Will We Ever Finish I Cor 7???

Hey There,

I apologize for not updating the blog recently. After Lindsey went back to Gordon and Joe went off on some mission trip thing, I've had a bit of a problem getting computer time in the evenings. Both Joe and Lindsey took their laptops with them, leaving the remaining four of us with one lousy stinking slow moving computer. Doesn't work very well in this crazy computer-dependant age!

So my solution is to bring my laptop home from work and use that! We'll see how it goes!

And speaking of this crazy computer age, I find that as usual, I'm on the falling edge of technology. Meaning that I'm behind the times! Way behind. Blogs started some years ago, and in my way of thinking, are still sort of new. And now that I finally started one, I find I'm totally out of date. See, one of my favorite blogs is one by Joe Carter (not MY Joe, but another one by the same name) called the Evangelical Outpost. I've been reading it most every day for a couple of years. Joe talks alot about current politics, about ethics, about world events, all from a Christian world view... and he has a pretty sharp sense of humor. I find his posts informative and challenging to my way of thinking.

I was surprised to find out about a week ago that good old Joe finds blogs a little too passe and has moved on to the next new thing- something called a Social Network (socnet). Check out his blog that describes what he is now doing and why.

http://www.evangelicaloutpost.com/archives/2008/09/culture11-and-t.html

I'm disappointed! Not only do I find out that I'm totally old-school, but now I have to get used to something completely different if I want to interact with Joe... oh well.

I'm still left with Pyromaniacs, another amazing blog site that I check out every day. These guys are way cool- a little too over-the-top in-your-face Calvinists, but challenging, entertaining, and VERY funny. Their graphics and pictures are GREAT. Check them out- in particular, scroll down and read the blog from Sept 12- it comments on an article from a major Canadian newspaper (The Globe and Mail) that makes the premise that because Sarah Palin has a child with Down's Syndrome, then people will stop aborting babies with Down's Syndrome and will actually HAVE them instead. Very scary article...

http://teampyro.blogspot.com/

Now on to I Corinthians chapter 7.

I woke up on Sunday morning a little discouraged. We're STILL in I Cor 7. This is really dragging. What more is there to say? I'm tired of this chapter. Time to move on....

That's what I was thinking.

Then I got reading the section for that morning's class- vs 17 to 24.

17Nevertheless, each one should retain the place in life that the Lord assigned to him and to which God has called him. This is the rule I lay down in all the churches. 18Was a man already circumcised when he was called? He should not become uncircumcised. Was a man uncircumcised when he was called? He should not be circumcised. 19Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing. Keeping God's commands is what counts. 20Each one should remain in the situation which he was in when God called him. 21Were you a slave when you were called? Don't let it trouble you—although if you can gain your freedom, do so. 22For he who was a slave when he was called by the Lord is the Lord's freedman; similarly, he who was a free man when he was called is Christ's slave. 23You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men. 24Brothers, each man, as responsible to God, should remain in the situation God called him to.

It repeats three times that we should remain in the situation that God calls us in. And Paul uses two practical examples from the Corinthian's day- circumcision and slavery.

I got thinking about slavery. Paul basically says to not let that bother you. You're a slave. So what. You can still minister right where you are. Paul was in chains and he ministered. He didn't whine and cry and make excuses like I would do. He got down to business. And his chains were used by God in a remarkable way.

So I thought more about how we make excuses about out situations, so we don't have to minister. And I thought about the bigger context of the chapter (marriage), and how we sometimes make excuses about our spouses even. "If only I wasn't married to person xyz- then I could really be the Christian that God wants me to be..." Paul doesn't leave any room for that excuse either. Similar to all mankind, we are without excuse.

So this excited me about the chapter and about the verses. Maybe chapter 7 isn't so long after all!

Let me know what you think.

Eric