Day 4 - 1 Corinthians 1:26-31

26 Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you. 27 Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. 28 God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. 29 As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God.

30 God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin. 31 Therefore, as the Scriptures say, “If you want to boast, boast only about the Lord.”

Terrie's Comments:

WOW... so anyone who thinks of themselves as nothing... that's right... none of us are anything without Jesus Christ.  Foolish, Powerless, Despised... Jesus changes everything... Wise, Powerful, Pure, Holy, Free... able to boast about Jesus Christ the one who made it all possible!!

Tori's Comments:

My roommate and I actually JUST talked about this this morning...how we take on all the pressure of pleasing God through our feeble acts, when Christ already did it for us! To give you context (this all literally happened today), I was anxious about a very important exam, but had a change of heart reading through Matthew 6, specifically the passage about worrying. Very soon after that my roommate gave me advice just as relevent: that God has time and time again chosen weak people as His instruments for his glory. If I knew God wanted me to be in this program, there was no reason to worry about it. It would happen.

My skills were not suited for the exam, but after getting several prayers said for me (including Terrie's!) I have never walked more confidently into an exam.

EDIT: The preacher spoke on this passage this morning. Literally, starting at verse 26 and ending at 31. So.....I GOT the message, God. :)

Take our personal comments or leave them. We would love to hear what stood out to you about today`s passage and how it encouraged you. Tell us in the comments below!

Day 3 - 1 Corinthians 1:18 - 1:25

18 The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God. 19 As the Scriptures say,

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise    and discard the intelligence of the intelligent.”20 So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world’s brilliant debaters? God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish. 21 Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe. 22 It is foolish to the Jews, who ask for signs from heaven. And it is foolish to the Greeks, who seek human wisdom. 23 So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it’s all nonsense.

24 But to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 This foolish plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God’s weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength.

Tori's Comments:

Okay, verse 21 is totally new to me. But it makes sense that we shouldn't be able to prove God, because it goes against the very idea of faith. 

Terrie's Comments:
It is only by the power,  and guidance of the Holy Spirit and by the grace and mercy of God that we are able to be saved through believing in Jesus Christ and his finished work on the cross.  When we put our faith in Jesus Christ we now are in opposition to the world simply because we are considered fools by them.  How often am I afraid to open my mouth simply due to fear of looking "foolish"?

Take our personal comments or leave them. We would love to hear what stood out to you about today`s passage and how it encouraged you. Tell us in the comments below!

Day 2 - 1 Corinthians 1:10 - 1:17

10 I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose. 11 For some members of Chloe’s household have told me about your quarrels, my dear brothers and sisters. 12 Some of you are saying, “I am a follower of Paul.” Others are saying, “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Peter,” or “I follow only Christ.”

13 Has Christ been divided into factions? Was I, Paul, crucified for you? Were any of you baptized in the name of Paul? Of course not! 14 I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 for now no one can say they were baptized in my name. 16 (Oh yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas, but I don’t remember baptizing anyone else.) 17 For Christ didn’t send me to baptize, but to preach the Good News—and not with clever speech, for fear that the cross of Christ would lose its power.

Terrie's Comments:
I feel like we as a North American church have to work on erasing the divisions between our denominations and differences in believes within our church walls.  We should be unified in Jesus Christ.  Nothing else matters.  Like we learned in Romans... keep our eyes fixed on our eternal home.  We are not here long.  If it won't matter in eternity does it really matter at all??

Tori's Comments:

This is sad, because I feel one of the main things non-Christians know about the Western church is how divided it is. Denominations won't matter in heaven. What will matter is our awe of God's glory, not our own disagreements.


Take our personal comments or leave them. We would love to hear what stood out to you about today`s passage and how it encouraged you. Tell us in the comments below!

Day 1 - 1 Corinthians 1:1 - 1:9

1 This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and from our brother Sosthenes.

2 I am writing to God’s church in Corinth, to you who have been called by God to be his own holy people. He made you holy by means of Christ Jesus, just as he did for all people everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours.

3 May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.

4 I always thank my God for you and for the gracious gifts he has given you, now that you belong to Christ Jesus. 5 Through him, God has enriched your church in every way—with all of your eloquent words and all of your knowledge. 6 This confirms that what I told you about Christ is true. 7 Now you have every spiritual gift you need as you eagerly wait for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. 8 He will keep you strong to the end so that you will be free from all blame on the day when our Lord Jesus Christ returns. 9 God will do this, for he is faithful to do what he says, and he has invited you into partnership with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Tori's Comments: 

Just the term "belong to Jesus" (vs. 4) fills my heart with joy.

"all of your eloquent words"? (vs. 5) I don't understand what he means.


As a side note, I've decided to start making a list of God's promises that I need to memorize. Please put any suggestions or some of your favorite ones in the comments below!

Terrie's Comments:

Paul's appreciation for his fellow Christians and confidence in what God provides us through Jesus Christ shines through in this passage.  We have been given everything we need to hold firm to the truth until Jesus returns.  We are without excuse.  We are in a partnership with Jesus Christ our Lord.  It is a choice to honor that relationship daily and use the gifts we have been graciously given.  


Take our personal comments or leave them. We would love to hear what stood out to you about today`s passage and how it encouraged you. Tell us in the comments below!