Be On the Watch

1 Corinthians 16:13-14NLT
“Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong. And do everything with love.”

This is Paul’s final instructions to the Corinthian church in his first letter. He told them to be on guard, or watch carefully all the time. What were they to watch for? We don’t know for sure, but we can take it from Paul’s previous warnings that they should perhaps be watching for false teachers and false doctrines.

I suggest this because his next command was to stand firm in the faith. Unmovable, not easily shaken, standing firm in the way Jesus had taught. Next he said, “Be courageous. Be strong.” Don’t be weak in the faith, we have to be bold in our faith, don’t shrink back when times get difficult.

Lastly, our witness has to be offered in love, love for God, love for His word and love for His commandments given to us through Jesus Christ, and love for His people. But Paul didn’t just say love in ministry, he said, “do everything with love.” That means whenever we are dealing with people love needs to be the tool we use to accomplish the Masters purpose.

Prayer:
Lord, help us to watch and pray, remain faithful, and test the spirits. Help us to stand firm and be relentless in our faith. Let courage be our course. Help us to be strong in You and in Your might. Even though it is difficult at times with the world? and the challenges we face, help us to love in everything we do, let our motivation be to love unconditionally.