1 Corinthians 15:1-4 In Christ alone!

Grace amazing grace! The amazing gift of a loving God for His creation. It cannot be bought neither can it be received by our works, no matter how good,  it is only in Christ, through faith, that we can be in right standing with Him.

In Jesus alone is salvation and it is the gift of God so that no one can boast. It is finished! 

Romans 8:-11 Now I say that Jesus Christ has become a servant to the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made to the fathers, 9 and that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy, as it is written: “For this reason I will confess to You among the Gentiles, And sing to Your name.” 10 And again he says: “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people!” 11 And again: “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles! Laud Him, all you peoples!”

Matthew 5:17-20  “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. 18 For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. 19 Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.

Luke 18:31-33 Then He took the twelve aside and said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished. 32 For He will be delivered to the Gentiles and will be mocked and insulted and spit upon. 33 They will scourge Him and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again.” 34 But they understood none of these things; this saying was hidden from them, and they did not know the things which were spoken.

Deuteronomy 29:29 “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.

Matthew 9:35 Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, 

Galatians 1:11-12 But I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. 12 For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 15:1-4 Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,

Jesus came to Israel as a minister to the truth of God to fulfill the promises made to the fathers. God knew they would not accept Him.  In His plan, from the Garden of Eden, was to gift mankind salvation. The sinless blood of Jesus was sacrificed for all who accept Him. His timing is not like ours but the signs of His return are becoming clearer each day. Faith in the finished work of the Cross of Jesus, the only begotten Son of God, accomplished what mankind could not. Grace, amazing grace!! Carla

Paul’s gospel to the Corinthians centered on the physical death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God who became human yet never sinned (Galatians 1:6–10). Paul had started the Corinthian church; the gospel that the Corinthians had originally received came from him (2:2). Paul did not originate the proclamation of Jesus that he delivered to the Corinthians; he simply gave the Corinthians what he himself had received. 

He viewed himself as a link in a long chain of witnesses to the truth of the death and resurrection of Christ. Christ died for our sins: Christ’s death dealt decisively with our sins. He suffered in our place to endure the just wrath of God against us. according to the Scriptures: Christ lived and died in accordance with the prophecies about Him in the Old Testament (Psalm 16:10; Isaiah 53:8–10). 15:4 

The Resurrection verifies the fact that Christ’s death paid the full price for sin. The Greek term translated rose here is in the perfect tense, emphasizing the ongoing effects of this historical event. Christ is a risen Savior today. The NKJV Study Bible

Paul gives a brief sketch of the gospel he preached. Believers experience salvation in part now (in the sense of beginning their relationship with Christ without the burden of sin standing between them and God), but this salvation will be complete when Christ returns and they are unified with God for eternity (Philippians 1:6). What I also received refers  to the content of verses 3–5. Paul emphasizes the continuity of his message with the early church’s teaching. According to the scriptures refers  to the Old Testament, especially Isaiah 52:13–53:12 and Psalm 22 (Luke 18:31; 24:25–27). Faithlife Study Bible

Isaiah 53:1–12 

Who has believed our report?

And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?

For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant,

And as a root out of dry ground.

He has no form or comeliness;

And when we see Him,

There is no beauty that we should desire Him…

Acts 26:22–23 Therefore, having obtained help from God, to this day I stand, witnessing both to small and great, saying no other things than those which the prophets and Moses said would come—that the Christ would suffer, that He would be the first to rise from the dead, and would proclaim light to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles.”

Acts 2:24–32 whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it. For David says concerning Him:

‘I foresaw the LORD always before my face,

For He is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken…

Psalm 16:8–11 

I have set the LORD always before me;

Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.

Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices;

My flesh also will rest in hope…

Romans 2:16 in the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel

My heart really hurts today. Just the thought of parents searching for missing children amid mangled trees, overturned cars, and muck-filled debris.

A devastated central Texas landscape from the terror and torrent of a flood. And the loss of lives—including too many young children—is real. Everything, and everyone in its way, is changed.

God of compassion, surround the Hill Country with your mercy. Give us strength to mourn and help and heal.

I wish life wasn’t so hard. But storms can remind us that we are on this journey together. And we need stories. Stories to remind us that we are here. Now. And there are choices to be made. The invitation to say, “Yes”, to compassion, hands to hold, people to care for, hearts to hug, spirits to mend and wounds to heal. Sabbath Moments

“My continuing passion is to part a curtain, that invisible shadow that falls between people--the veil of indifference to each other's presence, each other's wonder, each other's human plight."  Eudora Welty