1 Corinthians 1:18: “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.”

May 12th, 2022 by Pastor Ed in devotional

Some have misread this to say the image of the cross is the power of God, but it clearly says the message of the cross is the power of God. Jesus said His words, His message, would divide children from parents, brother from brother, and sister from sister (Luke 12:53). This message still divides people in the 21st century, just as it did in the 1st century. That is because the message seems silly to any person who chooses to demean God’s claim on their life.

Every person is either in the process of salvation or the process of destruction, and their response to the message of the cross of Jesus, determines which process they are in. To the Jesus-rejecter the gospel is nonsense; but to the humble, contrite sinner, it is the power to save. Paul wrote to the Romans: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek” (Rom. 1:16).

For the believer, far more important than enrolling in the best course on evangelism is the filling of the Holy Spirit! As Zechariah wrote: “‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD of hosts” (Zec. 4:6). This truth is seen very powerfully in the story of pastor Alexander Maclaren (1826–1910), when a man came to him and said he would give him 4 Sundays to present the key tenets of Christianity to him. After the 4th Sunday, the man came to Maclaren and said he’d given his life to Jesus Christ. Excitedly, Maclaren asked which of the sermons had been the one that brought him to Christ. “None of them,” he replied. But rather, after church, as he was helping an elderly lady, she looked at him and said, “I wonder if you know my Savior, Jesus Christ. He is everything in the world to me. I would like you to know Him too.” It was a simple comment, spoken by a woman of faith through the power of the Holy Spirit that touched the skeptic’s heart and changed his destiny forever.

“LORD, strengthen us this day to walk close to You every step we take.”