1 Corinthians 1:18 NIV 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
This is my favorite verse. It lets me know that, as a saved child of God, He has given me Power. Not just any power but the power of God. If you will remember, when Jesus sent his disciples out to witness, he gave them the power to heal the sick, raise the dead, and cast out demons. Can that still happen today?
I am a firm believer that it can. Indeed, we pray all the time for God’s healing power. Would we ask for it if we didn’t believe it would happen? So many times, when Jesus would heal someone, He would tell them that their faith has made them whole.
Now, there have been some televangelists who have made a living “healing” people at their meetings. Are they real? I don’t know, however, many of these have been found to have set up the healing. Those people just like us will receive their just reward. Many of them have done it in front of cameras for the world to see. This reminds me of the many times Jesus has healed someone and told them to tell no one what has happened. I just don’t believe making a public spectacle of it.
Now, let’s return to my favorite verse. Look at what it says. “The message of the cross,” that is, the blood of Christ and how He gave His life as the final sacrifice to save us from our sins that we may live for all eternity with Him, just doesn’t make sense to the lost. They consider it foolishness. How many times have you witnessed to someone, and they say that it just doesn’t make any sense at all? This is what the verse is saying, but let’s look at the rest of it “but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” This shows us the massive responsibility that God has laid on those of us who are saved. He is willing to trust us with His power. Wow! Can you believe that it is possible for you to have within yourself the power of God? Well, believe it! God said it so it is true. I don’t question what God says or does.
How are we to use that power you may ask? To begin with, use it to give you strength to do what Jesus told us to do in Matthew 28:18-20 NIV, The Great Commission:
18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Believe that you have this power. This, of course, is easier said than done. In reality we would like to have this much faith, but do we? How many of us actually depend on God to provide everything we need on a daily basis? Of course, we say we do but we still want to have some input to our lives. Jesus told his disciples as he sent them to testify to not take a staff, extra tunic and so on. They needed faith to go and trust God to provide and they did! So, do you live by faith? I’m not criticizing; just commenting on what I believe is the general attitude of most people. Wanting to have a say in your life doesn’t mean that you are not saved or that you will not spend eternity in Heaven. It just means that all of us need to pray for more and more faith.
This verse shows us that God has given us a tremendous amount of responsibility and He expects us to use it to testify to the lost.
Consider your life. Where you are, what you are doing? Are you where God wants you to be and doing what He wants you to do?