30 Days of Prayer for the Harvest
Day 15 – Monday, January 26, 2026
Read 1 Corinthians 1:18-25
17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect. 18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. (1 Corinthians 1:17-18).
At the heart of the gospel is the cross. Paul said that Christ sent him to preach the gospel (1 Cor. 1:17), and then immediately began to speak about the cross of Christ. The gospel is “the message of the cross” with the power to save.
Later in 1 Corinthians 15, Paul reminds his readers about the gospel that he preached saying,
1 Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you–unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. (1 Cor. 15:1-5).
The gospel is the message of the cross, “that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,” was buried, and rose from the dead. It is this message that we must proclaim and that people must receive to be saved.
The message of the cross is that the Son of God was crucified to atone for the sins of mankind to secure forgiveness and salvation for all who would believe in Him. The message of the cross is divinely inspired, holy, and eternal. It is the power and wisdom of God.
It is this message that is considered foolish by those who are perishing—those who disbelieve God’s sentence of death on humanity and prefer human wisdom over God’s truth. Paul says that the gospel message of the cross “is foolishness to those who are perishing” (1 Cor. 1:18).
If the message of the cross is the power and wisdom of God, then why is the cross foolishness to some?
In Paul’s day, the cross remained in widespread use by the Romans as a means of public execution. It was a symbol of shameful crimes and powerlessness before the irresistible Roman empire. For both Jews and Greeks, the cross was foolish because Jesus Christ was rejected by His own people and crucified like any other common criminal by the Roman machine.
Today, as then, the message of the cross is foolishness to some because it fails the “cleverness test” when compared to the philosophies of men. Some mock, despise, and reject the message of the cross as meaningless and unimportant. Blinded by arrogance and lacking wisdom, they see no beauty in Christ and no value in the cross. But God is not mocked by the wisdom of men: “For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.” Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?” (1 Cor. 1:19–20).
The reason many fail to believe the message of the cross is not that it is too hard to understand. It’s because it is too easy. It is foolishness. “For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.” (1 Cor. 1:21).
For those who are being saved, because of their faith in Christ, they understand the cross to be God’s most powerful act. God’s Son did not lose a fight with the Jewish leaders or the Roman government. He wasn’t overpowered or outmatched (John 10:17–18; 18:6; Matt. 26:53). God the Father sacrificed His Son Jesus for human sin. Jesus, in spite of limitless power and authority, gave up His life to cover the sins of those who were perishing.
Without the cross, we would all be lost and hopeless.
Today’s Prayer
Father, thank You for the reminder of the message of the cross by which I am saved. Thank You for giving Your only begotten Son to die for me. May I never lose my sense of wonder and gratitude at what Christ did for me on the cross.
Lord, make the message of the cross so clear and so real to me every day, that I would be compelled by Your love to share it with others.
Lord, by Your grace would You cause those I am praying for to reconsider the cross of Christ? Would You use me and other Christians to show them what a difference the message of the cross has made in us? Let them see the beauty of Christ through the ugliness of the cross. Convict them of sin by Your Holy Spirit as they see the innocent Christ crucified.
Amen.
Today’s Action
Please start praying for someone to invite to church with you on February 15. That will be a special celebration worship service to conclude our 30 days of prayer. Who will you bring with you that day?
Please take time to share with us a recent opportunity you had to shine Christ’s light in someone’s life. Take time to comment on this post with your story. It would be an encouragement to me and others.
