April 13th, 21

Famous last words, these last words of Paul, at the end of this book, have to be some of the most beautiful he ever penned. Let me read them for you. "be joyful, grow to maturity, encourage each other, live in harmony and peace, then the God of love will be with you." So beautiful, words To Live By, words to aspire to. This is the with God life that Paul has just described here. And that kind of life can only be achieved by the presence and the power of Christ in you.

Paul's hoping for a third visit with the Corinthians. And this time, like the other times, he's trying to point this little troubled church, to the important truth of the abiding, saving life of Christ. He tells them to examine and test themselves to see if they are in the faith. Because to be in the faith is to recognize that you are in him, and then begin to participate with his saving life in the world. In other words, if you don't recognize the life of Christ in you, the truth of who you are, then you don't have faith. Not the faith of Christ. So let me read these words again. "be joyful, grow to maturity, encourage each other, live in harmony and peace. Then the God of love will be with you." Let us receive these last words today. May God open our eyes to see who we have become in Christ that we might live in abide in his joy, with his courage, in harmony and peace and in love. That's the prayer that I have for my own soul. And that's the prayer that I have for my family for my wife, my daughters, my son. And that's a prayer that I have for you. May it be so

You are loved!