The Fourth Sunday after Easter
April 28, 2024
(1 Corinthians 15:1–11, NIV84) “Now, brothers, 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 Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers 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 was I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.”
Pride. We want to take credit for what we do and accomplish. But especially when it comes to the work God has called each of us to do, we must give credit to God for anything good that happens.
Parent, child, worker, supervisor, student, teacher, pastor, even the greatest of leaders in the world – God always deserves to be thanked for what is accomplished.
When we see the material, physical blessings the world has received– unbelievers as well as believers – we must give credit and thanks for God for anything good that happens. It all happens “by the grace of God”.
Especially when we see the spiritual blessings such as the forgiveness of sins, eternal life and salvation, we must give credit and thanks to God. Truly, this all happens “by the grace of God”.
Yes, there are a lot of terrible things going on in the world. But when we see how we are spared, “O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: Because his mercy endureth for ever.” (Psalm 118:1, KJV)
And God can change things. Look at how he changed Saul, a persecutor of Christians, to become Paul, a man who offered the Gospel of Jesus Christ to everyone from servants to kings!
Prayer
O God, from whom all good things do come, grant to us, Thy humble servants, that by thy holy inspiration we may think those things that are right, and by thy merciful guiding do those things. This we ask through Jesus Christ, thy Son, Our Lord. Amen
