Scripture: 1 Corinthians 16:13
13 Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. 14 Let all that you do be done in love.
Application: Paul offers encouragement and advice to the people of Corinth. This particular snippet shows great wisdom in just a few short words.
Be Watchful- Our son Kaden started driver's ed last week. He will get his beginner's license next week. We will need to be watchful as we sit in the passenger seat as he learns to drive. He will need to be watchful for traffic, street signs, pedestrians, lights, signals, and so much more. As the guiding passenger as our son learns to drive we will have to be extra diligent to make sure we are watching to hazards and to make sure he is able to recognize the action he needs to drive safely. Being watchful is active not passive. We are to be active in our faith and not passive. We need to watch for opportunities to share our faith and also opportunities to serve others.
Stand firm in the faith: In our school chapels this month we have been talking about building good foundations. We talked about the wise man building on the rock and the foolish man on the sand. When we stand firm on the faith, we are building on a firm foundation that will withstand the "storms of life". Standing firm implies unmovable, unshakable, and not wishy washy. That's what our faith should look like to others.
Act like Men: How applicable this advice is today. What a crazy society we live in that to think that the promotion of a gender neutral culture is the norm and that to celebrate the uniqueness of male and female is looked down on. God designed us as to be complementary and to ignore this is contrary to His plan for us. Men should act like men. Women should act like women.
Be strong. In order to be strong we must push ourselves. We become stronger when we work out. Our faith becomes stronger when we work on it. Our love for others grows stronger when we love others. Be. Strong. Don't dream of what you could be or what you should do, just be.
Let all that you do be done in love. So hard and yet so simple. In all things may Christ show through our words and our actions.
Prayer: Lord, Your word is alive and applicable today just as they were in the time of Paul's writings. We need these reminders, almost daily, that are so simple and yet so hard to do. Thank you for bringing these words to my attention and to offer simple reminders to help us grow in our faith, grow in our love for others, and grow to bring others to You. Amen.
Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage: Acts 19:21-41, Acts 20:1, 2 Corinthians 1-3
2 comments:
Great thoughts Pamela
I appreciated Paul's point about how crucial the reality of Jesus' resurrection is to our faith.
1 Corinthians 15:10
But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.
Paul gave credit where credit was due - to God. He gave credit to God for saving him and for the work the he accomplished.
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