Daily Devotion (August 9, 2024)
1 Corinthians 4:11
“To the present hour we both hunger and thirst, and we are poorly clothed, and beaten, and homeless.”
Christianity is not about material prosperity. Christians do suffer! It is hard to think this living in a prosperous nation. Many listen to the prosperity preachers who never mention this verse in their “preaching.”
The question we are being asked in Paul’s letter is, “What are you doing for Christ today? How much are you suffering for Christ? I love sports. I watch College Football and Pro Football and Baseball. I marvel at how easy they make the game look. What I do not see is the labor that goes into being the best they can be.
The question must be asked by all professing Christians, “How much am I willing to pay to be the best for God?” Are you willing to give your best to God? The old hymn, “Give of Your Best to the Master.” encourages dedication and wholehearted service to God. Christianity goes beyond spending eternity in Heaven with God (Many professing Christians who do not know the Bible would think Heaven is boring). And yes, there are no electronic devices nor cell phones in Heaven. (Some schools are now providing special pouches for cell phones so the students can have them but not use them.)
Jesus said in Matthew 5:11-12, “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.
Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
First century Christianity is not recognizable in America today.
What are you doing for Christ today? How much are you willing to suffer for Christ. Have you given your all for Christ.
Paul writes not to shame the readers but to warn them. As important as mental acceptance of Christ is there is one more acceptance that is more important. It is believing in your heart.
Romans 10:9–10 “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.