Thursday 1 May 2008

Thursday Reading: 1 Corinthians 15:1-11
 
Key Verse: 1 Corinthians 15:10
10  But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace which was toward me has not been without fruit, but I laboured more abundantly than all of them; yet not I, but the grace of God with me.
 
Devotion:
The central part of our Christianity is the resurrection of Christ. Without it, we become nothing more than any other religion. But with it, we can see how the promises made and the prophesies told in the Old Testament come to fruition in the New Testament. With it we have hope of eternal salvation and our belief is not in vain. We need to make sure that we stand fast by God’s Word because it shows us all that has happened and all that will happen. It is a perfect record of all the God wants us to know in order that we can grow in our faith.
 
Paul knew this to be true and he knew that he was given a gift by which he could go out and teach the gospel to many people. He had a very low opinion of himself because of the things that he had done in the past, especially to Christians. But he also knew that through the grace of God, through the death, burial and resurrection of Christ, he had a firm hope of eternal salvation. No matter how hard he tried to work, how much work he did for Go and how many people he was able to preach to, he knew that nothing could every compare to God’s grace. He knew that it was able to cover all of his sins and he knew it was able to cover everyone else’s sins.
 
God will completely forgive us of our sins because the perfect sacrifice has been made. What he will not do is to take them out of our heads. He leaves us with the memories of our sins so that we can continue to marvel at His amazing grace. He allows us to remember so that we will return humble, diligent and faithful. When we remember our sins we bring to mind His power and His grace. The gospel is there to allow us to remember what He has done to and for others. The truth is there to allow us to remember what He has done for us!
 
Points to Ponder:
Are you proud of everything you have done in your life?
 
Where would you be without God’s grace?