Day 232

2 Chronicles 10:1-12:16, 1 Corinthians 14:1-19, Proverbs 20:15-24

I have to be very honest, I hit one of those low moments when we came back to the history stuff. The thought of having to read all of this over again, all the random kings and what they did or didn’t do just made me feel a bit cold. I was reminded though that we are in this for the long haul, through thick and thin (and the very thick somewhere in the middle). Whether it is the super spiritual, the rather racy or the boring stuff as we are reading, so there are times in our walk with Christ when there are deeply spiritual moments and also the run of the mill moments.

Paul helps us to see the two alongside each other because in Corinthians we see some of the exciting spiritual stuff, speaking in tongues and prophecy. Although we have seen it a number of times before we have never really looked at the gift of tongues. Like at Pentecost where the Holy Spirit enabled the disciples to speak in many different languages, the gift of tongues is where the Holy Spirit enables a person to speak in a language that is not their own, in fact it can sometimes sound quite odd. Paul here explains that it should always come with an interpretation, it is great to be able to speak to God in this way but in worship we should aim to help the whole congregation worship God and so tongues shouldn’t just be a personal thing.

For Paul in this section of the book, it is all about worship and ensuring that worship is beneficial for all. We all have a personal relationship with God and that is important, but we also worship as a church and Paul is making sure that members of  the Corinthian church help each other in that worship, it is not just about what is good for the individual, it is about what is good for the whole fellowship.

Life is about taking the rough with the smooth, the boring with the exciting. In all things we have to allow the Spirit to work through us for the good of all and the glory of God.