1 Corinthians 15:1-11 (NRSV)
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Chapter 15Now I would remind you, brothers and sisters, of the good news that I proclaimed to you, which you in turn received, in which also you stand, Verse 2through which also you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message that I proclaimed to you-unless you have come to believe in vain. Verse 3For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, Verse 4and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, Verse 5and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Verse 6Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Verse 7Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Verse 8Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. Verse 9For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. Verse 10But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me has not been in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them-though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. Verse 11Whether then it was I or they, so we proclaim and so you have come to believe.
Devotion
Paul knew himself—he knew exactly what he was and
he had no illusions. But he also knew that in Christ, God
had made him Paul, a new being, a new creation. God
knew him, and loved him anyway. God took a man who
persecuted the first Christians, an enemy of God, and
turned him into the best witness the Christian gospel has
ever had. Isn't it amazing what God's grace can do when
it grabs ahold of a person? What happened to Paul can
happen to you too. God can work in you with God's grace,
and God can make you a new creation. As Paul puts it,
"God's grace to me has not been in vain." Christians pray
every day, "God, make me an instrument of your peace."
Prayer
Help us, Lord, to mold our will to yours, so that we too,
may be transformed. Amen.