1 Corinthians 1:1

I have been struck again and again about how Paul's words in the New Testament continually point us back to the message of salvation. Too often we think we must be Bible scholars to share the good news of Salvation through Christ with others. That is simply not true. What we need is to be obedient to share what we know, and trust God to do the saving!

Even if you only know one verse by heart, you can use it to explain the Gospel message, to tell the good news about forgiveness through Christ's redemptive work on the cross.

Please allow me to use these first nine verses of 1 Corinthians over the next three weeks to help show you how. Choose whichever verse or illumination draws you the most and memorize it, so it can become one of your verses to share the love of Jesus with others!

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

~1 Corinthians 1:1~

-God calls us all to follow His will. When we stray, He sends a reminded to us however He needs to in order to get our attention off of ourselves and back onto Him. In Paul's case, God stuck him temporarily blind on the road to Damascus so that Paul (then named Saul) would become dependent on others to lead him around and realize that he had been persecuting Christ's true followers. The message of salvation was shared with Paul by Ananias as he delivered God's message to Paul and restored his sight. We all need the scales to fall off of our eyes so we can see what is true, and be able to discern our  sins and ask for forgiveness.

-God's will is a powerful force. He will accomplish His goals. It is up to us to decide of we want to live in His will, or fight our whole lives to stay outside of His will, and eventually to suffer His wrath. What will you choose?

-Paul was called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ. He was called to be a follower, a rigorous supporter, a teacher of what he had learned from Jesus. We too are called to share that message we have heard about how even though we are sinners, Jesus Christ died on the cross to forgive us our sins.

-None of us are perfect except God alone. When God calls us through His will, we need to be listening, and we need to be learning. As we learn then we need to be  both followers of Jesus and those who teach others about Jesus.

-God gives us brothers and sisters in Christ to help us along our journey, to support, encourage, and challenge us. One of those people for Paul was Sosthenes. Who is it for you?

Learn just one verse at a time. Then ask God to reveal to you how you should be sharing its meaning with those around you. Ask Him to give you just one person today that you can impact for His kingdom. Pray for that one person today, and then share His love with reckless generosity with everyone!

Come back on Saturday to see verse two. :)