Wednesday, April 8, 2026

Opening Scripture

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain. Philippians 2:12-16

Opening Prayer

Gracious Heavenly Father, you are holy and exalted! May your kingdom come and your will be done in my life, home, and community just as it is in Heaven. Help me to trust you today to meet all of my needs. Help me to forgive others just as you have forgiven me. Help me to resist temptation and overcome the evil one. For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

Daily Bible Reading

1 Corinthians 15:1-11

Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.

For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.

For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. Whether, then, it is I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.

Reflection  

For the next three days, we’ll be reading in First Corinthians, which is actually the second of Paul’s four letters to the Christians in Corinth. For the record, we believe that Paul sent these four “epistles” to this group:

• a first letter, referred to in 1 Corinthians 5:9
• First Corinthians
• a “severe” letter referred to in 2 Corinthians 2:3
• Second Corinthians

Paul spent about eighteen months teaching, preaching, and establishing the church in Corinth. Paul met Aguila and Priscila there and worked with them making tents until Silas and Timothy arrived. Initially, Paul tried to reason with the Jews at the synagogue each Sabbath. Eventually, he gave up and focused his ministry on the Gentiles. When Paul left Corinth around AD 52, he passed through Ephesus before returning to Antioch (Acts 18:1-22).

Paul wrote 1 Corinthians near the end of his three-year stay in Ephesus. In this very personal letter, he tried to address the problems he was aware of within the church. He talks about immaturity, instability, jealousy, marriage, lawsuits, and spiritual gifts. As with any diverse group – and especially given the assorted backgrounds of the Corinthian Christians – there was a broad spectrum of life experiences and strong opinions represented in this congregation.

Today’s passage provides a summary of the message that Paul preached to this eclectic group. It’s the essence of the Gospel: Jesus Christ died for our sins; He was buried; He rose from the grave; He appeared to many witnesses (including Paul); and all this was in fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecy.

Paul considered himself “the least of the apostles,” not because he wasn’t with Jesus during His earthly ministry along with “the Twelve,” but because he persecuted the Church. Paul’s personal encounter with the risen Lord, and the visions and instruction that he received from Jesus, more than sufficed for apostleship.

In his instruction to the Corinthians, Paul emphasized that – while his encounter with the risen Lord was by special “vision” (Acts 9:3-6; 2 Corinthians 12:3-4) – hundreds of others experienced Jesus “in the flesh” after His resurrection, offering ample “proof” to the authenticity of his claims about Jesus.

Paul reminds them: “By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you.” They are being saved (present tense verb) through their daily sanctification (set apartness for God’s work), by holding firmly to the truth.

We sometimes explain the “now and not yet” of our salvation in three parts:

• Justification (past) – we have been saved from the penalty of sin.
• Sanctification (present) – we are being saved from the power of sin.
• Glorification (future) – we will be saved from the presence of sin.

Sanctification is the process of spiritual growth and maturity in Christ. It involves both God’s grace and our active participation. It’s the life of a disciple being shaped into the likeness of Jesus through daily decisions.

Over time, sanctification results in a change of character. It’s the transformation that takes place in a heart and mind devoted to Jesus that produces different behavior – increasingly knowing, delighting in, and doing God’s will.

Flourishing Habit

Intentional Discipleship

Dallas Willard says, “Spiritual formation is not something that may, or may not, be added to the gift of eternal life as an option. Rather, it is the path that the eternal kind of life ‘from above’ naturally takes. It is the path one must be on if his or hers is to be an eternal kind of life. Spiritual formation in Christ is the process by which one moves and is moved from self-worship to Christ-centered self-denial as a general condition of life in God’s present and eternal kingdom.”

What does it mean for you to “hold firmly” to the gospel?

Are you experiencing “sanctification” in your life?

How are you different today from a year ago?

“If we – through well-directed and unrelenting action – effectually receive the grace of God in salvation and transformation, we certainly will be incrementally changed toward inward Christlikeness. The transformation of the outer life, especially of our behavior, will follow suit.” Dallas Willard

Remember: Nothing changes until something changes!