13 You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another humbly in love. 14 For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: "Love your neighbor as yourself." 15 If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.
Because of the awesome gift Jesus gave us through his death on the cross, there is no limit to the forgiveness we can receive. However, we must be careful not to abuse this gift by continuing to live sinfully. Even though we will be forgiven, our disobedience will keep us from growing closer to God. Not only will this cause our own spiritual lives to become stagnant, but it will also prevent others from seeing God’s love through us.
So instead of selfishly indulging our sinful nature, we should focus on showing love to others. If we show love to everyone we come across, we will be showing unsaved people the love of Jesus, and we will also be bringing strength and unity to the church. Focusing on others rather than ourselves will also bring fulfillment and spiritual growth to our own lives.
Friday, May 8, 2009
Thursday, May 7, 2009
—Galatians 5.1–12—
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.
You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth? That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. “A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.” I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion will pay the penalty, whoever he may be. Brother, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished. As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!
As a man I do not find myself purchasing shampoo with much frequency. I do not possess a luxurious mane of hair to maintain. Yet occasionally I do run out of shampoo.
I find the shampoo section in the store quite intimidating. The only reason I can find to choose one brand over another is price, which is all well and good, but who knows what I could be missing in this brand, or this brand, or that brand. Part of me wants to believe that somewhere there exists a giant faucet that pours out all the shampoo in the world into a single vat to drain through an infinity of little nozzles into all the different brand names and types and specialties. Call me a shampoo conspiracy theorist.
Too much choice can lead to paralysis. Before I know it I've killed off 15 minutes staring at shampoo and still have nothing in hand.
In the race we run in pursuit of Jesus Christ, many times (if we are honest) we would prefer someone, anyone, to simply tell us exactly what we need to do. Even though Jesus deposited his spirit in us and set us loose to live, our lives still seem murky a lot of the time.
Paul is clear on what should guide us: "faith expressing itself through love."
Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.
You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth? That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. “A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.” I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion will pay the penalty, whoever he may be. Brother, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished. As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!
As a man I do not find myself purchasing shampoo with much frequency. I do not possess a luxurious mane of hair to maintain. Yet occasionally I do run out of shampoo.
I find the shampoo section in the store quite intimidating. The only reason I can find to choose one brand over another is price, which is all well and good, but who knows what I could be missing in this brand, or this brand, or that brand. Part of me wants to believe that somewhere there exists a giant faucet that pours out all the shampoo in the world into a single vat to drain through an infinity of little nozzles into all the different brand names and types and specialties. Call me a shampoo conspiracy theorist.
Too much choice can lead to paralysis. Before I know it I've killed off 15 minutes staring at shampoo and still have nothing in hand.
In the race we run in pursuit of Jesus Christ, many times (if we are honest) we would prefer someone, anyone, to simply tell us exactly what we need to do. Even though Jesus deposited his spirit in us and set us loose to live, our lives still seem murky a lot of the time.
Paul is clear on what should guide us: "faith expressing itself through love."
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
—Galatians 4.21–5.1—
To understand this section of scripture better, I encourage you to read Genesis, chapters 15, 16, 18 and 21.
Genesis 18:21 says: Then one of them said, “About this time next year I will return, and your wife Sarah will have a son.” Now Sarah was listening to this conversation from the tent nearby. And since Abraham and Sarah were both very old, and Sarah was long past the age of having children, she laughed silently. “How could a worn-out woman like me have a baby?” she thought. “And when my husband is so old?”
Genesis 21:1 (But) the Lord did exactly what he had promised. Sarah became pregnant, and she gave a son to Abraham in his old age. It all happened at the time God had said it would. (Vs. 6) And Sarah declared, “God has brought me laughter! All who hear about this will laugh with me. For who would have dreamed that I would ever have a baby? Yet I have given Abraham a son in his old age!”
So. The question of the day becomes this:
WHO WOULD HAVE DREAMED…WHO WOULD HAVE DREAMED SOMETHING SO AMAZING?
God would have, and still does.
Maybe the road ahead is uncertain, maybe your vision is cloudy, and maybe you even doubt like Sarah did.
But hold fast, young people.
Jeremiah 29:11-13 says that God has a plan for you. Plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray He will listen. If you look for Him in earnest, you will find Him.
Treasure this in your hearts.
Genesis 18:21 says: Then one of them said, “About this time next year I will return, and your wife Sarah will have a son.” Now Sarah was listening to this conversation from the tent nearby. And since Abraham and Sarah were both very old, and Sarah was long past the age of having children, she laughed silently. “How could a worn-out woman like me have a baby?” she thought. “And when my husband is so old?”
Genesis 21:1 (But) the Lord did exactly what he had promised. Sarah became pregnant, and she gave a son to Abraham in his old age. It all happened at the time God had said it would. (Vs. 6) And Sarah declared, “God has brought me laughter! All who hear about this will laugh with me. For who would have dreamed that I would ever have a baby? Yet I have given Abraham a son in his old age!”
So. The question of the day becomes this:
WHO WOULD HAVE DREAMED…WHO WOULD HAVE DREAMED SOMETHING SO AMAZING?
God would have, and still does.
Maybe the road ahead is uncertain, maybe your vision is cloudy, and maybe you even doubt like Sarah did.
But hold fast, young people.
Jeremiah 29:11-13 says that God has a plan for you. Plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray He will listen. If you look for Him in earnest, you will find Him.
Treasure this in your hearts.
Monday, May 4, 2009
—Galatians 5.13-15—
13 You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another humbly in love. 14 For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: "Love your neighbor as yourself." 15 If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.
Because of the awesome gift Jesus gave us through his death on the cross, there is no limit to the forgiveness we can receive. However, we must be careful not to abuse this gift by continuing to live sinfully. Even though we will be forgiven, our disobedience will keep us from growing closer to God. Not only will this cause our own spiritual lives to become stagnant, but it will also prevent others from seeing God’s love through us.
So instead of selfishly indulging our sinful nature, we should focus on showing love to others. If we show love to everyone we come across, we will be showing unsaved people the love of Jesus, and we will also be bringing strength and unity to the church. Focusing on others rather than ourselves will also bring fulfillment and spiritual growth to our own lives.
Because of the awesome gift Jesus gave us through his death on the cross, there is no limit to the forgiveness we can receive. However, we must be careful not to abuse this gift by continuing to live sinfully. Even though we will be forgiven, our disobedience will keep us from growing closer to God. Not only will this cause our own spiritual lives to become stagnant, but it will also prevent others from seeing God’s love through us.
So instead of selfishly indulging our sinful nature, we should focus on showing love to others. If we show love to everyone we come across, we will be showing unsaved people the love of Jesus, and we will also be bringing strength and unity to the church. Focusing on others rather than ourselves will also bring fulfillment and spiritual growth to our own lives.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
—Galatians 4.12–20—
12 I plead with you, brothers and sisters, become like me, for I became like you. You have done me no wrong. 13 As you know, it was because of an illness that I first preached the gospel to you. 14 Even though my illness was a trial to you, you did not treat me with contempt or scorn. Instead, you welcomed me as if I were an angel of God, as if I were Christ Jesus himself. 15 What has happened to all your joy? I can testify that, if you could have done so, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me. 16 Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth? 17 Those people are zealous to win you over, but for no good. What they want is to alienate you from us, so that you may have zeal for them. 18 It is fine to be zealous, provided the purpose is good, and to be so always, not just when I am with you. 19 My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you, 20 how I wish I could be with you now and change my tone, because I am perplexed about you!
A sickly stranger comes stumbling into town with nobody to turn to. Helping hands are extended. Wounds are dressed, an illness is cured, healing is acomplished, and one sick man’s trial yields deeper healing, Godly healing, for many.
This was Paul’s situation in Galatia. His language indicates that his purpose in coming to Galatia had something to do with his broken body. Today we can only speculate what his ailment may have been, but regardless of the problem notice how God turned Paul’s trial toward His purposes.
Imagine the surprise of the Galatian caretakers when their broken down patient, certainly grateful for their services, revealed himself as the passionate, truth-speaking servant of Christ Jesus that he was. The tables were turned. The patient had become the healer and the healer the patient. To receive such a harshly worded letter as this from one to whom they had so lovingly tended, for whom they “would have torn out their eyes”, must have been hard to swallow.
But the truth transcends Galatian defensiveness. They needed someone to keep them grounded in the narrow path that Jesus blazed toward God, even when strong words were necessary.
We all still desperately need this remedy.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
—Galatians 4.8–11—
8 Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods. 9 But now that you know God—or rather are known by God—how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable forces? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? 10 You are observing special days and months and seasons and years! 11 I fear for you, that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you.
Back when I was an undergrad, I coached an intramural flag football team. One of the guys on the team was very fast and had really good hands, so it was natural that he would be a receiver. The only downfall was that he was about 5 feet 5 inches tall. Our quarterback was only about 5 feet 7 inches, so he had trouble seeing him on long routes.
As we got into games, I felt that a player with his talents should be getting more catches than he was getting. So, during practice one afternoon, I worked really hard on teaching him to run short routes across the field rather than long routes down the field and then use his speed to evade the defenders. We worked and worked and worked on it, and he seemed to catch on. But, in the next game, he went right back to running the deep routes.
It doesn’t feel good to put in all that time into someone and then have him or her go back to the old ways. Paul feels this way about the churches in Galatia. They had seemingly made so much progress, only to end up falling into the same things they did before they became Christians.
What is an area that you have lost some ground in? What do you need to do to regain it?
Back when I was an undergrad, I coached an intramural flag football team. One of the guys on the team was very fast and had really good hands, so it was natural that he would be a receiver. The only downfall was that he was about 5 feet 5 inches tall. Our quarterback was only about 5 feet 7 inches, so he had trouble seeing him on long routes.
As we got into games, I felt that a player with his talents should be getting more catches than he was getting. So, during practice one afternoon, I worked really hard on teaching him to run short routes across the field rather than long routes down the field and then use his speed to evade the defenders. We worked and worked and worked on it, and he seemed to catch on. But, in the next game, he went right back to running the deep routes.
It doesn’t feel good to put in all that time into someone and then have him or her go back to the old ways. Paul feels this way about the churches in Galatia. They had seemingly made so much progress, only to end up falling into the same things they did before they became Christians.
What is an area that you have lost some ground in? What do you need to do to regain it?
—Galatians 4.1-7—
1 What I am saying is that as long as heirs are underage they are no different from slaves, although they own the whole estate. 2 They are subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by their fathers. 3 So also, when we were underage, we were in slavery under the elemental spiritual forces of the world. 4 But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. 6 Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father." 7 So you are no longer slaves, but God's children; and since you are his children, he has made you also heirs.
I was once lost and a slave to this world
No purpose was found in my life
He was my father and wanted to give me everything
Everything in the world held me in bondage
Redemption was what God offered me through his son
I said I believed and asked for forgiveness
The Holy Spirit came upon me because of the sacrifice of my lord
And a new life began
Now I am God’s heir
Certain of the inheritance of heaven
Eternal life with him
If you have not found him yet, he is waiting…
Ask God into your heart and receive his full inheritance.
I was once lost and a slave to this world
No purpose was found in my life
He was my father and wanted to give me everything
Everything in the world held me in bondage
Redemption was what God offered me through his son
I said I believed and asked for forgiveness
The Holy Spirit came upon me because of the sacrifice of my lord
And a new life began
Now I am God’s heir
Certain of the inheritance of heaven
Eternal life with him
If you have not found him yet, he is waiting…
Ask God into your heart and receive his full inheritance.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
—Galatians 3.19–21—
19 What, then, was the purpose of the law? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come. The law was given through angels and entrusted to a mediator. 20 A mediator, however, implies more than one party; but God is one.21 Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law.
The law and Promise
What was the purpose of the law? The law was put in place to bring us to Christ so that we might believe and trust in God. We can’t live by the law alone,but by faith in Christ and believe that Jesus paid the price for our sins on the cross. Threw faith we can receive the promise of the Spirit. By faith we have been set free from the law and no longer have to be a prisoner because Jesus took our sin. Jesus died on the cross so that we may be set free in order to receive God’s promise. The ultimate sacrifice so that we might live and have eternal life.
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