Empty Promises

"For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power."
1 Corinthians 1:17

There is one great truth that separates Christianity from all other religions, doctrines, wisdom, and teaching. This truth is the fact that Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead, ascending to the right hand of the Father. The power of the cross is beyond what we can comprehend or even imagine. It is time that we as Christians, begin to put full confidence in the cross of Christ and what it has accomplished in our lives. All other teachings, including the wisdom of the world must be removed from our thinking. This wisdom that does not come from God is nothing more than empty promises. We will never gain any eternal value through living by this kind of wisdom.
    You know some of the teachings of the world. Some of them are so deep set in us that we forget that they really are worldly things. Statements like: "Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps" are opposed to the power of the cross. "God helps those who help themselves" is contrary to the Word of God. "The one with the most toys, wins" promotes a selfish life that will come to nothing in the end. These are but a few of the things that have made their way into our thinking. It has to change.
    The cross of Christ is powerful. There is no way that it can ever lose its power. The only way we can forfeit this power is to speak and live by the wisdom of the world. The cross is the centerpiece of the restoration of God's kingdom that Jesus accomplished through his incarnation and victory over the enemy. We must learn to live according to the power of the cross and the principles of God's kingdom instead of the worldly teachings that are relentlessly pounded into our intellect. All we need do is look at the lives of those who lived by faith as recorded in the Bible. They did things that completely opposed human thinking. They sacrificed their homes, their ways of life, their bodies, their wealth, their reputations and more to follow the ways of the kingdom. Christians are not supposed to exist within the culture of the world, we are to CHANGE the culture of the world!
    Is the cross emptied of its power in your life? have you chosen to live by the standards of the world instead of the way of the cross? Have you compromised the power of the cross by watering it down with the wisdom of the world? These are things that can be corrected. It takes confession before God, repentance and willingness to change, and a faithful heart that will passionately seek after God and his kingdom. With all confidence I can tell you that the wisdom of the world will empty the cross of its power in your life. If you eliminate this worldly wisdom, the cross and the work of Christ will manifest in glorious victory. The ways of the world will become poison to your life and the ways of God will be like the sweet fragrance of heaven. So give up the empty promises of the world and receive the truth of the power of the cross!