117th Week, Galatians Intro - Chapter 1 (Click on Title for Video Inro)

-


 Click on Title for Video Introduction


Monday, Galatians Introduction
Galatians 
Introduction
Jane Jones

The churches Paul founded in the Roman province of Galatia were invaded by false teachers like those Paul had refuted in the Jerusalem council. We call these people Judaizers because they tried to bring Christians into bondage to the Law of Moses.

Paul wrote this letter to magnify God's grace in salvation and to explain the freedom of God's people because of that grace. It opens with a personal affirmation as Paul explains how God delivered him from bondage through faith in Jesus Christ. He then gives a doctrinal explanation and shows the relationship between law and grace. He closes with a practical application that tells you how to enjoy grace and freedom in your daily life. 

Christian freedom is the liberty to become all that you can in Jesus Christ; it is not the license to do whatever you please. The worst bondage you can experience is living for yourself and yielding to the desires of the old nature. "We have freedom to do good or evil." wrote St. Francis, "yet to make the choice of evil is not to use but to abuse our freedom." Christ did not free us to be our own; He freed us to be His and His alone. 

As we read Galatians, we need to try and understand this first-century conflict between grace and law, faith and deeds, but also be aware of modern parallels. We are FREE in Christ---step into the light and celebrate!!! 

PRAYER
Father, as we begin a new book, please give us the understanding that we need.  May the Holy Spirit be the director of our thoughts and devotions.  We are anxious to grow in Your Word and then reflect it in our deeds.  In the Name of Jesus.  AMEN


Tuesday, Galatians Chapter 1A (Verses 1-10)
Galatians 1A
Verse 10
Jane Jones

Verse 10: Am I now trying to win approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.

THOUGHT
This selection speaks of the authenticity of the gospel. Paul's message was received directly from Christ.  Paul was called to be an apostle by Jesus Christ and God the Father. These were his credentials. Following old Jewish laws will not gift us a trip to Heaven. There is only one way given to us by God to be forgiven of sin—through believing in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. 

Do you spend your life trying to please everybody? I would have to be honest and say that there are days I spend a great deal of time and effort trying very hard to please people…to make everyone happy. It is as if I want the acceptance of others and the way to that which is pleasing them. A lot of energy can be spent in these efforts. Paul had to speak very straight-forward words, knowing that he would not serve Christ faithfully if he allowed his people to get on the wrong track. Whose approval are you seeking--others’ or God’s? If we live and act Christ like, we will not have to worry about pleasing people, for we are pleasing God. 

PRAYER
Dear Lord, we pray this evening for the courage to seek God's approval above anyone else’s. We pray that we may walk as Christ walked. May that be our goal. We pray for our economy and our government. As we journey deeper into a recession, may we realize what exactly it is that the Lord is saying to us. May we take time to ponder what brought us to this point. Have we been worshipping 'things' more than we have been worshipping Christ? Thank You for courage to be like You, Lord. AMEN 


Wednesday, Galatians Chapter 1B (Verses 11-24)
Galatians 1B
Verse 16
Jane Jones

Verse 16: "to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentile. I did not consult any man." 

THOUGHT
I just thought about what a revelation it must have been for Paul when God revealed his Son to him. It was so powerful that he immediately started preaching to the Gentiles. He did not even consult any man. I don't know about you, but when something very awesome and life-changing happens to me, I just want to share it with everyone. But Paul didn't consult with anyone. He went straight to his task. What a presence the Lord must of had in Him and on Him. People were praising God because of him. 

I believe this shows that if we are about our Father's work, we need not consult any man for people will see and hear our good works through our heavenly Father living in us. May we live to serve Him daily and not man. 

PRAYER
Dear Lord, we come to you in your Son's Name, Jesus.  We thank You for Your presence in our lives so that we might live a life pleasing to You first. We thank You for this day and forgive us where and when we came up short in Your eyes. May rest come easily for all of us. AMEN 


Thursday, Profile of Paul 

Paul’s Credentials
Commissioned by God
Spoke truthfully with sincerity with Christ’s power
Acted in holiness, sincerity, and dependence on God alone in his dealings with them
Was straightforward and sincere in his letters
Had God’s Holy Spirit
Worked with all people who wanted to believe by changing their lives
Lived as an example to the believers
Did not lose heart
Taught the Bible with integrity
Had Christ as the center of his message
Endured persecution as he taught the Good News
Tired to live an exemplary life so others would not be kept from God
Led a pure life, understood the gospel and displayed patience with the believers
Never corrupted or exploited anyone
Handled the offering for the Jerusalem believers in a responsible, blameless manner
Used God’s weapons and not his own, for God’s work
Was confident that he belonged to Christ
Would boast but not in himself but in the Lord
Endured pain and danger as he fulfilled his calling
Was blessed with an astounding vision
Was constantly humbled by a “thorn” in the flesh that God refused to take away
Did miracles among them
Was always motivated to strengthen others spiritually
Was filled with God’s power
Was always concerned that his spiritual children become mature believers


Friday, Time to Be Still, Pray and Reflect
Go to your quiet place, hold your Bible, put on some soft instrumental Christian music and just reflect and love the Lord Jesus Christ with your full attention.  Love Christ as Paul did.  He said, "To live is Christ, and to die is gain."










Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

210th Week, Song of Songs Chapters 5-8 (Click on Title for Video Intro)

-
Image
  Click of Title for Video Intro Monday, Song of Songs Chapter 5 Song of Solomon 5  Jane Jones THOUGHT The Book of Song of Solomon is really a truly amazing, love story. Solomon was very much in love; and just the fact that it is in the Bible, I think is truly amazing. It is a for sure fact that God definitely wants love to be first and foremost in our lives, first of Him, secondly for our spouse, and thirdly for our children. Chapter 5 tells us about a bad dream that Solomon’s lover had. Part of it referred to reaching out to her lover in the night, and he was gone. It was like a nightmare to her.  I’m sure we have all experienced nightmares at one time or other about our marriages, partners, or children. No matter what the nightmare, we do wake up in the morning to find that things are okay. That God has not left or forsaken us. We all have been praying so often, so hard, and so much for the Ruden Family. Our hope was that their house would sell soon, that Alan would fi...
Read more

3rd Week, II Thessalonians

-
Image
Week Three, II Thessalonians  Monday, Introduction II Thessalonians Intro Jeanie Boldt THOUGHT This letter was written by Paul about 2 months after he had sent the first letter to Thessalonica. Many in the church were confused about the timing of Christ’s return. Many thought that He could come at any moment so they stopped working for the Lord and just waited. Adding fuel to the fire was the continued persecution of the church. Many felt that indeed this must be the “Day of the Lord”. Responding quickly, Paul sent a second letter to this young church. In it he gave further instruction concerning the second coming and the day of the Lord. The letter begins with Paul’s trademark greeting. He mentions their perseverance in spite of their persecution and trials and uses this situation to broach the subject of Christ’s return. Paul shared that at this time Christ will vindicate the righteous who endure and will punish the wicked. We are closer to Christ’s second coming than the Thessal...
Read more

201st Week, II Kings Chapters 5-9 (Click on the Title for Video Introduction)

-
Image
  Click on Title for Video Intro Monday, II Kings Chapter 5 II Kings 5 Verse 13 Jane Jones Verse 13:  But his servants caught up with him and said, “Father, if the prophet had asked you to do something hard and heroic, wouldn’t you have done it? So why not this simple ‘wash and be clean’?” THOUGHT Why do we think that everything great that comes from God is huge, impressive, hard and heroic? Obedience to God begins with humility. These first five chapters have been such great lessons on humility. We must believe that His way is better than our own. We may not always understand His ways of working, but by humbly obeying, we will receive His blessings. We must remember that (1)God’s ways are best; (2)God wants our obedience more than anything else;  (3)God can use anything to accomplish His purposes. The only thing that Naaman had to do to have his leprosy washed away is similar to what we must do to have our sin washed away -- humbly accept God’s mercy. We need to be humbl...
Read more