Working Together

A series on Pauls’ prayers
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
1 Corinthians 1:4-9 

[Paul was a controversial figure in the first century church. But it could also be argued that he was the most dynamic and influential apostle. In this series we’ll be looking at Paul’s prayers and what he has to say to us today.]

  

Coaches are not good at giving praise. What they are good at is yelling at you in front of the whole team while pointing out what you did wrong.

 

I remember a high school coach saying that if he quit yelling at us, that’s when we should be worried because that meant he’d given up on us. I could never separate being yelled at from feeling rejected. No wonder I never liked any of my coaches.

 

In the New Testament, the Corinthian church is well-known for their many struggles. In Paul’s first letter to them, he wrote about their problems of division, sexual sin, lawsuits, marriage, idol worship and spiritual gifts. It’s a virtual laundry list of what not to do.

 

Despite this, he started off on a positive note by giving thanks for how God was at work in their lives. In other words, he praised them.

 

⁴ I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. ⁵ For in him you have been enriched in every way—with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge—            NIV

 

Speech and knowledge were two gifts that would have been highly desirable to the mostly Greek Corinthian church. For them, there was nothing more important than the telling of truth (speech) and the grasping of truth (knowledge). Because of this, Paul’s words would have been high praise.

 

Despite their many problems, Paul was also thankful that the Corinthian believers would finish well because of God’s work in their lives.

 

⁸ He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.      NIV

 

With his prayer of thanksgiving, Paul wasn’t just buttering the Corinthians up so that he could lay the hammer down later. He was letting them know that even though they were not perfect, that God was still at work in their lives; that He was faithful no matter what; and that He would be with them through the end.

 

Like my high school coaches, Paul could easily have started his letter by “yelling” at the Corinthians. “YOU SHOULDN’T BE DOING THAT!” Or, he could have told them that they were so messed up that he was going to invest his time in other churches. But he didn’t do either of these.

 

Instead, Paul’s prayer gave the Corinthian church hope that helped them to persevere and grow in their faith. He was working together with them. He was committed to them for the long haul.

 

The same is true for you and me. Only for us, it’s the Lord that is working together with us. 

He is committed to us for the long haul. He is faithful and will help us through the difficult times to give us hope to persevere and grow in our faith.

 

 

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Copyright 2024 Joseph B Williams

www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

 

 

Thy Will be Done

A series on Pauls’ prayers
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Colossians 1:3-14 

[Paul was a controversial figure in the first century church. But it could also be argued that he was the most dynamic and influential apostle. In this series we’ll be looking at Paul’s prayers and what he has to say to us today.]

 

We pray the Lord’s Prayer every Sunday at my church. I have to confess that it’s easy to recite with very little thought or meaning. But the Lord’s Prayer does have profound meaning for our lives. None more than the phrase, ‘Thy will be done’.

 

For Hillary Scott, these words mean a great deal. In 2016, she released a song titled “Thy Will” which she wrote after having a miscarriage. The lyrics reflect her struggle with trying to understand why God would allow such a loss in her life. During this difficult time, she frequently prayed ‘Thy will be done’.

 

Paul understood how important it was for the Colossian believers to know God’s will. False teaching had infiltrated the church. The teaching combined several religious beliefs and valued the accumulation of knowledge for the sake of knowledge alone.

 

In his letter to the Colossian church, Paul addressed this heresy. He pointed out that knowledge in itself was empty. To be worth anything, it must lead to knowing God and following His will.

 

To this end, Paul wrote to the Colossian believers that he had been praying for them. First, he prayed for them to receive knowledge and understanding. Not just any knowledge, but to know God’s will.

 

⁹ So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding.        NLT

 

The second part of his prayer was for the Colossian believers to follow God’s will. In other words, don’t just seek head knowledge about God, but also know Him in your heart and show that through your actions.

 

¹⁰ Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.    NLT

 

Finally, Paul prayed for the Colossians to receive the strength to do God’s will. He realized that this is not something that comes naturally. But it would require the Holy Spirit to be at work in their lives.

 

¹¹ We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need.         NLT

 

Sometimes in life, it takes a painful experience to bring us to that point of turning to the Lord and crying out, “Thy will be done’. For Hillary Scott, this happened when she approached the Lord in faith like a child on her knees.

 

I know you see me
I know you hear me, Lord
Your plans are for me
Goodness you have in store

 

May ‘Thy will be done’ in your life and in mine.

 

Feel free to share this blog with others.

Copyright 2024 Joseph B Williams

www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

If you would like to listen to it, here is a link to the song “Thy Will”.

 Thy Will