Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and He will come near to you. Wash your hands you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. James 4:7-8.

In Him we have…the forgiveness of sins. Ephesians 1:7.

Glory in His holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice! Psalm 105:3. ESV.

Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. Ephesians 6:18.

I loved these excerpts from You Are The Beloved by Henri Nouwen: “Why should I spend an hour in prayer when I do nothing during that time but think about people I am angry with, people who are angry with me, books I should read, and books I should write, and thousands of other silly things that happen to grab my mind for a moment?….The remarkable thing, however, is that sitting in the presence of God for one hour each morning – day after day, week after week, month after month – in total confusion and with myriad distractions radically changes my life. God, who loves me so much that He sent His only Son not to condemn me but to save me, does not leave me waiting in the dark too long. I might think that each hour is useless, but after thirty or sixty or ninety such useless hours, I gradually realize that I was not as alone as I thought; a very small, gentle voice has been speaking to me far beyond my noisy place. So, be confident and trust in the Lord.”

And our chapter, 1 Corinthians 2, is so beautiful and shows the humility and awe of Paul utterly changed for good by Creator God – Father, Son, Spirit. And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God. Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away; but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory; the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory; but just as it is written, “Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him.” For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of a man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words. But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one. For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he will instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ.

Paul came to them in weakness and in fear and in much trembling and how could he not! These truths, so beautiful, were not his truths, but God’s. Something needed and impactful happens to us as we turn to Creator God. We realize what we are not. It is then we can turn to God for who He IS. We are not equipped to handle the evil of this world or the pride and self-righteousness within ourselves. All of that leads to emptiness, filled to overflowing, blinding us to the darkness of the evil one determined to destroy us. For I am determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. That means something! In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. John 14:20. But we have the mind of Christ…so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God…for to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God…for who has known the mind of the Lord, that he will instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ. Let these words of Paul inspired by the Holy Spirit resonate within you because they mean everything! We need the change of heart that only Creator God can bring to bear within us. And how can we not, with fear and trembling, look upon this…and not be filled with wonder? And rejoice because of all that Creator God is doing that He knows…God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory. I don’t know how Paul’s heart and mind didn’t explode with this from Creator God! And I am so thankful that he and all those God inspired received gratefully and then shared as the Spirit led – so we could then read these life-giving words of blessing poured out by Creator God who loves us. All I can say is Wow, and thank You Lord!