Sunday 23 Feb 2014

Sunday Reading: 1 Corinthians 3:16-23

Key Verse: 1 Corinthians 3:19
For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their own craftiness”;

Devotion:
The one thing that I learned very quickly fifteen years ago was that I could not rely on my own intelligence to tell others about God. I started out as being someone who was a bit awkward getting up in front of others to talk about anything which did not do a lot for my confidence either. But I learned very quickly that even though many thought me to be intelligent, that counted as nothing when compared to God’s Word!

Yes I could pick up on things quickly, I could understand what was written down, but that did not build up my spirit; it was God working inside of me, showing me the spirit of the writings and sharing His love for me that made the difference. By opening up your own heart to others, they will come to see how much God means to you and will be more willing to accept the truth as you give it out. But make sure it is not your own vain words that you give to others!

I love the way that Paul knew so much from the law of Moses and that He was a man who had made it his ambition to make sure others knew what he did, and yet Christ turned him round and showed him a bit of His heart so that the truth may sink in. I love the fact that Paul counted all of that as nothing against the love of Christ. Paul did not waste what he had learned, but took it and taught from his heart from that moment onward, building on the foundation that Christ had laid!

We cannot just take what Christ Himself said. We cannot just take what the prophets foretold. We cannot just take someone else’s word for it… What we have to do is to take on the whole Gospel and to keep it with us every step of our lives. Christ has given us the truth via many people over the ages and does not want us to ignore parts of it just because we may not like them. The Word of God is just that; the whole Word of God. Take it all and apply it all, in truth and in whole.

Points to Ponder:
What do you tell others about?

Is God the Father and the Holy Spirit included in your words?