Terry Storch

Writing about life, leadership, faith, and anything else I find interesting.

Maranatha

 

Maranatha - 1 Corinthians 16

Final greetings and closing to 1 Corinthians from Paul today. So many things in this short and closing chapter, but a few stood out to me today. 

Give Generously 

“Now, concerning the collection I want you to take for God’s holy believers in Jerusalem who are in need, I want you to follow the same instructions I gave the churches of Galatia. Every Sunday, each of you make a generous offering by taking a portion of whatever God has blessed you with and place it in safekeeping. Then I won’t have to make a special appeal when I come. When I arrive, I will send your gift to the poor in Jerusalem along with a letter of explanation, carried by those whom you approve.” - ‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭16:1-3‬ ‭TPT‬‬

Beyond the tithe, Paul is challenging and requesting the Corinthians to take up an offering for the church at Jerusalem consistently. They had fallen on hard times, and Paul wants the church to support the church...and he did this with the churches of Galatia as well. The heart of generosity is beautiful and an essential part of the Christian walk. 

Love intentionally

“Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Do everything in love.” -‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭16:13-14‬ ‭NIV‬‬

We consistently read about love and see that love is not a feeling or an emotion. Love is an action, and Paul writes in detail about loving intentionally. Be on guard in love. Stand firm in love. Live faithfully in love. Be courageous in love. Stand strong in love. Do everything in love. Why is it that we see love as soft, and even weak? We must transform our view and thoughts around love, and make sure we are loving intentionally, and doing everything in love. 

Live Expectantly

“If anyone won’t love the Master, throw him out. Make room for the Master!” - ‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭16:22‬ ‭MSG‬‬

This verse translates many different ways in different versions. The Message version helps me gain a better understanding...and moves me to realize how critical and essential it is to live expectantly. 

Come, Lord! - 1 Cor 16:22 - The Greek for Come, Lord reproduces an Aramaic expression (Maranatha) used by early Christians. The Message translates this to - Make room for the Master! I get this, but the first part of the verse was harder to process. If anyone doesn't love the Master, throw him out. It’s even harsher in other versions.

“If anyone does not love the Lord, let that person be cursed! Come, Lord!” - ‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭16:22‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Here is my thought, this letter is written to the Church and church leaders. I read this as Paul saying if those inside the church won't fully commit and live a transformed life and love the Lord, don’t waste your time with them. Make room for God in your life! Do not allow others who are not willing to be all in for Christ to be a distraction in the church. Come, Lord! This is living expectantly, and being prepared for the Lord to come, making room for Him in our lives, every day. 

  • Give Generously

  • Love Intentionally

  • Live Expectantly

What a fantastic way to end 1 Corinthians, and have a beautiful and tidy take away. 

other writing
John 20 - The Gospel

John 20 - The Gospel

The Gospel, the Good News! Jesus, Son of God, was born of Mary, lived as the Son of Man, died, and rose to life to rescue the world and bring about a new life. The central message of the gospel. Jesus, the centerpiece! John 19 & 20 cover the brutal death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.

In this scene, I can not imagine how the disciples felt. John describes them as overjoyed...but those words just fall short of what I can imagine this moment was like.

John 19 - The Magnitude of the Cross

John 19 - The Magnitude of the Cross

The day of Jesus' crucifixion fulfilled 28 Old Testament prophecies. Scripture was fulfilled! Beyond that, trying to wrap my mind around what happened this day, on the cross, and fully grabbing the magnitude of the cross is mind-boggling.

Sure, we can dumb this down or simplify it to a place where I just don’t believe it is anywhere near accurate. We can get into penal substitution and argue over was God full of love or was God full of wrath and hate that he killed his son. To me, John 3:16 is pretty clear on the love part.

John 18 - Jesus levels an army

John 18 - Jesus levels an army

In John 18, we come to the great betrayal. Judas came with the soldiers, officials, and chief priest and Pharisees. We know the scene. But this morning, I saw something I don’t remember reading and surly don’t remember learning about.

“So Judas came to the garden, guiding a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and the Pharisees. They were carrying torches, lanterns and weapons. Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, “Who is it you want?” “Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “I am he,” Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.) When Jesus said, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground.” - ‭‭John‬ ‭18:3-6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

John 17 - The Lords Prayer

John 17 - The Lords Prayer

John 17 is Jesus looking heavenward and praying to God the Father. So much beauty and mystery in this prayer. One thing that jumps out to me is that Jesus, fully God, and fully man prayed. Jesus is God fully. Why did he need to pray, He was One with the Father, He was God...and yet he prayed. This is so powerful;

“And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.” - ‭‭John‬ ‭17:5‬ ‭NIV‬‬

John 16 - What does it take to believe?

John 16 - What does it take to believe?

By the end of John 16, Jesus had done countless miracles, preached some amazing sermons, transformed so many lives, and developed a close and personal relationship with his disciples. So, when reading these verses, I am just utterly confused on so many levels.

“I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.” Then Jesus’ disciples said, “Now you are speaking clearly and without figures of speech. Now we can see that you know all things and that you do not even need to have anyone ask you questions. This makes us believe that you came from God.” “Do you now believe?” Jesus replied.” - ‭‭John‬ ‭16:28-31‬ ‭NIV‬‬

John 16 - Undervaluing God in Spirit

John 16 - Undervaluing God in Spirit

Jesus’ time on earth is quickly coming to a close, and he finishes up his last sermon or teaching to his disciples as they walk to Gethsemane. This final teaching was a heavy one that no doubt left his disciples with a heavy heart. Jesus said it this way;

“...None of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ Rather, you are filled with grief because I have said these things.” - ‭‭John‬ ‭16:5-6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Jesus goes on to say;

John 15 - Constant Growth

John 15 - Constant Growth

We were built for growth, constant growth. From birth, all the way until our death, we were designed by God for constant growth. The problem is, we often can find ourselves stuck in a belief, a phase, or a part of life where we stop growing.

One of the most brilliant investors embodies this understanding. Charlie Munger, at 96 years old, is still learning and growing as a person. I love this quote:

“Knowing what you don’t know is more useful than being brilliant.”
- Charlie Munger

John 14 - The Gift of Peace

John 14 - The Gift of Peace

John 14 opens with Jesus, saying, Don’t let your hearts be troubled. And the chapter closed down with Jesus saying Don’t be troubled or afraid.

A message that needs to resonate with our spirit and our inner self. This was such a good reminder, reading through John 14 over and over. This passage lifted off the screen.

“But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you. “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart…

John 14 - Troubled Hearts

John 14 - Troubled Hearts

The world today seems so volatile and chaotic. Everywhere you look, whatever we read and see on TV just seems to be troubling. Last night, I noticed my lovely wife Tweeted this;

“I can’t be the only one who watches the news and is simply embarrassed right now, right? (Dear Jesus, we tap out. Come on back.)”

I find this first humorous, but then I also find it sad. It’s true, watching the news as a Christ-follower is pretty embarrassing. In John 14, we see Jesus…

John 13 - Unselfish Concern

John 13 - Unselfish Concern

Summarizing John, chapter 13, looks like this. The Lords Supper takes place. Jesus washes the disciple's feet. Jesus calls out Judas, and Satan enters him. Night comes, Judas leaves, and Jesus says he must go, and where I am going, you can not come. To cap it all off, Jesus also calls out Simon Peter and tells him that he will deny and completely disown Jesus three times. Whoa, a really full chapter, and historical day.

Nestled in the wrap up of the day is the parting message Jesus leaves his disciples, a message Jesus is sharing with us right now.

 
thoughtsTerry Storch