Tag: Galatians

Devotional

Guilty?

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Galatians 5

Guilt is a remarkable emotion. It might be real, or it may be false. Where do guilt feelings come from? Deep within the spirit of man there is a conscience. It is impacted by our societal values, and our perspective of God, as well as our personal experiences.

How does God deal with guilt, in the lives of His children? From the beginning He was gentle. Spotting a quivering couple hiding themselves in the garden, God knew they were guilty of disobedience. However, He didn’t just kick them out of their home, but first he gave them clothing, providing for their immediate needs. He warned them of the dire consequences of their choices, and then sent them from the place where all was familiar. That was the kindest act of all, because He removed them from the temptation to eat of the tree of life, which would have bound them in their state of guilt, forever.

Strangely we often bind ourselves in a state of guilt. It’s easier to endure a familiar pain than to deal with it and move forward into the unknown. However, that is where our faith strengthens us, to face a future filled with the promises of God. That faith is secured by the fact that we have been forgiven. The slate is wiped clean and God gives us a fresh start.

The woman caught in adultery was brought to Jesus to test Him. But what of her own testing? Did Jesus want her to remain in interminable guilt? No! He set her free. “Go and sin no more” (John 8:11). Because – it is only in freedom that we can be productive. Satan enjoys binding our hearts with cords of guilt.

Paul assures the Church at Galatia:

“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”

(Galatians 5:1).

In that same chapter he urged them to believe they were called to be free (:13). This is God’s purpose for humankind. The only thing that counted was faith expressed through love (:6). They were not to feel guilty because they were or were not circumcised according to Jewish law. He points out that God desires restoration rather than revenge (6:1).

If the Galatian church was guilty of trying to earn their salvation, Paul wanted them to be free to live by the Spirit (5:22-23), to be spontaneous in their love and witness (5:16). This message applies to you and to me today. Whether our guilt is real or imagined, we need to deal with it, to rid ourselves of its encumbrance in order to glorify God for what He is doing in our lives.

Reflection:

How has Satan successfully robbed you of peace? Compare the intentions of Satan with the desires of our God.

Are you guilty of rejecting the freedom and subsequent peace that God is offering to His children through Jesus Christ our Lord?

What might you advise someone else to do to remedy such a situation in their lives?

by Marilyn Daniels

http://www.marilyndaniels.net

Devotional

In This Tent We Groan

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2 Corinthians 5:1-9

The Apostle Paul was a master at word pictures. Here he describes our bodies as a tent (2 Corinthians 5:4). In his day, as a tent-maker, this was a fitting illustration. Tents were used as homes, as well as to shelter other property. So what does your body shelter?

We are comprised of body, soul and spirit. Therefore, the body may be seen as the tent which houses the soul and spirit. Man is a triune being because we were made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26). Paul prayed distinctly for all three to be preserved blameless until the return of Christ (1 Thessalonians 5:23). Since this tent is mortal it will not last. This scripture speaks about putting on immortality. ”What is mortal may be swallowed up by life” (5:4).

Picture that! This body that we so often groan about, those aches and pains, even our spiritual weakness and fatigue, will be swallowed up….all that will disappear! Amazing! Life will take on new meaning. Isn’t this the ultimate fulfillment of God’s promise “Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not be weary, they will walk and not be faint” (Isaiah 40:31).

So why are we groaning? Perhaps it is because we do not care for our bodies, as the temple of the Holy Spirit. Paul warned the Corinthians against sexual immorality because the Holy Spirit lives within believers. It is a travesty to connect God with sins of the flesh (1 Corinthians 6:19). We are to take Joseph’s example and to flee such temptation! (Genesis 39:6-18). Inward conflict will wear us down, until we surrender to the fullness of the Spirit, whom God has given to us.

Paul reminds us: “You are not your own, you were bought with a price. Therefore honor God with your body [tent]” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).

Our family used to holiday in a tent. It was a temporary dwelling, fun for the moment, but not somewhere one would want to live in the long-term. We had to make sacrifices; roughing it was a novelty. However, once we returned home to running water, indoor plumbing and electricity, life took on new meaning! Perhaps that’s a poor comparison to the joys awaiting us in heaven, but the difference will certainly be something to celebrate when we exchange this body for our resurrection body! Then our spirits will be free from temptation and our souls will rest in eternal peace!

Reflection:

Pause with me to pray that God will forgive us for whatever sinful thoughts we have harboured, and to draw strength, in prayer, from the Holy Spirit, as we yield our lives into His control. The Lord Jesus died to set us free. The Apostle Paul knew all about the need for forgiveness, since he had once persecuted the growing church in ancient Israel. He warned the Galatian Church “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free” No more groaning!..…”Stand firm then and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery” (5:1).

by Marilyn Daniels (MarilynDaniels.net)

Devotional

Tokens of Love

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Galatians 5:22-23

A phrase of a song caught my attention, longing for “tokens of your love”. We spend a lot of time at Christmas and birthdays trying to think of ways to express our love to those who are close to us. How often is our choice determined by the response we hope to elicit?

What is a token? It is a thing serving as a visible or tangible representation of a fact, quality, feeling, etc., often given in appreciation, or as an expression of love, as the song goes. Have you ever thought about what tokens God has given to you, of His love? Perhaps while we are defining words we need to define love. What is love? One dictionary says love is “an intense feeling of deep affection”. Wikipedia expands on that:

“Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure. 

Theologians try to explain Biblical love, by using many different words. “Love” in the Bible can’t be summed up with just a single word… “there are six different words that can be translated as love, and that doesn’t account for variants and compound words! The more literal translations of the Bible, such as the NASB, have more like 300 mentions of the word “love” because they often translate the Greek and Hebrew into more nuanced words than simply, ‘love’.”

The Apostle Paul devoted a whole chapter to describing what love looks like (1 Corinthians 13). It may be fair to say it takes a life-time to understand the complexities of love. However, one thing is made clear in scripture. “God is love” and “we love Him because He first loved us” (1 John 4:16, 19). Out of the abundance of His own character, God equips us to love Him. Once we have His love abiding in our hearts, we are enabled to love other people in the same way as God loves us.

Tokens of God’s love can actually be seen – they are visible qualities produced by the Holy Spirit living in us. We become more peaceable for one thing; we’ve already established our ability to love others takes on a new look. Does that mean we can love without expecting something back? Loving God’s way produces joy deep within our own hearts, because it is purely in the interests of another human being. How many of us have achieved this? Let us remember “With God all things are possible”. Those are the words of our Lord Jesus recorded by Matthew (19:26).

Have you ever experienced the deep inner satisfaction of doing something good? Perhaps you were gentle or kind when someone was troubled. This brings comfort and encouragement, tokens of love to another human being in distress. Faithfulness is also described by Paul as part of the fruit of the Spirit. There are many people living out their testimony of love in difficult circumstances, believing it is the right thing to do, for Jesus’ sake. I know someone personally who has dedicated her life to the ministry of faithfulness, which takes patience and self-control. One cannot accomplish this without God.

Reflection:

We don’t need to, nor can we, generate the love which is sourced in God alone. Anything else pales by comparison. Perhaps this is why love relationships in our world today are in so much trouble, extinguished by the smallest trifle. Biblical love “keeps no record of wrongs”. When God forgives He forgets our past sins, moving us forward into a brighter and better future. Will we do that for those who have wronged us? God’s love “rejoices in the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres” (1 Corinthians 13:5b-7). Let us pray that we can pass on to others these wonderful tokens of God’s love for us!

by Marilyn Daniels (MarilynDaniels.net)

Devotional

The Fruit of the Spirit…

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Galatians 5:22

In Bible study one day a very interesting statement was made to the effect that we have to activate the Holy Spirit in order to see His fruit in our lives. True or false? How might one go about activating the Holy Spirit?

A thought occurred to me that we cannot earn our salvation by anything we do. Neither do we earn the fruit of the Spirit. Paul under inspiration of that very same Spirit, the Divine third person of the Godhead, tells us the fruit of the Spirit is. It is there for us; once we surrender to the leading of the Holy Spirit the seed planted by the Holy Spirit germinates, eventually producing fruit.

Yielding doesn’t come naturally to human beings. So many life situations trigger a natural urge to control; it may be subtle. To give up striving for sanctification, for perfection, even for righteousness puts us exactly where God wants us to be. Then, and only then, can we see His mighty hands at work, reshaping us into the image of Christ, demonstrating His power to make us loving, joyful, peaceable and so forth (Galatians 5:22-23). Have you ever marvelled to find you are a more patient, gentler type of person since you became a child of God? What brought about that change?

When we reject the forgiveness, the freedom, and the faith offered to us by the Holy Spirit we grieve God. He “quickens” those who are dead in trespasses and in sins, with a Holy jolt that activates you and me to a conscious awareness of our need for Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:1 & 5). There is no eternal hope outside of accepting these promptings by the Holy Spirit! It is also a very dangerous thing to suppose we, the created ones, might in any way manipulate God the Creator into a fast fix.

You see, the fruit of the Spirit developing from the flower of your salvation, is exactly that – something derived from the power of the root, from the essence of all that is essentially Godly. Paul has just contrasted the acts of our sinful nature (Ephesians 5:19-21) with the pure realities of being controlled, directed, empowered by the Holy Spirit, living in us. He knows our needs better than we know ourselves. His perfect nature covers our filthy rags with the righteousness of Christ! (Isaiah 64:6).

Facing His crucifixion, Jesus comforted His disciples with a very important promise. He would not be a visible presence in their lives, but He would send the Holy Spirit, not just for them, but for all of His followers down through centuries of time. The characteristics of God would flow into our lives as we turn our thoughts towards the Lord Jesus Christ. “Fix our eyes on Jesus the author and perfector of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2). It is Christ alone who saves and sanctifies and fills us with the capacity to be what God wants us to be! Hallelujah!

Reflection:

It is Satan’s ploy to make us think we have any part to play as we live the Christian life. It is terribly humbling to understand I am nothing, but God is everything. Yet we know that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us (Philippians 4:13). The thrill comes when we recognize that God has been working in and through us to accomplish His eternal purpose and that we see this without any anxious striving on our part! That of course does not mean we throw out living according to Biblical principles, but God gets the glory for enabling us to do so!

by Marilyn Daniels (MarilynDaniels.net)

Devotional · Uncategorized

The Life I Now Live

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wood light vacation picnic
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Galatians 2:20

Change is ever present in human history. Some people delight in change, but most feel comfortable in what are familiar circumstances. When Paul wrote the words of our title, I wonder if he was reflecting on the life he had lived as a zealous Pharisee. His personality was intense so whatever he took on, he seemed to do it with gusto. Maybe some of us are like that.

Writing to the church at Galatia, Paul is eager to defend faith in Jesus Christ. As a religious Jew Paul had kept the Mosaic law, hoping he would earn eternal life by his good works. There’s a degree of anxiety for anyone trying to earn their way to heaven, isn’t there? What celebration when he discovered he could only get to heaven through Jesus Christ! So, as he wrote to the Galatians “the life I now live”….what was it that made a difference?

Perhaps Paul’s purpose is spelled out in the first verse of his letter. He sees himself as one called by God. When he practised Judaism he also felt called by God to persecute the very One whom he now worshiped. He identifies Jesus Christ as one with God; amazing how Paul learned that the One he had formerly persecuted was actually who He said He was! “The gospel I preached….I received by revelation from Jesus Christ” (Galatians 1:11-12). This revelation transformed Paul’s life!

Sometimes we find it difficult to define words and grace, God’s grace, may be one of them. It was a meaningful concept to Paul. He talked about the grace of Christ (1:6). Although he was “advancing in Judaism beyond many Jews of my own age and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers” (1:14), God called him into His service, by His grace. The church leaders in Jerusalem recognized that this persecutor of the church had indeed been saved by God’s grace (2:9), agreeing Paul and Barnabas should become missionaries to the Gentiles. Who better than one who was also a Roman citizen?

God’s grace rules out any possibility of man accomplishing his own salvation. It is the gift from God (Ephesians 2:8)….a gift which must be believed and received (John 1:12). Paul wouldn’t set aside that fact for any consideration. If there was any other way to eternal life, then Christ died for nothing (2:21). Totally committed to faith in Jesus Christ, Paul was a changed man with a new life. So he writes about the “new life I now live” (2:20).

This new life includes freedom from guilt of the past, power for living the present and hope for the future when we reach our heavenly home. “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 [to sin]” (Galatians 5:1). This new life gives us the power to forgive others as we ourselves have been forgiven and to restore. “If someone has been caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted” (Galatians 6:1). Paul goes on to assert there is ministry for us all in that we then are qualified to “carry each other’s burdens and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ” (6:2).

Reflection:

Carrying someone else’s burden call for grace. We need the fruit of the Holy spirit to equip us for that task. Only when we are changed, given new life, do we qualify as servants of God. Then we will experience the fulness of life in Christ, which brings richness, purpose and joy to the “now” in which we live.