Reading the Bible in a year is no easy task. But if we make the time to get alone with the Word we will taste its goodness. If we lean on our friends to hold us accountable and teach us what they are seeing we will experience its value. If we slow down and take the story of the Bible in we will be blown away by its uniqueness. If we examine the text thoughtfully we will catch glimpses of God’s magnitude and be drawn to worship. If we read patiently we will grow. As we grow we will begin to grasp the depth of God’s love for His people and be compelled to love others well. It’s a marathon. Run steady and run hard. Most of all, run with your eyes on the goal…Christ and your unity with Him.

If we boast about our ability to uphold a great way of life in Jesus what are we communicating? We are communicating that we understand the implications of the glorious gospel to the degree that it completely transforms the way we live. Throughout the entire letter, Paul uses the implications of the gospel and presses them to the consciences of the Corinthian believers. Why?

God isn’t shaking his head in disappointment at our resistance. He is patiently and graciously working in us a desire to tighten our grip on him so that we might experience the eternal riches and fruit of reliance. I need the Spirit desperately, so do you. May we trust in the Lord to accomplish through the Spirit far greater things in us and through us than we could ask or imagine.

The construction of homes, advances in modern medicine, the publishing of books, the crafting of a delicious meal, the beautiful canvas masterpiece, and the skillfully composed song all scream of this reordering labeled as technology. Making man in God’s image has given humanity the intelligence to take the surplus of creation before our eyes and mold it in ways that reflect his character. The fall of man and sin has taken this joy and twisted it so the things we touch are used for both redemptive and corrupt purposes. This is where the phone comes in…