Author: Chuck Musselwhite

Baptized Into One Body

Racism is real, but it shouldn’t be evident in the church. The color of one person’s skin or ethnic background has caused cruelty and wars since the beginning. Unfortunately, it made its way into the church, and people have been abused and mistreated. When you came to Christ, you were changed. You are no longer classified by your race but by your identity in Christ. We are all baptized into one body.

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭12:13‬

“For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.”

The symbolism of baptism is essential to understand. When you are laid back in the water, it is symbolic of you dying and being buried. As you are raised up, it symbolizes how you were resurrected from the dead by the mercy of Jesus Christ. When you come out of the water is shows that you are a new person and that your old life is dead. Your identity in Christ is above every other characteristic about you. You’ve been baptized into one body. Love is the predominant trait that comes out of your heart. You see people as God sees them, and you understand that everyone is a sinner in need of grace, no matter their background.

Living in the Increase

There is an old proverb that goes something like this, “If you heap manure into a pile, it only causes a stink, but if you spread it out, it causes things to grow.” There is an important principle underlying this proverb. Hold tightly to things, and you will always be wanting more. Give things away, and you will never have any needs. Solomon shows that living in the increase takes a person who freely gives.

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭11:24

“There is one who scatters, and yet increases all the more, And there is one who withholds what is justly due, and yet it results only in want.”

This proverb goes against all common sense. How can you possibly increase what you have by scattering? One would think that you increase your wealth by saving, but Solomon tells us that if we want to increase what we have, we need to scatter, or give away, what we possess right now. Think about it. No farmer harvests a crop he doesn’t plant. He must scatter the seed and allow it to grow to produce the bounty he needs to make money. When we freely give of what we have, it has a way of coming back to us.

Who’s In Charge?

Have you ever walked into a store where no workers are found, and the shelves are complete chaos? I bet one of the first things you thought was, “Who’s in Charge?” The same can be said of many households because they have neglected God’s ordained order. Paul lays out who’s in charge when it comes to leading the family.

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭11:3

“But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Christ.”

First, we must understand that at the top is God overseeing His Son, Jesus. Jesus has been given all authority over humanity, and that extends to the household. Jesus is the head of every man, and the man is the head of the woman. This pertains only to married households. Men are not over every woman, and their authority over others stops at the threshold of their front door. God established order in the family so that it would function properly.

Walk With Confidence

Criminals rarely walk around in broad daylight. They stay in dark places and avoid authorities at all cost. Now, this is a generalization propagated by Hollywood movies. There are many criminals that operate in broad daylight. One thing that makes a person feel secure is their conscience. If a person walks in integrity they will walk with confidence.

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭10:9

“He who walks in integrity walks securely, But he who perverts his ways will be found out.”

You can always tells something is wrong with someone when they are walking funny. By that I mean if a person is limping or favoring one leg. They are obviously in pain and can’t hide it. There is another way you can tell when something isn’t right, when a person is depressed or under a lot of stress. Their shoulders slump and their head hangs low. This is what Solomon is talking about in this verse. A person who walks in integrity walks with confidence and a bounce in their step while a person who prevents his ways is always looking over their shoulder.

Remember the Needy

During the early Covid days, our church was an outlet for the local food pantry. We would hand out meals to hundreds of families. During one period, we got special shipments of fresh produce that farmers had donated. It didn’t last long, but the people were blessed. We must remember the needy. God laid out plans for Israel to do the same.

‭‭Leviticus‬ ‭19:9-10‬

“‘Now when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very corners of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. Nor shall you glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather the fallen fruit of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the needy and the stranger. I am the LORD your God.”

Moses is reminding the Israelites as they prepare to enter the promised land to remember the needy. Israel would be given houses they didn’t build and fields they didn’t plant, so God wanted them to act the same way to those in need. They were to leave the corners of their wheat fields unharvested so that hungry could come and harvest for themselves. Interestingly, God told them to leave the corners because it was easy for them to access. God didn’t want the poor to be humiliated by walking to the middle of the field.

Don’t Be Left Behind

Certain verses make us think of the future. The book of Revelation as a whole does, but there are certain ones that direct our thoughts to what it will be like when we are there. One of those verses is in chapter six of Revelation, where we see a group of people who missed the rapture who have been slain for their faith, begging God for justice. God gives them a white robe and tells them to wait. Don’t Be Left Behind.

‭‭Revelation‬ ‭6:11

“And there was given to each of them a white robe, and they were told that they should rest for a little while longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren who were to be killed even as they had been, would be completed also.”

During the tribulation, there will be people who come to faith in Jesus. There will be so many it will seem like a great revival. This makes sense because people will realize they missed the boat (or cloud) when they rejected everything they were told about Jesus. Satan will see these saints and will direct the Anti-Christ’s wrath against them. There will be many who will be martyred for their faith. They will be given a white robe after their death and told to wait until the persecution is completed.

Run to Win

In the last Olympic Games in Tokyo, there was an eighteen-year-old runner named Athing Mu. She ran the 800 meters for the United States and was the youngest competitor in her field. Her age didn’t matter because she left the rest of the runners in the dust. She came close to a world record. The Apostle Paul likes your Christian faith to running the race, and he wants you to run to win.

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭9:24

“Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win.”

Paul loved to use metaphors like athletes, soldiers, and farmers to get his points across. It was similar to how Jesus used parables to make spiritual doctrine easier for the uneducated masses to understand. In Corinth, they understood the example of the athlete because they held an athletic competition called the “Isthmian Games.” It was similar to the Olympic games held in Athens. Athletes from all over Greece would come and compete and would be award wreaths as a reward. Paul wants Christians to live their faith like athlete run, to win.

Here I am Lord Send Me

In the book of Isaiah, God was looking for those He could send to minister to the people. Isaiah stepped up and said, “Here I am Lord, send me.” Paul was willing to go where most people feared to suffer what most avoided to preach the Gospel. He had a “Here I am Lord, send me” attitude as well. Do you have the same attitude?

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭9:19

“For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I may win more.”

A lot is being made about liberty, and rightfully so. In some countries, people are being restricted to their homes, and if they leave and are caught doing an unauthorized activity, they are arrested by the police. Paul lived in an oppressive time. If you weren’t a Roman citizen, then you had no rights in their empire. If you were a citizen, you had free reign, and specific punishments were not allowed, like crucifixion or being beat with a rod. What makes this interesting is that Paul was a legal Roman citizen, yet he gave up so many of his rights to see more saved.

Goes Against God’s Design

The other day, I ran across a story of a nurse talking about telling a patient she was seven weeks pregnant as her wife stood next to her. You read that right. The woman had cheated on her wife with a man and gotten pregnant in the process. The nurse didn’t elaborate on what happened after that, but she did say it was awkward. God created man and woman to be together. Homosexuality goes against God’s design.

‭‭Leviticus‬ ‭18:22

“You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination.”

The Bible is very clear that homosexuality is an abomination to the Lord. That means it is repugnant or detestable to God. The act of a man laying with another man in sexual relations is morally repugnant to the Lord. I know it is not politically correct to condemn anything to do with gay people, but God has been saying for centuries that the act of homosexuality is an abomination. Men are not to lay with another man in a sexual way, and the same goes for women. It goes against God’s design.

Your Prayers are a Pleasing Aroma to God

Incense has been around since the beginning of time. Its uses are many, but it was primarily used to bring a different aroma to a room because there weren’t the sanitary measures we have in place today. One of the places it is used in the Bible was the tabernacle when Israel was out in…