Daily Devotionals

Wisdom of men vs Power of God

Paul was also teaching with authority, filled by the Spirit, proclaiming that everything he said was through reliance on God’s power and not his own wisdom. (1 Cor 2 v 1- 5)
Do we rely on our own intellect when preaching the Good News and the gospel of the Kingdom or do we trust that the Lord will give us the words to say, at the right time? How many of us, who have studied the Scriptures and perhaps attended Seminary, fall back on what we were taught by men and their interpretation or perception of the truth, rather than seeking God’s wisdom and waiting on His instruction…?

Spirit of the world vs God’s Spirit

Have you received God’s Spirit, through the second birth, i.e. have you been born again or do you still follow the spirit of this age?
We cannot know the things of God’s kingdom if we remain attached to this world. You and I will never be able to live a life dedicated to Jesus, if we continue to live according to worldly standards.
How will we ever attain the mind of Christ (vers 16), if we cannot understand the thing of God and how His kingdom functions?

My prayer for today is that you will ask God to reveal Himself to you through His Word, inspired by the Holy Spirit. God is true to Himself and cannot lie. He will answer your prayer if you are sincere of heart, seeking His forgiveness.

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB, Life Application Study Bible, unless stated otherwise. Copyright by “The Lockman Foundation”

23/08/2023
Mark 1 v 9-20; 1 Cor 1 v 18-31; Ps 73 v 1-28; Jos 3 v 1 to 5 v 15

Only the foolish will believe

¹⁸ For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. ¹⁹ For it is written:

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise;
    the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”

²⁰ Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? ²¹ For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. ²² Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, ²³ but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, ²⁴ but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. ²⁵ For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.

²⁶ Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. ²⁷ But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. ²⁸ God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, ²⁹ so that no one may boast before him. ³⁰ It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. ³¹ Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.” (1 Cor 1 v 18 – 31) [NIV]

So, who are the “foolish”?

It’s simple. Only those who believe in Christ crucified: “a Stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles.” (vers 23)
It is also the ones who gave up everything to follow Jesus (Mark 1 v 16 – 20).
Believers in Christ are often ridiculed for their belief in this “fairy tale” religion and mocked for their apparent lack of reason, assuming that they (the enlightened ones), have mastered all there is to know in life about every subject matter, yet the ones calling us foolish, have not taken the time to apply their wisdom and knowledge to research the validity and authenticity of our “foolish” belief, or could it simply be that “¹⁴ … a natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.” (1 Cor 2 v 14)