Roots of the Tree

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The message about the cross doesn't make any sense to lost people. But for those of us who are being saved, it is God's power at work.  As God says in the Scriptures,

“I will destroy the wisdom

of all who claim

to be wise.

I will confuse those

who think they know

so much.”

What happened to those wise people? What happened to those experts in the Scriptures? What happened to the ones who think they have all the answers? Didn't God show that the wisdom of this world is foolish?  God was wise and decided not to let the people of this world use their wisdom to learn about him.

Instead, God chose to save only those who believe the foolish message we preach.  Jews ask for miracles, and Greeks want something that sounds wise. But we preach that Christ was nailed to a cross. Most Jews have problems with this, and most Gentiles think it is foolish.  Our message is God's power and wisdom for the Jews and the Greeks that he has chosen. Even when God is foolish, he is wiser than everyone else, and even when God is weak, he is stronger than everyone else.

I Corinthians 1:18-25

Human wisdom and knowledge have their roots in the tree that produced the forbidden fruit. They both depend on the five senses of man and are totally impotent in dealing with anything that cannot be seen, heard, tasted, smelled or touched. There is of course an eternal world that cannot be sensed by any of these.

Men and women without the indwelling Holy Spirit have no way of understanding the things of God. It is like a man who is born blind. All men are born without spiritual eyes. They can no more see God's eternal reality than a blind man can see the sunset. They may hear about Jesus and even believe that He is real, and that He must be wonderful. But only after their eyes are opened can they experience the Glory of God's Son!

Don't forget that telling men about Jesus is not enough. The message of the Gospel doesn't simply declare that God is real, the Good News calls them to come to Jesus and have their spiritual eyes opened to the eternal glories of God.

The Power of the Gospel is not in learning more about Jesus. You can know many things about Jesus and never let Him touch your heart and heal your life.

"Lord Jesus, I know many things about You, but what I need is to know You more and more. I need You to touch me where I am broken and heal me where I am sick. I need you to open my eyes so I can see the things that You see and hear the things that You hear. I need You, Jesus in my heart so I can feel the things that You feel. May I rest today in Your sweet arms and lean upon Your breast! Amen."