Daily Devotion (August 2, 2024)
1 Corinthians 16:13–14 (NKJV)
13 Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong. 14 Let all that you do be done with love.
Whoever told you that when you accepted Christ everything would be great. You would get everything you wanted. Life would be a bed of roses. We need to know here in this world there is no Shangri-La. There are no utopian paradises in this world. There is an enemy all Christians face. The worst enemy is the one on the inside of each Christian. This is why Paul tells us in Ephesians 6:10-18 to put on the “Full Armor of God.” We will be attacked.
Paul writes to the Corinthians to, “Watch, stand fast in the faith be brave, be strong.” The faithful Christian is going to be attacked. If you are living in the Shangri La fantasy world of a false Christianity, be afraid. Satan is getting ready to attack. Many are deceived into thinking that all Christianity is about is accepting Christ, live out your life, then go to Heaven. Those who live this type of Christianity have been greatly deceived.
Paul admonishes the church to “stand fast in the faith.” The immature believer can easily be deceived. Paul debunks the false teachers by letting the immature Christian know what needs to be done.
Paul’s admonition to the believer is to “Watch.” We are to be awake, alert, and constantly on guard. Jesus says in Matthew 26:41 we are to Watch and pray, that we do not enter into temptation. He knows the believer is “willing, but the flesh is weak.”
We are to “Stand fast in the faith.” It is not easy; not easy for the one truly standing in the faith. Paul writes to Timothy, in 2 Timothy 2:1 “You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.”
What we do in the world and the church should be done in the love of Christ. The greatest answer to the problems in the Christian life, in the church is to love. Love the love of Jesus.
Galatians 5:13 “For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.”
1 Peter 4:8 “And above all things have fervent love for one another, for “love will cover a multitude of sins.”