Dear Friend, from Corinth

via TJC

“13For instance, take the matter of eating. God has given us an appetite for food and stomachs to digest it. But that doesn’t mean we should eat more than we need. Don’t think of eating as important because someday God will do away with both stomachs and food.

But sexual sin is never right: our bodies were not made for that but for the Lord, and the Lord wants to fill our bodies with himself. 14And God is going to raise our bodies from the dead by his power just as he raised up the Lord Jesus Christ. 15Don’t you realize that your bodies are actually parts and members of Christ? So should I take part of Christ and join him to a prostitute? Never!” 1 Corinthians 6:13-15 TLB

[Note: This week we present our Daily Battle Orders as letters written from different members of the Corinth church in the 1st Century, just after Paul’s letter was read aloud in church. Corinth had grown rich as a seaport and trading center as crossing its narrow land bridge (less than 4 miles) was shorter and safer than sailing around the bottom of Greece. With its large transient population Corinth without foundations or moral roots. Even in the pagan world at the time of Paul, the city was known for its moral corruption, with names as Carnal Corinth & Sin City. To "corinthianize" a person was to corrupt a person. There was no greater insult for a woman than to be called a “Corinthian”.]

Dear Friend,

I so appreciated hearing from Paul as his letter was read aloud in church. What struck me was his directly refuting the greek “logic” that “as food is for the stomach, the body is for sex”.

Two weeks ago when traveling to a country villa by the shore, I had to pass by the Temple of Aphrodite, surrounded by its sex shops. The temple itself must have been a thousand slaves (women & men) whose “worship” was temple prostitution. And the money that was brought, most of goes to their overseers, not people.

Paul’s letter also reminded me that “There was a time when some of you were just like that but now your sins are washed away, and you are set apart for God; and he has accepted you because of what the Lord Jesus Christ and the Spirit of our God have done for you.” (1Corinthians 6:11).

I am joyful to know I am new in Christ, but what can I do about the corrupt & fallen world around me?

Your Friend in Christ

[Author’s note: Through Corinth has changed, human trafficking is bigger now than at any time in history.

2 weeks ago I was in Thailand on a group tour. When travelling from Bangkok to the beach resort, a section of the roadside was filled with sex shops and the sex trade. In Bangkok the night before, one of the guys took his wife to the red light district to see the “lover boys”. His wife didn’t like it but went along. These exploited people are not a tourist attraction, but to be prayed for.]

Daily Battle Order: Resolve today to invest the 1 hour this week in getting trained. For those on the front lines combating human trafficking, they say the first step is awareness and that request everyone start with this 1-hour training: https://www.iamonwatch.org/training .

Following the training, pray for those already on the front lines, and what role you may play.