He comes bearing gifts (Day 1)

1 Corinthians 12:1–5

Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant: You know that you were Gentiles, carried away to these dumb idols, however you were led. Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.

There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord.

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In I Corinthians 12:2, Paul wrote of the Gentiles being carried away unto dumb idols, referring to false gods that could not speak. Paul had already addressed meat offered to idols in I Corinthians 8 when he argued that an idol amounts to nothing. However, he noted that some were not able to eat meat offered to idols due to their previous devotion to pagan practices. In I Corinthians 10:20, Paul gave another position on idols, connecting them with demons and associating idolatry with having fellowship with devils. The church should listen to the Spirit instead of devils.

In the late 1500s, a Japanese warlord once built an enormous statue of Buddha for a temple in Kyoto. Prior to the earthquake of 1596, fifty thousand men had been working on the statue for a few years. The earthquake caused the roof of the temple to crash down onto the statue, wrecking it completely. The Japanese warlord was extremely angry at what had happened. He went where the debris was and shouted, “I put you here at great expense, and you cannot even look at your own temple!”

Idolatry is not limited to statues of gods; it can be anything we value more than God. Just like how the earthquake completely destroyed the statue of Buddha, our idols— the things we value more than God—can also be destroyed in a split second. Let us choose to build our life on Christ, our solid rock and sure foundation.

That concludes our devotional for today. Let us finish with a word of prayer. 

WORD OF PRAYER

Lord, we come before You today recognizing Your sovereignty and the power of Your Holy Spirit in our lives. Help us, Lord, to discern the true value of our devotion and to place nothing above You. Teach us to appreciate the diversity of spiritual gifts You've given us, using them to serve You and not to be led astray by the empty promises of idols, whatever form they may take. May we always find our foundation in You, the unshakeable rock, and may our lives reflect Your lordship in every action we take. Strengthen us by Your Spirit to declare that Jesus is Lord, living in unity and purpose under Your divine guidance.

In the name of Jesus, amen.