Written by: Lynne Burke
1 Corinthians 12 v 14-20
The human body has many parts. The foot might say, “Because I am not a
hand, I am not part of the body.” But saying this would not stop the foot
from being a part of the body. The ear might say, “Because I am not an
eye, I am not part of the body.” But saying this would not stop the ear
from being a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, it would not be
able to hear. If the whole body were an ear, it would not be able to smell. If
each part of the body were the same part, there would be no body. But truly God
put all the parts, each one of them, in the body as he wanted them. So then there
are many parts, but only one body.
Notes
Paul is drawing a word picture to illustrate church. What does the word “church” mean
to you? Do you think of church as a building? Do you think of church as a meeting?
Have you ever thought about church as a body? Think about these questions and
answers:
Question: Who are the hands? Answer: the Christians involved
in caring, healing, counselling, pouring cups of tea … and more.
Question: Who are the feet? Answer: the Christians who “go” to
new places such as church. planters, cell group leaders in schools and offices,
people on the mission field at home and abroad … and more.
Question: Who is the mouth? Answer: Christians everywhere who talk about their
relationship with Jesus, in public and in private.
Church is a group of people, a living, moving body of people who are following Jesus. There are as many expressions of church as there are groups. Altogether these people, this church, is the bride of Christ. We are his fiancée.
What an exceptional fiancé we have. One who gave up everything to come to earth and be human, so he could touch the rejected, heal the sick, experience pain, rejection and the worst torture we could devise, all so that we could live for ever.
The church is his fiancée. It is our job to make the church as beautiful as we can make it.
He showed us what a beautiful human life looks like. It looks like his, wherever we are today. WWJD - “What Would Jesus Do” - is not just a catchy motif on a wristband. It’s a serious question. What would Jesus do if he were in your shoes today? He is!
Prayer
O Father, help me to be the hands and feet of Jesus today. Open my eyes to
see what you see, open my heart to feel your heart for those around me and
make me bold to go where you would go. Amen
1 Corinthians 12 v 21-26
The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the
head cannot say to the foot, “I don’t need you!” No! Those
parts of the body that seem to be the weaker are really necessary. And the
parts of the body we think are less deserving are the parts to which we give
the most honour. We give special respect to the parts we want to hide. The
more respectable parts of our body need no special care. But God put the body
together and gave more honour to the parts that need it so our body would not
be divided. God wanted the different parts to care the same for each other.
If one part of the body suffers, all the other parts suffer with it. Or if
one part of our body is honoured, all the other parts share its honour.
Notes
No part of a body can go it alone! A huge foot might think it can go a long
way, but there is a shock in store for it – it needs muscles, bones,
brain, digestive system … all sorts of things that are hidden from
sight and easily forgotten about.
We are linked with Christians all over the world – we make up one body. Many of them we won’t meet on this side of heaven. Some are close to home like the person who washes up after your meetings, the person who notices you’ve not been around and prompts someone to call you, the speaker who changed your life. Others are further away.
When a Christian anywhere in the world suffers, the whole body suffers. You are linked to the Christian children in Colombia who have seen their parents murdered and been taken captive as slave labourers and soldiers. They have been taught to use guns then forced to kill or die themselves. You are linked to the 15-year-old in Indonesia who was recently hacked to death, a bit at a time, refusing with every blow to deny Jesus.
When they are imprisoned, killed, tortured, the bride of Christ is injured. It is not as it should be. We can strengthen these links and therefore the body by our prayers. Do you know what area God wants you to pray for? Has he given you a city, a country or a continent to pray for? Ask him to do this. Then watch the news for information on how you can be praying. Try to meet people from your special place. Think about the possibility of one day going on a short term mission there. As one part of the body serves another part, the whole body is enriched.
Prayer
Father, there are so many believers who feel neglected and alone. Keep me faithful
in prayer for my brothers and sisters who are in danger. Which countries
do you want me to pray for? Amen
Now wait, listen and obey.
1 Corinthians 12 v 27-31
Together you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of that
body. In the church God has given a place first to apostles, second to prophets,
and third to teachers. Then God has given a place to those who do miracles,
those who have gifts of healing, those who can help others, those who are
able to govern, and those who can speak in different languages. Not all are
apostles. Not all are prophets. Not all are teachers. Not all do miracles.
Not all have gifts of healing. Not all speak in different languages. Not
all interpret those languages. But you should truly want to have the greater
gifts.
Notes
What is your part in the body? Do you know what God has called you and equipped
you to do?
Psychologists recognise that we all take on a role in each group we are part
of. This isn’t a new idea, God designed it that way. You might be the
prophet in one group, speaking out what you hear Jesus saying for the group.
You might be the shoulder to cry on in another group.
In my early days as a Christian, the only job I could do was to put the chairs away. It was valuable and appreciated. It was also comfortable and well within my comfort zone so it wasn’t the place God wanted me to stay!
John Wimber defined ministry as “helping others on the basis of God’s resources”. Doing anything on the basis that God will provide the resources isn’t a comfortable place to be. We are more comfortable when we KNOW we can do it with our own resources. As we practice using the gifts, a ministry develops around the one that God wants us to use more than the others … our primary gifting.
I am so glad that God didn’t wait for me to get my life sorted before he started to use me. We may only see miracles on special, days but we can help people every day, if only by a word of encouragement. We can be God’s instrument for healing if we pray for people. We can pass on what we have learnt to other people. If you aren’t sure what gifts you are good at using, ask someone you trust to help you identify a possible ministry.
Prayer
Father, help me to be humble enough to learn how to use the gifts of the Spirit
so that I can discover my ministry and help to extend your kingdom. Amen
1 Corinthians 13 v 1-3
And now I will show you the best way of all.
I may speak in different languages of people or even angels. But if I do not
have love, I am only a noisy bell or a crashing cymbal. I may have the gift
of prophecy. I may understand all the secret things of God and have all knowledge,
and I may have faith so great I can move mountains. But even with all these
things, if I do not have love, then I am nothing. I may give away everything
I have, and I may even give my body as an offering to be burned. But I gain
nothing if I do not have love.
Notes
“AND now …” ie “in addition to the gifts” is LOVE.
Love is the best way of all.
Does your daily time with God flow out of your love for him? Is it the highlight of your day, or just another task to be ticked off? It’s so easy for us to make rules, then obey them and think that we have done what God wants.
Example rule: “If I have 10 minutes doing word-on-the-web in the morning, God will bless my day.”
Not necessarily true! Staring at a screen for 10 minutes, or re-living yesterday’s highlights while you scan the words doesn’t bring you one centimetre closer to God. When you withdraw from your busy-ness and approach with a heart and mind hungry for him … he meets you. Whether it’s for 5 minutes or 35 minutes isn’t the point. It’s not just time, it’s quality time he wants.
You need to come seeking God and expecting to be challenged and inspired. Engage with what you are reading. Get your imagination working. Ask yourself questions. Search for answers as you are reading. Don’t be afraid to ask yourself some big questions. “Will I refuse to see an unsuitable film when my friends ask me to go with them?” “How can I wait until I’m married to have sex?” “Shall I take out a loan?”
Have you thought of keeping a journal of your spiritual journey? I’ve now done this for about twenty years. I use it to write down my questions and my prayers and then the answers. I record experiences with the Lord in ministry, significant dreams and pictures the Lord gives me or to others for me. In this way I don’t lose one precious word of what God says to me.
Prayer
Father, you gave me your love, in Jesus. You held nothing back. I choose right
now to give you all my love, love for you, love for others. Help me to live
that out today. Amen
1 Corinthians 13 v 4-7
Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous, it does not brag, and it is
not proud. Love is not rude, is not selfish, and does not get upset with
others. Love does not count up wrongs that have been done. Love is not happy
with evil but is happy with the truth. Love patiently accepts all things.
It always trusts, always hopes, and always remains strong.
Notes
The original “Love is …”. Not the sweet little cartoon characters
we might be familiar with but challenging words like “not proud”, “not
selfish”, “not upset”. Words that conjure up pictures of
behaviours we would prefer to keep hidden. This is because love is a doing
word, not just a feeling. I can feel all the love in the world for you but
it is worthless if I see you starving and penniless and walk past. Love prompts
action.
I looked after somebody recently who had a brain tumour. I have known this person for many, many years, but the tumour had robbed them of much of their personality. I didn’t know the person they had become, but I was flooded with love for them. This was from outside of myself. It was a God-given love that made it possible to do all the menial tasks necessary to keep them comfortable.
We cannot say that our love always trusts, always hopes and always remains strong. We are human. But Jesus can say these things and the very same Spirit who lived in Jesus and lifted his dead body to life is living in us. When we don’t have enough love, we can ask him to lend us some of his. He is used to loving people who reject him, ignore him, abuse him. We can give him the little bit of love we have and he will add the huge amount of love that he has and pour it back into us.
Prayer
Father, I cannot love like this on my own, but I know that Jesus in me can
love perfectly. Pour your love into me today and fill me up so that you overflow
into the lives of those I meet today. Amen
1 Corinthians 13 v 8-10
Love never ends. There are gifts of prophecy, but they will be ended. There
are gifts of speaking in different languages, but those gifts will stop.
There is the gift of knowledge, but it will come to an end. The reason is
that our knowledge and our ability to prophesy are not perfect. But when
perfection comes, the things that are not perfect will end.
Notes
Love never ends. Love is not a spiritual gift that comes and then is gone.
Love is one of the fruits of the Spirit, along with joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Paul lists
them in Galatians 5 v 22). The fruit come in a bunch. Gifts come one at a
time, but the fruit are all developing at the same time. In Jesus they were
fully grown. In us they will go on maturing for our whole lifetime and because
of them, our character becomes more and more Christ-like.
How does the fruit grow? It grows as we resist temptation to do the opposite! As I waited for exam results, my patience improved. As I recovered from bulimia, my self-control improved. As I searched for an understanding of the cancer in my body, I found questions that drove me deeper into God to find the peace I had lost.
At that time a little blue tit crashed into my kitchen window and dropped to the ground. I thought it had died but when I picked it up I found it was still alive. Love flooded me as I cradled its little warm body in my hand. Jesus said to me: “This is how I love and cherish you. Not because of what you do but because of your helplessness, your warmth and your companionship.”
And then two people sent me an identical card of a little girl holding a blue tit in her hand with the words inside: “Be gentle to yourself, you need some time to heal.”
What an amazing God we have.
Prayer
Father, I want to be more like Jesus. Help me to resist temptation and make
choices today so that you can grow your character within me. Help me to find
that still, peaceful place within me where you and I can be of one mind.
Amen
1 Corinthians 13 v 11-13
When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned
like a child. When I became a man, I stopped those childish ways. It is the
same with us. Now we see a dim reflection, as if we were looking into a mirror,
but then we shall see clearly. Now I know only a part, but then I will know
fully, as God has known me. So these three things continue forever: faith,
hope, and love. And the greatest of these is love.
Notes
How old are you? Spiritual maturity isn’t like chronological age. It
doesn’t just happen, it’s something we have to work for. It’s
31 years since I gave my life to Jesus but I won’t be the same spiritual
age as someone else who has been a Christian for 31 years. For my first five
years I didn’t know anything about living life as a Christian. My thinking
was definitely baby-like. Then I spent some years as a child, being fed. Gradually
I took on responsibility for my own growth in knowledge and experience of God
and so reached maturity.
There are many “31 year-olds” who are more mature than I am, but we’ll recognise one another. We have pursued holiness. We have seen miracles. We have wept for the lost and rejoiced with the angels at everyone found. We have heard a call and followed it. We expect to encounter Jesus each day. We have experienced the excitement of having a life that is in the hands of the living God. We experience the supernatural over and over again. None of us will tell you that the Christian life is dull.
Smith Wigglesworth, an English prophet of the last century, believed that we should move forwards every day. If we don’t learn something new about Jesus today we have effectively gone backwards.
One day we will know Jesus as well as he knows us. It will either be the other side of death or when he returns. Either way we haven’t a day to waste. Our faith in Jesus, our hope for eternity and our love for God and for others, will move us forwards.
Prayer
Father, help me to learn something new about you today, tomorrow and every
day of my life. Open my eyes and my mind to take in what you want to show
me. Amen
word-on-the-web uses the Scripture text
taken from the Youth Bible, New Century Version (Anglicised Edition) copyright
1993 by Word Publishing Milton Keynes