Galatians 5-6

Gal 5:19-21 ..Sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery;
idolatry and witchcraft;
hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissentions, factions and envy;
drunkenness, orgies, and the like;

So, how many did *you* tick off on the above list? If you're like me, the answer is too many (and even one is too many).

Gal 5:22-23 ..Joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

Well, I miss a few ticks on this list as well. I wish I had the full set, and I'm working towards it slowly...

Paul's message throughout Galatians, and stressed especially in chapters 5 and 6, is that we are saved by Grace. As an excellent Pastor once put it, "grace + NOTHING = salvation". God's grace is all we need, and there's nothing we can do to add to it. There are no levels of salvation; it's binary. Yes or No. On or Off. And once we've accepted it, there's nothing else we need to do. Paul's issue - and the reason he wrote to the churches in Galatia - is that there were Jews out there with a different (and incorrect) perspective. They were claiming that new Christians had to follow Jewish dietary laws, and be circumcised; thereby claiming that salvation was the result of grace plus works. Paul was a Jew - he knew all those rules - but he also understood the basis of his salvation, and he wasn't going to let anyone be led astray by wrong teachings.

By accepting the Holy Spirit into ourselves, we no longer want to do any of the list a the the top of this post, because we're hurting God. But if we do slip, we know that we're covered by Gods grace, and we will be forgiven. It truly is like a parents love for children; you love them for who they are, not for what they do, and no matter how much they hurt you, you never stop loving them.

It's such a simple message that it often gets lost in the theology of the Bible; You want salvation? Just ask! But no - people try to read all sorts of strange pet theories into the Bible; who can forget Eric Von Daniken's 1968 best seller 'Chariots of the Gods', claiming biblical proof that Jesus was a spaceman? There's someone who might be missing out on salvation..

We ourselves often forget to ask. It's like a couple driving to an unfamiliar restaurant. The husband wants to stop and ask for directions, whilst the wife insists that she knows where she is, and it's just around the corner*. They'll get there eventually - we hope - but they'll be hungry, and they'd have gotten there faster if only they'd asked for help. It's just like that with God's salvation.

* Identities changed to protect the innocent. But when we're in the car together, Kat rarely drives...

Galatians 3-4

Paul is very upset with the Galatians for have been led astray by the "voices" of their detractors. It reminds me of how I feel as a parent. When I've poured my life into my children, and they decide to go another way, I truly do feel like Paul when he says,

"My little children, for whom I am again suffering birth pangs until Christ is completely and permanently formed (molded) within you." Galatians 4:19 Amplified Version

Isn't that just like a parent? I just want to know that they run with God all of their lives, and until then, I suffer birth pangs until Christ is permanently molded within them. :0

But the Blog today is not about parenting, it's about a faith like Abraham. How did Abraham live? Was he Law driven?

Abraham was a Chaldean from the land of Ur (the area of old Sumeria in Mesopotamia). He was polytheist, just as his father was. But when God called him and set him apart, he became monotheist and believed in God. God credited that to him as righteousness. Wow! That was simple! There were not a whole list of laws and regulations to follow in order to please God. The only thing God wanted was faith in Him.

Heb 11:6 ISV Now without faith it is impossible to please God, for the one who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who diligently search for him.

And that is exactly what Abraham did, he believed. He had faith. Here's what Paul has to say about it:

Galatians 3:6 Amplified Version Thus Abraham believed in and adhered to and trusted in and relied on God, and it was reckoned and placed to his account and credited as righteousness (as conformity to the divine will in purpose, thought and action).

Breaking it apart:

My works mean nothing to God. He is at work in me because I have accepted Him as my Savior. He is changing me from the inside out. All I have to do is live by faith:

1. Believe in God. Do you believe that God exists? That He sent His only Son to die for your sins so you can have a loving, personal and real relationship with Him? That Jesus rose from the dead forever abolishing death?

2. Adhere to God. Stick to Him like glue (I actually wrote those words in my Bible). Make Him the center of your life. Let everything revolve around Him. You can't go wrong.

3. Trust in Him. We can trust that He really does love us, that He wants what is best for us. He wants to bless us. He has plans to prosper us and not to harm us (Jeremiah 29:11). He works all things out for our good (Romans 8:28).

4. Rely on Him. You can count on God. He wants to work great things in you and around you. He will give you answers, He will lead you and guide you. You can rely on Him.

May God grow your faith! God will credit it to you as righteousness.

Galatians 1-2

The following post will be difficult to write - I'm going to have to lay my soul bare and reveal how imperfect I am. Not an easy thing to do! Nor enjoyable...

Paul is a strong icon of faith; wholly pursuing God and His Will without shame; speaking boldly about God and proclaiming His Salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, regarding his life and safety as nothing. His only aim is pleasing God.

In verse 10 of chapter 1 he says, "Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ." Emphasis mine.

In Galatians chapter 2, he boldly upbraids Peter for eating comfortably with the Gentiles when no one was around. But as soon as his past showed up in the form of circumcised Jews, he became afraid, and pulled away from the uncircumcised Greeks.

verses 12 "Before certain men came from James, he (Peter) used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group."

Notice the chain reaction that Peter's first action produces:

verse 13 "The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray."

What??!? Even Barnabas, the son of encouragement, is led astray?

Paul is the only one whose thought is for what God wants him to do rather than pleasing men.

When I first read this, I was surprised. Peter and Barnabas, two very strong Christians, paragons of the early church, are afraid of what others might say so they act differently.

Then God gently nudged me and reminded me that when I signed up for a popular networking site, I too was afraid of what my past friends would think of me, so I was lukewarm about declaring my faith for fear of offending them. I wanted their approval!

What??!? Me, a strong Christian, am led astray by fear of what others might think of me? True...

(Sigh.) I just despise that fleshy side of me.

What should be imprinted on our hearts by the lessons here?

1. Our heart's desire must be for pleasing God, regardless of what man may think of us. Remember, the world may hate us because we are not of the world, and that's okay... Furthermore, if our desire is to please man, we are not servants of Christ.
2. Be bold in declaring God's word, regardless of unpleasant consequences.
3. Admonish our brothers whose actions may hurt the faith of other Christians, even non-Christians. Our actions, or fears, or shame, may begin a chain reaction that hurts others, either in their walk with God or in accepting the Gospel message.
4. Be not ashamed of who we are in Jesus Christ, lest Jesus Christ be ashamed of us when we meet Him.

Prayer:
God, bless us through the power of Your Holy Spirit, to grow in boldness and strength in order that we may fearlessly declare Your Word. Give us a heart that wants to please only You. Remove from us any desire to please men and make us true servants of Jesus Christ. In His Holy Name, Amen!

Afterthought:
After writing this post, I shared it with my youngest son Preston (11yo). He asked why he was not afraid of saying that he wasn't perfect. I told him because he had no pride. He asked if I had pride. I said, "Yes, sadly. But I'm working on it." :)

I went to my email and opened up the Encouraging Word for today from K-Love. Haha. Here is what it said!

"Pride leads to disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom." Proverbs 11:12 NLT

God has the best sense of humor! I love His loving guidance.

Acts 13

Here's my Introduction - whenever I read scripture, I invite God to reveal to me His Word. He is the source of ALL truth; therefore, I can count on Him for revelation through the Power of the Holy Spirit. This Power has been described a lot throughout Acts. When the disciples did miracles or preaching, the Holy Spirit gave them the words and the power.


Having said that, I stumbled upon a scripture in Chapter 13 that really gave me pause:


v48 And when the Gentiles heard this, they rejoiced and glorified (praised and gave thanks for) the Word of God; and as many as were destined (appointed and ordained) to eternal life believed (adhered to, trusted in, and relied on Jesus as the Christ and their Savior). - Amplified Version

This is a confusing statement! Destined? Was it already planned? Did I have any choice in the matter? What's the purpose if that is so?


I decided to check out some commentaries on this. Sure enough, the camp of theologists are divided in this verse. Calvinists say that it was a predestination. John Wesley explains it this way:

The sum is, all those and those only, who were now ordained, now believed. Not that God rejected the rest: it was his will that they also should have been saved: but they thrust salvation from them. Nor were they who then believed constrained to believe. But grace was then first copiously offered them. And they did not thrust it away, so that a great multitude even of Gentiles were converted. In a word, the expression properly implies, a present operation of Divine grace working faith in the hearers.

As I continued to read, ponder and pray, the parable of the sowing of the seed (Matthew 13:3-9) kept coming to my mind. This parable was explained by Jesus, the Word, to His disciples in Matthew 13:18-23:

¹⁸ “Now listen to the explanation of the parable about the farmer planting seeds: ¹⁹ The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message about the Kingdom and don’t understand it. Then the evil one comes and snatches away the seed that was planted in their hearts. ²⁰ The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. ²¹ But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word. ²² The seed that fell among the thorns represents those who hear God’s word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life and the lure of wealth, so no fruit is produced. ²³ The seed that fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!”

The Jews and Gentiles who listened to Paul had different types of soil (hearts).

Those who rejected the message had hard hearts; they were not "appointed" (the Greek translation) to receive that Word. Like Pharaoh their hearts were hardened, not by the Lord, but by who they had become.

The rest of them received the Word. Now whether that Word was retained or not depended on their hearts.

If their hearts did not allow deep roots to grow, then the persecutions that followed, easily pulled the seed out of their hearts. Salvation was not for them.

Those that allowed thorns to choke the seed by allowing the troubles of the world and/or the lure of wealth, would not bear fruit for the Kingdom. Salvation was still theirs.

Then there are those that had hearts made of good soil - their seed grew deep, and that Word produced a great harvest. Not only Salvation was a part of their lives, they were now working with God to produce a harvest for Him!

I believe the ones "appointed" to eternal life are the ones who had seed sown in good soil, and the ones whose seed was choked by thorns. Notice that the ones whose seed fell upon rocky soil receive the seed, but they fall away after troubles of the world follow or after persecution because of Jesus.

Good soil doesn't mean a good life, by the way. I am a walking testimony of that! It's all about the heart. A wise man explained good soil to me this way:

How does "good" soil come to be? First it must have all the weeds pulled out; a painful process to say the least. Then, to make matters worse, this soil must endure long knives of steel being ripped through it by the farmer and his ox. To add insult to injury, manure is placed all over it - a nasty business, indeed! Then come those long knives of steel again, ripping through this soil over and over again. None of this is a pleasant process. But the result is "good" soil!"

Now the "good" soil is ready for the Farmer to sow his Seeds, knowing that a fantastic harvest is on its way.

Acts 11

Acts 11:23

Barnabas (son of encouragement) goes to Antioch and is pleased that the Greeks (Gentiles) are believing in Jesus Christ. These converts came to know the Lord through the Holy Spirit. This Holy Spirit worked through the disciples, and many received Salvation.

In verse 23, Barnabas exhorted (warned, urged, and encouraged) the new believers to "cleave unto and remain faithful to and devoted to the Lord with [resolute and steady] purpose of heart." - Amplified Version

Let us break this verse apart:

1. Barnabas encouraged, warned, urged the new believers.

• I remember having received Jesus Christ at the age of 17. There was no follow up done and I quickly fell to the wayside. It would be decades before I came to know the Lord again. Let us be diligent in helping new believers by encouraging them and walking beside them.

2. Cleave unto the Lord, remain faithful to the Lord, be devoted to the Lord.

• Why? Because as explained above, it is so easy to fall by the wayside. It is easy to get caught up in the daily tasks that we forget the Gift that was so generously given. Not only that, we must remember that the devil prowls around like a lion, seeking whom he can devour. (1 Peter 5:8) The closer we are to God, the harder it is for the enemy to get to us and pull us away from all that relationship with God.
• The closer you are to God, the more His voice becomes recognizable. He is at work, and He is inviting us to join Him in that work.

3. With resolute and steady purpose of heart.

• Make the decision - be disciplined in seeking our God who promises that if we seek Him, He will be found by us. (Deuteronomy 4:29) He wants to have a wonderful, vibrant, personal, and real relationship with us.

I noticed another thing about this chapter - a very encouraging thing. Each and every one of the disciples that brought people to the Lord, didn't do it. It was the Holy Spirit working in and through them.

My prayer is that we become encouragers for those who are just beginning their walk with the Lord; we seek the Lord and be devoted to Him with all of our hearts; we allow the Holy Spirit to work through us for God's Glory.

God bless you with the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation that you may come to know Our Lord better!

Kat