Day 291..."Stumbling...Hoping...One Body Many Gifts"

Paul warned of being a stumbling block in I Corinthians. Hosea warns of stumbling period! "Whoever is wise, let him understand these things;whoever is discerning, let him know them;for the ways of the Lord are right, and the upright walk in them, but transgressors stumble in them." The ways of the Lord are upright. A life of transgression is one of stumbling. In an "about face" of what has been a very abrupt and "in your face" Book, Jeremiah offers some of the most hopeful words in the Bible..."For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart." Who would have ever thought such hopeful words would be found in Jeremiah? Such is the nature of hope in following devastation and complete despair.

Paul writes eloquently about the Church. This should be required reading for "getting church." The Church is people. The people have different gifts. We form one Body. Read and study this section if possible. It is very important to fully grasp what the Church is all about..."For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ."