Paul teaches a lot these were highlights for me.
Paul states "For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we proclained among you.....was not 'Yes and No'; but in him it is always 'Yes'. For in him every one of God's promises is a 'Yes.' " 1:19-20a
He is talking about people whose faith vacilates. How many of us say I believe but.... or I will follow Jesus but.....? If God says 'Yes" and means 'Yes' to us than our 'Yes' must be equal.
Many of us give excuses for not sharing Christ, i.e. shy, fear, do not want to offend, but Paul puts those all down with these statements "For we do not proclaim ourselves we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus' sake.... we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us." 4:5,7 Paul is clear that we are clay jars but the power and the message is of God not for us to hold but to pour out to others. We are vessels of a treasure to be given away.
When it comes to how we view others Paul puts down all judgements and biases. "From now on we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way. So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!" 5.16-17 As Christians, we not only see Christ different than others, we see others through the eyes of Christ. For Paul being in Christ is easy when we surrender to the Spirit who makes us new.
If anyone wonders why the church collects for others, they only need to read chapter 8, the teachings of Jesus, especially Matthew 25. From the beginning the followers of Jesus and the early Christians were encouraged to care for others. In chapter 8 Paul praises the Macedonians for their generous giving and generous hearts while encouraging the Corinthians to finish the collection for others. He encouraages to give generously and joyfully. His words are a testament to all Christians give generously and give joyfully.
These were just a few of the Paul's teachings to new and struggling Christians, that I think are truths for even now.
Micah 3-7 In chapter 3 Micah proclaims the destruction of Israel because it does not practice justice. In chapters 4-8 Micah gives hope that God will rebuild the people, but only when they are willing to lives of love. 6.6-8 Micah speaks for God a word of righteous living. Although God may desire offerings and sacrifices, they are not to come with empty hearts. Material gifts to God are not pleasing if our hearts and lives do not reflect our love of God. ' He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God' 6.8 Micah's words teach us today. Do we come to worship with hollow hearts? Are our offerings just stuff with no love? Do we act with justice and mercy throughout the week to reflect God's love? Do we love God enough to humbly submit to the LORD's words? These are the questions posed to us from Micah. These are the requirements God has for a holy people.
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