Today Our Daily Bread 1 Cor 3

Romans 16:19-20 For the report of your obedience has reached to all; therefore I am rejoicing over you, but I want you to be wise in what is good and innocent in what is evil. The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet
How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of the messenger bringing good news, Breaking the news that all's well, proclaiming good times, announcing salvation, telling Zion, "Your God reigns!" Isa 52:7
1 Cor 3
Paul and Apollos, Servants of Christ
1Dear brothers and sisters, F12 when I was with you I couldn't talk to you as I would to mature Christians. I had to talk as though you belonged to this world or as though you were infants in the Christian life. F13 2I had to feed you with milk and not with solid food, because you couldn't handle anything stronger. And you still aren't ready, 3for you are still controlled by your own sinful desires. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn't that prove you are controlled by your own desires? You are acting like people who don't belong to the Lord. 4When one of you says, "I am a follower of Paul," and another says, "I prefer Apollos," aren't you acting like those who are not Christians? F14
5Who is Apollos, and who is Paul, that we should be the cause of such quarrels? Why, we're only servants. Through us God caused you to believe. Each of us did the work the Lord gave us. 6My job was to plant the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God, not we, who made it grow. 7The ones who do the planting or watering aren't important, but God is important because he is the one who makes the seed grow. 8The one who plants and the one who waters work as a team with the same purpose. Yet they will be rewarded individually, according to their own hard work. 9We work together as partners who belong to God. You are God's field, God's building—not ours.
10Because of God's special favor to me, I have laid the foundation like an expert builder. Now others are building on it. But whoever is building on this foundation must be very careful. 11For no one can lay any other foundation than the one we already have—Jesus Christ. 12Now anyone who builds on that foundation may use gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw. 13But there is going to come a time of testing at the judgment day to see what kind of work each builder has done. Everyone's work will be put through the fire to see whether or not it keeps its value. 14If the work survives the fire, that builder will receive a reward. 15But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builders themselves will be saved, but like someone escaping through a wall of flames.
16Don't you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in F15 you? 17God will bring ruin upon anyone who ruins this temple. For God's temple is holy, and you Christians are that temple. 18Stop fooling yourselves. If you think you are wise by this world's standards, you will have to become a fool so you can become wise by God's standards. 19For the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God. As the Scriptures say, "God catches those who think they are wise in their own cleverness." F16 20And again, "The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are worthless." F17 21So don't take pride in following a particular leader. Everything belongs to you: 22Paul and Apollos and Peter F18 ; the whole world and life and death; the present and the future. Everything belongs to you, 23and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.
FOOTNOTES:F12: Greek Brothers. F13: Greek in Christ. F14: Greek aren't you merely human? F15: Or among. F16: Job 5:13. F17: Ps 94:11. F18: Greek Cephas.
~Lena’s Journalin’~
Let’s Grow up, Lets Go on to being perfected, so that others might come into the saving knowledge of Christ. Lets forget about petty things and about differences and jealousies. My God, what are we as Christians about anyway? Self-fulfillment, or fulfilling the plan of God, being like Christ to a hurting and dying world? Who cares who’s "group" we are in, if it promotes God’s kingdom. Paul, Apollos, Lena, Charity, Laura, Pastor Phyllis? Who cares? God cares and He orchestrates the members of the body as it pleases Him and as it works well to bring forth His plans. Whatever works, let it work, and do not resist the working of God’s spirit, resist God’s enemy of division, but not God, submit to God and resist God’s enemy. Paul may say soon here – I have become all things to all men that I might win some! Oh that that would be the cry of every believer in Christ. God gave us a body to work as teammates of His covenant, to accomplish His will and plan on earth. Oh the earth is the LORD’S and ALL of its fullness, the people and all who dwell in it! It does not belong to us, those we meet and disciple are not ours, only ours to serve well under His guidance. It’s like being made a nanny over someone else’s kids. The nany moves in, becomes a part of the family, cares for the kids, loves the kids, imparts to the kids, but she did not make the kids, they do not belong to her, but she’d better take care of them well or she’s fired! God wants us employed for eternity in and for His family, He does not want us fired, as in terminated. Now there is a fire, as in a proving of who we are and whether we are truly, as we call ourselves, His. Whether we will truly stay in one place under one household as family and serve forever being faithful to one God and one call. That fire to one will burn up and consume till that one is no longer alive (in Christ), but to another, who has been built up strong in spirit (which is eternal), will only become stronger and more pure ( as in ceramics, and gold etc). If we are strong in spirit we will be stronger still, yet if we are only building up our flesh nature and feeding it (feeding the wrong doggie, right Carla?), then it is all we have when fire comes and it will disintegrate as wood, hay and stubble. Do we have faith working in us? It will remain. Do we have Hope working in us? It will remain. Do we have Love working in us? It will remain, and it will never fail. Invest in and exercise these three, for God’s kingdom depends upon it, depends upon us! Isn't that amazing that God is depending on us? It says that the builder will suffer great loss in the fire if the building was not built correctly (by the spirit). Do you think that makes God happy? Please get a glimpse of eternity! What we do here effects eternity, what we do not or will not do here effects eternity! God wants us to effect eternity for Him. He wants to building to stand firm in all adversity, He wants it built by the spirit. He wants us to succeed, He wants us to have reward. One more comment- we ALL together make up God’s temple, God’s house, God’s dwelling place. Don’t leave me, or the fellowship God has placed us in together! Remain, persevere, endure, be covenanted and knit together, so His house will stand firmly. We are His temple. He desires Temples to be firmly erected all over the whole world, in everyplace, each having their specified purposes. He wants them built on covenant that endures and will not budge through any storm! Let these storms speak to you. I was talking to a guy from Dominican Republic, where every year, EVERY year hurricanes pass through. It was a wonder to me that people even live on that Island, you’d think they’d move away, if not have been blown away, but they remain there, knowing that year after year storms come of varying degrees of magnitude. I asked Him how do they do it, having to re-build again and again? He said they have built their houses strong and firm, They have built them of rock and concrete, inside and out. Yeah maybe the water will wash through, but the house stands firm storm after storm and year after year! Do you move (from your local church where God has set you, or out of your family situation or your job position or location) when the first storm comes? Or do you build a stronger house of stronger material (of the spiritual nature)? Do you stay and let the water run through and the wind blow, or do you abandon ship? Good questions to ask our selves. It is time to evaluate this very foundational word personally, because we cannot go on without being sure and nothing for God is being accomplished by US if WE aren’t sure. I may do a few things, but WE aren’t. and where two or more of you agree together as touching anything that they shall ask in accordance with His will, He hears us and if He hears us he will also give us of what we’ve asked. I ask for the Port Orange Community in Jesus’ name, anybody agree? I ask for Volusia County…I ask for Florida…I ask for USA, I ask for Bolivia, Japan, China etc. I ask for what God is asking of me, the world! Jn 14:12-14 12 "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. 13 And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask anything in My name, I will do it. Mt 18:19 Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven.