– Hold Firm
BRD REFLECTIONS:
1 Corinthians 15:1-34 and Psalm 146 (NIV)
(Irene Chu, Strangely Warmed Retreat – facilitator & committee member and Children’s Ministry – bible story teller)
READ:
Whilst I read both 1 Corinthians 15:1-34 and Psalm 146, the verses that spoke to me were:
1 Corinthians 15:1-2
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.
1 Corinthians 15:34
Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God – I say this to your shame.
Psalm 146:2
I will praise the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
OBSERVE:
Reading 1 Corinthians 15 brought me back to the excruciating death of Jesus on the cross for our sins. The Journey of the Cross experience transported me back to the heart wrenching scene, inflicted my senses of our Lord’s love in giving His only Son to die for my sins. The crux of God’s message – the gospel is the death of Jesus Christ, His resurrection, His victory over death, is the very core of my belief and hope in Christ.
The gift of God in the redemption of our sins, bestows me a newness of life in Christ on earth and an eternal life with my Father in Heaven. 1 Corinthians 15:1-2 is a stark reminder of this gift of eternal life that I received as a believer, and having taken my “stand” by being baptised in His name, I have been saved. However, the caveat is that I need to hold firmly to His word that I received and preached by the apostles from generations ago till today through the Bible. Otherwise, I would have believed in vain as in Psalm 127: “Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labour in vain.”
Paul wrote these letters to address the Corinthians for the sins they have committed as recorded in earlier chapters 1 to 12, such as division among leaders, sexual immorality, incest, eating meat offered to idols and so forth. In 1 Corinthians 15:34, Paul’s stern instructions for the Corinthians to come back to their senses and stop sinning, otherwise all their labour will be in vain and they will suffer spiritual death.
The reading of Psalm 146:2 reminded me of the persevering spirit of David, to praise God all my life and as long as I live. This aligns to the holding firm onto His Words in 1 Corinthians, all the days of my life.
APPLY:
These verses remind me of my belief and faith in Christ, and the need for me to hold firmly and tightly to His teachings and spiritual disciplines in my daily life. Life in Corinth then is no different from the current world that I am living in with terrorism, territorial dispute, wars, division in government, sexual immorality, domestic violence, and so on. Despite all the distractions, culture norms and temptations around me, I need to hold fast and firm to God’s word and make choices that are pleasing to God.
Psalm 146 reminded me that it is the living out and praising His name all the days of my life that matters to God. For my trust and hope is in the Lord.
DO:
To hold firmly to His Word and teachings, I would need to hold fast to the spiritual disciplines in my life so that I am not lured or tempted into worldly sins. The daily devotion and meditation of His Words will need to be prioritised as the start of my day. The choices that I make throughout the day will need to be pleasing in His eyes, be it work or home matters or how I raise, and disciple my kids.
Though the letters by Paul give the dark side of the world we are living in and the stern reminders of holding firmly to His Words, I am comforted by Psalm 146 of singing praises to my God as long as I live because my hope is in Him. For He reigns forever and for all generations.
PRAY:
Dear God, I thank you for your unconditional and wondrous love in giving your only Son to die on the cross for my sins so that I can have eternal life with you. God please help me to be steadfast and to hold firmly to your Word daily and all the days of my life that I will be a pleasing sacrifice to you. To obey you in thoughts, words and actions despite the temptations and distractions of this world.
In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen.
