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2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

Encouraging Words

One thing that has always comforted me as I have gone through difficult trials in my life has been these two verses. Nothing is ever wasted in our journey through life. Knowing that the trials that I have been through, the lessons that I have learned from them, and the fact that there was light and life on the other side, would be something that I could use to help someone else through the same difficulty, gave me the fortitude to push through. God uses our life experiences to help and encourage others through theirs. We are not on our journeys alone. We have others who can speak into our lives just as we can speak into other lives. This is comforting. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

1 Corinthians 16:13-14

Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong. Let all that you do be done with love.

Encouraging Words

Paul finishes his letter to the Corinthians with this admonition. It is a great way to persevere through each day of life as we press on to that final day before we leave this earth to be with our Lord. We are to be constantly on the watch for Him and His eminent return. We have been given a faith in Him and His work. We are to stand fast in that faith. We must be brave and strong as we confront the things of this world and the challenges and temptations that come our way. And most importantly, we do all of this in love. Glory be to God!

1 Corinthians 15:58

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

Encouraging Words

Sometimes it feels like living a Christian life is not worth it. We often fail new people coming into the Christian faith by painting this rosy picture of how wonderful it is to be a Christian. It is wonderful! It is freedom of the utmost kind! But it is a difficult life. If we are truly trying to be like Christ, then we will continually be at odds with the world that we live in. We must abandon the ways of the world, separate ourselves from the worlds’ political and socio-economic way of thinking, and live the life that God calls us to. We must leave behind our preferences and desires so that we can embrace our Lord. This might mean getting a vaccine or wearing a mask for loving our neighbor and taking care of them is more important than our own preferences. It might mean doing things differently than how we want to do it because the good of the many is more important than the good of one…me. It means putting others first because that is what Jesus did. Being a Christian is not doing what I want to do, slapping a WWJD sticker on it, and calling it blessed by Him. It means doing what He has asked me to do, doing it joyfully, and not seeking any reward at the end. This is what it means to be steadfast, immovable, and always abounding in the work of the Lord. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

1 Corinthians 14:33

For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.

Encouraging Words

Many of our churches today have become places where confusion and discord reign. This is clearly not of God. God is the author of peace and unity, not confusion and discord. We can hold onto this as a promise from Him. If we are not experiencing this in our community then we need to look to Him for direction and correction. Glory be to God!

1 Corinthians 13:1-8

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.

Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away.

And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

Personal Challenge

Life is full of twists and turns as well as ups and downs. It can truly be a rollercoaster. Throughout life we have the opportunity to make many choices, all of which end up with many different consequences. One choice that we can always make, no matter what the circumstances are with respect to what is going on around us, is to love others. Love is above all as Paul points out here. Love also means that we have to make some tough decisions. As we abide in faith, hope, and love, these decisions will be guided by our Lord and the consequences will be bearable. Glory be to God!

1 Corinthians 12:7-11

But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.

Encouraging Words

God has blessed us with the church, the Bride of Christ, as our safe place to work out our salvation. Part of what He does in that church, the body, is to grant different gifts to the members. These gifts are given for the express purpose of building up the church. We are to use our gifts for the profit of all and not just for ourselves. It is so rewarding to know your personal gifts that God has blessed you with and to be able to use them for His work. It is also very disheartening to know your gifts and to not be able to put them to work for the body. This often happens when others are jealous or fearful of the gifts of others. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

1 Corinthians 10:31

Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

Personal Challenge

As a follower of Christ, we are supposed to be walking in the footsteps of our Lord and savior. This means that we try to live as He would. Jesus did not take any short cuts. He gave His all for His Father, and ultimately, all of us. What does this mean for us? It means that in whatever we do, we do it for the glory of God. We gave our all, 100%, plus anything else that we can muster. Are we asked to clean the toilets or vacuum the rugs, then we do it for His glory. Are we singing in the choir or teaching a class or working in the nursery, then we do it for His glory. And this does not stop with the church. In my job, at my home, when I go shopping, everything that I do should be for His glory. It saddens me that in the six decades that I have been trying to follow Jesus, I have seen this mindset dwindle down to be almost non-existent, not only in our society, but more sadly in our churches. We, those of us who practice Christianity, should be different than the rest of the world. We are quickly being indistinguishable from the world around us. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

1 Corinthians 10:24

Let no one seek his own, but each one the other’s well-being.

Personal Challenge

Life works out so much differently when we apply this principle of looking out for the well-being of others rather than seeking our own needs and desires. This is not only counter intuitive but it is also counter cultural. Our culture presses us to look out for ourselves, number one, and let everyone else fend for themselves. And where has this gotten us? We are at a place where lies are heralded as the truth. conspiracy theories abound, politicians and business leaders are corrupt and self-centered, and the common person is angry and misguided. If we hold on to the teachings and truths that we are all created in the image of God, that we are to love our God first and our neighbor second, that we are to die to ourselves so that others might be lifted up, and that Jesus is our Lord and Savior, then we will see a world around us in a much different way and be shakers and changers in our world. Glory be to God!