Surrender Your Rights

Today’s devotional covers quite a bit of ground in Paul’s letter to the church in Corinth. Paul begins the passage by addressing the issue of caring for those who are preaching and teaching in the church. Apparently, either the church in Corinth wasn’t willing to provide and care for Paul or some in the church were questioning why Paul deserved to be provided for. In either case, Paul reminds the church that God calls his people, both in Israel and in the church to care for the needs of the Pastors/Missionaries among them. Read 1 Corinthians 9:1-14.

But here is where things begin to get interesting. While Paul is adamant that the church has the responsibility to care for it’s shepherds, Paul also acknowledges that he personally has given up that right to financial support for the sake of the gospel of Christ. See for Paul, the priority of preaching the good news was so high for him that he wanted absolutely nothing to prevent from speaking the truth. Read 1 Corinthians 9:15-18.

Paul not only gave of his own rights, but he became like those who he was ministering to in order to bring the Gospel to them in their context. Read 1 Corinthians 9:19-23. However, despite all that Paul was willing to become to share the truth of the Gospel, the message in itself did not change. Nor did Paul ever compromise in areas of his life that would have put him outside the law of God. Paul summed up his view on ministry in 1 Cor 9:22,

I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some.

Finally, Paul talks about his own ministry as an apostle and how he is able to do the things required of him in preaching the Gospel. Read 1 Corinthians 9:24-27. In order to fully surrender his rights, Paul had to discipline himself. He knew that disciplining himself would allow him to pursue the purpose God had placed in him. 1 Corinthians 9:26-27,

So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

So what does this mean for us today? Do we see the task of proclaiming the Gospel as the number one priority the way Paul did? What are sacrificing for the sake of the Gospel? Are we willing to go into other people’s contexts in order to proclaim the good news? Have we disciplined ourselves so that we can complete the task that God given to us?

Sunday: Pray for the Global community
Pray for Chile as they recover from an 8.8 earthquake. Pray also for Hawaii and the west coast as it recover from tsunamis

Monday: Pray for your relationship with God
Lift up yor complaints to God. Know that he hears them and cares for you