Foolish

"God chose what is foolish in the world," 1 Corinthians 1:27.

Hey! Who's he calling foolish? Me? He's saying I'm foolish? (Well, in a word: Yes.) Wait! Does this mean that if I get called by God then I'm a fool? (Yes. A fool for God. A fool caught up in God's folly.) Doesn't sound very dignified. (No, it doesn't.) But then: Chosen. Chosen by God, through God's folly. Through what folly? Through the shame of the cross. Through that death Jesus died. Nailed without a shred of dignity. Naked to the crowds. Ridiculed by his world. Disowned by his own. Through that foolishness. By which God's salvation manifests cosmos-shaking power to the world's pretentious wisdom, sham nobility, impotent strength.

We meet a brother or sister today in the folly of God seeking resurrection to eternal life. And together we thank God for choosing the way of the cross.

Think

"Consider your calling," 1 Corinthians 1:26.

Who's he talking to? us. That we should consider our calling. Hmm. What calling? God's calling. You know, the Invitation. the Altar Call. (That's how we call it sometimes.) You know, when we heard and understood the story of Jesus, his life. His death. His burial. His resurrection. When we heard that he died for our sins. That he bled his blood on the cross for us. When we understood that we should change our ways and turn our lives over to him. That call. He says: Think about it.

We meet a brother or sister today and we consider God's call on our lives. And together we thank God that he didn't care about our social status when he invited and received us.

Folly

"The message of the cross is folly," 1 Corinthians 1:18.

Folly? It's what it says. Like foolishness, folly? Yep. Folly, like foolishness. That's the way it is for people who are dying. Who are perishing. (Meaning: for people who reject the cross' saving power. And so who will die without the salvation it brings.) But. For people being saved by the message of the cross, it is the power of God. Not folly. Power! For us who depend on it, we trust this folly (as human wisdom calls it) as the power of God for our healing into forever life in communion with God. And with his once crucified on the cross, but now Risen, Christ!

We visit with a brother or sister today to remind each other of God's power. And together we give God thanks that the word of Jesus' cross saves.

Quarrels

"But I'm of Paul. I, rather, with Apollos. I, instead, with Cephas. Well, I'm of Christ." 1 Corinthians 1:12.

And so it goes. I'm of Luther. I'm of Leo XIV. I'm of Calvin. I'm of Nestorius. I'm of Arminius. I'm of Campbell. I'm of Augustine. I'm of Wesley. I'm of Menno. I'm of Athanasius. I'm of the Orthodox. I'm of the Protestants. I'm of the Messianics. I'm of the Pentecostals. I'm of the Roman Catholics. I'm of the Evangelicals. I'm of the Progressives. I'm of the East. I'm of the West. Oh, yeah? Well, I'm not with any of you losers - I'm with Christ - so there! put that in your pipe and smoke it! (As though Christ were divided and we were baptized into whom did not die for us.)

We meet today with a brother or sister humbled by fleshly quarrels. And giving thanks together we ask our God for forgiveness and for growth in the power of the cross of Christ.

Baptized

"Is Christ divided?" 1 Corinthians 1:13.

No. Indeed. We were baptized into the One name. Undivided. Integral. Whole.

We meet with a brother or sister today united in Christ. And together we give thanks to God, the only savior of us all.

Undivided

"Through the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, may you all speak the same thing, and not split, but unite with the same mind and purpose," 1 Corinthians 1:10.

That's the prayer. Because. because we (humans) like our division to be better than theirs. Our team better than theirs. Our religion better than theirs. Our leader better than theirs. As though we were baptized into some division. Or some team. Or some religion. Or some leader. No. We were all baptized into the One crucified. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord. Lord of all of us. We, all of us, have his mind. His purpose.

We meet today with a brother or sister to celebrate our common mind in Christ. And together we give thanks that he purposes us together into his undivided people.

Waiting

"I give thanks to my God always for you," 1 Corinthians 1:4.

Why? Because God's grace was given to these folk. God's grace in Christ. Because God made them rich in all sorts of spiritual gifts: speech, knowledge, confirmations. All this anticipating the revealing of the Lord Jesus Christ. Yes. Christ will sustain his people to the end. All the way to his Day when he shows up again. So. God called us into the fellowship of his son. So. We encourage each other waiting for the completion of it all.

We wait today with a brother or sister expectantly for Jesus' appearing. And we, too, give thanks together for God's grace extended to us and to others.

Priceless

"Grace to you and peace from God our Father," 1 Corinthians 1:3.

Grace. Unmerited favor. Generosity. Much more good received than what was deserved. Than what could be deserved. A gift. An expensive gift. A priceless gift. A gift given away. Given away freely. Given away at no cost to the receiver. A gift given at unimaginable cost to the giver. A gift that tells about the giver, not the receiver. Grace. Tells about the heart of the giver. Tells about the character of God. Received by faith in the work of God's son. Received from the Lord Jesus Christ. The gift: God's presence, protection, power. Eternal relationship.

When we meet a brother or sister today we give thanks for God's grace given to us by Christ. And for peace with him, from him.

Cheap

"Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus," 1 Corinthians 1:1.

So that's who's writing the letter. And it's from Sosthenes, too. (Don't know much about him other than this honorable mention. But God knows him well, of course. But, then, he's probably the same fellow who got beat up pretty badly in front the of court house in Corinth when a new Roman governor booted everybody out of the court, because he couldn't care less about their religious issues. Yeah. So the plaintiffs took care of business with Sosthenes personally because he was the synagogue manager who should've known better than to let someone like Paul teach that Jesus was the Christ of God, having made a new covenant with Jews and Gentiles, both, through Jesus' crucifixion.) That's who it's from.

When we visit with a brother or sister today, we recognize the story of Jesus didn't come to us cheap. And together we give thanks to God for giving the Word of Christ to us freely.

Holiness

"To those sanctified in Christ Jesus," 1 Corinthians 1:2.

So it's a letter to these folk. To God's congregation. To people called to be saints. Called to be saints together with everybody everywhere who calls on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Yeah. Their Lord and our Lord, too. Hmm. If Jesus is our Lord can he be Lord for other people, too? Sure! He's Lord of all who call on his name, whoever and wherever they are. Anyway. This letter is to the sanctified folk. Sanctified in Christ Jesus.

We visit with a brother or sister recognizing Jesus' lordship over us. And together we give thanks to God for his call in Christ for our holiness.

Good

"May the God of peace prepare you to do good," Hebrews 13:20, 21.

The God of peace? Yes. The one (and only!) God who raised up Jesus from the dead. The God who made Jesus the great shepherd of his sheep. The God who established an eternal covenant through the blood of Christ. This God. This God made peace between himself and ourselves. May this God prepare us to do good. What good? To do the good that does his will. The good that pleases him. The good mediated through Jesus, his Christ. The good that glorifies this God for ever.

We visit with a brother or sister today in the peace of Christ. And together we give thanks to God for Jesus' sacrifice that makes our doing of his will good.

Fixes

"Remember your leaders, the ones who spoke the word of God to you," Hebrews 13:7.

We do not misunderstand. Though valuable, the heart of the matter is not the leadership. It's the word of God they spoke. That word keeps us from running off with weird teachings. God's word tells first and foremost about Jesus Christ. He never changes. Yeah, people confuse improved technology with broken human hearts. (That's how messed up we are.) The same Jesus fixing human hearts yesterday fixes them today. And will fix them tomorrow. God's same word fixes for always.

We meet with a brother or sister today considering the way-of-life outcome of those who spoke the word of God. And together we give God thanks that the same way of Christ gives us eternity, too.

Will

"It is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace," Hebrews 13:9.

Talking about the inner self, here. The heart. The place in which and from which we take decision to action. Not just feelings and emotions. The place where our inner self sets its will. OK. So what makes that place strong? Well, for sure, not weird teachings. Not special foods. Instead: grace. Grace that leads us to endure the same social scoldings that Jesus dealt with. Grace to know we don't belong here in this land. Grace to live out a sacrifice acknowledging Jesus as Lord. Grace to do good. Grace to share what we have. Grace to please God.

When we visit with a brother or sister today we become Jesus' instruments to give and receive grace. And together we thank God from whose throne comes all grace.

Way

"Brotherly love must abide," Hebrews 13:1.

Must? Yep. That's what God calls acceptable worship. With reverence and awe. God is our father. We're his kids. He calls us to care about each other, for real. Yes. And, hospitality to aliens. Too, caring for prisoners. And staying clean for one's spouse. And live free from the way of money. Yeah, we be happy with what we've got. Wait - how is all this worship? Because God is our helper. Because God will never leave or forsake us. Never. He is become the way for our life.

We receive each other as brothers or sisters. Always. And together we give thanks to our Father who makes us all family in his son, Jesus.

Regalia

"You have come to the city of the living God!" Hebrews 12:22.

We have come to Mt. Zion! (Not to Mt. Sinai and the Law.) We have come to the Jerusalem in the sky! To angels, multiplied thousands in festive regalia! To the church of the first born children registered in the sky! To God, judge of all! To the spirits of the perfected righteous! To Jesus, mediator of the new covenant! To his sprinkled blood! (His speaks better than Abel's.) So, we hear. We will not refuse God (a consuming fire!). We listen. We offer him respectful and awed worship in living faith.

We meet with a brother or sister today carefully minding God. And together we offer praise and thanksgivings to the living God who saves us by grace.

Tighten

"So tighten up your slacking hands and unstrung knees," Hebrews 12:12.

Yes! Restore your grip. Pump your legs. Exercise right to heal lame joints. Drop bitterness. Leave sexual immorality. Eschew unholy things. Go the straight path. This is God's training. This shows he's made us his kids. No more infighting. Run toward peace. Labor toward holiness. The finish line: Seeing the Lord! Receiving grace. Entering the eternal sky kingdom.

When we see a brother or sister today we prod one another on to love and good works. And together we give thanks for Jesus who trains us right beside.

Exsanguinated

"You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood," Hebrews 12:4.

Resisted? Resisted what? Sin. Resisted sin. What's he saying here? He's saying: Look at Jesus. He resisted sin's hostilities against him to the point that he shed blood. Exsanguinated. But you (we) have hardly resisted like that. So. What's his point? Stop whining. About how tough we have it. We haven't resisted legitimately enough to get tired. Giving up already? No. We stand up. Tall. Before God. Children of God. Disciplined by God. Loved by God.

We visit with a brother or sister today standing in God's power and discipline. And together we praise God to be counted worthy to suffer for the name of Christ.

Designing

"Jesus is the founder and perfecter of our faith," Hebrews 12:2.

The ancients. Abel. Enoch. Noah. Abraham. Sarah. Isaac. Jacob. Joseph. (Amram and Jochebed.) Moses. Israelites. Rahab. Gideon. Barak. Samson. Jephthah. David. Samuel. And countless others; together form an immense cloud of witnesses. Their commonality: God's commendation for their faith. Trust. Just so, we lock our eyes on Jesus. He endured the shame of the cross. So we endure the struggle ahead. Having endured, he sits beside God. Having endured, we shall sit there with him. We understand. By faith.

Meeting with a brother or sister today we share the hope of our faith, living in Christ. And together we give thanks to Christ for designing and consummating our faith.

Quest

"Must believe that he exists and he rewards whoever seeks him," Hebrews 11:6.

Who must believe? Well, whoever wants to draw near to God. To please God. That's whoever. And what must whoever believe? (a) That God is. That God is there. Yeah. And that's it? No. (b) And must believe that God rewards whoever searches for him. Whoever must believe the quest for God is worthwhile. Without this, nothing. Want to please God? Want to draw near to God? Start the quest there.

We visit with a brother or sister today believing God will meet us there. And together thankful to God, we draw near to him who already was drawing us to himself.

Concrete

"We understand the worlds to be created by God's word," Hebrews 11:3.

Oh, really? And how can we understand this? By faith. How can we know the things we see were created by God's words? By faith. How can we know what we see came from what we don't see? By faith. Hmm. So. Well. What's faith? Mainly: Counting on the promises of a trustworthy person. Faith is such trust that it makes the foundation of what's hoped for concrete. Yeah. Trust that becomes the conviction about yet unexperienced things. Substance of things hoped for. Conviction of things not seen.

We meet with a brother or sister today trusting in God's faithfulness. And together we give thanks to God for molding a solid foundation for our hope in Christ.

Righteous

"My righteous one will live by faith," Hebrews 10:38.

By faith. By trust. OK. Faith. But compared to what? Compared to ... keep on keeping on in sin. That brings fear. Fear and judgment. Brings God's vengeance. Faith compared to ... failure to endure. Shrinking back. That brings God's displeasure. Destruction. But that's not us. We're not like that. No! We keep faith even in deep struggle. In severe circumstance. Right! We live by faith! And thus belong to God. Righteous. Righteous in Christ. And thus preserve the soul!

We visit a brother or sister today reminding each other to live in faith. And together we give thanks to God for securing us in the faith of Christ Jesus our Lord.