Friday Reading: 1 Corinthians 15:1-8
Key Verse: 1 Corinthians 15:2
2 by which you also are being kept safe, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.
Devotion:
All of modern Christianity is based on the fact that Christ died and then rose from the death. Before Christ came the scriptures were not fully understood that we would have a Saviour who would lay down His life and raise it up again. It was understood that the Messiah would come and the Jews were certainly looking for Him, but, just as the scriptures said would happen, they rejected Him. When we look back on the scripture we can understand exactly what they mean in reference to a Saviour who lays down His life for us – it all looks so obvious when we look back...
If we removed Christ from our beliefs then we would have nothing, we would have no hope and we would certainly have no future! Imagine looking at life and thinking that there is nothing when you die. Is there then any hope for actually living! With Christ, however, we have that hope and we have that promise of eternity. We can look back on the ancient writing about God and know that He is real because what we know now supports what was first written. There is no hiding the truth; no matter how hard the scientists try to prove that there is no God, they cannot, and will not!
The apostle saw himself as being one born out of due time. What he intimated with these words is up for discussion still – but when we get to heaven we can ask him. What is clear is that he did not see himself as being worthy of the position that he was given or that we hold him up to now. He saw himself as a sinner who worked against Christ – and yet Christ still chose him to be an apostle for His cause. He lived by faith, knowing that he faced an uncertain death, but a certain eternal life afterwards. Be safe in the knowledge that we too can share that eternal life if we believe...
Points to Ponder:
Do you think about life and death?
Do you trust Christ to deliver you?
