a temple is a sacred place of worship.  We are meant to keep our bodies pure sexually because we are not our own.  We have been bought with the price of Jesus’ blood.  This means that we have strength that the world does not have, to remain pure.

When you use something that someone else paid for, are you more careful with it?  Our bodies are on lend to us from God to be used for his glory.  How can you be more careful with your body?  If you have any sins that you need to repent of today, quietly pray a prayer of confession.  Remember that once you confess, you are fully forgiven. (1 John 1:9)" (https://womenlivingwell.org/2019/09/good-morning-girls-resources-1-corinthians-6-10/)