Saturday, May 27, 2023 

           ^1-3 Paul, commissioned by the will of God as a messenger of Jesus Christ, and Sosthenes, a Christian brother, to the church of God at Corinth – to those whom Christ has made holy, who are called to be God’s men and women, to all true believers in Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours – grace and peace be to you from God the Father and the Lord, Jesus Christ!

           ^4-9 I am always thankful to God for what the gift of his grace in Jesus Christ has meant to you – how, as the Christian message has become established among you, he has enriched your whole lives, from the words on your lips to the understanding in your hearts. And you have been eager to receive his gifts during this time of waiting for his final appearance. He will keep you steadfast in the faith to the end, so that when his day comes you need fear no condemnation. God is utterly dependable, and it is he who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ, our Lord.

           ^10-12 Now I do beg you, my brothers, by all that Christ means to you, to speak with one voice, and not allow yourselves to be split up into parties. All together you should be achieving a unity in thought and judgment. For I know, from what some of Chloe’s people have told me that you are each making different claims – “I am one of Paul’s men,” says one; “I am one of Apollos’,” says another; or “I am one of Cephas’”; while someone else says, “I owe my faith to Christ alone.” ¹³ What are you saying? Is there more than one Christ? Was it Paul who died on the cross for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul?       1 Corinthians 13:1 – 13

       He has enriched your whole lives!  It seems fewer and fewer feel a need for an enriched life.  Or if they feel the need, they choose to satisfy it in all the wrong ways.  God enriched the Corinthian’s lives by the gift of His grace.  Their lives were transformed from the way they spoke to the way they thought (and I assume the way they behaved).

       When I was first converted, there was a drastic and dramatic change.  I stopped cussing (the way I speak); I disciplined myself to “think of these things” rather than things of the flesh; and I stopped drinking immediately, cold turkey.  Drastic change, enriched by God’s grace.  Yet, I find that time has bewitched me.  I have slipped through a complete lack of spiritual discipline.  I have fallen into old habits, welcomed them gladly with open arms.  I need to have my life enriched anew by His grace, to change again the way I think, speak, and behave.  O God, there are rooms in my house where you haven’t been welcome, rooms locked off to You, rooms that protect old habits that I know You wouldn’t like.  By Your grace, enrich those areas of my life as I surrender them to You, opening myself anew to the work of Your Holy Spirit.  Amen!