Day 237 – 1 Chron 28-29; 1 Cor 15:29-58

1 Chron. 28-29

I have several brief thoughts from this reading that I believe are very applicable to our day-to-day lives.  They are as follows:

1. God did not allow David to build His house, but He did allow David to play a large role in the process.  Instead of pouting because he could not do what he had in his heart to do, David instead turned his energy toward doing whatever he could toward the task.
2. David stressed to Solomon the importance of serving God with both a whole heart and a willing mind.  One or the other is not enough.  The Enemy is constantly after both our thoughts and our desires, and we cannot serve two masters.
3. We see a repeated theme when David said to Solomon, “Be strong and courageous and do it.  Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed, for the LORD God, even my God, is with you.  He will not leave you or forsake you.” (1 Chron 28:20).  Be strong, courageous, not afraid, and not dismayed because God is with you.  He will not leave you.  He will not forsake you.  Got it.  God will equip us for what He has called us to, and He has called us to walk with Him.
4. “Then the people rejoiced because they had given willingly, for with a whole heart they had offered freely to the LORD.” (1 Chron 29:9a).  Do we truly “rejoice” to give to God?  I figure this is a sign of genuine giving.  Giving for show or for obligatory reasons surly will not produce such a result.  David points out that all we give to God already belongs to Him.  God doesn’t need our gifts.  But when we choose to give back to Him a portion of that which He has so graciously and abundantly provided as an act of grateful worship, that gratitude leads to our joy.

1 Cor. 15:29-58

I’m not sure I understand everything that Paul is saying here (in fact, I’m pretty sure I don’t!). What I do understand, however, is that will all be changed in the end.  He is still speaking about resurrection and makes the point that what we are now is not what we will be.  Just as a seed ceases to be a seed in order to become a plant, our mortal bodies will cease in order for us to become eternal beings.  We will become what we were meant to be. 

What I find interesting, though, is his comment at the end of verse 31, “I die every day!”  What this says to me, in light of the rest of this passage, is that Paul, though he was still in his mortal, earthly body, sought to become what he was meant to be every day.  And what he was meant to be – what we all are meant to be – is like Christ.