Reflections of Faith and Justice - a Devotional by Benjamin Mays

Philippians

All Who Are Weary: God Is Faithful

Leading Well: 5 Choices for Christian Leaders a 5 - Day Plan by Michele C. Walker, Ph.D.

The Benefit of Doubt: How Confronting Your Deepest Questions Can Lead to a Richer Faith

Building Wealth & Stewardship in the Church

GLEANINGS - Numbers

Acts 9:20-31 | It's All About God's Son

Live Well

Come Up Higher: A Call to Deeper Fellowship and Purpose

New International Version

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 <div class="p">1Now, 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. 2By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.</div><div class="p"> 3For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance#15:3 Or you at the first: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5and that he appeared to Cephas,#15:5 That is, Peter and then to the Twelve. 6After 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. 7Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.</div><div class="p"> 9For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10But 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&#8212;yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. 11Whether, then, it is I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.</div><div class="s1">The Resurrection of the Dead</div><div class="p"> 12But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. 15More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. 16For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. 17And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 18Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. 19If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.</div><div class="p"> 20But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. 23But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. 24Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. 25For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 27For he &#8220;has put everything under his feet.&#8221;#15:27 Psalm 8:6 Now when it says that &#8220;everything&#8221; has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself, who put everything under Christ. 28When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all.</div><div class="p"> 29Now if there is no resurrection, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized for them? 30And as for us, why do we endanger ourselves every hour? 31I face death every day&#8212;yes, just as surely as I boast about you in Christ Jesus our Lord. 32If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus with no more than human hopes, what have I gained? If the dead are not raised,</div><div class="q1">&#8220;Let us eat and drink,</div><div class="q2">for tomorrow we die.&#8221;#15:32 Isaiah 22:13</div><div class="m"> 33Do not be misled: &#8220;Bad company corrupts good character.&#8221;#15:33 From the Greek poet Menander 34Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God&#8212;I say this to your shame.</div><div class="s1">The Resurrection Body</div><div class="p"> 35But someone will ask, &#8220;How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?&#8221; 36How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. 38But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body. 39Not all flesh is the same: People have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another. 40There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another. 41The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor.</div><div class="p"> 42So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; 43it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 44it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.</div><div class="p">If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45So it is written: &#8220;The first man Adam became a living being&#8221;#15:45 Gen. 2:7; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. 46The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. 47The first man was of the dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven. 48As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are of heaven. 49And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we#15:49 Some early manuscripts so let us bear the image of the heavenly man.</div><div class="p"> 50I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed&#8212; 52in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: &#8220;Death has been swallowed up in victory.&#8221;#15:54 Isaiah 25:8</div><div class="q1"> 55&#8220;Where, O death, is your victory?</div><div class="q2">Where, O death, is your sting?&#8221;#15:55 Hosea 13:14</div><div class="m"> 56The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.</div><div class="p"> 58Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.</div>
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