Today’s Reading: Ezra 5:1‐6:22, 1 Corinthians 3:5‐23, Psalm 29:1‐11, Proverbs 20:26‐27
1 Corinthians 3:7 – So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.
Observations:
- Context: Paul is continuing his argument against the divisions in the church based on which Christian teacher they followed. In verse six we read: “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.”
- The one who plants and he who waters is nothing
- Only God gives the growth
Apply: I am capable of nothing in myself. I want to be faithful to plant and water while remembering nothing in ministry happens apart from the work of God.
Prayer: “God give growth!”
In you ministry, are you shouldering more regret or credit than you deserve? God gives growth.
samholm.com 
These are great stories. I love how thoroughly God strikes down his enemies in the Ezra scripture. The politicians think they have Ezra by going to the King and saying where is this written permission from King Cyrus (now dead). So God leads them to it (in a pagan library, no less) and we see King Darius respond by saying get out of their way, pay all of the reconstruction costs and give animals for offerings or you’ll be beaten and YOUR house will be destroyed. Probably not what the politicians expected.
In the 1 Corinthians passage, I love the verses about man’s wisdom. I’ve never heard the ones about how God traps the wise their own cleverness (3:19) and how God knows the thoughts of the wise and they are worthless (3:20). I am going to commit those to memory for those who think you can figure out God’s will using reason, or who think they have figured out what God wants instead of just obeying his instructions. Good stuff.
Brian – I really enjoyed your excellent observation of the context of the story. Crazy to think about this being a pagan library and King Darius taking God’s side.
Have you already memorized 1 Cor 3:19-20? I think this is an excellent passage to committ to memory. Well done. You are an example to me.