The Everyday Prayer

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?

Re:Verse passage – Galatians 4:12-20 (day five) “My children, with whom I am again in labor until Christ is formed in you—”

What is it that you wish for in your relationships? To be liked and loved. To find acceptance and community. To train and equip. To grow and develop. To love and be loved. To have peace. To bring and experience joy. Think about those relationships/those people for a second: children, spouses, friends, family, co-workers, church family.
Paul’s words to the Galatians can be seen as words of caution and wisdom. His goal… more than being loved, liked, included, encouraged… is for Christ to be formed in them as He is being formed in Paul.  It demands that pride, insecurity, and ego be replaced with a stronger desire and determination for the spiritual and eternal work of Christ (through the Holy Spirit) be the highest priority (in them in him). Willing to risk those things? Paul was.

For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.

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

“So have I become your enemy by telling you the truth?”

As a child going through school, I used to loathe when the teacher would arrange a debate. This was partly because I tend to be conflict-avoidant, but mainly because I would always leave the debate feeling dumb or gullible. I would hear the arguments of one side, and think to myself, “Well, that makes sense. I agree with this team.” But then the other side would present their case, and I would think to myself, “Well…they make some good points. Maybe I agree with them now.” My views would change in a moment and I would leave feeling confused. The debate teams trying to convince me of their way of thinking began to feel like my enemies.

It wasn’t until I was an adult that I realized this wasn’t a matter of intelligence, but of patience and steadfastness, and a grounding in God’s Word. I learned that rather than getting sweet-talked into the latest way of thinking, I could take the time to sit with the Holy Spirit and hold arguments and new ideas up to the light of Scripture. As the Word of God began to take root in me, I began to feel less anxious about determining my beliefs, and more confident that the Spirit would guide me into truth.

The Galatians accepted the truth of Christ, but they were still young in their faith. A different truth claim was presented to them, and they were swept away by it in a moment. In their confusion, the Biblical truth that Paul presented to them now felt harsh, like it was coming from an enemy. If we have witnessed the truth of Christ, may we let it settle in out hearts. Let’s learn from the Galatians so that when the wind and the waves come, or in this case, the arguments and debates, we will have a firm foundation on which to stand.

 

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

“I beg of you, brethren, become as I am, for I also have become as you are.”

What Paul proposes here suggests something more beautiful than a meeting of the minds. He sets forth a vision of oneness, a knitting together of hearts that will open up a way to see the way of Christ together. Paul stands in a place of humility in conveying such a vision. He has no need to prevail if by prevailing one means winning the argument. Paul speaks against a false gospel, but he does not champion his perspective as if he’s battling the Galatians. Rather, his concern is that they become one. That’s how powerful Paul knows unity is. That’s why the Lord made it the centerpiece of his prayer in John 17. God is one, and when we are one, we will see God together.

Re:Verse passage – Galatians 4:12-20 (day two) Where then is that sense of blessing you had? For I bear you witness that, if possible, you would have plucked out your eyes and given them to me. vs. 15

Paul hits a little too close to home for me on this one. Perhaps you can also relate, and if you can’t, learn from my journey. I don’t like to do things halfway. As a result when I go all in, I go ALL in. I can get consumed with whatever need or goal is before me. It is a part of my personality that I have learned to manage for the long run, but that is where it becomes most challenging. If a goal or need takes more than a week, a month, or longer than a year my zeal can start to wane. It’s hard to run that hot for too long. Paul is saying that in the beginning, during his convalescence, the Galatians would have done anything for him, but the next big need, or fad, or teaching  came along and drove them away. If you are like me, you must ask yourself the question: am I doing this because it’s new and exciting, or because it is what is good, true, and beautiful? If we have been called to something, we should see it through to completion, manage our energy, and devote ourselves to what the Lord has for us to learn. Stay the course.

Re:Verse passage – Galatians 4:1-11 (day seven)

When you did not know God, you were slaves to those which by nature are no gods. Galatians 4:8

For by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved. 2 Peter 2:19

We are all slaves to something. The question is what are you enslaved to? Technology, work, hobbies, finances, schedules? It may seem like a poor comparison to use such a belittling human experience to explain the effect that these things can have on our life, but if we can all be honest, there is likely something that is running our life that is not divine. It consumes our time, thoughts, and money. It could even be a litany of things. Yet, when we truly look into what’s going on in our life, it is quite likely that we have fallen back into captivity, and the things that are holding us captive are no gods. Which is why our God reminds us again and again; the Father sets us Free. He says, “Come to Me all who are weary and I will give you rest.” We do not have to be enslaved to the things of this world, because we are a child of the King.

I’m no longer a slave to _____. I am a child of God.