Reflecting God – Embrace Holy Living - WordAction - The Nazarene Publishing House (The Foundry Publishing House) in Kansas City, Missouri, United States - The Global Church of the Nazarene for Thursday, 31 August 2017 "Reading the Labels" by Duane Brush - 1 Corinthians 8:1-13

Reflecting God – Embrace Holy Living - WordAction - The Nazarene Publishing House (The Foundry Publishing House) in Kansas City, Missouri, United States - The Global Church of the Nazarene for Thursday, 31 August 2017 "Reading the Labels" by Duane Brush - 1 Corinthians 8:1-131 Corinthians 8:1 Now about food sacrificed to idols: we know that, as you say, “We all have knowledge.” Yes, that is so, but “knowledge” puffs a person up with pride; whereas love builds up. 2 The person who thinks he “knows” something doesn’t yet know in the way he ought to know. 3 However, if someone loves God, God knows him.

4 So, as for eating food sacrificed to idols, we “know” that, as you say, “An idol has no real existence in the world, and there is only one God.” 5 For even if there are so-called “gods,” either in heaven or on earth — as in fact there are “gods” and “lords” galore — 6 yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom all things come and for whom we exist; and one Lord, Yeshua the Messiah, through whom were created all things and through whom we have our being.

7 But not everyone has this knowledge. Moreover, some people are still so accustomed to idols that when they eat food which has been sacrificed to them, they think of it as really affected by the idol; and their consciences, being weak, are thus defiled. 8 Now food will not improve our relationship with God — we will be neither poorer if we abstain nor richer if we eat. 9 However watch out that your mastery of the situation does not become a stumbling block to the weak. 10 You have this “knowledge”; but suppose someone with a weak conscience sees you sitting, eating a meal in the temple of an idol. Won’t he be built up wrongly to eat this food which has been sacrificed to idols? 11 Thus by your “knowledge” this weak person is destroyed, this brother for whom the Messiah died; 12 and so, when you sin against the brothers by wounding their conscience when it is weak, you are sinning against the Messiah!

13 To sum up, if food will be a snare for my brother, I will never eat meat again, lest I cause my brother to sin.

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My mother and father often went grocery shopping together. My mom is from the “get in, get out, and go home” school of shopping. My father enjoyed shopping for the experience and interaction. Dad would pause, read labels, and talk to store workers or other shoppers. Mom would have her shopping cart full, her shopping list marked off, and be ready to go. Dad would still be in aisle 4 reading the ingredients on a can of soup or talking to the butcher about the best meat to season a "mess of beans." Mom would find him and simply say, “I’m ready, Bud. Let’s go.” And they would head to the check-out together. Their love endured their differences.
Some of the early believers had scruples against eating meat sacrificed to idols; they read the labels. Others simply figured meat was meat, and idols weren’t real anyway, so “Why worry?” Yet, they all worshiped the same God and served the same Lord. Their love for one another would not allow them to do anything that would cause their “brother or sister to fall into sin” (1 Corinthians 8:13). Patience and kindness flowing from a heart of love can help overcome our differences.
Hymn for Today:

"All Praise to Our Redeeming Lord" by Charles Wesley

1. 

All praise to our redeeming Lord,

  Who joins us by His grace,

And bids us, each to each restored,

  Together seek His face,

  Together seek His face.

2. He bids us build each other up;

  And, gathered into one,

To our high calling’s glorious hope,

  We hand in hand go on,

  We hand in hand go on.

3. The gift which He on one bestows,

  We all delight to prove;

The grace through every vessel flows,

  In purest streams of love,

  In purest streams of love.

4. We all partake the joy of one;

  The common peace we feel;

A peace to worldly minds unknown,

  A joy unspeakable,

  A joy unspeakable.

5. And if our fellowship below

  In Christ yet be so sweet,

What height of rapture shall we know,

  When round His throne we meet,

  When round His throne we meet!

Thought for Today:

Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted; and forgive each other, just as in the Messiah God has also forgiven you.(Ephesians 4:32).
Please pray:

That many young people in Belize will come to know Yeshua the Messiah and receive the fullness of the Ruach HaKodesh.
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