the Third Week after Easter
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Daily Devotionals
Day by Day Devotional - Year 4 of 5
1 Corinthians 14:1-19
Many complain about the present weakness caused by the lack of gifts in the assemblies. But do they desire them fervently as v. 1 exhorts them to do. The Lord perhaps intends to entrust you with a particular gift but waits before giving it, to detect this fervent desire in your heart. Ask Him for it . . . as well as the humility which will prevent you from magnifying yourself through this gift; it is not for you but for the Assembly (v. 12). The Corinthians simply used their gifts for their own glorification, and total chaos was the result. The apostle draws them back to a proper appreciation of these matters by showing them that the gift about which they were boasting the most, that of tongues, was in fact one of the least important (v. 5). The gift of prophecy by contrast was – and is still – especially desirable. It no longer involves, as previously, future revelation but serves to edify, exhort, console. . .
V. 15 reminds us that, in order to pray as well as sing, we need to use our understanding. We are often so inattentive in the Lord’s presence; let us think about what we express before God; let us devote our minds to meditating upon the depth of it all. But let our spirits be led by the Holy Spirit.
