1 Corinthians – Chapter 11

If anyone is inclined to be contentious, we have no such practice, nor do the churches of God. 1 Corinthians 11:16 – In this chapter Paul addresses two separate traditions that were being mishandled in the Corinthian church, head coverings and the Lord’s Supper. With the Lord’s Supper people were coming in and wildly eating away at the food, leaving not enough for everyone at the table. Such was the practice of many of the pagan feasts in Corinth. With the head coverings, in the middle east it was common practice for ladies to have their heads covered for it was a sign of respect and submission to authority, and having their heads uncovered was actually a sign of sexual availability and prostitution. Paul then speaks into the Corinthian church by given them directions on how to handle both topics, and in verse 16 he directs the churches on how to handle it when people oppose such teaching. That if anyone in the church wants to make an issue about these teachings, tell them the church doesn’t agree with their beliefs nor do any of the other churches of God around here. That this individual may have their opinion on how the church should handle certain things, but the church has already chosen their stance and so have all the other churches, and we’re not in agreement with that individual. How often though do we see churches today being swayed by the influential voice of one person or some power family in the church? Churches, be rooted in the teaching of God, and when someone is inclined to be contentious about what we believe, be willing to tell them we have no such practice here. We aren’t letting culture nor a whiny individual decide how we worship the Lord, scripture will determine that for us. For the believer, be willing to submit to scripture’s way of handling things in our life and be willing to follow the church’s leadership as well if they are submitting to God as they should. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 3118

Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ (v.1) Would someone following your footsteps find Christ? Could you say that the direction your life is going right now is one that could lead someone else to closeness with God if they followed your example? Could you right now say to someone else the words Paul wrote in verse one and mean it? I am aware I am asking some personal questions here, but I believe we all should stop today and try to answer them for ourselves. Could my life if someone followed me actually find Christ or would they find themselves somewhere else? As a follower of Christ our lives should be striving to follow the lead of Christ in a way that if someone who doesn’t yet know Christ as well as us, they could follow our lead and in doing so, begin knowing Christ better. This is our calling. While Jesus was on the earth, we could follow His lead, but His physical presence isn’t here anymore like that. That though isn’t a problem, because His church is still physically here. We are His physical representations to the world as to who Jesus is. While we follow Him, the world should be able to follow us and find themselves to Christ. That takes a church though who is actually following the One they say they are following. Let’s today as a church begin truly following our Leader. How? Begin with you. Look at your life today and see how could you follow Him more closely. When we have a church together seeking daily how to follow Christ more closely, the world won’t stand a chance. – Daily DEVO 14

But in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse. For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you. And I believe it in part, for there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized. 1 Corinthians 11:17-19 – In our day, hearing this talk about churches having divisions in the isn’t such a foreign thought to us. I wish it was, but tension between members and disagreements in meetings can be found all too easily. Today I want to share with you something I’ve been sharing deeply with my youth at church. When we have the same goal we’ll be moving closer together. When you put Christ first in your life and I do the same our mission, values, beliefs, and desires suddenly become united because of a shared goal. Following Jesus should never be a source of disunity in the church but rather the glue that holds us together. While giving their life to following Jesus is something each person has to do on their own, make sure today you are choosing to do it for yourself. Choose to be a source of unity and not disruption. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac- Daily DEVO 713

Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 1 Corinthians 11:28 – In the church Paul was writing to they had begun to handle communion in some improper ways. It began to be a place to get drunk at and to have a feast on the food to the amount that others didn’t even get a chance to eat. Paul told them to deeply check themselves here as to what the attitude of their heart was when coming together for communion. Was it for their physical filling or their spiritual outpouring? This message then is redirected onto us, what’s the attitude of our heart when we come together? Coming together for communion, Sunday worship, Bible studies? There are so many poor reasons we can give but few right ones. The ultimate reason should be because we want to draw nearer to Jesus. Let’s examine then our hearts each time we step into something like this. Why are we there? What’s our goal with being there? What are we wanting to come out of that time? How transforming could our future times with God be if we took the time to examine our hearts before we gathered and chose to lean in the proper direction. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1778