Christianity Oasis Forum

[cimi]

September 29
Sunday


COLOR
COURAGE

READ:
1 Corinthians 4:10-17
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Imitate me, just as
I also imitate Christ.
__1 Corinthians 11:1
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A radio ad for watches suggests that listeners buy a watch with a bright color band and then wear it with clothes of other colors. When people notice your watch because of its contrasting color, the ad says, "They'll see that you have 'color courage.' And they'll want to be like you." Something in us enjoys having others follow our example.

If you do a quick reading of 1 Corinthians 4, you might think the apostle Paul sounds a bit boastful when he says to follow his example of self-sacrifice (b.16). But a closer look at Paul's words shows why he wrote so confidently. He could ask people to imitate him because he imitated Christ (11:1), the greatest Servant of all.

The persecution he endured and the position he held in the church (4:10-17) all happened because Paul followed Jesus. When he mentioned that even if the Corinthians had 10,000 teachers he would still be their father in the faith (v.15), he was acknowledging that Jesus is the only reason people could trust his teaching.

If we want people to imitate us, we must first imitate our Lord. If we have any reason for people to follow our example__if we have any courage to point others to the Savior__it is because of Him, not us. __Anne Cetas

````````````````````Joyfully following Jesus the Lord``````````````````
````````````````````And trusting His lead every day```````````````````
`````````````````Makes us examples that others can see````````````````
``````````````To follow when trials come their way. __sper`````````````
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Others should imitate us
only as far as we imitate Christ.

**************************Today's Bible Reading __ 1 Corinthians 4:10-17*****************************

10 We are fools for Christ's
sake, but you are wise in
Christ! we are weak, but
you are strong! You are
distinguished, but we are
dishonored! 11 To the
present hour we both
hunger and thirst, and we
are poorly clothed, and
beaten, and homeless.

12 And we labor, working
with our own hands, Being
reviled, we bless; being
persecuted, we endure;

13 being defamed, we
entreat. We have been made
as the filth of the world, the
offscouring of all things
until now.

14 I do not write these
things to shame you, but as
my beloved children I warn
you. 15 For though you
might have ten thousand
instructors in Christ, yet
you do not have many
fathers; for in Christ Jesus I
have begotten you through
the gospel. 16 Therefore I
urge you, imitate me. 17 For
this reason I have sent
Timothy to you, who is my
beloved and faithful son in
the Lord, who will remind
you of my ways in christ,
as I teach everywhere in
every church.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>INSIGHT<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Paul wrote this letter to address specific problems that had arisen in
the Corinthian church: criticism of his ministry (1 Cor. 1-4); sexual
immorality (ch.5); lawsuits (ch.6); marriage, divorce, and singleness
(ch.7); food offered to idols (chs.8-10); women in ministry and the
Lord's Supper (ch.11); use of spiritual gifts (chs.12-14); resurrection
(ch.15); and offerings (ch.16). In today's text, Paul dealt with the
root cause of these problems: Their arrogance, self-importance, and
self-sufficiency (vv.6-13) had cause division in the church. Paul
deliberately and confidently used himself as an example to show
how they could live a Christlike life of simplicity, transparency,
integrity, and humility.