The Everyday Prayer

Re:Verse passage – Galatians 4:21-31 (day seven)

But the Jerusalem above is free. vs 26

Did you know that you belong to a Kingdom that is not of this world (John 18:36)? Through the New Covenant, you belong to the New Jerusalem. In this Jerusalem, “there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain” (Revelation 21:4).  As Pastor Chris said last week, we have hope because we know the end of the story. When the trials of this world seem too much, we have hope because we know Jesus is with us. When it seems like we will never be good enough, we have hope because Jesus is enough. When it seems like there is no one we can trust, we have hope because Jesus is King.

Even when the old Jerusalem is surrounded by chaos, we have hope because we know that the New Jerusalem will resound with praise. King Jesus, let Your Kingdom come quickly! In the meantime, we pray for the peace of Jerusalem and the salvation of all.

Re:Verse passage – Galatians 4:21-31 (day six)

It’s no mistake that Paul returns to Abraham. Earlier in the letter, Abraham served as an example of how the “righteous live by faith” in God and not by works of the law. And now? We find Abraham trusting in his own effort to fulfill God’s promise of an heir. (The results were not what he had hoped. In fact, we are still experiencing the results today.)

The point is this. Abraham had started off so well, yet even he stumbled into trusting his efforts along the way-just like the Galatians-but he finished strong.

I think this was a not-so-subtle way of Paul saying, “You can finish strong, just like Abraham! Don’t get caught in the allure of your own effort! Return to Jesus alone, by faith alone.”

Re:Verse passage – Galatians 4:21-31 (day five)

But the son by the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and the son by the free woman through the promise.

It’s one of the things I love about the scriptures. Honesty and integrity when telling the narratives of the Bible Heroes.  The good and the bad. The highs and the lows. Abraham (the father of God’s promised nation) acted out of fear and impatience. He didn’t wait and/or completely trust the Lord to fulfill His promise of a son to him (Abraham) and Sarah. So, he finds his own solution to fulfill God’s promise.  Abraham acted in faith- faith in himself and his own efforts. Wasn’t that he forgot the promise. He lacked patience and complete trust. Sounds like… me (us) sometimes. We do well to be reminded and remember God’s promises to us (in the scriptures). We must also trust God to fulfill His promises in His timing and His through His supernatural grace and power. It is difficult and exhausting at times. Paul says “Work out your salvation with fear and rambling”. Requires energy and dedication. Our faith must be focused on Him not in our own abilities.

Re:Verse passage – Galatians 4:21-31 (day four)

When we think of Biblical lessons that teach us about courage, we often think of the Israelite army going into battle, or David facing Goliath, or even the prophets speaking out against the sins of Israel. But often, being courageous simply means staying steadfast and waiting on the Lord. Waiting on God’s timing is an act of immense courage.

Abraham received a promise from God that he would have a child in his old age, but he tried to bring it to fulfillment in his own power and his own timing. To be fair, the promise God gave to Abraham didn’t make logical sense – he and Sarah were well passed child-bearing years. But that’s part of what makes faith an act of courage – it defies logic.

We have all attempted to rush-order the fulfillment of a promise we received from God. And just like Abraham, we’ve seen the consequences that come with our lack of patience. When Abraham chose to take matters into his own hands, it caused grief for Hagar, Ishmael, and for Abraham. There are always consequences on the other side of disobedience. Thankfully, despite our disobedience, the promises of God will never return void.

We can have courage to wait on the Lord because we know that his Word is good. Sometimes the most courageous thing to do is to be still.

Re:Verse passage – Galatians 4:21-31 (day three)

“Tell me, you who want to be under law, do you not listen to the law?”

Paul’s question here presupposes a crucial point: it is not the law that is the enemy of the gospel, but rather an abuse of the law. The law is the word of God. It proceeds from the mouth of God. It is altogether lovely. It is God’s revelation to human beings. But what is the law’s rightful function? It takes us to Christ who fulfills it. There is then nothing left for the law to do because Christ has done all that the law requires —and he is the only one who could do so. The law’s magnificence and brilliance now emanate from its wonderful accomplishment of having heralded the Christ. To declare that it has any other purpose is to misread it. Its work is done.

Re:Verse passage – Galatians 4:21-31 (day two) 

For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the bondwoman and one by the free woman. vs 22

Hopefully you are familiar with the story of Abraham and his two sons. If you need a reminder, please read Genesis 21. Abraham was in a tough place. He had heard from the Lord, had been faithful to trust him in the past, and was promised a great legacy. The problem? Time. Abraham could not figure out how all these things could come about. His age was a factor, and his wife’s age was well past child-bearing time. The solution? Bring in a surrogate. This would accomplish the goal of bearing a child, but it wasn’t what God had instructed. It didn’t invalidate the promise, but it did have consequences. Refer back to the beginning of Galatians 4 when Paul reminds them that at the perfect time, Christ came. The same can be said for the birth of Isaac, or whatever God has purposed for your life. The Galatians moved from the truth of the Gospel backwards. They laid claim to the law, or the parts of the law they thought they understood. They, and we, have been called forward. To trust in the promise of God’s perfect timing. Not yet is a perfect answer.

Re:Verse passage – Galatians 4:12-20 (day seven) 

 I beg of you, brethren, become as I am. Galatians 4:12

Comments like this from Paul used to unnerve me. In my naivety as a young bible college student, I did not understand how Paul could be so arrogant as to tell us to act more like him. Why doesn’t he just tell me to act more like Jesus? Now that I am wiser (a little bit at least), I get it. Paul was a walking example of Jesus to people who never saw Jesus in real life. He got to be Jesus to them through the Holy Spirit working inside him. The truth is, the young Rick was not as unnerved by Paul as he was his own lukewarm faith. I was not confident that if people became like me that they would look more like Christ.

No matter where we are at in our faith journey, we get to be Jesus to people who have never seen Him. That cashier at the grocery store, the waitress at the restaurant, the co-worker in the break room; this week, maybe even today, someone will cross your path who has never met Jesus. Will you have the confidence to say, “Be like me”? Will your actions point them to Jesus?

Re:Verse passage – Galatians 4:12-20 (day six)

 I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me.  -Jesus, John 15:15

Jesus was describing Kingdom friendship. What bound them as friends was an eternal perspective, giving them a shared purpose. This is the same kind of friendship that shaped the relationship between Paul and many of the church leaders in Galatia. Kingdom friendship is what allowed him to step in when things were hard and call them back to the simplicity of the Gospel.

In a world that majors in superficiality and personal pursuits, Kingdom friendship calls us to something (and someone!) bigger than ourselves. More than ever, we need to forge this kind of friendship!

What is one way you can build Kingdom friendship today?