The book of 1 Corinthians is a letter written by Paul to the people of the church in Corinth. The people in the church there were having troubles that could be expected of a startup church in a large city of people who did not believe in God and lived immoral lives. The people in the church also struggled with the temptations of the world.

In 1 Corinthians 16:13, Paul tells them, “Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong,” which sounds like something a military leader would tell his troops prior to a difficult battle. But then in verse 14 he writes, “And do everything with love.”

These two verses may appear somewhat contradictory, being courageous and strong, but acting with love. However when we look closely, this is exactly how we should be as Christians. We can be strong and courageous, because we have the power of God supporting us, and we can act with love to all, because the love of God is working through us. God’s love, for all people, that was shown in the saving sacrifice of Jesus.

Dear Lord, what great coaching you give to us through Paul in this verse. Help us go out into the world with courage to face our challenges, and love for all, because you first loved us. In Jesus name. Amen.

Paul tells us in Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”

Great we think, “Faith is confidence in something we want, but don’t see how it can happen.” That doesn’t help us if we don’t know the answer to the question, “How do we get faith?”

In Paul’s letter to the Romans 10:17, He answer’s that question, writing, “So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ.”

Do you want faith? Read God’s word and hear it preached.

Dear Lord, You lead us to the answers in the Bible. Help us overcome our resistance to read and hear your word preached, so that we might have the faith in what we hope for. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

I read a Swedish proverb written on a small tag it that said, “Love me when I least deserve it, because that is when I really need it.”

As Christians, we need to remember that sentiment; Not waiting until people deserve it before loving them. Paul tells us that God did just that for us. Romans 5:8 says, “But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.”

God didn’t wait for us to solve all our sinful problems before loving us enough to save us. We need to do the same, and love people first, even when they have sin problems, like all of us do.

Dear Lord, you presented the perfect example for us by sending Jesus to save us while we were undeserving sinners. Then Jesus showed the same example by loving and caring for those who had their own sin problems. Help us follow this example and love first rather waiting for people to deserve it. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

We have all seen examples of high profile “Christians” who by their publicly bad behavior give those who oppose Christianity anecdotes to demonstrate hypocrisy and paint all Christians with that brush. For every one of those bad examples, there are thousands of Christians who do amazing things that bring great glory to God, through their churches, charitable organizations, missions, and hundreds of other places and means.

Peter writes in 1 Peter 2:15, “It is God’s will that your good lives should silence those who foolishly condemn the Gospel without knowing what it can do for them, having never experienced it’s power.”

We need to be those positive, helpful, and hopeful people that show how being saved by Christ makes us different and “silences” those who would criticize Christians in general.

Dear Lord, what amazing things you have done for us through your love. Help us reflect that love and confidence in you to those around us, So that your Spirit might also work on them. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

We all know that God created us with a free will to choose. There is a constant battle going on inside each of us; a battle between our desire to choose to obey God and do what is right, and our desire to choose to follow the self-centered desires that the world would have us follow.

Think of all the modern day social issues that revolve around the “right” and “freedom” to do things that are clearly wrong according to God.

Paul writes to the church in Galatians 5:13 “For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love.”

Dear Lord, please help us use the freedom you gave us to live lives that glorify you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.