The Message of the Cross

Welcome to today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread.

Our reading, titled The Message of the Cross, was written by Allison Keita. Zhang was raised with, in his words, no God, no religion, nothing. In 1989, seeking democracy and freedom for his people, he helped lead students in peaceful protests.

But the protests tragically led to the government's intervention and hundreds of lives lost. For his part in the event, Zhang was placed on this country's most wanted list. After a short imprisonment, he fled to an outlying village where he met an elderly farmer who introduced him to Christianity. She had only a handwritten copy of the Gospel of John but couldn't read, so she asked Zhang to read it to her. As he did, she explained it to him, and a year later he became a believer in Jesus. Through all he endured, Zhang sees that God was powerfully leading him to the cross, where he experienced firsthand what the Apostle Paul states in 1 Corinthians. The message of the cross is the power of God.

What many considered foolishness, a weakness, became Zhang's strength. For some of us, this, too, was our thinking before we came to Christ. But through the Spirit, we felt the power and wisdom of God breaking into our lives and leading us to Christ. Today, Zhang serves as a pastor, spreading the truth of the cross to all who will hear. Jesus has the power to change even the hardest of hearts. Who needs his powerful touch today?

Today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is from 1 Corinthians chapter 1, verses 18 through 25. Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law?

Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God, the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand signs, and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles. But to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength. Let's pray. Dear Jesus, we would be so lost without you. We thank you for seeking us out wherever we were and for leading us to you through the cross. Please help us to live for you faithfully and to spread the good news to others in our lives who need to know you too. Thank you, Lord. It's in your name we pray. Amen.