Wednesday, July 7
Reading:
2 Chronicles 18-20, Psalm 80, 1 Corinthians 15
Prayer:
- Goodness, what a powerful chapter in 1 Corinthians 15 today!
First, to be clear: the gospel! And what is it? “Christ died for our sins” (v. 3). Take a moment to let that soak in, don’t rush past those 5 powerful, life-changing, world-shaking words.
And then, “by the grace of God I am what I am and his grace toward me is not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me” (v.10). When we stay centered in the gospel, God’s grace motivates us to work hard – to proclaim the good news and be agents of his grace in the world. And yet not I, but the grace of God. We relate to God in our victories and our failures through his grace. What a gift! Take time to think through the implications of grace motivated obedience and labor.
Thirdly, let your heart worship as you remember the implications of our resurrection, “What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. … So it is with the resurrection of the dead: Sown in corruption, raised in incorruption; sown in dishonor, raised in glory; sown in weakness, raised in power; sown a natural body, raised a spiritual body” (v. 36, 42-44). How can this be, truly? What good news – “we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye” (v. 51)!
The gospel is our future hope and our hope for right now. It saves us and it keeps us. Give him praise and glory for this incredible truth that we can stand on. - Pray for leaders to be called to work with our junior and senior high school students for this next year. Pray that God would bring the right mix of personalities and passions to our leader team and that God’s Spirit would be forming groups that would serve students well and glorify Him.
- Pray for John and Judy as they continue to be used by God as he builds his kingdom overseas.*
*If you’d like more information on these workers, please contact Whitney.