The Everyday Prayer

Re:Verse passage – Galatians 1:11-24 (day six)

…it pleased him to reveal his Son to me so that I would proclaim the Good News about Jesus to the Gentiles. Galatians 1:16

Paul realized in Jesus, that it was never God’s ambition that Gentiles become children of Israel but that they become children of God, resulting in a global multi-ethnic family united in Jesus.

Jesus does not undo or abandon the law but fulfills it (by his life, death, and resurrection) for all those who believe, and that is good news! Furthermore, through Jesus the promises God made to Israel are now available to the whole world, which was his intent all along.

Aren’t you thankful?

Re:Verse passage – Galatians 1:11-24 (day five)  

“For you have heard of my former manner of life in Judaism, how I used to persecute the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it; and I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries among my countrymen, being more extremely zealous for my ancestral traditions.”

Does God save “good” people, or does He save “bad” people? The answer according to Paul, is YES!!  Both!!
I like the words of Tim Keller as he expounds on this truth.

The gospel calls us out of religion as much as it calls us out of irreligion. No one is so good they don’t need the grace of the gospel, nor so bad that they cannot receive the grace of the gospel.

There is hope and salvation available for all of us who will repent and believe. That is Amazing Grace!!

Re:Verse passage – Galatians 1:11-24 (day four)

He who once persecuted us is now preaching the faith which he once tried to destroy.

We most often notice God’s sovereignty when we’re out in creation, considering how he cares for the birds and the flowers, or when some sort of catastrophe is avoided, and we thank him for his protection. Paul shows us here, though, that we come face to face with the sovereignty of God every day when we interact with each other.

Paul had his whole life turned around by the revolutionary power of the gospel of Christ. And when he looks back, he sees that God was with him from the beginning – even in his mother’s womb, even when he was trying to destroy the Christian church – with a calling to bring the gospel to all the world. The power of the gospel in Paul’s life is the sovereignty of God on display.

When the people spoke with awe about the difference they saw in him, they were testifying to the power of God. He can and will use anyone he chooses to accomplish his purposes on the earth. That same sovereignty is revealed in us, too. When the redeemed of the Lord say so, we testify to his sovereign power. And when we think someone is too far gone, Paul reminds us that with God, nothing is impossible.

Re:Verse passage – Galatians 1:11-24 (day three)

“For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.”

“The Revelation of St. John the Divine” is the heading of the last book in all the old King James Bibles. Turns out St. Paul clocked in a little ahead of St. John in the revelation experience. Paul had given his whole life to the pursuit of his faith. From boyhood, he learned the scriptures from Gamaliel. Paul studied diligently to become a scholar of scholars, literate in the most influential philosophical and theological bodies of knowledge the world had ever produced. He put all that intellectual and spiritual fire into making the world safe from the Jesus Way. His encounter with Jesus completely undid him. It took Jesus himself to bring Paul through that trauma and into God’s work.

Re:Verse passage – Galatians 1:1-10 (day seven)

who gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from this present evil age. Galatians 1:4a

Have you ever heard someone attempt to discredit the Bible due to its age?  They try to say that a book written by men thousands of years ago should not govern or provide morality for the present age. The problem with this logic is that the Bible is not some book written by men; it is the inspired Word of God.

Paul addressed this particular book to the churches in Galatia, clearly intending for it to become a circular letter that was passed around the region. We can know that God intended for it to circulate all the way to you and me in 2023. Why? Because He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. His Word is not outdated. It is more than capable to rescue us from this present age. How is the Word speaking to you today?

Re:Verse passage – Galatians 1:1-10 (day six) 

This letter is from Paul, an apostle. I was not appointed by any group of people or any human authority, but by Jesus Christ himself and by God the Father, who raised Jesus from the dead. Galatians 1:1

What I appreciate most about Galatians is its intimate portrait of Paul the Apostle. No other epistle includes the same details of his life as Galatians. While his introduction is not necessarily unique from his other letters, it does set us up to learn more about Paul’s life.

Paul makes clear from the beginning that he was appointed by Jesus himself and given special authority to be his spokesperson.

Sometimes, it helps me to give Paul’s history real thought, that he was a real person in history, with real encounters, struggles, and ambitions. In these few verses, we re-learn two valuable and personal things about him.   First, he really cared about the truth; he had given his life to the Truth. Second, he really cared about people. What becomes clear is that the two are not at odds. In fact, the reason Paul really cares about people is because he really cares about the Truth.

I’m looking forward to getting to know Paul better over the course of the 13 weeks, aren’t you?

Re:Verse passage – Galatians 1:1-10 (day five) “who gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us”

Being the Youth Minister at FBCSA for 20 years has provided hundreds of memories and stories. One that is still etched in my mind was from an All-Nighter. Our very first activity was to go to SeaWorld and swim in the wave pool. We hadn’t been there 10 minutes when I heard the lifeguard blow his whistle. Then again. And then another whistle blew.  If I’m being honest, my first thought was these were college kids exerting their authority over younger teenagers- a power trip. What I quickly discovered was one of our middle school boys had swum too close to the “wave making contraption” at the head of the pool and was being sucked under- continually and violently. Before I could verify that in fact the teenager was in trouble, the lifeguard was already in the water rescuing the student. When they pulled him out, I tried to console him and convince myself that in fact it wasn’t that bad. But when I saw the fatigue in his body and desperation on his face (as he lay there) I immediately understood this was a life and death situation. He had been in trouble. Life threatening trouble, and couldn’t get out/free.  He was incapable. He needed rescue.

That’s how Paul is describing the human race “us” (he also includes himself)- incapable, unable, helpless, lost. Not flattering. In fact, kinda offensive. Scripture tells us that we really are that spiritually helpless and far gone. One of my HPU professors always said, “Until you realize how lost you were, you’ll never understand how saved you are”. WE (all) in fact, needed and have been rescued.

Re:Verse passage – Galatians 1:1-10 (day four)

For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ.

We get a glimpse into Paul’s inner life here. Throughout the letter to the Galatians, Paul is clarifying and defending the freedom we have in Christ. He does this so fervently because he knew better than anyone the bondage that came with a life consumed with the law and pleasing men. While he was advancing in his career and accruing power, he was also sinking further under the weight of his own sin. When Christ broke those chains in his life, he was determined that he would never be bound by the things of the world again.

Paul asserts here that when we seek the favor of men, and spend our life striving to please others before pleasing God, we add constraints to our lives rather than living in the perfect freedom of the gospel. The more we do this, the more the gospel becomes obscured in our hearts, until we’re living by a different gospel, which is really no gospel at all, as Paul would say.

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m a recovering people-pleaser. When I look at my life, though, Paul is right. When I try to please other people and get the approval of men, my life quickly becomes constrained and heavy with sin. When I give all that up and pursue only God’s approval, I can enjoy the perfect freedom of Christ. Let us be determined to keep hold of the freedom we have in Jesus.