“For there must also be factions among you, so that those
who are approved may become evident among you. 
Therefore when you meet together, it is not to eat the Lord’s
Supper,  for in your eating each one
takes his own supper first; and one is hungry and another is drunk.  What! Do you not have houses in which to eat
and drink? Or do you despise the church of God and shame those who have
nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you? In this I will not praise
you” (1 Corinthians 11:19-21).

The specific
circumstances may vary, but the principle remains.  There are those who come to the Lord’s house
for reasons other than worshiping the Lord. 
It ought not be this way, but sadly it is.  The question then is for you.  What then ought you to do?  As far as you are concerned, go to the Lord’s
house for His word and sacrament and live in harmony with the Lord, for it is
He alone whom you are to please.

Lord, help me at all times to remember that it is You alone
whom I serve.  In all that I do, may my
heart be inclined to You.  Guide me that
I may always keep focus knowing that You are the One who is beside and before
me.  Help me understand better that it is
You whom I serve and that You alone are the One who is to be pleased.  May my service be undistracted as I gather
with others to worship You.

Lord Jesus,
You were constantly distracted by those who pressed in around You.  Help me Lord see that in You alone is the
hope for us all.  By Your example, guide
me to live according to Your Word and do what is pleasing in the Father’s
sight.  Through all things, may I be
found faithful to Your calling and following Your example of being humble,
patient, and attentive.  Amen.

“But in giving this instruction, I do not praise you,
because you come together not for the better but for the worse.  For, in the first place, when you come
together as a church, I hear that divisions exist among you; and in part I
believe it” (1 Corinthians 11:17-18).

Many folk
gather together for their own reasons. 
We are called together by the One Lord for one reason and that is to
praise and worship the One God.  Sadly,
the instructions of Paul get lost and folk do what they have always done and
divisions arise.  Live into the unity the
Lord desires.  Come into His presence and
worship Him.  If your fellowship is not
this way, then live as if it were.

Lord, help me to get it right and grant that Your Holy
Spirit will do the rest.  Help me to live
my life in a simple manner as if I were the one to be the example in the midst
of those where I find myself.  Rather
than seeking for control, help me to be a catalyst.  Guide me Lord in the way You would have me go
and let my life be one that praises and thanks You in all circumstances and in
all places.

Lord Jesus,
You have come and told us that the objective is to make us one even as You and
the Father are One.  Help me to live
giving myself up as You gave Yourself up for the sake of the Father.  Lead me in the way You know I need to go that
I would surrender my will and live for what You have already declared.  By Your grace alone, help me to do what You
would have me do.  Amen.

“But if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her? For her
hair is given to her for a covering.  But
if one is inclined to be contentious, we have no other practice, nor have the
churches of God” (1 Corinthians 11:15-16).

If one is
inclined to be contentious . . . we live in a time where there are so many who
are contentious.  Do not foster the
contention, either in yourself or in others. 
We can find controversy, but leave such things behind.  Knowing what is good and right, press on
toward the goal of becoming like Christ. 
Do not be led astray by the constant harangues of this world.

Lord Jesus, You were constantly barraged by those who had contrary ideas.  Help me O Lord to not get caught up in such things, but to instead live into the life which has no end.  Guide me in the eternal precepts You have given that I may not be carried away with temporary variances that are offered as another way.  Through all things, keep my mind clear and my purpose straight.

Come Holy
Spirit and lead me in discernment.  Guide
me according to the Father’s purpose to live with who I am, where I am, and the
direction You lead me.  Help me to work
on the simple things of character this day, accepting who I am, that I may grow
into what You are creating me to be. 
Lead me, Spirit, deep within to be consistent and bold in my witness of
the faith You give.  Amen. 

“Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a woman to pray to
God with her head uncovered?  Does not
even nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to
him” (1 Corinthians 11:13-14).

There are
cultural institutions that are not against the Lord.  Do nothing to rebel against the culture that
is irrelevant or unnecessary.  Stand firm
in the truth of the Gospel.  Weigh what
is important and follow the Lord’s direction. 
The world is in constant turmoil and we are called to discern what is
important.  Keep the Lord’s law of love
in your heart and live with the Lord first on your mind.

Lord, this world does have crazy ideas.  Some really do not matter in the grand
scheme.  Help me to keep good priorities
and seek for harmony and peace as far as I am concerned.  Within Your created order, guide me to live
into the life for which I was created that I may become more like Christ each
day.  Lead me, O Lord, and I will follow
You through the morass of this age.

Lord Jesus,
You know what it is like in this world. 
So many people with so many different ideas about how things ought to be.  Lead me this day, O Lord, to live into the
life to which You have called me.  Guide
me according to Your precepts to not be confused by the offerings of this world
and help me to grow in Your likeness. 
Through all things, help me see the good order of creation and live
within that order.  Amen.

“However, in the Lord, neither is woman independent of man,
nor is man independent of woman.  For as
the woman originates from the man, so also the man has his birth through the
woman; and all things originate from God” (1 Corinthians 11:11-12).

We come to
the place of understanding the reasoning of Paul.  There are distinctions and we ought not
ignore them, yet recognize that all good things come from God who established
His order.  Live in harmony with the
things of God and do not follow the world which continues its rebellion against
the Lord and His established order.  We
are created in relationship and for relationship.

Lord, I am often tugged by this world which is constantly
hammering against Your established order. 
Help me, I pray, to see through the fog of this age to know that what
You have established is right and good. 
Let me be sensitive in those places where there has been abuse, but also
firm in those places where Your created order is being questioned that in life
I may live into Your order always.

Lead me,
Lord Jesus, for You know how humanity thwarts the Father’s will by manmade laws
and customs.  Help me to be both gracious
and firm in living into the life for which You have created me and called me.  Guide me by Your example to confront evil,
love my neighbor and live in harmony with all that You have commanded.  Guide me in the way of everlasting life.  Amen.

“For indeed man was not created for the woman’s sake, but woman for the
man’s sake. Therefore the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her
head, because of the angels” (1 Corinthians 11:9-10).

All were created for the Lord’s
sake. We love to think more highly of ourselves that we ought. I am not arguing
sexism here, but humility; and so is Paul. He is speaking first century and I
am speaking twenty-first century. Things have not changed and the pride that
needs to be slain was as real then as it is now: different on the outside, but the
same on the inside. Listen to the Lord.

Lord, You know where the rebellious heart is deceiving my spirit. Help me first to see where I need to repent, then lead me in repentance that I would not argue as the world argues, but would submit to those circumstances You know will lead me to become like Christ. Help me now and always to be willing to listen, learn, and then obey all that You command knowing this is the true way to live.

Lord Jesus, You have taught us not to continue the rebellion, but to live humble lives that learn to obey all that You command. Guide me, O Lord, in the way of truth that I may now and always live into a life that obeys all that the Father wills for my life. Help me by overcoming my pride and do not let me stumble even in the small things that will get in the way that I may truly abide in You. Amen

“For a man ought not to have his head covered, since he is the image
and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man. For man does not originate
from woman, but woman from man” (1 Corinthians 11:7-8).

What is the order of things? One
of the difficulties we have is when our culture combats what the Lord has done.
We want it to be another way. The point is to not argue gender, but order. The
question is, how do we live out God’s order even when it contradicts the
world’s order? Live in equality, but with God’s order in mind. Live into the
life which the Lord gives according to His created order.

Lord, I confess that I am conflicted because I know what this world
says. Guide me, Lord, that I may live into the life to which You have called
me. Guide me according to Your purposes to see more clearly how You have
ordered things. Lead me to be content with whom You have made me to be that I
may live boldly with who I am and who You have and are making me to be.

Lord Jesus, You have taught us to be submissive to the will of the Father. This world wants to argue every point. Lead me, O Lord, in the way of truth that I may live according to the Father’s will. Help me when I am confronted with the world’s way of looking at things that I would be one who submits to the Father’s will as the final authority. In all things, grant me grace so that I am not conformed to this world but transformed by the renewing of my mind. Amen.

“But every woman who has her head uncovered while praying or
prophesying disgraces her head, for she is one and the same as the woman whose
head is shaved. For if a woman does not cover her head, let her also have her
hair cut off; but if it is disgraceful for a woman to have her hair cut off or
her head shaved, let her cover her head” (1 Corinthians 11:5-6).

Perhaps for the first time in
two thousand years, these verses make more sense. Men, be men and women, be
women. Just that. Be whom the Lord created you to be. We live in a world that
is constantly arguing over our own identity. Be whom the Lord has made you to
be and become what the Lord is making you to be. Live into your identity as a
child of God and trust what he has created.

Lord, the world is constantly mixing things up and telling me things
that make no sense. Help me to keep simple things simple and live into the life
to which You have called me. Guide me according to Your goodness that I may now
and always walk with You in the way You have established. Let me not be
confused by this world’s sinful insanity which does nothing but destroy what
You have made.

Lord Jesus, You have come into
this world to lead those who will follow into a life that sees the light of
truth. Help me follow You that I would see through the obfuscation of this age
and know that You are preparing me for eternity. Guide me O Lord in the way of
truth that I may now and always follow You. You have the words of eternal life.
Where else can we go in this mixed up world? Amen.

“But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and
the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Christ. Every man who
has something on his head while praying or prophesying disgraces his head” (1
Corinthians 11:3-4).

We have just gone through
several verses that speak of the freedom in Christ and the need to put on
Christ who, although God, put on humanity for our sake. If we are imitators of
Christ, then we do what we do for the sake of others. Here, Paul speaks of what
is good order for the time and place in which we find ourselves. This is not a
law, but a principle. How are you Christ to others?

Lord, help me to not make legalistic laws out of every little thing I
read, but see the principle and by Your insight, apply it to my circumstances. Guide
me, O Lord, in the way You would have me go knowing that I do not always know
how to do these things. You have created the order of things, so help me apply
Your order that I may live fully in You and according to Your Word.

Holy Spirit, guide me with
discernment that I may live in good order. Teach me what I need to know that I
may understand more fully the truth of creation. Let me not make laws where
there need not be any laws, but also help me to live into the good order of
Your creation. Grant me wisdom that I may see clearly the line between these
things and live in a way that is pleasing to the Father. Amen.

“Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ. Now I praise you
because you remember me in everything and hold firmly to the traditions, just
as I delivered them to you” (1 Corinthians 11:1-2).

What we will be we do not know says Saint John, but this we know, we will be like Christ. How then do we pursue this? Is it not to imitate Christ-like behavior? This is what Paul is telling us. Imitate Christ-like behavior and soon you will become one who behaves that way. Put on Christ and soon others will see Christ in you. This is how we live into that to which we have been called.

Lord, I want to figure everything out before I move forward. You have
given me faith that I may move forward. Remove from me the hesitation that I
may move without thinking all of these things through, for how can I know what
it is to become like Christ unless I move in the direction of imitating what
You show me to be Christ-like behavior. Move me, Lord, that I may move as You
direct.

Lord Jesus, You have come as a
model of the godly life. You are not there just to be viewed, but to be
emulated. Help me Lord to abide in You and You in me that I may become as You are.
Today and each day You give me in this age, guide me to see that in You is the
hope which I seek. Lead me through all of the illusions of this age to live
into that which is everlasting through You. Amen.