Short Daily Devotional for FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2022

FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2022

TEXT: 1 Corinthians 15:1-11

1. Now brothers and sisters, let me remind you [once again] of the good news [of salvation] which I preached to you, which you welcomed and accepted and on which you stand [by faith].

2. By this faith you are saved [reborn from above-spiritually transformed, renewed, and set apart for His purpose], if you hold firmly to the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain [just superficially and without complete commitment].

3. For I passed on to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to [that which] the Scriptures [foretold],

4. and that He was buried, and that He was [bodily] raised on the third day according to [that which] the Scriptures [foretold],

5. and that He appeared to Cephas (Peter), then to the Twelve.

6. After that He appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, the majority of whom are still alive, but some have fallen asleep [in death].

7. Then He was seen by James, then by all the apostles.

8. and last of all, as to one untimely (prematurely, traumatically) born, He appeared to me also.

9. For I am the least [worthy] of the apostles, and not fit to be called an apostle, because I [at one time] fiercely oppressed and violently persecuted the church of God.

10. But by the [remarkable] grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not without effect. In fact, I worked harder than all of the apostles, though it was not I, but the grace of God [His unmerited favor and blessing which was] with me.

11. So whether it was I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed and trusted in and relied on with confidence.

(Amplified Holy Bible)

TOPIC: THE GOOD NEWS ABOUT JESUS

Today’s devotion is about confused believers who, having been saved through the Good News about what Jesus did for all humanity, started doubting at a certain point in their lives. He reminded the believers in Corinth that they were standing as Christians, saved through the gospel he preached to them, unless they believed in vain from the very beginning (vs. 1, 2).

Sometimes in our relationship with the world or when we face some challenges of life we tend to review our earlier position on matters of faith and practice. When this happens, it is wise to go back to the Bible and renew our faith in the finished work of salvation through Jesus.

Read vs. 3-9 again and note Paul’s struggles in taking the church back to the Scripture which is good for “correction, for instructions in righteousness…” (2 Timothy 3:15-17). A peep into v. 12 of our text reveals one of the states of confusion in the church which is doubting the possibility of the resurrection of the dead.

This is similar to some ‘believers’ listening to another ‘gospel’ comparing Jesus to other prophets. Paul concluded that it was grace that made him who he was through the power of the Gospel (vs. 9-11).

QUESTION: Are you confused or in doubt that God raised Jesus from death according to the Scripture account?

PRAYER: Help me, dear Lord, to keep declaring faith in the Gospel and that Jesus was raised from death, in Jesus name, Amen.