Today’s Life Journal Reading is from:

Job 35; Job 36; 1 Corinthians 7; 1 Corinthians 8

Scripture

1 Corinthians 8

 ¹ Now concerning things offered to idols: We know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies. ² And if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know. ³ But if anyone loves God, this one is known by Him.
⁴ Therefore concerning the eating of things offered to idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no other God but one. ⁵ For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many gods and many lords), ⁶ yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live.
⁷ However, there is not in everyone that knowledge; for some, with consciousness of the idol, until now eat it as a thing offered to an idol; and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. ⁸ But food does not commend us to God; for neither if we eat are we the better, nor if we do not eat are we the worse.
⁹ But beware lest somehow this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to those who are weak. ¹⁰ For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol’s temple, will not the conscience of him who is weak be emboldened to eat those things offered to idols? ¹¹ And because of your knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died? ¹² But when you thus sin against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. ¹³ Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never again eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble. (1 Corinthians 8, New King James Version)

Observation:

We are all at different stages of our walk with Christ. We don’t know fully the story of another person and we can’t presume to know fully. It’s easy for us to discount a person based on appearances or limited conversations, but even then, it doesn’t give us the liberty to justifiable say, “We know”.

Some people maybe grappling with issues in their walk, others may be more mature, and in a short time, but others may talk a longer time, but it makes them no less a Christian believer than the other.

We, as human beings, have at core, the danger of pride and even jealousy that it can easily cloud or judgement or have us like peacocks, and puff our chests out, proclaiming ourselves to be better than the other, when in reality, maybe our Father in Heaven, uses other’s weaknesses to expose our own weaknesses that we are oft blind to see.

⁹ But beware lest somehow this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to those who are weak. ¹⁰ For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol’s temple, will not the conscience of him who is weak be emboldened to eat those things offered to idols? ¹¹ And because of your knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died? ¹²

We are responsible for our fellow believers as much as we are responsible to what we show the world; How we treat each other can easily break another’s walk which puts us in a higher level of responsiblity than if we bear bad witness to a non-believer.

Funny how if we see a fellow believer under fire, we rush to protect and defend, but then sometimes, quickly be no different than a non-believer to our fellow believers.

We may have been convicted by our Father in Heaven, to follow one way or another, but it doesn’t make us more noble or higher than another.

Nor does this make us more favor or prefer over another.

There are no noble classes in God’s Kingdom, except JUST God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. We, as believers, are brothers and sisters to each other and have to bear the care as we do our own flesh and blood, to take care, to lift up and to encourage one another.

Verse 9, seems to be a vivid reminder that what maybe good for another, could distract or stumble another and we have to bear careful care there. 

Application:

This passage is a reminder that we have to be very careful how we interact with each other, how we, not our Father, but we, place expectations based on human desires and wishes and expectations.

This is a reminder that we can easily become like the Pharisees, who may have known the law, but truly did not know God in their hearts, for they had become so focus on what was openly displayed and done that like a wooden cabinet, on the outside, it may look perfect and right and beautiful, but inside, it was rotting and empty because they didn’t allow God in their lives.

I think 1 Corinthineans 7:23, puts it beautifully:

You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men. 

YOU-Me-All of us, were bought at a price, but not by other men, but by Jesus Christ who paid for OUR sins, by HIS sacrifice. We dont’ belong in obligation or expectation to each other, but to Him.

Our heads should not be turn side by side, looking at each other, but each, looking up, at Him.

   
¹⁷ But as God has distributed to each one, as the Lord has called each one, so let him walk. And so I ordain in all the churches. ¹⁸ Was anyone called while circumcised? Let him not become uncircumcised. Was anyone called while uncircumcised? Let him not be circumcised. ¹⁹ Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing, but keeping the commandments of God is what matters. ²⁰ Let each one remain in the same calling in which he was called. (1 Corinthians 7:17-20, New King James Version)

We were each and all, bought at a price, and each of our walk will be different and always varying, one day we maybe far in our walk and the next, we will find we have stumble and falling back, but ultimately the goal, is and should be, for all of us, not about worrying about men, but worrying about our Father in Heaven and working, on our personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Prayer:

Lord, Thank You for Your Word and Your convictions and for the beautiful day that You have bless us with. Lord, I pray that as we read Your word, we read with an open heart, open eyes and just with always hunger for You and Your Word.

Lord, bless us in our walk, for we are going to have our good days and we are going to have our bad days, but through it all, be the anchor in our walk and help us remember, to keep looking toward you. We can’t please men, for men’s hearts will be fickle and no matter what, we will never be perfect, except for one person, Your Son, Jesus Christ, who lived among us and died for us.

In Your Name I pray,

Amen.

Don’t feel obligate to have to blog about each passage to be read, but if anything, feel free to share those passages that have the most impact on you that day.

 There maybe some days that you may read your daily reading and find nothing to jot down in your journal or on your blog and that’s okay, but there maybe other days, that you will find yourself inspire.

This is about you being encouraged to have a personal relationship with our Heavenly Father, and spending each day with Him, You and Him.

I also have a November bookmark with this month’s readings, that you are more than welcome to download and print for your own use, to keep up with the daily readings.

It is my prayer and hope that this will be an encouragement to establish a personal daily reading as well.

To find out more about using the S.O.A.P. method, here’s a link to an ehow article and here’s the link to the Life Journal to find out more what it is, and how you can use it for your own daily bible readings. If you don’t want to order the journal or if it’s not available through your local church, another method is simply, buy a journal or notebook or even blog about your life journal readings.

Disclaimer: I am not personally affiliated with the church that the link goes to, but merely share it as a resource of what the Life Journal is, how to order it.

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