Today’s Bible Translation

Bible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 1-2 ERV

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Thoughts

1 Corinthians was written by the apostle Paul. He spent some time in both chapter 1 and chapter 2 talking about the wisdom of God and the so-called wisdom of man. We know that if God truly is God, then His wisdom is light years ahead of man’s, right? And so it is.

Most of us have heard allegedly intelligent people who do not believe in God, let alone Jesus, belittle those of us who do believe in God. They often take a superior tone and tell us in so many words that we are stupid for believing in “an imaginary friend”. 

Now, I don’t know about you, but I don’t like being thought of as stupid. I like to think that I’m at least as smart as the average guy. So when my intelligence is questioned, it sort of raises my hackles. I want to argue, and make the case that God is real.

But listen, unless the Holy Spirit opens their eyes, there is no way they are going to see the truth. Paul explains in chapter 2 that no one can see what God has done for us unless the Holy Spirit shows them. 

So all the arguing in the world, all the logic in the world, will not persuade someone to believe. You might have seen debates between noted atheists and noted theologians. Does either person persuade the other to change their mind? I’ve never seen it happen.

Now don’t misunderstand. I’m not saying that it is a waste of time to tell people about the Lord. What I’m saying is that the Holy Spirit has to open the eyes of the listener. We can’t. All we can do is tell the story. And if the world calls us foolish, then we can’t take it personally. We’ll just know that the Holy Spirit has not yet prepared the soil of their heart to hear.

But remember this from Romans 10:17: So faith comes from hearing the Good News. And people hear the Good News when someone tells them about Christ.

So we are in this together with the Holy Spirit. If there is someone whom you know does not believe, spend a lot of time praying for them before you bring the message to them. If their heart is not ready to hear, they will not be able to receive the message. Ask the Holy Spirit to open their eyes, and lead you to speak to them at the right time.

Remember, a farmer prepares the ground before he sows the seed. Be a farmer. Prepare the soil with lots of prayer. Then sow the seed. Then water with even more prayer.