“And all ate the same spiritual food; and all drank the same spiritual
drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and
the rock was Christ” (1 Corinthians 10:3-4)

There is One Lord who is Lord of
all.  Humans sometimes run off in
tangents wanting to be special.  We are
all created in the image of the One who made us.  Look to the rock of our salvation and see
that in Him is light and life.  It is
through Christ alone that we find our salvation.  He is the One who will lead all who follow in
the journey needed for final salvation.

Lord, I often think in terms of You . . . and.  Help me to be rid of the “and” that I may
rest in You alone.  Guide me in the path
of salvation You have established for me that I may humbly walk that path and
not seek another.  Guide me according to
Your goodness to see that in You alone is all hope.  You have come to establish the never-ending
kingdom for all who follow You.

Lord Jesus, You know what I need
this day.  Help me, I pray, to live into
the life of faith You have given me that I may build my life upon the rock of
salvation which is You.  Guide me in the
steps I need to take that I may now and always abide in You knowing that You
abide in me.  Guide me, Lord Jesus, as
only You can and keep me close to You that I may be content in Your
salvation.  Amen.

“For I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea; and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea” (1 Corinthians 10:1-2).

Here it is.  All means all.  All those who are in the grace of Christ are
in the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit.  This answers the, “What then?”  What then are we to do?  We have been crucified with Christ in order
to be raised with Him.  Be raised and put
on this new life that You have been given in baptism.  Be guided by the truth of Christ that You may
pursue the upward call of grace to ever increase into His likeness.

Guide me, Holy Spirit, in the inner life that the whole of me would be
transformed into this new life given me by grace.  Lead me according to what You know that what
I think I know would be set aside.  Help
me to be fully invested and participate in all that You have in store for
me.  Lead me to be in each moment and
live in these moments learning and growing and becoming like Christ.

Lord Jesus, You are the way.  You have established from the beginning the
way of life.  I spend much time wandering
through this world and not doing the things that need be done.  Lead me according to Your grace to live into
the life You have in store for me.  Grant
me the fortitude to hold fast and not relinquish the progress You have helped
me to gain.  Help me to be intentional
about all that I do that I may continue to walk the path You set before
me.  Amen.

“Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a
way, as not beating the air;  but I
discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to
others, I myself will not be disqualified” (1 Corinthians 9:26-27).

We are saved by grace apart from
works of the law.  But the justification
is a preparation that we might then journey on the narrow road toward becoming
like Christ.  Some think it is technical,
but this life is one of growing and learning. 
Be prepared to continue the upward journey of the call of Christ that
you may live purposefully and prepare to be with the Lord forever.

Lord, I live in a world that spoon-feeds.  Help me to see that I do have my part to play
in sanctification.  Help me to be one who
is willing to prepare and be diligent in the things You give me to do.  Guide me according to Your purposes that I
may spend my lifetime fighting the good fight, learning as You give me things
to learn, and living into the image of Christ. 
Help me to never stop this upward call.

Lord Jesus, You know the
difficulty of this life.  You know the
obstacles that are in the way.  Help me
to keep on with all that I am able to do knowing that You are always growing in
me Your image.  You are giving me the
opportunity to become more like You every day. 
Help me to not slack off, backslide, or give up; but to do my part that
I may grow stronger in the faith You give each day. Amen.

“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.  Everyone who competes in the games exercises
self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but
we an imperishable” (1 Corinthians 9:24-25).

The precept here is one of
temperance.  Become one who is balanced
and exercises self-control.  Easy to say,
but hard to do, it is a journey to take your eyes off of yourself and look to
the Lord for all things.  Come as one who
seeks the Lord earnestly in all things knowing that He alone knows all that is
needed.  Be guided by the Lord’s hand and
He will bring you to where you need to be.

Lord, teach me the wisdom of submission to Your will.  Guide me according to Your goodness to see
that I need to put all of my effort in one direction, but trust in Your leading
alone.  Teach me self-control that I
would learn these things that are essential to the Christian life.  Help me to not treat the race as a
competition, per se, but as a personal challenge to finish the race without
worrying about where I place.

Lord Jesus, You have come that
all of us may be saved.  Teach me to live
this salvation life such that it is my priority.  Guide me according to Your goodness to see that
in You is the hope of all.  Help me to
run the race with all I have and to hold nothing back.  Lead me, O Lord in Your goodness to become
like You.  Through Your Spirit, teach me
to strive for those fruits of the Spirit which come through You.  Amen.

“To those who are without law, as without law, though not being without the law of God but under the law of Christ, so that I might win those who are without law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak; I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some. I do all things for the sake of the gospel, so that I may become a fellow partaker of it” (1 Corinthians 9:21-23).

What is the call the Lord has given you?  Is it not to be emptied of self that you might become like Christ who emptied Himself to become the acceptable sacrifice for us all?  This model is not just a nice idea, but the thing itself in living the Christian life.  We are called to live into the life of Christ that we might be what the Father desires.  Come then and set your goal on the prize.

Lord, take me further up the steps of becoming like Christ.  Lead me according to Your goodness to see that in You alone is the hope of eternity.  Help me shed myself of self that I might become what You have always intended.  Guide me in the way of truth that I may now and always learn from You the things that I can and ought to do toward the goal of being like Christ.

Lord Jesus, You are the One who
has come to lead the way and set the example for the godly life.  Guide me. O Lord, in the way You would have
me go that I might now and always abide in You. 
Teach me to empty myself that I may be filled with You.  Guide me in the goodness of the Father’s love
that I may now and always continue on the path of eternal life.  Amen.

“For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all,
so that I may win more.  To the Jews I
became as a Jew, so that I might win Jews; to those who are under the Law, as
under the Law though not being myself under the Law, so that I might win those
who are under the Law” (1 Corinthians 9:19-20)

Listen carefully here.  In Christ you have gained freedom from obligations:  obligation in the way the old Adam sees these things, through guilt and manipulation.  You are free to be and there is nothing you need, or can do to gain what Christ freely gives.  However, if this new heart of freedom is in you, then there will be a desire to see that those around you also gain this freedom; for the new heart loves the neighbor.

Lord, help me to see the simplicity of this.  I know that in this world, even amongst those
who practice Christianity, there is much manipulation.  Let me not be this way, but come to the place
that I see it as a privilege to serve where and when You would have me
serve.  Guide me in the Gospel way that I
might now and always be led by You and the new heart You have given me.

Lord Jesus, by Your example, show
me the way of seeing the doing of good as a privilege.  Lead me to have a heart for my neighbor such
that I may live into Your likeness.  Guide
me by Your goodness to willingly do those things which You assign and never
with any sense of obligation other than to please You..  Teach me, Lord, how to live this new life
that I may forever walk in Your presence. 
Amen.

“For if I do this voluntarily, I have a reward; but if against my will,
I have a stewardship entrusted to me. 
What then is my reward? That, when I preach the gospel, I may offer the
gospel without charge, so as not to make full use of my right in the gospel” (1
Corinthians 9:17-18).

Look deeply at the willingness
that Paul is speaking of.  At all times
we are under compulsion to share the Gospel. 
Then, when we give our offerings also, the reward is in the increased
ability to share the Gospel.  This is not
a “jewel in your crown” economic exchange, but a new reality of the heavenly
stewardship.  Share as it has been shared
with you and in all things be equitable.

Lord, help me see that I do not need to be an economics expert, but
simply need to share with others as it has been shared with me.  Teach me that when I give from a new heart,
that heart grows and increases.  Lead me
out of myself and into You.  Guide me in
the eternal way that I would live into the truth You have revealed through the
Gospel.  Lead me, O Lord, in the way You
know I need to go.

Lord Jesus, the thing Paul spoke
of here You demonstrated with Your life. 
Guide me according to Your way that I may grow in the way of truth.  Lead me according to the Father’s will to see
that in You alone am I able to come into understanding.  Guide me now and always in the narrow way of
salvation that You have established. 
Help me see by Your grace the way to walk in my daily life.  Amen.

“But I have used none of these things. And I am not writing these
things so that it will be done so in my case; for it would be better for me to
die than have any man make my boast an empty one.  For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to
boast of, for I am under compulsion; for woe is me if I do not preach the
gospel” (1 Corinthians 9:15-16).

Here you see clearly that Paul
is making a case for the principle rather that anything he is seeking be seen
for his material gain.  Pay attention
when one teaches a principle where they gain nothing for themselves.  Pay attention to what is right and
fitting.  The Lord will lead those who
are willing to abide in His truth.  The
Lord will teach those who are willing to learn. 
Be guided not by this world’s priorities, but by the truth of the Lord,

Help me, O Lord, in the way of truth that I would not pass by the
opportunity to see things in a new way. 
I do not know all there is to know. 
You do.  By Your grace, open my
mind to see that in You is the only hope to navigate through this world.  Help me to be guided by Your goodness that I
may put into practice these things which You have shown me.

Lord Jesus, You have come to save
me.  That includes my attitudes and the
way and reason I do things.  Guide me, O
Lord, in the way You have established that I may now and always live into the
hope You give through grace.  Lead me now
and always in the narrow way of salvation and open my mind to listen, hear,
inwardly digest and obey.  You must be
the author and finisher of my faith, my Lord and Savior.  Amen.

“Do you not know that those who perform sacred services eat the food of
the temple, and those who attend regularly to the altar have their share from
the altar?  So also the Lord directed
those who proclaim the gospel to get their living from the gospel” (1
Corinthians 9:13-14).

The church was new and workers
were not considered as workers.  Behind
this is an attitude of looking at things with a view of stewardship.  The worker is worthy of wages, not only in
the church, but everywhere.  A server
lives on tips.  Do you tip well?  Behind all of this is an attitude of the
heart that either looks for advantages, or else seeks for being equitable.  Look into your heart.

Lord, where I am miserly, create in me a charitable heart.  Where I am indifferent, create in me a
compassionate heart.  In all things,
create in me a clean heart and renew a right spirit within me that I may become
like Jesus.  Guide me according to Your
goodness to see that only in the way of salvation can I become what You have
always intended.  Lead me according to
Your goodness to see the truth and follow You in all things.

Lord Jesus, You are not only the model of the godly life, You have also
provided the way for me to become like You. 
Guide me in my meditations that I may humbly follow where You lead and
do what is pleasing in the Father’s sight. 
Help me now and always remain on the narrow and good path that You have
placed me upon that I may abide in You and You in me now and forever.  Amen.

“If we sowed spiritual things in you, is it too much if we reap
material things from you?  If others
share the right over you, do we not more? Nevertheless, we did not use this
right, but we endure all things so that we will cause no hindrance to the gospel
of Christ” (1 Corinthians 9:11-12).

Where is the value in what you
receive?  Is it just in the material
things of this world?  Is it not more so in
the greater portion of the eternal life given by grace?  What value can you place on all that has been
given you?  Is the one who gives you the
good news of any less value that your investment advisor who grows your
portfolio?  Why do you value the temporal
and think nothing of the eternal?

Lord, help me to learn heavenly priorities.  Not out of guilt, but out of a true sense of value for these things.  Guide me, O Lord, in the way of truth that I would neither cling to what is material, nor become like one in a fantasy about heavenly things.  Keep me grounded and in the truth.  Let me not hinder the Gospel, but instead embrace it with the whole of my being.  Guide me in Your truth.

Lord Jesus, there are many things You have taught us that we may have balance in life.  Lead me, O Lord, in the way of truth that I may become one who is balanced in all things.  Guide me to see that in You alone is all hope and that what You give is of more value than the greatest thing of value I can think of.  Help me understand what it means to seek the pearl of great price and to not cast it before swine’s feet.  Amen