May 24: He’ll never give up on you

Every time I think of you — and I think of you often! — I thank God for your lives of free and open access to God, given by Jesus. There's no end to what has happened in you — it's beyond speech, beyond knowledge. The evidence of Christ has been clearly verified in your lives. Just think — you don't need a thing, you've got it all! All God's gifts are right in front of you as you wait expectantly for our Master Jesus to arrive on the scene for the Finale. And not only that, but God himself is right alongside to keep you steady and on track until things are all wrapped up by Jesus. God, who got you started in this spiritual adventure, shares with us the life of his Son and our Master Jesus. He will never give up on you. Never forget that.   (1 Corinthians 1:4-9 — The Message)

God has called you into free and open access with the Lord Jesus, and you can depend upon Him to supply all your needs and to take care of you. Here, Paul the apostle is writing to the church in Corinth. He thanks God that the church has been given spiritual gifts — that the Holy Spirit has revealed Jesus to them, and given gifts of supernatural knowledge and healing so that they lack nothing. He reminds them that God will keep them strong on their spiritual journey so that they will be blameless on the great day of Jesus' return.

God will do the same for you. If you place your life in His hands, He will make you strong... and keep you strong. When the Lord Jesus comes you will be ready to welcome Him with joy. As you are faithful to Him, and remain a faithful member of the church, you will not need a thing. The Holy Spirit empowers the church and its members with talents, abilities, power, and healing so that its members can be blessed and built up in their faith.

Remember, God has called you to follow the Lord Jesus and to be a member of His church, and as you do God will pour out His power and strength on you. God’s faithfulness is a constant theme of Scripture. For us, this means He will never leave us, He will always fulfill His promises, and we can always depend on Him.

The version I chose for today’s devotional is a modern paraphrase, and might sound a little unusual for some of you, but I like the translation and believe it reflects the spirit of what Paul was saying through the Holy Spirit. It says, “Just think — you don’t need a thing, you’ve got it all!”… and that’s so true. Unfortunately we live in a negative world full of skepticism and unbelief. People find it all too easy to come up with excuses for why they can’t do this or that — even inside the Church. Proof of this is the extremely low number of people who are seeing miracles or being filled with God’s Spirit… filled to the point that they’re overflowing with fruit. But this verse flies in the face of the world’s negative message to us. We don’t need a thing! We’ve got it all! All we need to do is stand on the promises of the Lord Jesus for salvation, change in character, the Holy Spirit, family and finances, and our lives will be a reflection of the greatness of God. — Stop believing the lie that you are weak.