3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance[a]: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas,[b] and then to the Twelve. 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8 and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.
9 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. 10 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. 11 Whether, then, it is I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.
1 Corinthians 15:3-11
Questions for Reflection:
Passing down the teachings was and is key to the advancement of the Gospel message. Can you trace 10, 25, 50 years back or even more on the Gospel arriving to you? And then can you see where you are passing it on to others?
Feelings of unworthiness can be subtle. Where do you find yourself doubting God’s over-the-top graciousness in your life?
Prayer of the Week:
My dear Lord Jesus Christ, I come to You now to be restored in You, to be renewed in You to receive Your love and Your life and all the grace and mercy I so desperately need this day. I honor and trust You as my Lord and as my Savior and I surrender every aspect of my life totally and completely to You. I ask You, Holy Spirit, to fill me afresh with Your light and with Your life that I might pray well now as You lead me.
Heavenly Father, I thank You and praise You, worship You and adore You for Your incomprehensible LOVE towards me, Your amazing GRACE towards me, Your bountiful MERCY towards me. Help me now dwell in Your love – the love of my Father in Heaven.
I am a dearly loved child of God!
I have a Father in Heaven who loves me very, very much.
I receive Your Love in this moment with these words to help me.
Your Love is better than life.
Your Grace is sufficient for me.
Your unmerited favor towards me is so undeserved but oh so needed. Thank You!
I confess Father that I am so very prone to self-rule (doing my own thing – being in charge doing my life) and prone to self-righteousness (thinking and acting like my performance in life deserves or has earned a good life). What I now realize is that these are my attempts to replace You, to leave You, to control You. It breaks my heart to think I have treated You this way. I repent of all my attempts at self-rule. I also repent of my motivation for the wrong things I do. I also repent of my attempts at self-righteousness and self-centered motivations I sometimes have for the good things I do. (Spend a couple moments just processing with the Father the What? and the Why? of your self-rule and self-righteousness.)
Jesus, the only place I can truly work through the realities of my life and heart is a place of “grace”. Your heart is that place. I receive Your complete and total forgiveness for all my “self” issues. I rest once again in Your heart - the place of unimaginable love and grace and I surrender to Your transformational leading in my life. I love You and thank You so very much for coming after me, giving your life for me and loving me so very well this day.
Amen
