[Faith-talk] Fwd: Morning Thoughts for Tuesday, May 24, 2011

[Amy Ragain]

Begin forwarded message:

> From: Stephen Smith <stevesmith1943 at me.com>
> Date: May 24, 2011 7:00:41 AM CDT
> To: Morning Thoughts 1 <stevesmith1943 at me.com>
> Subject: Morning Thoughts for Tuesday, May 24, 2011
> 
> Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?
> (1 Corinthians 3:16, NIV)
> 
> - From Bible Promises for iPhone
> http://biblepromises.reigndesign.com/
> 
> 1 Corinthians 3:1-15 (NASB)
> Foundations for Living
> [3:1] And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to infants in Christ. [2] I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able, [3] for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men? [4] For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not mere men?
> [5]  What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one. [6] I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. [7] So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth. [8] Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. [9] For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building.
> [10]  According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. [11] For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. [12] Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, [13] each man's work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work. [14] If any man's work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. [15] If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.
> 
> Good morning dear family!  I was considering the great devastation that Joplin, MO suffered the day before yesterday, and the more than 100 dead bodies that have so far been recovered from the damage.  As I tried to comprehend in my mind, the reason and purpose for this tragedy, this passage was brought before me, I think for two reasons.  First, like the folk in verse 2, I so often need to be fed milk instead of solid food because I am unable to chew, swallow and digest the meat.  When the focus of the nation is on the destruction of a location, my eyes tend to turn from an eternal to a myopic focus.  I immediately lose sight of the reality of eternity, and instead focus on the temporary evidence of all that man has built.  None of this physical evidence of civilization, which we see around us, will escape judgement day. So then, I am not able to digest the meat of reality of the transitional nature of man as we journey this road to eternity.
> 
> The second reason for this scripture, I believe is a reminder to me that we each have a purpose in life that is greater than ourselves, but not even a shadow of the greatness of the One who gave us the purpose.  With eyes focused on eternity, I wonder how many of those dead bodies were housing souls which now sleep in the security of their salvation through Jesus Christ.  Only a day earlier, the media focused on a prediction of the "Judgement Day", which was forecast by a man to be May 21st.  That day came and went, and the prediction of man, which had already been discounted by Scripture (Matt 24, but specifically vs 36).  Some folks that I talked with took stalk of their position before Christ, while others did not.  Just as no man knows the day nor the hour of the coming of Christ, no one knows the day or the hour of our departure from these bodies.  
> 
> The bottom line:  Walk the path God set before you as if this could be your last breath.  Pray that as you walk, you plant a seed or water a seedling, resting assured that God will grow the plant according to His perfect will.
> 
> With love, hope and faith in Jesus Christ,
> 
> <3Steve:-))