Good morning, all! Father, we know that all power belongs to You, and we don’t always understand Your plans, but we seek Your face. We pray that You would reveal Your power to us through Your word and share with us Your wisdom and Your ways. We know that You alone have framed us and created us, and nothing can stop our God, Amen.

1 Corinthians 1

18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
When the message of the cross is preached to some it seems foolish and they perish but unto US who are saved it is the POWER of God.

19 For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.
For it is written as a promise from God, I will DESTROY the wisdom from the wise folks, and I will make NOTHING the understanding of those that are prudent.

20 Where [is] the wise? where [is] the scribe? where [is] the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?
Where are the smart folks? Where are those that keep track of everything? Where are the debaters? Hasn’t God made all world’s wisdom foolish?

23 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness.
But we preach something far greater than any worldly wisdom…it is Christ crucified, which the Jew trips over and the Greek sees it as foolishness.

Bottom line

Do you have any power today?

[Rom 13:1 KJV] Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. The true answer is NONE of us have any power but GOD except that which He has ordained, and did you notice how many souls are subject to Him? EVERYONE! If I’m honest most days, I either lose sight of that or don’t believe it but of course that’s because my WISDOM in finite…FOOLISH…God’s wisdom is infinite…that’s right we can’t measure it. But take note, that God’s power is based on the power of the cross because it produces salvation. And what is more powerful than the ability to save a life? God looks at the cross and He sees power and then there are those that see it and perish instead, why? Well He talks about the Jew and the Greek and in this passage, they are the ones that perish and sometimes I am both…the Jew in me thinks I’m holy or righteous based on my performance and the Greek is the intellect and he’s got it all figured out. I mean when I reflect on my own life there have been times, I thought I knew better than God, His response or lack of response was just wrong, just me? Ha! Who is the scribe? It’s me with my to do list for God, fix this and fix that, get rid of this and get rid of that, give me this and give me that. And when that fails, I become the disputer and I dispute everything…I mean after all I’m smart enough to figure out life, I mean God gave me my intellect, right? You’ve heard the verse God helps those that help themselves? (You know I’m kidding, that’s NOT actually written in the Bible)

[Psa 73:26 KJV] My flesh and my heart faileth: [but] God [is] the strength of my heart, and my portion forever. The heart of man and his flesh FAILS but God is our true strength of heart. Whatever knowledge, whatever intellect and whatever strength we think we have in our flesh, it will FAIL, that is the power of the cross. Everything we think we should hold onto or save gets crucified to the cross of Christ. Paul quotes Isaiah here when he says God will destroy wisdom and understanding, and He has to…I can’t count how many times I ask God “don’t You understand?” As though I have any real understanding of God’s power or His eternal plan for my life, that is foolishness. So how did He get our attention?

[Isa 29:16 KJV] Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter’s clay: for shall the work say of him that made it, He made me not? or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, He had no understanding? God turns our world upside down so he can shatter these clay minds of ours! The very thing we try to hold onto and protect is the very thing God will eliminate…FLESH…it’s foolish it doesn’t accept the power of the cross…FORGIVENESS…and when we can’t accept it, we can’t give it. The Jew stumbles over forgiveness and the Greek thinks it’s foolish, this is why power belongs to God. Ask Him for the power to get rid of the Jew and the Greek in you and start living by the power of the cross, it is the ONLY way to salvation.

Point to Ponder – Do you profit the kingdom of God? [Jhn 6:63 KJV] It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, [they] are spirit, and [they] are life. The only way to profit God is by His spirit, our flesh has ZERO to offer.

Let’s all hold onto the cross, In Him Phil

Faith – Family – Friends