Your Daily Devotional for April 9, 2006

April 9, 2006

 

Preaching—The Power of God

by Dr. Paul Chappell

 

“For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.”

 

1 Corinthians 1:18

 

Paul is exhorting the Christians in this passage to see preaching in all of its power. Paul is telling us that, while the lost world around us might think that the preaching we expose ourselves to and constantly promote is foolishness, to the regenerate believer it is the power of God.

 

Have you ever had a power outage in your home? We depend so much upon electricity that it seems like our whole day is ruined. We can’t iron our shirts, microwave our toaster pastries, or watch television. Our alarm resets and we wake up thirty minutes late for work. Living without power—in the electrical sense—can be very frustrating!

 

Living without power in the spiritual sense can be frustrating as well. You find yourself struggling to keep a good attitude. The burdens feel too heavy to bear. You snap at your Christian brothers and sisters, and you wonder, “What is wrong? Where has all my joy gone?” This is not an uncommon problem—many Christians experience this lack of power in their daily walk. It often causes them to stumble and fall, if the source of power is not found again. All this happens because of a lack of spiritual power.

 

Where does our power come from? As Christians, our power comes from the preaching of God’s Word. That is what the Bible says. In our verse today, Paul explains that the preaching of the cross is “the power of God.” The way we receive true power is by constant intake and obedience to the preaching of the Word of God.

 

A man once encountered a problem with his computer. He came in one morning, and the screen was completely black! He pushed all the buttons he could think to push, switched it on and off several times, and finally, in absolute frustration, called a technician.  The technician came in and calmed down the fuming and dissatisfied customer, looked at the computer for about five minutes, and then reached behind the desk and plugged in the computer to the wall outlet. The technician struggled to keep a straight face as he accepted the apologies of the customer and walked back to his car.

 

Sometimes we, as Christians, wonder why our power has been turned off. We try pushing different buttons in our life, turning on and off habits and superficial things in order to find the mysterious problem in our lives.  Sometimes all we need to do is “plug in” to the local church preaching of God’s Word!

 

What about you? Are you missing power in your spiritual life? Although these devotions can be encouraging and edifying, there’s no substitute for the preaching of a Spirit-filled pastor that God has called to your local area. Don’t count that as less important! Find a way each day to incorporate more preaching into your life—you will find more power to glorify Christ with your words and actions. Plug into the power of God, and see the change as His Word cleanses and purifies you to be more like Him. You’ll never regret it!

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