Day 33 - 1 Corinthians 11:17-26

17 In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good. 18 In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it. 19 No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God’s approval. 20 So then, when you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat, 21 for when you are eating, some of you go ahead with your own private suppers. As a result, one person remains hungry and another gets drunk. 22 Don’t you have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God by humiliating those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you? Certainly not in this matter!
23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

Tori's Comments:

I actually just took part in communion today (although I am writing this later than the date I should be). It is such a beautiful practice!

Terrie's Comments:

The Lords Table is a time to come together in unity as one to celebrate what Jesus did for us together.  It is not just about us and Jesus it is about the church and Jesus.  We do it together to unify the body of Christ and proclaim His death as a whole body until He comes back.

Take our personal comments or leave them. We would love to hear what stood out to you about today`s passage and how it encouraged you. Tell us in the comments below!

Day 29: 1 Corinthians 10:18-26

18 Think about the people of Israel. Weren’t they united by eating the sacrifices at the altar?
19 What am I trying to say? Am I saying that food offered to idols has some significance, or that idols are real gods? 20 No, not at all. I am saying that these sacrifices are offered to demons, not to God. And I don’t want you to participate with demons. 21 You cannot drink from the cup of the Lord and from the cup of demons, too. You cannot eat at the Lord’s Table and at the table of demons, too. 22 What? Do we dare to rouse the Lord’s jealousy? Do you think we are stronger than he is?
23 You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is good for you. You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is beneficial. 24 Don’t be concerned for your own good but for the good of others.
25 So you may eat any meat that is sold in the marketplace without raising questions of conscience. 26 For “the earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.

Tori's Comments:

This seems rather polar opposite of what the world tells me, That I live life for myself. 

God has given me freedom, but not selfish freedom. I am free to live for others. 

Terrie's Comments:

So why is Paul raising questions about eating food offered to idols?  I believe he is just confirming that if you are a part in the sacrificing of meat to idols or other gods it would be wrong to eat them because offering any meat to anyone or anything other than God is offering them to demons.  But if you buy meat at the market and you happen to purchase meat that was sacrificed to a god but you weren't a part of the sacrificial ceremony then it doesn't matter.  It is not about the meat itself it is about you not partaking in any sacrifices other than the Lord's table, which unifies us with Jesus and with all other believers in the body of Christ.

Take our personal comments or leave them. We would love to hear what stood out to you about today`s passage and how it encouraged you. Tell us in the comments below!

Day 29 - Romans 8:9 - 8:17

9 But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.) 10 And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God. 11 The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.

12 Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. 13 For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.

15 So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” 16 For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. 17 And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.

Tori's Comments:

"you have been made right with God" *insert contented sigh*

"you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do". This is something that I feel like if I stopped right at my moment of temptation and just asked "Why am I doing this? Why am I wanting to do this?" it would probably stop. Because God is greater, and I know whose side I am on. 

We are children of God! Heirs! What an epic amazing cool mind-blowingly awesome thought.

Terrie's Comments:

But if we share in his glory, we must also share in his suffering... what does this look like?  I feel like the biggest obstacle in North America is to get past fear of what other people think.  Sometimes the decisions that the Holy Spirit will prompt us to make and stand up for are not on other people's radars and we need to set aside our pride and care more about what God thinks than any other human being in our world.  But the good news is that we have help.  The same spirit that rose Jesus from the grave lives inside of us!  We are not alone in this.

Take our personal comments or leave them. We would love to hear what stood out to you about today`s passage and how it encouraged you. Tell us in the comments below!