NOTE: The daily devotionals for 2021 will follow a different format than last year. The beginning part of the devotional will follow the A.C.T.S. prayer model. ACTS stands for Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving and Supplication. Supplication is a word that means “make requests”.
Following the ACTS model you will be directed to read the chapter from the New Testament that we discussed on Sunday in the sermon. We will read the entire chapter each day, but each day you will be prompted to read the chapter in a different version of the bible.
ADORATION – Reflect on God’s Greatness
FOREKNOWLEDGE OF GOD “Foreknowledge” is never used in Scripture in connection with events or actions; instead, it always has reference to persons. It is persons God is said to “foreknow,” not the actions of those persons.
John 10:14 I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me.
Romans 8:29-30 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
Praise God for His Foreknowledge.
Praise God that He knows you and he knows all those who are His. Praise God for calling you, justifying you and for the future promise of glorification.
CONFESSION: Confess your sins to God and receiving his continued mercy.
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9
THANKSGIVING: Giving thanks to God for his specific blessings in our lives.
“Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.” Psalm 100
SUPPLICATION: Bring your requests to God.
- Bring your personal prayer requests to God.
- Pray for opportunity and boldness to share the gospel. Pray by name for your friends who do not know Christ.
SCRIPTURE READING:
1 Corinthians 1 – Christian Standard Bible
Greeting
1 Paul, called as an apostle of Christ Jesus by God’s will, and Sosthenes our brother:
2 To the church of God at Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called as saints, with all those in every place who call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord—both their Lord and ours.
3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Thanksgiving
4 I always thank my God for you because of the grace of God given to you in Christ Jesus, 5 that you were enriched in him in every way, in all speech and all knowledge. 6 In this way, the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you, 7 so that you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. 8 He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you will be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful; you were called by him into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Divisions at Corinth
10 Now I urge you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree in what you say, that there be no divisions among you, and that you be united with the same understanding and the same conviction. 11 For it has been reported to me about you, my brothers and sisters, by members of Chloe’s people, that there is rivalry among you. 12 What I am saying is this: One of you says, “I belong to Paul,” or “I belong to Apollos,” or “I belong to Cephas,” or “I belong to Christ.” 13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in Paul’s name? 14 I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 so that no one can say you were baptized in my name. 16 I did, in fact, baptize the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don’t recall if I baptized anyone else. 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with eloquent wisdom, so that the cross of Christ will not be emptied of its effect.
Christ the Power and Wisdom of God
18 For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but it is the power of God to us who are being saved. 19 For it is written,
I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and I will set aside the intelligence of the intelligent.
20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the debater of this age? Hasn’t God made the world’s wisdom foolish? 21 For since, in God’s wisdom, the world did not know God through wisdom, God was pleased to save those who believe through the foolishness of what is preached. 22 For the Jews ask for signs and the Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles. 24 Yet to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God, 25 because God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.
Boasting Only in the Lord
26 Brothers and sisters, consider your calling: Not many were wise from a human perspective, not many powerful, not many of noble birth. 27 Instead, God has chosen what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen what is weak in the world to shame the strong. 28 God has chosen what is insignificant and despised in the world—what is viewed as nothing—to bring to nothing what is viewed as something, 29 so that no one may boast in his presence. 30 It is from him that you are in Christ Jesus, who became wisdom from God for us—our righteousness, sanctification, and redemption— 31 in order that, as it is written: Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.
SCRIPTURE REFLECTION:
What has God done this week so far to impact what you believe? How has the truth been more fully embedded in your mind? What has God done and what have you done to move your heart in love towards him and others? What can you do yet today and the remainder of this week to move in your affections towards God and others? What have you done this week that was God honoring and a blessing to others? Rejoice in that. What have you done that did not honor God and bless others? Repent of that. It’s okay. Rejoicing and repenting are both part of the same joyful journey. It is God’s kindness that leads us to repentance. It is likewise God’s kindness that allows us to be a blessing. Rejoice in the kindness of God.