“Those who are unspiritual do not receive the gifts of God’s Spirit, for they are foolishness to them, and they are unable to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. Those who are spiritual discern all things, and they are themselves subject to no one else’s scrutiny. “For who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ. And so, brothers and sisters, I could not speak to you as spiritual people, but rather as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for solid food. Even now you are still not ready, for you are still of the flesh. For as long as there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not of the flesh, and behaving according to human inclinations?” 1 Cor. 2:14 – 3:3

School Shooting Number 4:

“On January 9, 2018, authorities say a gun was fired and a bullet hit a building on a Southern California college campus. No injuries were reported. Officials at California State University, San Bernardino said the gunfire was reported at about 6 p.m. Wednesday local time. San Bernardino police say the shot most likely came from just off campus and hit a window of the visual arts building on its west side. Police went building-to-building searching for a shooter for hours before giving the all-clear. No shooter has been found.”  (cbsnews.com, Bullet Hits Building on Cal State San Bernardino Campus; No Shooter Found)

My wife and I used to live along a busy thoroughfare. One night I was staying up late watching television when I saw a red dot suddenly appear on the wall opposite our bay window. It appeared for just a second, and then disappeared. I realized immediately that someone driving by our house shined a laser light into our bay window – which then appeared on the wall. It scared me initially, because I realized how easy it would be for a passing car to fire a shot into our living room. Was I being paranoid? Not in this world, that’s for sure.

One year during hunting season, I found my self sitting on the side of a mountain, in a cold drizzle and shrouded in fog, waiting for a white tail deer to come walking my way. Although I did not see any deer (the fact is I could hardly see ten feet in front of me because of the fog), there were plenty of shots ringing out all around me. For a few moments I felt like I was living in a shooting gallery. A few prayers (and possibly some expletives) passed across my lips that morning.

“For as long as there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not of the flesh, and behaving according to human inclinations?” Paul knew that the church in Corinth was filled with quarreling, selfishness, and unspiritual behavior. If more of us had the mind of Christ, or even the heart of Christ, perhaps we would be more loving and less hateful. But having the mind of Christ requires putting others first, and our needs and desires second. That is completely out of sync with society today. But Christ calls us to swim against the tide of societal pressures, and to be more mindful of our neighbors. Right now we are living in a fog of fear, hate, and selfishness. As people of Christ, we need to begin to share the love and Grace of Jesus – if we hope to see a better tomorrow.

Pastor Dave