Built Up to Stay Tough!

Reflection: As Paul wraps up his discourse of the use of spiritual gifts in the church, he addresses the issue of speaking in tongues with the young church in Corinth.  As he states they are eager to use their spiritual gifts, but Paul wants to shape their understanding of how they are the most useful.  Paul’s rule of thumb is to pursue those gifts of the Spirit that “edify” the whole body.  Meaning when these gifts are used the body of Christ is built up in knowledge and understanding of who Jesus is, and how to follow His teaching in our everyday lives.

Paul uses the metaphor of an instrument and how useless it would be for an instrument to play random sounds with no distinction in notes, or understanding of the tune.  He goes to say what good would a trumpet be if there is so sense to its clarion call.  But instruments are to be played in harmony by someone who has learned to translate the music so those who hear it can be inspired.  In the same way, if someone speaks in tongues but there is no one there to interpret, the only person who is edified is the person speaking, which has no use in the public assembly.

Note Paul does not forbid speaking in tongues, or say its use is only for the apostolic era; but gives guidelines for its usage, mainly that there needs to be an interpreter if used in a public service or setting.  Paul ends his discourse by saying wryly, “I would rather speak five intelligible words than 10,000 words in a tongue.”

We all need to be “built up” in our lives!  As a pastor I sense a lot of discouragement out there these days.  Many of us lead busy and frenetic lives, just trying to keep our heads above water and our kids out of trouble.  But church should be a time of refreshment and encouragement for your journey of faith. The psalmist learned this when he says of his time with the Lord,

1 You, God, are my God,

    earnestly I seek you;

I thirst for you,

    my whole being longs for you,

in a dry and parched land

    where there is no water.

2 I have seen you in the sanctuary

    and beheld your power and your glory.

3 Because your love is better than life,

    my lips will glorify you.

4 I will praise you as long as I live,

    and in your name I will lift up my hands.

5 I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods;

    with singing lips my mouth will praise you.

6 On my bed I remember you;

    I think of you through the watches of the night.

7 Because you are my help,

    I sing in the shadow of your wings.

What a great “one-two punch” to have daily times of refreshment and encouragement from God’s Word in your daily quiet time, and then to gather with the community to be edified by gifted instructors in God’s Word.  As someone has said, “The Christian life is simple, but hard.”  Hard in the respect that unless we prioritize our relationship with God and others in the body, we are vulnerable to the temptations the Proverbs talk about today!  I hope you enjoyed this time of daily edification in God’s Word I know I sure do!  Peace be with you as you start your week!  Amen. 

Psalm 63

A psalm of David. When he was in the Desert of Judah.

1 You, God, are my God,

    earnestly I seek you;

I thirst for you,

    my whole being longs for you,

in a dry and parched land

    where there is no water.

2 I have seen you in the sanctuary

    and beheld your power and your glory.

3 Because your love is better than life,

    my lips will glorify you.

4 I will praise you as long as I live,

    and in your name I will lift up my hands.

5 I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods;

    with singing lips my mouth will praise you.

6 On my bed I remember you;

    I think of you through the watches of the night.

7 Because you are my help,

    I sing in the shadow of your wings.

8 I cling to you;

    your right hand upholds me.

9 Those who want to kill me will be destroyed;

    they will go down to the depths of the earth.

10 They will be given over to the sword

    and become food for jackals.

11 But the king will rejoice in God;

    all who swear by God will glory in him,

    while the mouths of liars will be silenced.

Proverbs 6

Warnings Against Folly

6 My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor,

    if you have shaken hands in pledge for a stranger,

2 you have been trapped by what you said,

    ensnared by the words of your mouth.

3 So do this, my son, to free yourself,

    since you have fallen into your neighbor’s hands:

Go—to the point of exhaustion—

    and give your neighbor no rest!

4 Allow no sleep to your eyes,

    no slumber to your eyelids.

5 Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter,

    like a bird from the snare of the fowler.

6 Go to the ant, you sluggard;

    consider its ways and be wise!

7 It has no commander,

    no overseer or ruler,

8 yet it stores its provisions in summer

    and gathers its food at harvest.

9 How long will you lie there, you sluggard?

    When will you get up from your sleep?

10 A little sleep, a little slumber,

    a little folding of the hands to rest—

11 and poverty will come on you like a thief

    and scarcity like an armed man.

12 A troublemaker and a villain,

    who goes about with a corrupt mouth,

13     who winks maliciously with his eye,

    signals with his feet

    and motions with his fingers,

14     who plots evil with deceit in his heart—

    he always stirs up conflict.

15 Therefore disaster will overtake him in an instant;

    he will suddenly be destroyed—without remedy.

16 There are six things the Lord hates,

    seven that are detestable to him:

17         haughty eyes,

        a lying tongue,

        hands that shed innocent blood,

18         a heart that devises wicked schemes,

        feet that are quick to rush into evil,

19         a false witness who pours out lies

        and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.

Warning Against Adultery

20 My son, keep your father’s command

    and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.

21 Bind them always on your heart;

    fasten them around your neck.

22 When you walk, they will guide you;

    when you sleep, they will watch over you;

    when you awake, they will speak to you.

23 For this command is a lamp,

    this teaching is a light,

and correction and instruction

    are the way to life,

24 keeping you from your neighbor’s wife,

    from the smooth talk of a wayward woman.

25 Do not lust in your heart after her beauty

    or let her captivate you with her eyes.

26 For a prostitute can be had for a loaf of bread,

    but another man’s wife preys on your very life.

27 Can a man scoop fire into his lap

    without his clothes being burned?

28 Can a man walk on hot coals

    without his feet being scorched?

29 So is he who sleeps with another man’s wife;

    no one who touches her will go unpunished.

30 People do not despise a thief if he steals

    to satisfy his hunger when he is starving.

31 Yet if he is caught, he must pay sevenfold,

    though it costs him all the wealth of his house.

32 But a man who commits adultery has no sense;

    whoever does so destroys himself.

33 Blows and disgrace are his lot,

    and his shame will never be wiped away.

34 For jealousy arouses a husband’s fury,

    and he will show no mercy when he takes revenge.

35 He will not accept any compensation;

    he will refuse a bribe, however great it is.

1 Corinthians 14:6-19

6 Now, brothers and sisters, if I come to you and speak in tongues, what good will I be to you, unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or word of instruction? 7 Even in the case of lifeless things that make sounds, such as the pipe or harp, how will anyone know what tune is being played unless there is a distinction in the notes? 8 Again, if the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle? 9 So it is with you. Unless you speak intelligible words with your tongue, how will anyone know what you are saying? You will just be speaking into the air. 10 Undoubtedly there are all sorts of languages in the world, yet none of them is without meaning. 11 If then I do not grasp the meaning of what someone is saying, I am a foreigner to the speaker, and the speaker is a foreigner to me. 12 So it is with you. Since you are eager for gifts of the Spirit, try to excel in those that build up the church. 13 For this reason the one who speaks in a tongue should pray that they may interpret what they say. 14 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. 15 So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my understanding; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my understanding. 16 Otherwise when you are praising God in the Spirit, how can someone else, who is now put in the position of an inquirer, say “Amen” to your thanksgiving, since they do not know what you are saying? 17 You are giving thanks well enough, but no one else is edified.

18 I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. 19 But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue.

Correct me, O Lord, but in just measure; not in your anger, or you will bring me to nothing. Jeremiah 10:24

God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it. 1 Corinthians 10:13

Our Father in heaven, we pray to avoid temptation. We cling to the promise that we will not be tested beyond our endurance. Thank you for your great mercy! Amen