November 1, 2010

Rebuked Out of Love

Paul really does rebuke the church at Corinth a lot. But he loves the church and in 1 Corinthians 4:14-20 he reminds them that he writes to them in this manner not to make them ashamed, "but to admonish (them) as (his) beloved children." He refers to himself as their father in Christ Jesus. He also rebukes those that are arrogant and think they can get away with poor leadership and direction because Paul isn't going to come back. But Paul tells them he will come back if it's God's will. He also sent Timothy there to help the church and to report back to Paul. He tells them he will find out the power of these people and deal with that, not just what they are saying, because the kingdom of God consists of power. And Paul's final warning in this section is that when he returns he can come back ready to punish or to love in gentleness, and it's up to the people of the church.

Seriously, we have a short time here on earth. How can we make it right and good? How can we find joy and satisfaction in worshiping God with our lives and our actions? What do we need to do to avoid sin and run away from temptations? How do we clear our minds of things of this world and focus them on the things of God? Colossians 3:2 "Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth."

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