Word for the day by Christian Education Forum
16 Do you not know that you
are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? 17 If anyone destroys God’s
temple, God will destroy that person. For God’s temple is holy, and you are
that temple.
Paul, in his first Epistle to the Corinthians, wrote these verses to prepare them to live according to their calling with respect to Jesus’ teachings. Before this, Paul mentions in 1 Corinthians 2:10-12 about wisdom from the Spirit and using our God given gifts properly.
10 These are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. 11 For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us.
Paul asks us to examine whether or not we are living a life worthy of our calling in 1 Corinthians 3:10-15 and cautions us to be selective on how we build our lives. He warns us to be careful and judicious in choosing our life calling. He encourages us to favor life-building materials that will not perish under the pressures of the world and advises to use God’s gifts wisely.
10 By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. 11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13 their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. 14 If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. 15 If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames.
In Colossians 1:9-10, Paul also demonstrates how we should pray for guidance from the Holy Spirit to help us live worthy of our calling while applying our God given gifts to achieve God’s plan for us.
9 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives,[a] 10 so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,
In Philippians 1:27, Paul further describes how we should conduct our calling with regards to the gospels.
27 Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit,[a] striving together as one for the faith of the gospel
In addition, we can see through Paul’s ministry for the Thessalonians that he constantly promoted Christians to live their lives worthy of God as described in 1 Thessalonians 2:11-12
11 For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, 12 encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.
Finally, in Ephesians 4:1, we can see yet another example of Paul urging believers to follow their calling and unite in the Body of Christ.
As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.
To conclude, we must realize that in order to live a life worthy of our calling, we must make some concrete decisions in our lives to build a strong foundation. These decisions should be based on the teachings from the gospels, guidance from the Holy Spirit, using our God given gifts and through prayer.
PRAYER
Our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ, we pray that you continually guide us with your Holy Spirit to
lay the appropriate foundations to live our lives worthy of your calling. We
thank you for our God given gifts and pray that you will help us use these
blessings according to your will. Amen
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
“I believe there's a calling for all of us. I know that every human being has value and purpose. The real work of our lives is to become aware. And awakened. To answer the call.”
― Oprah Winfrey
Paul, in his first Epistle to the Corinthians, wrote these verses to prepare them to live according to their calling with respect to Jesus’ teachings. Before this, Paul mentions in 1 Corinthians 2:10-12 about wisdom from the Spirit and using our God given gifts properly.
10 These are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. 11 For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us.
Paul asks us to examine whether or not we are living a life worthy of our calling in 1 Corinthians 3:10-15 and cautions us to be selective on how we build our lives. He warns us to be careful and judicious in choosing our life calling. He encourages us to favor life-building materials that will not perish under the pressures of the world and advises to use God’s gifts wisely.
10 By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. 11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13 their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. 14 If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. 15 If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames.
In Colossians 1:9-10, Paul also demonstrates how we should pray for guidance from the Holy Spirit to help us live worthy of our calling while applying our God given gifts to achieve God’s plan for us.
9 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives,[a] 10 so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,
In Philippians 1:27, Paul further describes how we should conduct our calling with regards to the gospels.
27 Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit,[a] striving together as one for the faith of the gospel
In addition, we can see through Paul’s ministry for the Thessalonians that he constantly promoted Christians to live their lives worthy of God as described in 1 Thessalonians 2:11-12
11 For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, 12 encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.
Finally, in Ephesians 4:1, we can see yet another example of Paul urging believers to follow their calling and unite in the Body of Christ.
As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.
To conclude, we must realize that in order to live a life worthy of our calling, we must make some concrete decisions in our lives to build a strong foundation. These decisions should be based on the teachings from the gospels, guidance from the Holy Spirit, using our God given gifts and through prayer.
PRAYER
Our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ, we pray that you continually guide us with your Holy Spirit to
lay the appropriate foundations to live our lives worthy of your calling. We
thank you for our God given gifts and pray that you will help us use these
blessings according to your will. AmenTHOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
“I believe there's a calling for all of us. I know that every human being has value and purpose. The real work of our lives is to become aware. And awakened. To answer the call.”
― Oprah Winfrey