Tag Archives: Galatians

Sow generously to reap a great harvest (Galatians 6:1-10), November 7, 2015

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – Galatians 6:1-10

Set – Job 31; Galatians 6

Go! – Job 32-33; Galatians 5-6

Galatians 6:1-10
1 My spiritual brothers and sisters, if one of our faithful has fallen into a trap and is snared by sin, don’t stand idle and watch his demise. Gently restore him, being careful not to step into your own snare. 2 Shoulder each other’s burdens, and then you will live as the law of the Anointed teaches us. 3 Don’t take this opportunity to think you are better than those who slip because you aren’t; then you become the fool and deceive even yourself. 4 Examine your own works so that if you are proud, it will be because of your own accomplishments and not someone else’s. 5 Each person has his or her own burden to bear and story to write.
6 Remember to share what you have with your mentor in the Word.
7 Make no mistake: God can’t be mocked. What you give is what you get. What you sow, you harvest. 8 Those who sow seeds into their flesh will only harvest destruction from their sinful nature. But those who sow seeds into the Spirit shall harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. 9 May we never tire of doing what is good and right before our Lord because in His season we shall bring in a great harvest if we can just persist. 10 So seize any opportunity the Lord gives you to do good things and be a blessing to everyone, especially those within our faithful family.

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

There’s a lot to learn from these few verses, but there are few that really abide by them today. It’s easy to let these words slide passed in your busy world and your culture of isolation where you don’t want to meddle in anyone else’s business. But My direction to you is to love each other. If you do, you’ll be burdened when one of your brothers or sisters slips away. You won’t want to see them fall. You’ll want to help them up, not talk about them on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.

Love reaches out to help and gently restore those who have fallen away from the path I’ve set for you. Love asks you to carry each others burdens and not let your brothers and sisters go through the trials of life alone. But too often I watch those in My church sit idly by as My children suffer alone and in silence. Sometimes the suffering is well known, but no one steps up to help. What has happened to My love in you? Why does it not reach out like I did to minister to those in need?

Paul tells you well. You reap what you sow. You get back what you give. When you help others in their time of need, you receive the same in return. When you withhold you help, you can expect the same to happen to you. This law of reaping what you sow happens throughout all of nature and is true within the body of Christ as well. Help lift the burdens of others when their load becomes too heavy and you’ll find they will come along side you to help you carry your burdens along your journey of life as well.

I want you to stay dependant on each other. I want you to need each other to carry you through the tough times of life. I want you to help each other so the loads you carry can be shared instead of trying to carry them alone. Life goes so much easier that way. You can share the burdens and lighten the loads. You can help each other when you travel across those rough roads in life so that you can keep each other from stumbling and falling. And if you do fall, someone is there to help you up.

I intend for you to help each other. That’s part of the extension of My grace and mercy. I give you My grace so you can extend it to others. I share My love so you can share it. If you try to hoard it for yourself, you’ll find that My love and My grace will wither away and die in your life. You must give it away to sustain it in yourself. Only through giving of yourself to others, only in extending the grace I give you, only in sharing love can you really keep and grow the love and grace I’ve give to you.

Sow generously. When you do, you will reap a great harvest. Don’t be afraid to give grace and mercy to those around you, especially to your brothers and sisters in Me. You’ll never be sorry you did. Will they give to you in return? It really doesn’t matter. I will and that’s what really matters. 

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

Don’t let prejudice get in the way (Galatians 3:15-29), November 6, 2015

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – Galatians 3:15-29

Set – Psalms 120; Galatians 3

Go! – Job 30-31; Psalms 120; Galatians 3-4

Galatians 3:15-29
15 My dear brothers and sisters, here’s a real-life example I can give you: With a last will and testament, when all the property is accounted for, the document is signed, witnessed, and notarized; and afterward no one can make changes to it. 16 In a similar way, God’s promises established a binding agreement with Abraham and his offspring. In the Scriptures, it is carefully stated, “and to your descendant” (meaning one), not “and to your descendants” (meaning many). Therefore, in these covenant promises, God was not referring to every son and daughter born into Abraham’s family but to the Anointed One to come. 17 What this all means is that the law given to Israel comes along some 430 years after the promise made to Abraham; so it does not invalidate the covenant God previously agreed to or in any way do away with His promise. 18 You see, if the law became the sole basis for the inheritance, then it would put God in the position of breaking a covenant because He had promised it to Abraham.
19 Now you’re asking yourselves, “So why did God give us the law?” God commanded His heavenly messengers to deliver it into the hand of a mediator for this reason: to help us rein in our sins until the Offspring, about whom the promise was made in the first place, would come. 20 A mediator represents more than one, but God is only one. 21 “So,” you ask, “does the law contradict God’s promise?” Absolutely not! Never was there written a law that could lead to resurrection and life; if there had been, then surely we could have experienced saving righteousness through keeping the law. But we haven’t. 22 Scripture has subjected the whole world to sin’s power so that the faithful obedience of Jesus the Anointed might extend God’s promises to everyone who has faith. 23 Before faith came on the scene, the law did its best to keep us in line, restraining us until the faith that was to come was fully revealed. 24 So then, the law was like a tutor, assigned to train us and point us to the Anointed, so that we will be acquitted of all wrong and made right by faith. 25 But now that true faith has come, we have no need for a tutor. 26 It is your faith in the Anointed Jesus that makes all of you children of God 27 because all of you who have been initiated into the Anointed One through the ceremonial washing of baptism have put Him on. 28 It makes no difference whether you are a Jew or a Greek, a slave or a freeman, a man or a woman, because in Jesus the Anointed, the Liberating King, you are all one. 29 Since you belong to Him and are now subject to His power, you are the descendant of Abraham and the heir of God’s glory according to the promise.

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

Paul reminds you I am the God of all people. It doesn’t matter the color of your skin, the language you speak, the country of your birth. I am your God. Whether you bow to Me our not, I am still your God. One day you will bow, but I trust you do so now. Those who believe in Me for the forgiveness of their sins, will never die, but will live with Me forever. Those who do not, will forever live alone in eternal punishment.

Since I’m the God of all people, shouldn’t you also love all people? Everywhere, I see the prejudice of humankind rising. I had hoped with increased knowledge through the centuries that you would learn to get along with each other, but it hasn’t proven true. Instead, increased knowledge seems to increase the prejudice between you. Races and nations continue to debate the superiority and inferiority of one another. Each touts its own prowess over others wanting to gain more instead of being satisfied with what I have given them.

Humankind has forgotten you have what you have because I allow it. I made you and gave you the abilities and talents resident within you. I gave you the lands you occupy. I gave you the minerals, the environmental conditions, the wealth or lack thereof. I gave you the opportunities to serve others. The question is what you have done with the things I gave you. But I am still your God. And I can take away all you have gained. With a flood, a wildfire, a hurricane or tornado all can be lost in an instant. And I control them all. Remember, I am your God.

Put your faith in Me. Remember I can give and I can take away. There is no need for prejudices. I made all humankind and everything I make is good. Every race, every nation, every person I make is good. Each person then creates their own choices and pathways, but I make them good originally. Share My word with everyone. Love everyone. Share My grace and mercy with everyone. Don’t let prejudices get in the way. 

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

You reap what you sow (Galatians 6), Mar 15, 2015

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Today’s Podcast


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Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – Galatians 6
Set – Deuteronomy 28; Galatians 6
Go! – Deuteronomy 28-29; Galatians 6

Galatians 6
1My spiritual brothers and sisters, if one of our faithful has fallen into a trap and is snared by sin, don’t stand idle and watch his demise. Gently restore him, being careful not to step into your own snare. 2 Shoulder each other’s burdens, and then you will live as the law of the Anointed teaches us. 3 Don’t take this opportunity to think you are better than those who slip because you aren’t; then you become the fool and deceive even yourself. 4 Examine your own works so that if you are proud, it will be because of your own accomplishments and not someone else’s. 5 Each person has his or her own burden to bear and story to write.

6 Remember to share what you have with your mentor in the Word.

7 Make no mistake: God can’t be mocked. What you give is what you get. What you sow, you harvest. 8 Those who sow seeds into their flesh will only harvest destruction from their sinful nature. But those who sow seeds into the Spirit shall harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. 9 May we never tire of doing what is good and right before our Lord because in His season we shall bring in a great harvest if we can just persist. 10 So seize any opportunity the Lord gives you to do good things and be a blessing to everyone, especially those within our faithful family.

11 Look at how giant these letters are now that I am writing with my own hand!

12 The troublemakers who are putting pressure on you to be circumcised are trying to impress the flesh. They want to avoid the persecution that comes from preaching the cross of the Anointed One, the Liberating King. 13 But even those who receive circumcision can’t keep the law—although they think they can—and they hope to influence which way you go with your own skin so they can have bragging rights over your flesh.

14 May I never put anything above the cross of our Lord Jesus the Anointed. Through Him, the world has been crucified to me and I to this world. 15 Let me be clear: circumcision won’t save you—uncircumcision won’t either for that matter—for both amount to nothing. God’s new creation is what counts, and it counts for everything. 16 May peace and mercy come to all of you who live by this rule and to the Israel of God.

17 In the future, don’t let anyone cause trouble for me because I bear in my body the marks that wounded Jesus.

18 May the grace of our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One, infuse your spirit with His, brothers and sisters. Amen.

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

I wish young people today learned more about agriculture in school or at home. It seems many of them don’t understand one of the very basic natural laws I set in place when I created the universe. It’s a simple rule. It says, “Whatever you sow, you reap.” If you sow corn in a field, you don’t get wheat, you get corn. If you sow beans, you don’t get watermelons, you bet beans. Simple.

The same rule applies to all of nature. If you sow deceit, you reap deceit. If you sow hatred, you reap hatred. If you sow love, you reap love. If you sow kindness, you reap kindness. Whatever you sow, you reap. I wish I could make people understand that fundamental law early in life. It would reduce so much pain and suffering in this generation.

You see, that first act of adultery has consequences you cannot stop. The first toke has consequences you cannot stop. The first drink or the first pill has consequences you cannot stop. Whatever you sow, you reap. Whether it’s the physical, emotional and psychological, or the spiritual effects of your actions, there are always consequences as a natural offshoot because whatever you sow, you reap. It’s a law you cannot change.

Every once in a while, I might use My power to bail you out of the consequences of your action, but most of the time, I don’t. I forgive you and cover you with My blood so your sins are never held against you again in My sight. But the physical, emotional, and relationship scars created remain. Often I still let you reap what you sow. I don’t take away the consequences of your actions. So broken relationships remain broken. Diseases don’t go away. Scars remind you never to walk that path again.

I’m not sure why people today think they can do things without reaping the consequences that come with those actions. I’ve said it enough in My word. The phrase is well known in the general populace. Common sense should tell you actions create consequences from the first time you stick your finger in a flame. But time and again I see people thinking they will get away with their bad behavior. They think nothing will happen. They think what they do will have no affect on their life or the lives of others. It’s as if someone sucked out their brain just before they decide to participate in behavior they know is wrong.

Perhaps one day people will listen better. Perhaps they will understand the natural laws of the universe I put in place. Perhaps they’ll stop before “sowing wild oats” because those wild oats grow where they are planted and reap consequences that live on. Perhaps parents will begin to share their stories with their children and teach them to live responsibly early in life because they will reap what they sow even at those early ages. That law hasn’t changed since creation. Don’t expect Me to change it any time soon.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

Arguing in the church? Surely not! (Galatians 5:1-15), Mar 14, 2015

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Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – Galatians 5:1-15
Set – Deuteronomy 27; Galatians 5
Go! – Deuteronomy 25-27; Galatians 5

Galatians 5:1-15
1So stand strong for our freedom! The Anointed One freed us so we wouldn’t spend one more day under the yoke of slavery, trapped under the law.

2 Listen because I, Paul, am going to make this message very clear so it cannot be misunderstood: if you undergo the rite of circumcision, then all that the Anointed accomplished will be lost on you. 3 And understand this: if you choose to be circumcised, then you will oblige yourself to do every single rule of the law for the rest of your life. 4 You, and anyone else who seeks to be on the right side of God through the law, have effectively been cut off from the Anointed, circumcised from grace, and cast off from the favor of God. 5 We, on the other hand, continue to live through the Spirit’s power and wait confidently in the hope that things will be put right through faith. 6 Here’s the thing: in Jesus the Anointed whether you are circumcised or not makes no difference. What makes a difference is faith energized by love.

7 Who has impeded your progress and kept you from obeying the truth? You were off to such a good start. 8 I know for certain the pressure isn’t coming from God. He keeps calling you to the truth. 9 You know what they say, “Just a little yeast causes all the dough to rise,” so even the slightest detour from the truth will take you to a destination you do not desire. 10 Despite this, I’m confident because the Lord reassures me that you will truly hear and take my message to heart. Besides, I also know that these troublemakers, whoever they are, will answer to God and be judged accordingly. 11 As for me, brothers and sisters, if I continue to preach circumcision—as these agitators claim—then why do I still face persecution? If I were to preach a compromised version of the good news, then the scandal of the cross would come to an end. 12 I really wish that these people who weigh you down with corrupt counsel would mutilate themselves!

13 Brothers and sisters, God has called you to freedom! Hear the call, and do not spoil this gift by using your liberty to engage in what your flesh desires; instead, use it to serve each other as Jesus taught through love. 14 For the whole law comes down to this one instruction: “Love your neighbor as yourself,” so 15 why all this vicious gnawing on each other? If you are not careful, you will find you’ve eaten each other alive!

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

This last paragraph you heard today from Paul’s letter written 2,000 years ago to a church in Galatia could just as easily be addressed to many churches around the world today. How did so many of you get so far away from the truth of My word? I called you to the freedom as I taught you with My example as I walked among you. I still lived within not just the letter, but the spirit of the law given on Mount Sinai to Moses. But I refused to bow to the ridiculous traditions that pulled people away from My command to love each other.

I purpose when I first created man entailed the populating of the earth and giving stewardship of all My creation to you. To do so effectively, I wanted you to love each other. To care for each other and build relationships that allowed for opportunities to serve each other using the talents and skills I gave each of you. None of you can make it through life alone. All of you need each other for survival and the abundant life I want you to experience.

I want you to share in families and friendships and business relationships. I want you to act like I did when I walked the streets of Jerusalem and understand that freedom means service. Freedom means exercising the talents I gave you for the betterment of others. But here you are, squabbling over petty issues. Getting hurt over what you thought you heard, usually second- or third-hand, when that’s not what was said at all. Fighting and bickering over nothing. And all of this within the framework of the church. But not My church. I won’t visit when that stuff is going on. I’ll give it over to you, then. That’s what you want anyway in those situations.

Can’t you get rid of the selfish interests and look for the good of others? Can’t you understand the sacrifice I made for you to abolish the very behavior you exercise in your petty arguments? Does the tempo really matter if I am being praised? Do you think I care about colors of walls if you are lifting My name in prayer and thanksgiving? I want you to love others, especially those within the body of Christ. My command to you is to love Me first then love others as you love yourself. The gnawing at each other that seems to happen in My churches just doesn’t fit that pattern. So the question you must ask yourself, before I ask you in front of My throne, “Is my heart right with God?” Remember, if you hate your brother, you can’t love Me.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

Life under the law isn’t the answer (Galatians 4:8-31), Mar 13, 2015

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Today’s Podcast


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Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – Galatians 4:8-31
Set – Deuteronomy 23; Galatians 4
Go! – Deuteronomy 22-24; Galatians 4

Galatians 4:8-31
8 During the time before you knew God, you were slaves to powers that are not gods at all. 9 But now, when you are just beginning to know the one True God—actually, He is showing how completely He knows you—how can you turn back to weak and worthless idols made by men, icons of these spiritual powers? Haven’t you endured enough bondage to these breathless idols? 10 You are observing particular days, months, festival seasons, and years; 11 you have me worried that I may have wasted my time laboring among you.

12 Brothers and sisters, I have become one of you. Now it’s your turn—become as I am. You have never wronged me. 13 Do you remember the first time I preached the good news to you? I was sick, and 14 I know my illness was a hardship to you, but you never drew back from me or scorned me. You cared for me as if I were a heavenly messenger of God, possibly as well as if I were the Anointed Jesus Himself! Don’t you remember? 15 What has happened to your joy and blessing? I tell you, the place was so thick with love that if it were possible, you would have plucked out your eyes and handed them to me. 16 And now, do I stand as your enemy because I tried to bless you with the truth? 17 I’ll tell you what these false brothers and sisters are counting on: your attention. They are ravenous for it. They are not acting honorably or in your best interests. They want to keep you away from the good news we proclaim so they can have you all to themselves. 18 Listen, there’s nothing wrong with zeal when you’re zealous for God’s good purpose. And what’s more, you don’t have to wait for me to be with you to seek the good. 19 My dear children, I feel the pains of birth upon me again, and I will continue in labor for you until the Anointed One is formed completely in you. 20 I wish I were there. This letter is really harsh, yet I am really perplexed by you.

21 Now it’s your turn to instruct me. All of you who want to live by the rules of the law, are you really listening to and heeding what the law teaches? Listen to this: 22 it’s recorded in the Scripture that Abraham was the father of two sons. One son was born to a slave woman, Hagar, and the other son was born to a free woman, Abraham’s wife, Sarah. 23 The slave woman’s son was born through only natural means, but the free woman’s son was born through a promise from God. 24 I’m using an allegory. Here’s the picture: these two women stand for two covenants. The first represents the covenant God made on Mount Sinai—this is Hagar, who gives birth to children of slavery. 25 Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and she stands for the Jerusalem we know now. She has lived in slavery along with her children. 26 But there is a Jerusalem we know above. She is free, and she is our mother. 27 Isaiah wrote,

Be glad, you who feel sterile and never gave birth!
Raise a joyful shout, childless woman, who never went into labor!
For the barren woman produces many children,
more than the one who has a husband.
28 So you see now, brothers and sisters, you are children of the promise like Isaac. 29 The slave’s son, born through only what flesh could conceive, resented and persecuted the one born into the freedom of the Spirit. The slave’s son picked at Isaac, just as you are being picked at now. 30 So what does the Scripture say? “Throw out the slave and her son, for the slave’s son will never have a share of the inheritance coming to the son of the free woman.” 31 So, brothers and sisters, we are not children of the slave woman, but sons and daughters of the free.

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

It is so easy to slip into the Pharisaical bonds of religious order. Just follow the rules and you’ll make it to heaven. The problem with following the rules is no one can do it. Since Adam first fell to the temptation of Satan in the garden and disobeyed My rule concerning the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, humankind has failed to keep the rules. Some seem simple, but as you heard from Jesus when He spoke, even the simplest become the seeds for transgression in the mind of sinful man.

The law was necessary to give you some tutelage as to the standard of living I require of humankind, but I knew from the beginning it was a standard you could not keep in your own strength. It only reminds you of your frailty, sinfulness, and self-centeredness. It takes more than a list of rules to keep you from breaking them. In fact, the list entices you to stretch your behavior to see how close you can come to violating the law without breaking it, but you always end up crossing the line.

It is the carnal nature you inherited from your parents throughout the generations to the first parents, Adam and Eve. They passed on to you their bent toward evil and selfishness and you pass it to your children. Without My intervention, you can no more keep My laws than you can flap your arms and fly. But My law is the standard I hold for living in My kingdom. So how can anyone make it?

John 3:16 is the answer. Believe in Me. Then I give you eternal life. Confess your sins to Me. Then I forgive your sins and cleanse you from all unrighteousness. That’s your ticket. That’s what it takes to enter into My kingdom. That’s the secret sauce that enables you to come near Me. Because when you believe in My Son for forgiveness of sins, I see His blood, not your sins. I see His holiness, not your sinfulness.

Let Me into your life and the rules become easy. Let Me rule your life and the rules of life take care of themselves. Let Me direct you life and you’ll find your thoughts directed differently. Your actions unfold differently. The rules you’ve struggled to keep will no longer feel like the burden they once were. You’ll find freedom you’ve never felt before. Paul discovered it and told his friends about the genuine experience you can have, too. Don’t live under the stress of the law, but under the freedom of My love. 

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

Put on God to keep the rules (Galatians 3:15-29), Mar 12, 2015

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Today’s Podcast


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Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – Galatians 3:15-29
Set – Deuteronomy 19; Galatians 3
Go! – Deuteronomy 19-21; Galatians 3

Galatians 3:15-29
15 My dear brothers and sisters, here’s a real-life example I can give you: With a last will and testament, when all the property is accounted for, the document is signed, witnessed, and notarized; and afterward no one can make changes to it. 16 In a similar way, God’s promises established a binding agreement with Abraham and his offspring. In the Scriptures, it is carefully stated, “and to your descendant” (meaning one), not “and to your descendants” (meaning many). Therefore, in these covenant promises, God was not referring to every son and daughter born into Abraham’s family but to the Anointed One to come. 17 What this all means is that the law given to Israel comes along some 430 years after the promise made to Abraham; so it does not invalidate the covenant God previously agreed to or in any way do away with His promise. 18 You see, if the law became the sole basis for the inheritance, then it would put God in the position of breaking a covenant because He had promised it to Abraham.

19 Now you’re asking yourselves, “So why did God give us the law?” God commanded His heavenly messengers to deliver it into the hand of a mediator for this reason: to help us rein in our sins until the Offspring, about whom the promise was made in the first place, would come. 20 A mediator represents more than one, but God is only one. 21 “So,” you ask, “does the law contradict God’s promise?” Absolutely not! Never was there written a law that could lead to resurrection and life; if there had been, then surely we could have experienced saving righteousness through keeping the law. But we haven’t. 22 Scripture has subjected the whole world to sin’s power so that the faithful obedience of Jesus the Anointed might extend God’s promises to everyone who has faith. 23 Before faith came on the scene, the law did its best to keep us in line, restraining us until the faith that was to come was fully revealed. 24 So then, the law was like a tutor, assigned to train us and point us to the Anointed, so that we will be acquitted of all wrong and made right by faith. 25 But now that true faith has come, we have no need for a tutor. 26 It is your faith in the Anointed Jesus that makes all of you children of God 27 because all of you who have been initiated into the Anointed One through the ceremonial washing of baptism have put Him on. 28 It makes no difference whether you are a Jew or a Greek, a slave or a freeman, a man or a woman, because in Jesus the Anointed, the Liberating King, you are all one. 29 Since you belong to Him and are now subject to His power, you are the descendant of Abraham and the heir of God’s glory according to the promise.

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

So why would I give you the law if you couldn’t keep it? Well, there are several reasons.

First, they keep you safe and secure. Understanding the nature of humankind after the fall of Adam and Eve, I knew you needed something that would put in check the evil behavior you often think about. I know you think those thoughts, but the law keeps you from carrying out a lot of the behavior because you know the punishments associated with the behavior. In the ancient days, it was an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, remember?

The in-kind punishment meant people stayed on better behavior than they might otherwise without the laws. It meant people thought twice before stealing since they would pay back two to five times as much as they stole. People hesitated before they struck someone or killed someone because it was life for life. There was no jury system other than the priest. If you killed someone other than accidentally, chances were pretty great you joined the victim soon after. Even then you escaped death from family members only by living in a sanctuary city.

Second, the law demonstrated My standard of living for you. But it showed just how difficult it was to live that law apart from My presence. Those commandments about lying, stealing, coveting, honoring parents. They might seem easy, but let Me ask you a couple of questions. Do you ever cheat when playing solitaire? That’s lying, you know. Do you have any company pens at home? They don’t belong to you. That’s called stealing. Ever wish you had that promotion or that car someone has? Coveting. Not so easy, is it?

The third reason I gave you the laws is because they point to the coming of My salvation for you. From the day Adam and Eve failed to obey Me, I made provision for them to find forgiveness. The laws before My coming seemed quite cumbersome to the Israelites, but they all pointed to My coming in the flesh to redeem all of humankind who would trust Me. For those who willingly gave up the rights to themselves and took me on as their total life manager, they found I could keep them free from the guilt of sin. I could do something the law couldn’t do. I could forgive and empower them to really live. The impossibility of the law becomes possible in Me.

Remember what I said to the disciples, “All things are possible with God.” Having trouble keeping the rules? Try Me on for size instead. 

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

God changes people (Galatians 1:11-24), Mar 10, 2015

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Today’s Podcast


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Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – Galatians 1:11-24
Set – Deuteronomy 14; Galatians 1
Go! – Deuteronomy 13-15; Galatians 1

Galatians 1:11-24
11 Know this, dear brothers and sisters: the good news I brought to you isn’t the latest in fiction or the product of some creative mind. 12 It is not a legend I learned or one that has been passed down from person to person, ear to ear. I was gifted with this message as Jesus the Anointed revealed Himself miraculously to me. 13 Surely you are familiar with my personal history, with my dedication to the teachings and traditions of Judaism. I persecuted the church of God—in fact, I meant to destroy it. 14 I excelled in the teachings of Judaism far above other Jewish leaders, and I was zealous to practice the ways of our ancestors. 15 But God—who set me apart even before birth and called me by His grace—chose, to His great delight, 16 to reveal His Son in me so I could tell His story among the outsider nations. I didn’t confer with anyone right away, 17 nor did I go to those who were already emissaries in Jerusalem. I went straight to Arabia and later returned to Damascus.

18 After living this adventurous mission for three years, I made my way to Jerusalem and spent 15 days with Cephas, whom you know as Peter. 19 But I didn’t see any emissary other than James, our Lord’s brother. 20 (You can be certain that what I am offering you is an authentic account. Before God, it’s the whole truth—I wouldn’t lie.) 21 Later I journeyed to Syria and Cilicia; 22 and since I had spent so little time in Judea among the churches of the Anointed One, no one there could pick me out of a crowd. 23 But stories of my call and mission preceded me: “The very man who wanted to kill us all is now preaching the faith he once labored to destroy.” 24 And so they praised God for the miracle He did in my life.

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

The story of Paul’s conversion is well known. How I met him on his way to Damascus to persecute My followers there. How I blinded him and showed him what he was doing to My church and the people who knew the truth about Me. Paul changed in that encounter. There is something to remember in what happens after that first encounter, though, that many forget today.

The story Luke tells Theophilus jumps pretty quickly from the Damascus road experience to events with Peter and the other disciples. When he picks up the story of Paul again, it talks about Barnabas being sent from Jerusalem to Tarsus to find him. Then the two of them spent a year in Antioch before they embarked on their first missionary journey to establish churches across Asia Minor.

That time frame is important. Paul spent those three years in Arabia learning about Me. He poured over all the scriptures he learned during his tutelage under Gamaliel, one of the most renowned rabbis in Israel, to see how I fit the prophecies and discovered for himself that I was indeed the long awaited Messiah. He made sure his Damascus Road experience wasn’t just a dream, but that all I told him was true.

The next thing Paul began to do was discover My mission for him. He listened when I said I would have him telling others about Me, so he wanted to prepare himself well. Paul didn’t wait to talk about his experience or what I had done for him, but he also didn’t start his missionary journeys right away either. Paul wasn’t ready to take on the task of becoming the theologian for Me through his letters to the churches yet.

Paul needed to spend time with My word and absorb who I am and what I had done for him so he could adequately argue before the leaders of the synagogues and the temple. It didn’t stop him from witnessing of his experience during those three years. Many saw the change in him. But he needed preparation before he turned his attention to the pulpit to begin planting churches across the countryside.

There is the difference in many new Christians today. I want you to get up from the altar and tell others about what I have done for you. I want you to express the joy and freedom from the guilt of sin that you receive when you accept My gift of forgiveness and salvation. But I also want you to prepare diligently to share better to those you might meet who would try to dilute My word or twist it for their own pleasure.

Look at the history of the scriptures. It’s message hasn’t changed since Moses began sharing My laws with the Israelites 4,000 years ago. The message is still the same. The right and wrong of the commandments still hold true. Life and love and devotion to Me are still the hallmarks of the behavior I want you to internalize and display for everyone you meet. I will meet out justice when the time is right. You don’t need to worry about that. Instead, love others into My kingdom. That’s what I did when I walked the earth. That’s how others will know you are My followers, by your love for each other and for My creation at large. All of it. Love others into My kingdom.

That also doesn’t mean you agree or condone the behaviors of others. I detest evil more than you. I am holy. I always have been holy and always will be holy. I cannot bear evil in My presence. But I still love all of humankind I created. I still love the world and all that is in it. I don’t like what man has done to it, but I still love man. That’s why I died to save you. That’s why I made provision to pay the penalty for sin you could not pay.

Share your story immediately with all who will hear you. Learn My story. Read about it in My word. Study it with faithful followers. Prepare to incorporate it into your life in ever deeper realms until it engulfs every part of you. Then be prepared to share it with anyone and everyone who has ears to hear.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
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