Daily Devotional 3-20-2022
1Th 1:3 CSB We recall, in the presence of our God and Father, your work produced by faith, your labor motivated by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. Three characteristics of these believers stood out in Paul’s mind. First, they had performed an important work produced by faith in Christ. They had turned to the true God from idols. Faith in Christ had produced true repentance. Second, they performed labour prompted by love for Christ. This consisted in their serving the living and true God in the midst of persecution. Third, they had endurance (hypomonēs, lit., “a bearing up patiently under a heavy load”; inspired by hope in Christ. Specifically they were waiting for God’s Son from heaven. These three cardinal virtues that should mark every Christian – faith, love, and hope – stood out in the Thessalonian believers’ lives. Each of these virtues…
Daily Devotional 3-19-2022
1Co 2:4 CSB My speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of wisdom but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, Neither Paul’s speech nor his preaching were in persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power. Some suggest that his speech refers to the material he presented and his preaching to the manner of its presentation. Others define his speech as his witness to individuals and his preaching as his messages to groups. According to the standards of this world, the apostle might never have won an oratorical contest. In spite of this, the Spirit of God used the message to produce conviction of sin and conversion to God.
Daily Devotional 3-18-2022
1Co 2:1 CSB When I came to you, brothers and sisters, announcing the mystery of God to you, I did not come with brilliance of speech or wisdom. The apostle now reminds the saints of his ministry among them and how he sought to glorify God and not himself. He came to them proclaiming the testimony of God, not with excellence of speech or of wisdom. He was not at all interested in showing himself off as an orator or philosopher. This shows that the Apostle Paul recognized the difference between ministry that is soulish and that which is spiritual. By soulish ministry, we mean that which amuses, entertains, or generally appeals to man’s emotions. Spiritual ministry, on the other hand, presents the truth of God’s word in such a way as to glorify Christ and to reach the heart and conscience of the hearers.