Category: 1 Corinthians - Jethro TOOLS

Foundation of Beliefs

4/27/2025

John 1:1-16
Growing up in the North, earthquakes were frequent occurrences. Dishes would rattle in the kitchen and you would feel the house lurch and bump. This all happened because the of movement in the ground. At a much later date, I lived in the South where the ground moved because of the water content in the soil. In the rainy season the ground would swell, but without water the ground would shrink. In both locations homes needed to have good foundations or else the structure would fail because of the ground movement. A well built house must be tied to a well built foundation. Like a house our lives need to be built on something solid. A house that has a weak foundation will crack and not be usable if it is not repaired. In the same way our lives are built upon what we believe. If our beliefs are weak then our actions will be weak and ineffective. There are five core beliefs that we must hold if we profess a saving faith in Jesus. Scripture teaches us that we are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone for God’s glory alone. The Bible provides an accurate witness pointing to Christ as Savior (2 Timothy 3:14-17). Grace is God’s process of giving salvation (Titus 3:4-7). Faith is God’s work enabling the reception of salvation (Romans 1:16-17). True belief is centered on Christ as the only source of salvation (Romans 3:22). This leaves God’s glory as the goal of all who are saved (1 Corinthians 10:31). The problem is that it is easy to say that we are involved in the Christian life and yet not live the Christian life. God wants us to not only know what we believe but act on our beliefs. Our actions will prove what we truly believe. So what do you believe? Our beliefs will affect the way we live.

For More See JOHN

Hope for One

3/30/2025

Luke 19:28-40
Words have meaning and sometimes the smallest words have greater meaning. Scripture mentions three important words by stating, “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love (1 Corinthians 13:13).” We often talk about faith and love, but what about hope? What is the significance of hope? Little girls are given the name Hope and towns are named Hope. Why? In hope there is a belief and desire that something better will happen. Thus, little girls are named Hope and towns in new locations are named Hope. We as people are looking for and hoping for something better. The same was true in Jesus day. The people had correctly understood the Old Testament prophets as they spoke about a coming savior (e.g., Isaiah 7:14, 9:6-8; Micah 5:2). Now, as Jesus entered Jerusalem in Luke 19, the people saw Him as the king that had come to save them. They recalled the miracles that Jesus had performed and began praising Him (37). The crowd praised Jesus as the king who had come to save them (38), while Jesus acted as a king by giving commands (28-31), riding into the city (35) and accepting the praise (39-40). Hope moves us to act. Yet why do we lack hope and become hopeless? Perhaps we believe only what can be seen rather than in God who is unseen and at work. Perhaps we believe that nothing will change because even God has not done anything about the problem. Faith in Jesus changes our perspective by helping us see beyond the problems to the new life and hope filled reality that God offers. Hope challenges us to believe differently in the midst of hard times. That is why we name children Hope, and live in towns called Hope, and have hope in only one Savior. Jesus is the saving king who has come to give hope to a world that puts hope in all the wrong places.

For More See LUKE

Temptation

4/16/2023

Matthew 4:1-11
Temptation, how can we overcome it and how can we prepare for it? It was a very hot day and I was thirsty. In the middle of that day I faced a huge temptation to take a case of juice that was in a shopping cart in the middle of a store parking lot. Someone forgot to put it in their vehicle. No one was around so I picked it up… and then returned it to the customer service desk. I really could have used it, but I chose not to take it because taking it would not have pleased God. In Matthew 4:1-11 Satan tempts Jesus to do his bidding and submit to him, but Jesus rejected each temptation. After each temptation He quotes Scripture to combat the specific temptation placed before him. There are four ways that we can address the temptations that come into our lives. First, we need to be aware of Satan’s temptations by being watchful for our own pride and human weaknesses. Second, we need to prepare for temptations by spending time with God and His Word. Third, we will declare that God alone is worthy of our worship. In contrast, Satan’s desire is for us to submit and follow him rather than God. Finally, we need to care for others who are tempted, and point them to Jesus, our savior, who will help them and give them hope. Finally, our view of God will affect our attitude toward others who are struggling with temptations. When we are under the pressures of temptation we need to keep our eyes on Jesus and follow His solutions for life. 1 Corinthians 10:13 tells us that God will give the strength to stand up under the temptations that we face. Do we believe that God is greater than Satan and our temptations? What we believe will affect the way we live.

For more see MATTHEW or TEMPTATION

Three Legged Service

3/2/2023

1 Corinthians 12:1-7; 2 Corinthians 4:7; 2 Corinthians 12:9
We were on our normal walk, on a normal day, until we spotted them. As the dog and I rounded the corner in the road there they were, a doe and her year old baby, feeding in the neighbor’s yard. The dog and I stood silent and still, as we watched those two deer watch us. Finally, after the deer realized that we were not a threat, they relaxed a bit and started to nibble at the grass again. But, as the baby pranced and played, I noticed something was seriously wrong with the mother. As she went to take a step she limped real bad. It was at that moment, I realized that the doe was missing the lower portion of her front left leg. I have no idea what happened to her, but she was severely disabled, and her walking proved it. The injury had healed over nicely, and she seemed to have learned how to manage this setback in life quite well. She had survived the injury and successfully raised a young one. The dog and I watched in amazement for a few more moments, and then turned toward home. As we retraced our steps I reflected on the disability of the deer and the spiritual correlation to our own brokenness. God equips us and enables us to be His servants. The problem is that many times we allow our past and its problems to haunt us. Satan deceitfully tells us that we are unfit, unqualified, and unable to serve. We wrongly believe Satan’s lie, that our past brokenness makes us unusable to God. This thinking is much like looking at the three legged deer and believing that she could never raise a family. However, God is a God of redemption. He alone is the one who enables and equips us to do what He wants. We believe that God saved us from sin, but we incorrectly believe that God cannot overcome the results of sin and chaos in our past. This is where we need to correct and change our beliefs. In 2 Corinthians 4:7 Paul describes himself as an earthen vessel, a piece of pottery, that has no special ability or power apart what it holds. The value or treasure of the vessel is held in the contents of the vessel. Our ability to serve comes from God who calls us, fills us, and enables us to serve Him. We are like a piece of pottery that is easily broken, but our value and usefulness is not found in our condition but in God who saves us. As we serve, we display the extraordinary power of God working through us, as weak and broken people. It is indeed a treasure to minister and serve our Savior, Jesus Christ. God is all powerful in saving us at salvation, and He is all powerful in equipping us for service. Do we allow the all powerful God to work through us, and enable us to serve, even in our brokenness? God used a three legged deer to remind me of His power displayed in my weakness.

For more see 1 CORINTHIANS or DISCIPLESHIP

Why Serve?

2/26/2023

1 Corinthians 12:1-7
Have you looked at your garage or kitchen recently? You can have a garage full of tools, but not be a mechanic. You can also have a kitchen full of spoons and special pans, but not be a cook. Yet what do we see today? People will often go and purchase things for the house or the garage so they will look like a cook or a mechanic. However, in reality, they only look at the various pieces, and rarely or never put them to use. The more we use what we have, the more proficient we will be. The more that physical skills are practiced the better we become at that skill. The same is true spiritually. As believers in Jesus Christ, we are called to serve and use the gifts and abilities that God has given us. These gifts enable us to serve God in specific ways. In 1 Corinthians 12 and Romans 12, Paul describes each believer as part of a larger body. Like a physical body, the spiritual body is made up of many parts, and each part has a different function. In order for the body to perform, each part must serve the greater body by doing what God designed it to do. The problem is that, when it comes to church, we want to do what we want, and when it comes to service, we want others to serve us. 1 Corinthians 12:18 tells us that God has arranged the parts in the body just as He wants them. That means that God enables each of us to serve with what He has given us for the benefit and growth of the larger body. We can’t say that we are servants of God, unless we actually pick up the tools that He has given us, and serve by helping others become more like Jesus. We serve because Christ first served us.

For more see 1 CORINTHIANS or DISCIPLESHIP

The Disciple's Characteristic: Obsession

2/19/2023

1 Corinthians 6:9-12
Why do car manufacturers place the steering wheel in front of the driver? Why not in the back seat or the trunk? Why not let the passengers in the back seat have all the controls for the lights, the radio, the heat and the turn signal? The purpose is so the driver can focus and on the most important thing, driving. All the controls are centered within reach of the drivers seat so the driver can control every aspect of the car as it is directed down the road. Our lives are much like that of a car. We have been made for the purpose of being directed and moving. All of our emotional switches and character knobs exist to fine tune our operation and function as we move. The problem is that we think that we, as the car, do not need a driver. We need Christ in our lives as Savior and need to give Him operational control. We need Christ inside, not as a passenger, but as the driver. We need to allow Him to have the driver’s seat to take us where He wants us to go. Disciple’s of Christ will allow Christ to have full control of their lives. In 1 Corinthians 6:9-12, Paul writes to the Corinthian church, who had allowed the world and culture to influence their spiritual lives and relationship with God. This church struggled with allowing Christ to control every area of their lives even to the point of justifying and making excuses for sin (12). Paul says that the spiritual excuses are not beneficial for their spiritual lives. He closes the verse by stating, “I will not be controlled by anything.” Paul is stating that, as a disciple of Jesus Christ, his only desire is for Christ to control his life and be the source of his confidence and perspective. We must be obsessed with knowing Christ and allowing Him alone to drive our lives.

For more see 1 CORINTHIANS or DISCIPLESHIP

What is Love?

2/14/2021

1 Corinthians 13
Valentine’s Day is here again and yet again we ask the question, “What is love?” For this special day love is defined as deep affection for someone, but often we struggle figuring out how to express it. To the cynic, this is just another way to get people to spend money. For the romantic, this is the perfect chance to spend money. This is designed to be a holiday to celebrate our love for those closest to us. The difficulty is that often love is forgotten or not practiced the rest of the year. Love is more than just chocolate and roses one day each year. Love, as Paul teaches in 1 Corinthians 13, is to be a constant trait in the life of the person who believes in Jesus Christ as Savior. True love is equipped by faith to live a life that is patient and kind by always believing that God is at work. True love is based on hope that God will work in such a way to make the relationship better in the future. The believer who obediently lives for God by always loving others, is following the example of Christ and His love for all mankind. What we really believe will affect the way we live.

For more see 1 Corinthians

Reconciliation

9/23/2020

Watching a playoff game or world series and cheering for our favorite team… Life is exciting as we desperately hope that our team plays well and the other team falls apart. We like to win and we like our team to win. In many ways we live our lives through the success or failure of our favorite team. A perfect example is the joy or elation in the days after the win, or the discouragement and frustration after the loss. As people we respond in much the same way to our disputes and problems with others. The only difference is that we view the conflict as us versus them and we are desperate for a win.

In seeking a resolution to conflicts we must come to a point of reconciliation. People can hang on to the hurts and forget to move to forgiveness. The problem with this is that internalized bitterness does not harm the other person it only kills you slowly from the inside out. Bitterness can lead to isolation and even unexplained health problems. In our twisted thinking we hold on to a grudge in hope of pridefully gaining the upper hand and winning, but it does not work.

The solution to bitterness is forgiveness. When we forgive we are able to show grace that is undeserved in the face of the wrongs done against us. When we forgive we are able to display, in a small way, what God has done for us through Jesus Christ. Our sin did not stop God from sending Jesus to pay for our sin (Romans 5:8). Instead, God offered forgiveness and restoration to us even though we were the ones who had sinned and walked away from Him. We can be imitators of Christ by practicing grace filled forgiveness even when others do not seek reconciliation just as God forgave us.

So you may think that this is an impossible way to win. That is correct because it is a completely opposite way to think about winning. God’s desire for us is to get rid of all forms of hate and completely forgive (Ephesians 4:31-32). So how do we do this? Ephesians 4:32 tells us to forgive the same way that Christ forgave us. That means forgiveness is given full of grace and without limits that seeks a restoration of right relationships. When we do this we finally realize that winning is found in forgiveness. We have the capacity to forgive because we have been forgiven and understand what forgiveness is. Our role is not to reconcile the other person to us, although that may be a byproduct, but to reconcile them to Christ (1 Corinthians 5:14-21). True forgiveness is a win because it leads to reconciliation.

For more see CONFLICT RESOLUTION

Memorable Memorial

5/25/2020

1 Corinthians 11:23-31
A memorial is something done to remember and pay tribute to someone else for what they did or the sacrifices made. Graveyards are full of memorials as you read the tombstones. Historical markers along a highway or at places of important times in history memorialize the actions of valor, bravery, courage and sacrifice. As part of a healthy grieving process we have a memorial service where we remember the life and activities of a loved one. We even have holidays that are specifically designed to remember those who paid with their life for our freedom. These memorials urge those remaining and the following generations to remember the past and live in the present in light of the past. The problem is that memories are really good but often they are really short. I think that is exactly why Jesus gave his followers instructions to remember Him (Luke 22:17-20). Paul in His first letter to the Corinthian church calls the church to a look back and remember what Christ had done for them. His sacrifice on the cross paying for sin requires a look back to remember His grace shown toward us. But, like any good memorial the remembrance of of the past should affect the present and the future. If we truly value Christ and His sacrifice in the past for us we should then live in such a way as to honor the past and His work for us. As Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 11:24-25 he records Jesus saying “do this in remembrance of me.” The elements of the Lord’s Supper or Communion are to remind us spiritually of Christ’s sacrifice for our sin, but there is more. In taking these elements, in memorial, the believer affirms that this is what they believe that Christ died, was buried and was raised to life. By taking these we look back and reaffirm our belief and we look forward by proclaiming or telling of the Lord’s death until He comes (1 Corinthians 11:26). Our past and is is not where God wants us to dwell. That has been forgiven through Christ and we now live a new life displaying and telling of the transformation that only Christ could accomplish. May we live as changed people that seek to serve and honor God with our lives because of what Jesus Christ has done for us. That is a memorable living memorial.