FIRM TO THE END

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 1:7-8

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

I don’t know about you but these past few years have worn me out.

Ever since the COVID pandemic started to break out and spread, it seems like we have been on the defensive and that has been exhausting both physically and mentally.

Stay home and away from public places.

If you do go out, wear a mask and keep six feet between you and the next person.

Wash your hands vigorously and use hand sanitizer after touching things. Definitely, don’t shake hands with people or worse yet hug them.

If you think you may have been exposed, quarantine yourself for the number of days considered appropriate by government health officials, the same officials that set standards for vaccinations.

The list of COVID-related cautions seems to go on and on and on and on.

Now, add this to all the normal life stressors and you can see a recipe for disaster, especially for people already struggling with anxiety or depression. There’s little doubt that we need a strength outside of our own to persevere and make it through.

Thank goodness we can always find such a strength in our Lord. For He is our great Protector and Sustainer who helps us get through life’s challenges when we turn to Him for help. He never brings us to something He isn’t willing to bring us through.

In today’s verses from 1 Corinthians, chapter 1, we find Paul reminding the believer in Corinth about what they gain from placing their hope and trust in Jesus. Look again at his words here:

Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. vv. 7-8

In yesterday’s message, we saw Paul let the Corinthian Christians know that they were enriched and gifted, blessed with what they needed when they needed it by the Lord. Jesus equips His followers with what they need to live this thing called life to His glory. He provides an abundance of spiritual gifts to us so that we are not in want or need. In other words, Jesus always makes sure we have plenty to do in His name and never leaves us in a place of spiritual need.

He also keeps us firm to the end.

Satan would seek to move us onto life’s shaky ground where there’s little stability. Conversely, Jesus keeps us firm to end, the solid Rock on which we can stand until that day when He returns and helps us appear blameless before the judgment seat of God.

So the next time you feel overwhelmed by current circumstances, whether from a contagious pandemic or anything else, look to the cross, remember what Jesus did to save you, and fully embrace and celebrate the eternal future and hope you have because of Him. He will always keep you firm to the very end.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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ENRICHED AND GIFTED

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In Christ, Mark

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** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

I always thank my God for you because of His grace given you in Christ Jesus. For in Him you have been enriched in every way—with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge—God thus confirming our testimony about Christ among you.

1 Corinthians 1:4-6

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

We have so much to gain from choosing to believe in Jesus as Savior and becoming a Christian. Of course, the main thing we gain is salvation, the promise of eternal life, a resurrection to life from death, a sure victory over the grave and place in the kingdom of God as a co-heir with Christ.

That would be enough on its own but as we see in today’s passage, we have much more to be thankful for out of the abundance of what we receive from Jesus. Let’s look again at what the Apostle Paul mentions as he continues his opening words in his letter to the Corinthians:

I always thank my God for you because of His grace given you in Christ Jesus. For in Him you have been enriched in every way—with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge—God thus confirming our testimony about Christ among you. 1 Corinthians 1:4-6

Here we see how a Christian becomes enriched and gifted when they choose to follow Jesus.

In what ways?

Let’s look at the ones mentioned in these three verses:

1. We are gifted with God’s grace.

“I always thank my God for you because of His grace given you in Christ Jesus.”

God could have left us in our fallen, wretched, hopeless place, separated from Him and destined for eternal damnation and torment but He didn’t. He so loved all His people that He didn’t wish for them to perish and so He sent His Son Jesus to be an atoning sacrifice, the perfect Lamb of God who came from heaven to earth to pay the sin penalty every sinner deserved. Through His death and resurrection, God made the way for people to be saved, rescued from His judgment and pardoned by Christ who justifies every sinner who places their trust in Him.

No one deserved this. No one.

Out of His deep mercy, God provided a way to be saved and it is simply, unadulterated amazing grace, a salvation not earned but rather freely granted. A true gift from God to one who believes in Jesus.

This is what Paul thanked God for, the amazing grace extended to the Corinthian Christians as well as himself.

2. Every Christian is enriched through Jesus.

“For in Him you have been enriched in every way...”

What does it mean to be enriched?

Consider this dictionary definition:

To improve or enhance the quality or value of

Now, ask yourself these questions:

How is a Christian improved by following Jesus? How has He improved you in your life?

How does a Christian find their quality enhanced by following Jesus? How has your quality of life been enhanced by Him?

How does Jesus make a Christian more valuable than they were without Him? How has your value elevated through your belief and trust in Him?

Our answers here may vary based on our different personal experiences but rather than try to pin down a specific way we are enriched, look again at what Paul says. He states that the Corinthian Christians were “enriched in every way”.

And so are we.

Jesus improves us in every way imaginable. As we strive to be more like Him every day, allowing the Holy Spirit to lead us, we can’t help but be more like Him, better versions of ourselves each and every day.

Want to improve in every way? Want to enhance the quality of your life? Want to see the value of your life increase?

Dedicate yourself to being more like Jesus every day. For keep in mind the root of our spiritual identity as Christians is Christ.

3. Through Jesus, we are gifted with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge.

“For in Him you have been enriched in every way—with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge.”

This final benefit Paul shares in regard to what is gained through following Jesus reminds me of two scripture passages, one from the Old Testament and one from the New.

First, here’s the Word from Proverbs, chapter 3:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight. vv. 5-6

Jesus said He and the Father were one, and Jesus was perfect in every way because of it. He was just as much a source of perfect knowledge and wisdom as God was, and the good news is that Jesus doesn’t keep all this knowledge and wisdom to Himself. Rather, He imparts it on those who submit and turn to Him for it. All someone needs to do is trust in Him with all their heart, relying on Him and not one’s own understanding.

What happens when a Christian does this?

Jesus makes their paths straight. In other words, He grants them the perfect knowledge so all they do is pleasing in the Lord’s sight. This goes for everything they do, think, or say.

In regard to that latter, the way a Christian speaks, I’m reminded of these words from Jesus in the Gospel of Luke:

“When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.” vv. 12:11-12

Jesus knew all about being called before authorities and questioned. He knew His disciples would be subject to the same harassment after He left them. And so Jesus wanted to reassure them that He would make sure they had the right words to say in self defense. All the disciples needed to do was wait for the Holy Spirit to impart speech upon them.

In other words, Jesus would give them the right words, at the right time, to perfectly help them, no matter the circumstances.

Not sure what to say to someone?

Turn to Jesus, submit to Him, pray and ask Him to give you the words to speak. Trust me when I say that He will never let you down.

Friends, yes, Jesus brings salvation to the person who believes in Him but He does far more than that for the Christian. He enhances them and gifts them in every way in order so His Gospel work can be continued and He might be lifted up and glorified.

Thanks be to God for the gift of His Son!

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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THE SANCTIFIED

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Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes,

To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be His holy people, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ—their Lord and ours:

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 1:1-3

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Today, we look at our beginning message from Paul’s first letter to the church in Corinth and the Corinthian Christians. The epistle was written while Paul was in Ephesus during his third missionary journey somewhere around 56 AD.  

As is customary with Paul when he would write to a church, we see him using a format in his opening.

First, he lets the Corinthians know who is writing, identifying himself an apostle of Jesus Christ but note how he deflects the attention from himself and to the Lord. For it wasn’t Paul’s choosing to be an apostle but rather God’s will that resulted in the calling. We need to remember this when we embark on ministry efforts. As Christian servants, we are answering God call in order to carry out His will through the things He leads us to do. Perhaps there could be no better way to describe Paul than this and we should aspire to be like him as we carry on his Gospel-spreading efforts.

Of interest, we learn at the end of verse 1 that Paul had a co-author for this letter, a man Paul referred to as his “brother Sosthenes”. Outside of the fact that he was a Christian, we don’t know much more about Sosthenes but he was obviously an important contributor or Paul wouldn’t have mentioned him.

After Paul’s introduction of himself, and Sosthenes, we see him identify the letter’s target audience, “the church of God in Corinth” but look at what he had to say about the Christians there:

“...those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be His holy people...”   

Paul labeled the Corinthian Christians as being sanctified in Christ Jesus so it would benefit us to know what that means. When we go to the dictionary, this is what we find:

“to set apart for a sacred purpose”

When we substitute this definition into how Paul described the Corinthian Christians, we get this:

“...those set apart for a sacred purpose in Christ Jesus”

When we choose to believe in Jesus as Savior, He makes us a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). We are set apart, in the world but not of it, called to be God’s holy people, no longer separated from Him but co-heirs to His kingdom along with Jesus (Romans 8:17). This is where the Corinthian church was at, and the Christians there joined others who had called on the name of Jesus Christ, the Lord of lords. Together, these Christ followers became the sanctified.

And with that, Paul wishes the Corinthians “grace and peace” which would come from the God and His Savior Son they had placed their hope in, a grace and peace that is given fully and freely to those who are set apart to do the Gospel work of the Father.

Are you included in the number of the sanctified today?

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com

 

 

TO GOD BE THE GLORY

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Now to Him who is able to establish you in accordance with my gospel, the message I proclaim about Jesus Christ, in keeping with the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past, but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that all the Gentiles might come to the obedience that comes from faith—to the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen.

Romans 16:25-27

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Today, we wrap our look at Paul’s letter to the Romans, a journey we embarked on more than four months ago. Tomorrow, we move onto Paul’s first letter to the church in Corinth.

So how does Paul end his letter to Rome?

Perhaps the only way he should, by giving glory to the God who made his ministry possible, the God who provided him the gifts to use in spreading the Gospel and then the opportunities to use those gifts.

This is the way we should respond to as we end things we do in life.

Get up in the morning and give glory to God for the new day and the purposes He has within.

Drive to work or elsewhere and arrive safely? Give glory to God for how He protected you along the way to your destination.

Accomplish something special at work or at home? Give God the glory for helping bring you to that success.

And when you get set to lay down your head and sleep, give glory to God for getting you through another day.

Then get up and do it all over again.

You get the point. There is no shortage of times when we can stop and give our God the glory He so very much deserves.

In his letter to the Romans, Paul spent a lot of time providing guidance so his readers could become more the people that God wanted them to be, a people who strived to live as His Son Jesus did. After all, this is what it means to exist as a Christian, right? We need to seek to be Christ-like in everything we do.

But Paul knew that he couldn’t have provided one word of wisdom and guidance to the Roman Christians if he didn’t first have God with him, providing the words for Paul to share. Like the prophets of the Old Testament, Paul was a messenger for God, sharing the good news of the salvation offered to all people, Jew or Gentile, through His Son Jesus.  And so Paul fittingly closed his letter by not glorifying himself but rather God. Look at his words again here:

Now to Him who is able to establish you in accordance with my gospel, the message I proclaim about Jesus Christ, in keeping with the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past, but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that all the Gentiles might come to the obedience that comes from faith—to the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen.  Romans 16:25-27

Here we see Paul proclaim all glory to God, the wise and eternal God who longed to abide forever with those who believed in Jesus, all people whether they were Jew or Gentile. Throughout the scriptures, God tasked men like the Apostle Paul to share the Gospel, the message proclaimed about salvation through Jesus, a revelation and affirmation of what was written by the prophets.

It was God who lovingly initiated a plan to save sinners from His wrath and judgment.

It was God who willingly surrendered His only Son Jesus as an atoning sacrifice to cover the sin penalty that was upon all people.

It was God who selectively appointed people to proclaim His redemption plan for all creation.

And it is God who will one day send Jesus back from heaven to earth to make good on His salvation promise and draw all Christians to live with Him forever.

Yes, Paul couldn’t have selected a better way to finish his letter to the Romans and I can’t think of a better way to close out this last devotion in this series from the Epistle to the Romans except by saying:

To God be the glory, now and forever more.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com