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 1 Corinthians 15 - Be On Guard - Stand Firm

        

Early morning walk, in downtown Chicago.

        I was reminded this week of how much I appreciate small-town living.  I had to go to Chicago for a conference.  It is a big, busy world with millions and billions of people.  God loves each one.  He loves you.  And me.  He loves us so much that he died for our sins.  He was buried.  And he was raised from the dead on the third day.  Jesus was resurrected with a new body and seen by his followers.  All, just as the Scriptures said would happen - it was and is God’s mysterious plan (1 Corinthians 15:4).  That’s the Good News, the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Remind yourself of it today; it is our only hope, our Salvation.

        We must stand firm in the Good News (1 Cor. 15:2).  Wherever we go.  Chicago.  Saskatoon.  Saint Petersburg. Dallas.  Des Moines.  Wherever, stand firm in your faith in Jesus.  Some will literally be in the trenches - stand firm and trust Jesus.  Some will be surrounded by evil in places where you’d think it is not possible - stand firm!  Some will be persecuted and find themselves in corporate, government, or professional positions surrounded by wolves, those hostile to the Salvation of Jesus Christ.  Stand firm in faith in Jesus Christ.

        Be a man or woman of faith in Jesus Christ in every situation.  It is never enough just to be a person of “faith.”  You hear that a lot.  Remember, even the demons believe there is one God, and they tremble in terror (James 2:19).  We must believe in Jesus and put our faith into action.

        A friend asked me recently during lunch what my views of the end times are.  I’m just a farm boy from Saskatchewan, no theologian, so I have to preface all comments with that.  But my views are this, what’s found right here in the Bible and repeated throughout the New Testament and especially in 2 Peter 3.  That is, God loves every man and woman.  He does not want a single soul to be destroyed.  Jesus is the only way to enter heaven.  Jesus Christ is the only door; He is the Gate (John 10:9).

        God is incredibly patient as he waits to have people, more and more and more people, believe in Jesus Christ, His Son.  But Jesus will return one day.  That is the day of the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:10).  “Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment” (2 Peter 3:10).  That too is what we find here in 1 Corinthians 15.  Jesus Christ was raised from the dead.  All who belong to Christ will be raised when he comes back” (1 Corinthians 15:23).  “After that the end will come, when he will turn the Kingdom over to God the Father, having destroyed every ruler and authority and power” (1 Cor. 15:24).

        We are His prized possession (James 1:18).  We must act like it and believe in Jesus Christ.

        Almighty God, while we wait for you to return please let us live good, pure, and powerful lives in humble confidence and service to you in love and faith for what you have done for us on the Cross.  Amen.





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