Welcome to The Daily, where we study the Bible verse by verse, chapter by chapter, every day.

Our shout-out today goes to Jay T. Stilkey from Post Falls, ID. Thanks for your partnership in Project23. We cannot do this without donors like you.

Our text today is 1 Corinthians 7:32-35.

I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord. But the married man is anxious about worldly things, how to please his wife, and his interests are divided. And the unmarried or betrothed woman is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit. But the married woman is anxious about worldly things, how to please her husband. I say this for your own benefit, not to lay any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord. — 1 Corinthians 7:32-35

Paul slows down here.

He doesn't issue commands. He offers care. He doesn't shame. He clarifies.

His opening line reveals his heart: "I want you to be free from anxieties."

Paul isn't ranking marriage and singleness. He's naming reality. Life adds weight. Responsibilities multiply concerns. Love creates legitimate obligations that divide attention—not because something is wrong, but because something is real.

Marriage is not sinful. Singleness is not superior. Both are gifts. Both come with costs.

Paul's point is simple but searching: devotion is shaped by attention.

The unmarried believer has fewer competing demands and more flexibility to focus on pleasing the Lord. The married believer carries additional responsibilities—to a spouse, to a household, to shared decisions—and that naturally divides attention.

Paul does not condemn that division. He acknowledges it.

And then he tells us why he's saying any of this:

"I say this for your own benefit… to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord."

That's the key phrase in this section.

Paul is not trying to restrict your life. He is trying to protect your focus. He knows that devotion doesn't usually disappear overnight—it gets crowded out slowly. Good things pile up. Legitimate concerns take center stage. And before long, what matters most gets pushed to the margins.

Paul wants better for us.

He wants a life ordered around what lasts. A heart that knows why it exists. A devotion that is clear, intentional, and unconflicted.

This is not a call to escape responsibility. It's a call to clarity.

Whether married or single, the question is the same:

What has my attention—and what is quietly competing with my devotion to the Lord?

Paul's vision is not a stripped-down life, but a focused one. Not fewer loves, but rightly ordered loves.

Because true freedom is not the absence of responsibility.

It is the ability to live with clear, undivided devotion to the Lord.

DO THIS:

Take five quiet minutes today and list the top five things that currently demand your attention. Ask God to show you which ones are crowding out your devotion to Him.

ASK THIS:

1. What responsibilities most divide my attention right now?
2. Where have good things begun to crowd out devotion to the Lord?
3. What would undivided devotion look like in my current season of life?

PRAY THIS:

Lord, You know the weight I carry and the concerns that fill my mind. Help me order my loves rightly. Free me from anxiety and lead me into clear, undivided devotion to You. Amen.

PLAY THIS:

"Clear the Stage"

Welcome to The Daily, where we study the Bible verse by verse, chapter by chapter, every day.

Our shout-out today goes to Elijah Kovar from Independence, MN. Thanks for your partnership in Project23. We cannot do this without donors like you.

Our text today is 1 Corinthians 7:25-31.

Now concerning the betrothed, I have no command from the Lord, but I give my judgment as one who by the Lord's mercy is trustworthy. I think that in view of the present distress it is good for a person to remain as he is. Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be free. Are you free from a wife? Do not seek a wife. But if you do marry, you have not sinned, and if a betrothed woman marries, she has not sinned. Yet those who marry will have worldly troubles, and I would spare you that. This is what I mean, brothers: the appointed time has grown very short. From now on, let those who have wives live as though they had none, and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no goods, and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For the present form of this world is passing away. — 1 Corinthians 7:25-31

Paul does not tell believers to abandon life or withdraw from the world. Instead, he urges them not to build their lives as if this world were permanent. This scripture is not meant to create panic or anxiety, but to cultivate preparedness—a steady, eternal perspective that reshapes how we hold everything we have.

As Paul considers a list of items—marriage, grief, joy, possessions, and daily responsibilities—he offers a word that still unsettles us because it runs against our instincts. He calls believers to hold everything with open hands.

The reason is simple and sobering: "Your time is very short." Paul is not predicting a date or stirring fear; he is shaping a posture. Time is limited, eternity is near, and that reality should change how tightly we cling to the things of this world.

Marriage is good, but it is not ultimate. Grief is real, but it is not final. Joy is sweet, but it does not last forever. Possessions are useful, but they are not secure. None of these things are wrong; they are temporary and changing.

Paul's call, then, is not withdrawal from life but readiness within it. Believers are invited to stay engaged without becoming entangled, to care deeply without clutching desperately, and to enjoy God's gifts without confusing them with God himself.

This is what it means to live ready: to obey when God redirects, to suffer without losing hope, to rejoice without forgetting eternity, and to let go when the world begins to fade.

Then Paul closes with authority: "For the present form of this world is passing away." Everything we see is temporary. Everything we hold will one day be released. Only what is rooted in Christ will remain.

So do not anchor your identity in what is fading. Anchor it in the kingdom that cannot be shaken, and live today with eternity clearly in view.

DO THIS:

Identify one thing you're holding too tightly—status, comfort, possessions, plans—and intentionally loosen your grip by surrendering it to God today.

ASK THIS:

1. Where am I living as if this world is permanent?
2. What earthly attachment most distracts me from eternal priorities?
3. How would my daily choices change if I truly believed time is short?

PRAY THIS:

Father, help me live ready. Teach me to enjoy Your gifts without worshiping them, to grieve without despair, and to rejoice without forgetting eternity. Fix my heart on what lasts. Amen.

PLAY THIS:

"Build My Life"

Welcome to The Daily, where we study the Bible verse by verse, chapter by chapter, every day.

Our shout-out today goes to Kevin Kinney from Mahtomedi, MN. Thanks for your partnership in Project23. We cannot do this without donors like you.

Our text today is 1 Corinthians 7:17-24.

Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him. This is my rule in all the churches. Was anyone at the time of his call already circumcised? Let him not seek to remove the marks of circumcision. Was anyone at the time of his call uncircumcised? Let him not seek circumcision. For neither circumcision counts for anything nor uncircumcision, but keeping the commandments of God. Each one should remain in the condition in which he was called. Were you a bondservant when called? Do not be concerned about it. (But if you can gain your freedom, avail yourself of the opportunity.) For he who was called in the Lord as a bondservant is a freedman of the Lord. Likewise he who was free when called is a bondservant of Christ. You were bought with a price; do not become bondservants of men. So, brothers, in whatever condition each was called, there let him remain with God. — 1 Corinthians 7:17-24

We often assume that spiritual growth requires a new setting.

A new job. A new relationship. A new city. A new season.

But Paul confronts that assumption head-on.

He writes to believers who thought they needed to change their circumstances to live more faithfully. Paul says the opposite:

God meets you where you are—not where you wish you were.

Paul's command is repeated so often in this short section that it's impossible to miss:

"Each one should remain in the condition in which he was called."

Paul is not trapping people. He's freeing them.

He points to examples that mattered deeply in the first-century world—circumcision and social status. Jews wanted to erase their Jewishness. Gentiles wanted to adopt it. Slaves wanted out. Free people wanted upward mobility.

Paul's response cuts through all of it. Circumcision doesn't save you. Uncircumcision doesn't sanctify you. Status doesn't define you. Obedience is what you need.

This is Paul's core conviction:

"Neither circumcision counts for anything nor uncircumcision, but keeping the commandments of God."

In other words, stop confusing change with calling.

God is not waiting for you to upgrade your life before he works. He works in ordinary obedience—right where you are. That doesn't mean opportunities for change are wrong. Paul even says if freedom is possible, take it.

But don't believe the lie that faithfulness is postponed until circumstances improve.

Paul reframes identity entirely. A slave in Christ is free. A free person in Christ is owned. Everyone stands on equal ground at the foot of the cross.

And then Paul reminds them—and us—why:

"You were bought with a price."

Your life isn't owned by culture. Your worth isn't assigned by status. Your calling isn't delayed by circumstances.

God meets you where you are—and walks with you as you obey.

So be obedient today, in the place where you are standing right now.

Welcome to The Daily, where we study the Bible verse by verse, chapter by chapter, every day.

Read more about Project23 and partner with us as we teach every verse of the Bible on video.

Our text today is 1 Corinthians 6:18-20.

We don't flirt with fire. We don't negotiate with danger. And when it comes to sexual sin, Paul gives only one command:

Run.
Sprint.
Get out fast.

Not because you're weak—but because you know what's at stake.

Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. — 1 Corinthians 6:18–20

Paul doesn't tell you to manage sexual sin. He doesn't tell you to reason with it. He doesn't even tell you to pray near it.

He tells you to flee.

Why? Because sexual sin cuts deeper. It reshapes your desires. It wounds your soul. It touches the very place where God dwells. And then Paul gives the identity anchor that makes the command make sense: You. Are. Bought.

Bought with blood. Bought at full price. Bought out of slavery. Bought into freedom. Jesus didn't shed discount blood to redeem you into discount living. That's why Paul's logic is so sharp: If Christ paid full price, stop selling yourself at bargain rates.

You don't belong to sin anymore. You don't belong to your impulses. You don't belong to your past desires. You belong to Christ.

And belonging determines behavior. This is why fleeing isn't cowardice—it's courage. It's saying: "I know my worth. I know my calling. I know my Redeemer. I know who paid for me."

Every step away from sin is a step toward the Savior who bought you. Every act of fleeing is an act of worship. So glorify God in your body. Run like someone who knows what they're worth. Run like someone who has been bought with priceless blood, not discount blood.

DO THIS:

Choose one practical step to "flee": delete an app, cut off a pathway to sin, confess to a trusted believer, or move physically away from a tempting environment.

ASK THIS:

1. Where have I tried to manage sin instead of fleeing from it?
2. What "bargain-rate" lies have convinced me my body is mine to use however I want?
3. How does remembering the price Jesus paid reshape how I treat my body?

PRAY THIS:

Father, thank You for buying me at the highest cost. Help me flee what destroys my soul and run toward the One who redeemed me. Strengthen my mind, guard my desires, and make my body a place that honors You. Amen.

PLAY THIS:

"Jesus Paid It All"

We live in a moment where feelings rule, rights are weaponized, and identity is endlessly redefined. And the church isn't immune.

1 Corinthians 6 confronts the modern obsession with rights, autonomy, and self-defined identity. Paul makes it clear: believers don't belong to themselves—body, identity, and freedom all belong to Christ. Maturity means surrendering self-ownership and living for God's glory.

1. Why do personal rights feel so important in our culture—and how can they compete with Christian witness?

2. What does Paul mean when he asks, "Why not rather be wronged?"

3. How do lawsuits among believers damage the gospel's credibility?

4. Where do you see the lie of false ownership showing up in the church today?

5. Why does Paul treat fraud as a theological issue, not just a moral one?

6. What stands out to you about the phrase, "And such were some of you"?

7. How does identity received from God differ from identity constructed by the self?

8. What's the difference between freedom from sin and freedom to sin?

9. Why does "my body, my choice" collapse under biblical scrutiny?

10. What would it look like this week to genuinely glorify God with your body?

Welcome to The Daily, where we study the Bible verse by verse, chapter by chapter, every day.

Read more about Project23 and partner with us as we teach every verse of the Bible on video.

Our text today is 1 Corinthians 6:15-17.

We live in a world that treats sexual sin like it's harmless, private, and victimless. People defend themselves with one sentence that sounds so innocent: "I'm not hurting anyone."

Paul destroys that myth in three verses. Because if you are in Christ… your body belongs to Christ. And if your body belongs to Christ… your choices involve Christ. Paul doesn't ease into the point. He detonates it.

"Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never!" — 1 Corinthians 6:15

He's saying: When you use your body for sexual sin, you drag Jesus into it. Not metaphorically. Not symbolically. Literally. Because your body is a member of Christ. A limb of Christ. A temple of Christ. Your sin isn't private. Your choices aren't isolated. Your actions don't happen in a vacuum. Sex isn't casual — it's union.

"For, as it is written, 'The two will become one flesh.'" — 1 Corinthians 6:16

When you join your body to someone in a sinful way — whether that's porn, adultery, hookups, sexting, cohabitation, or any form of sexual immorality — you're not just touching sin. You're uniting with it. Sex fuses. Sex bonds. Sex creates spiritual attachments. And if you belong to Christ, every competing union wounds you, warps you, and pulls you away from the One you're meant to be joined to.

"But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him." — 1 Corinthians 6:17

That's why the myth of "I'm not hurting anyone" is so toxic. You're hurting your own soul. You're hurting your fellowship with Christ. You're hurting your spiritual integrity. Sin never stays in one place. Sin always spreads. Sin always hurts.

Christ doesn't expose this to shame you. He exposes it to heal you. To restore you. To call you back to the union your soul was made for. Because when you're joined to Christ… you don't join yourself to anything that tears you away from Him.

DO THIS:

Identify one area where you've believed the lie "I'm not hurting anyone," and bring it into the light before God.

ASK THIS:

1. Where have I convinced myself my private choices don't affect my relationship with Christ?
2. What union—physical, digital, emotional, or mental—do I need to break?
3. How is the Spirit calling me back to deeper oneness with Christ?

PRAY THIS:

Father, expose every lie I've believed about sin being harmless. Remind me that my body belongs to Christ and my choices matter. Give me the courage to break false unions and cling to the One who redeemed me. Amen.

PLAY THIS:

"You are Holy"