From the Kitchen Table

The Kitchen Table Devotional

1 Corinthians 9 Day 4

To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak; I have become all things to all men, so that I may, by all means, save some. ²³ I do all things for the sake of the gospel, so that I may become a fellow partaker of it.

1 Corinthians 9:22-23

Who are those who are free?  It’s those who know the heart of God through the word of God to live in the love of God.  These have the wherewithal to rise to the occasion, submit to the need, stand against the evil and deception of the enemy, and support and encourage the believer.  Their pursuit and passion is to know God. 

The Kitchen Table Devotional

1 Corinthians 9  Day 3

What then is my reward? That, when I preach the gospel, I may offer the gospel without charge, so as not to make full use of my right in the gospel.

1 Corinthians 9:18

Keep your freedom.  Freedom is never free, but your free to give it away.  Basically, what Paul is saying here is that he is not willing to let anyone else determine how, when, or where he ministers the gospel of God’s love.  This freedom is the freedom to live in love.  That’s what freedom really is, the freedom to live in love, being loved.  Are you free to live in love, being loved, today?

The Kitchen Table Devotional

1 Corinthians 9  Day 2

If we sowed spiritual things in you, is it too much if we reap material things from you?

1 Corinthians 9:11

Keep the main thing the main thing.  Don’t let anyone persuade you to make earthly pleasures, powers, or possessions the main thing.  When you sow spiritually; you will reap physically.  People who can’t believe will always make it about dirt and drama.  Everything here is just dirt.  Live for the divine.  Let your imagination be molded by God and your expectations will be motivated by God, not man.

The Kitchen Table Devotional

1 Corinthians 9  Day 1

Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord? ² If to others I am not an apostle, at least I am to you; for you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.

1 Corinthians 9:1-2

Sin ties us to the soil, the earthly, the demonic.  When that happens drama quickly rules over direction.  All you can do is serve God faithfully and find peace in His faithfulness.  Notice, for Paul, it’s not about throwing dirt on his accusers but rather asking questions about his own activities.   Keep the main thing the main thing and focus on your calling, not others’ contempt.   Questions, not accusations, level the playing field and help us get to the truth.  Don’t let the devil use drama to divert you from God’s direction. 

The Kitchen Table Devotional

1 Corinthians 8  Day 5

Therefore, if food causes my brother to stumble, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause my brother to stumble.

1 Corinthians 8:13

If we knew the judgment people were already living under, we might be more compassionate in judging them for being and living differently than we do.  Sin soils the soul and sabotages the spirit of a man.  Healing can take time and tenderness.  Transformation takes revelation. Freedom is a great part of this new life but we can’t let it foil the work God is doing in others.  It’s not about what we want but what He wants.

The Kitchen Table Devotional

1 Corinthians 8  Day 4

For through your knowledge he who is weak is ruined, the brother for whose sake Christ died. ¹²  And so, by sinning against the brethren and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ.

1 Corinthians 8:11-12

It’s not what you know but who you know and it’s not about the law, it’s about the love for the one around you.  Those who know the Father of love, let love guide their thoughts, their tongue, and their touch on other’s lives.  The more we understand God’s love for us, the more His love will cause us to love those around us.  That old life of sin was only about loving oneself.  This new life of love is about loving God, self, and others and it’s powerful to bless everyone in the room.

The Kitchen Table Devotional

1 Corinthians 8  Day 3

But food will not commend us to God; we are neither the worse if we do not eat, nor the better if we do eat. ⁹ But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak.

1 Corinthians 8:8-9

It’s not what you know but who you know that matters.  Those who know Jesus enjoy the fruit of freedom.  No more regulation for freedom but a relationship of freedom.  And this freedom is first and foremost the freedom to love, God, self, and others.  That love guides our thoughts, our tongue, and our touch.  It’s no longer about what we like, but who we love.  This freedom to love gives us to freedom to care about God, self, and those around us.  Think about this:  when it comes to people, possessions, and the pleasures of this life, we can’t enjoy what enslaves us.  Live free!

The Kitchen Table Devotional

1 Corinthians 8  Day 2

Therefore concerning the eating of things sacrificed to idols, we know that there is no such thing as an idol in the world, and that there is no God but one.

1 Corinthians 8:4

It’s not what you know but who you know that matters.  When our who we know is God, then our what we know will come what He says.  Don’t be surprised by the difficulty involved in leaving the who we used to know and replacing what we used to know.  Belief is a heart issue, a matter of what our spirit believes is true.  Be ready to replace your who with God and your what with His word.  The sooner you do this the sooner you will walk in the blessings of His word, His wisdom, and His ways.  Those who can’t will walk with a weakened conscience and worried spirit.

The Kitchen Table Devotional

1 Corinthians 8  Day 1

Now concerning things sacrificed to idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge  makes arrogant, but love edifies. ²  If anyone supposes that he knows anything, he has not yet known as he ought to know; ³ but if anyone loves God, he is known by Him.

1 Corinthians 8:1-3

It’s not what you know, but who you know that matters.  Proverbs 1:7 says that the fear (great respect) of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.  In the battle of religions, it’s about what we know.  In the battle for redemption, it’s about Who we know and Who we love that loves us and loves the world.  It’s His great love that teaches us all things to live this great life and has made for us.  Do you know the Great I Am who is the Great I Can has a Great I Care for us in His heart.  It’s in His love that we learn all the wisdom of the seen and unseen world.

The Kitchen Table Devotional

1 Corinthians 7  Day 5

A wife is bound as long as her husband lives; but if her husband is dead, she is free to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord. ⁴⁰ But in my opinion she is happier if she remains as she is; and I think that I also have the Spirit of God.

1 Corinthians 7:39-40

Get the spiritual right and the rest will follow.  Keep God first in your life and keep His word as the compass for your life.  When you were born-again, God took you for forever to be His and you took Him to be your Lord for forever.  God works in the forever, and He considers marriage to be a for as long as I live relationship.  Honor Him and His word.  Keep Him first and He’ll work His forever in your life.  Trust Him!