Galatians 5:6
For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.
I think this verse is pretty clear and self-explanatory. Not really all that much to say here, so I will just re-iterate what I said a few days ago. Faith is the way we experience our relationship with Jesus – if we have a relationship we have faith, and if we have faith in Christ we have a relationship with Him. It is not mere head-knowledge that constitutes faith in Jesus – it’s deeper than that.
That relationship, at its most basic level, is expressed through love. We could boil the entire Bible down to that one word. Love. God made us to love us. He gave us a choice so that we would truly love Him. He loved us so much that He sent His only Son, Jesus, to earth for us. Jesus loved us so much that He suffered and died for us after living a perfectly blameless life. In love, He pursues and woos us into a love relationship, through faith. We are to love Him enough that we obey Him. We are to love Him with all that we have, and all that we are – with our minds, our hearts, our bodies, our souls – our thoughts, our emotions, our physical bodies, and our spirit. And because of His love for us, and our love for Him, we will overflow onto those around us, loving our friends, our enemies, our family, our neighbors. Everyone we come into contact with should sense the love flowing from our very pores. Not our love. The love of Christ Jesus. It is as if we are a conduit, a hose, and when we are hooked up to the source, we can’t help but pour out that which is being poured in.
Let’s look to Jesus today, and ask Him to fill us with His love, to pour our His love to us and through us to each and every person we come into contact with. And after today, let’s do the same thing tomorrow. And the next day. Until each-and-every-day we are spreading the love of Jesus to a needy, yet unsuspecting world!
Saturday, September 30, 2006
Friday, September 29, 2006
Freedom
Galatians 5:1
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.
Freedom, as a Biblical concept, can be a little difficult for Americans to grasp. We tend to see freedom as the freedom to do something, where-as Biblical freedom generally refers to freedom from something.
The first sentence of this verse seems a little silly at first, doesn’t it? Of course, Christ set us free for freedom – DUH!! If we’ve been set free, then we obviously have freedom, right? Unfortunately, I think there are so many of us who have been set free who are not living in freedom. It’s as if we are in prison – a damp, musty cell, wasting away, and Jesus comes along and opens the cell door. We are free!! Free from all the horrors prison life has cast our way. Yet we still have to be the ones to stand up and walk out that door. I wonder how many Christians are still sitting in their cells, just staring at the open door wondering why they aren’t experiencing freedom.
You and I must follow Jesus out the door into the great unknown! It can be so scary, not knowing exactly what to expect, but we can be sure of one thing – it will be MUCH better than where we were before. And when things get tough, or temptation comes our way, we must stand firm, and not run back to that which we know best, where we think we are more comfortable; we cannot run back into our prison cell. You and I must be diligent about reforming new habits to replace the old ones. We must create new “comfort places” that are far from our prison cells.
Yes they were familiar and seemingly easy, but “it is for freedom that Christ has set us free,” not so we can wallow in our misery, while staring at the open door and whining that we just can’t get free. Let’s stand up and walk out that door! One step-at-a-time, we can walk away from the bondage and into glorious freedom! Won’t you join me?
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.
Freedom, as a Biblical concept, can be a little difficult for Americans to grasp. We tend to see freedom as the freedom to do something, where-as Biblical freedom generally refers to freedom from something.
The first sentence of this verse seems a little silly at first, doesn’t it? Of course, Christ set us free for freedom – DUH!! If we’ve been set free, then we obviously have freedom, right? Unfortunately, I think there are so many of us who have been set free who are not living in freedom. It’s as if we are in prison – a damp, musty cell, wasting away, and Jesus comes along and opens the cell door. We are free!! Free from all the horrors prison life has cast our way. Yet we still have to be the ones to stand up and walk out that door. I wonder how many Christians are still sitting in their cells, just staring at the open door wondering why they aren’t experiencing freedom.
You and I must follow Jesus out the door into the great unknown! It can be so scary, not knowing exactly what to expect, but we can be sure of one thing – it will be MUCH better than where we were before. And when things get tough, or temptation comes our way, we must stand firm, and not run back to that which we know best, where we think we are more comfortable; we cannot run back into our prison cell. You and I must be diligent about reforming new habits to replace the old ones. We must create new “comfort places” that are far from our prison cells.
Yes they were familiar and seemingly easy, but “it is for freedom that Christ has set us free,” not so we can wallow in our misery, while staring at the open door and whining that we just can’t get free. Let’s stand up and walk out that door! One step-at-a-time, we can walk away from the bondage and into glorious freedom! Won’t you join me?
Thursday, September 28, 2006
New Clothes
Galatians 3:26-27
You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
What does it mean to be clothed with Christ? What should that look like?
Now, granted, I’m a woman, so when I think of clothing, I think of it as being one of the first things I notice on a person. Clothing is one of the ways we express ourselves – our likes, interests, priorities. We can tell a lot about a person, generally speaking, just by their clothes. I wonder, does Christ express who we are? More importantly, I think, do we express who Christ is to a dying, desperate, and hopeless world?
I believe to be clothed with Christ means that we walk in the knowledge of who we are, of whose we are. Our likes, dislikes, and priorities mirror the likes, dislikes, and priorities of Christ. When we are clothed with Christ, it shouldn’t take long for those around us to notice that there is something different about us.
Interestingly, the Greek word for “clothed,” enduo, means “to sink into, put on…” and it’s from the root word duno, meaning “to go into, enter, be plunged into…” Wow! We need to sink into Christ, plunging into Him. What a wonderful thought! Like a pair of silky pajamas, and the softest comfy chair, we need to sink into Christ, and just let Him consume us – consume our thoughts, our desires, our focus, our priorities… the list could be endless. We need to let Him consume all that we have and all that we are, until He is the very expression of all that we are, and all that we desire to be.
When people look at you and me, do they see Christ? I guess a better question to ask ourselves would be, do they see the truth of Christ, or do they see our idea of Him? As Christians we represent the One whose name we bear. I just wonder if I am showing off the real thing, a priceless treasure, or a cheap imitation? Let’s sink into Jesus today, and let Him begin to change us stitch-by-stitch!
You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
What does it mean to be clothed with Christ? What should that look like?
Now, granted, I’m a woman, so when I think of clothing, I think of it as being one of the first things I notice on a person. Clothing is one of the ways we express ourselves – our likes, interests, priorities. We can tell a lot about a person, generally speaking, just by their clothes. I wonder, does Christ express who we are? More importantly, I think, do we express who Christ is to a dying, desperate, and hopeless world?
I believe to be clothed with Christ means that we walk in the knowledge of who we are, of whose we are. Our likes, dislikes, and priorities mirror the likes, dislikes, and priorities of Christ. When we are clothed with Christ, it shouldn’t take long for those around us to notice that there is something different about us.
Interestingly, the Greek word for “clothed,” enduo, means “to sink into, put on…” and it’s from the root word duno, meaning “to go into, enter, be plunged into…” Wow! We need to sink into Christ, plunging into Him. What a wonderful thought! Like a pair of silky pajamas, and the softest comfy chair, we need to sink into Christ, and just let Him consume us – consume our thoughts, our desires, our focus, our priorities… the list could be endless. We need to let Him consume all that we have and all that we are, until He is the very expression of all that we are, and all that we desire to be.
When people look at you and me, do they see Christ? I guess a better question to ask ourselves would be, do they see the truth of Christ, or do they see our idea of Him? As Christians we represent the One whose name we bear. I just wonder if I am showing off the real thing, a priceless treasure, or a cheap imitation? Let’s sink into Jesus today, and let Him begin to change us stitch-by-stitch!
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Faith, Not Law
Galatians 3:23-25
Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed. So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law.
Ah, the law. A difficult one this can be. (Oh man, I’m beginning to sound like Yoda – yikes!) We like knowing the rules, our boundaries, and we like the thought that as long as we stay within them we’ll be OK. Following the rules, obedience, that’s what this Christian life is about, right??
I don’t think it is.
I think God is more interested in our heart than our obedience. He is looking for love and a relationship, and that relationship is experienced and expressed through faith.
The law was put into place to “lead us to Christ,” to let us know that we fall terribly short and need help. It is not to show us that we need Christ, and then show us what we need to do to maintain that relationship. We do not have to follow a list of things “to do” in order to stay in relationship with Christ. Isn’t that a freeing thought?
I think the best way to look at it is to think about a parent’s relationship with a child, as that is often how our relationship with God is described. A child is a child, whether they are rebellious or obedient, and generally they are loved either way, as well. However, parents do ask certain things of their children. Sometimes they obey because they know they need to, “or else,” and so it is with us. There are just some rules we’d better not break, or the consequences could send us reeling. However, the times a parent delights in their child the most are the times when the child does something not because they were asked a hundred times (or more – UGH!), not because the parent stood over them and forced them, but because they knew the gesture would delight the parent. And so it does. It is delightful when a child does the right thing because they love their mom or dad, because they want to make them happy, make them smile.
So, I believe, it is with God. He is delighted when our obedience is an expression of our love for Him. And as we focus on Christ and follow Him each day, He will teach us His discipline, not our own, after all that is what it means to be a “disciple.” We are disciples of Christ, because we place ourselves under His teaching to learn His disciplines, the way He does things. This is much more delightful than following a set of rules, isn’t it?
Do your disciplines – Bible reading and study, prayer, fasting, etc. – result from following a list of things to do, or are they an expression of your relationship with Christ, a natural extension of all that He is teaching you? That’s a pretty tough question to answer isn’t it? I find that even I am having trouble knowing, for sure. Let’s spend some time talking to God about it today, and discover where each of us needs to go from here.
Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed. So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law.
Ah, the law. A difficult one this can be. (Oh man, I’m beginning to sound like Yoda – yikes!) We like knowing the rules, our boundaries, and we like the thought that as long as we stay within them we’ll be OK. Following the rules, obedience, that’s what this Christian life is about, right??
I don’t think it is.
I think God is more interested in our heart than our obedience. He is looking for love and a relationship, and that relationship is experienced and expressed through faith.
The law was put into place to “lead us to Christ,” to let us know that we fall terribly short and need help. It is not to show us that we need Christ, and then show us what we need to do to maintain that relationship. We do not have to follow a list of things “to do” in order to stay in relationship with Christ. Isn’t that a freeing thought?
I think the best way to look at it is to think about a parent’s relationship with a child, as that is often how our relationship with God is described. A child is a child, whether they are rebellious or obedient, and generally they are loved either way, as well. However, parents do ask certain things of their children. Sometimes they obey because they know they need to, “or else,” and so it is with us. There are just some rules we’d better not break, or the consequences could send us reeling. However, the times a parent delights in their child the most are the times when the child does something not because they were asked a hundred times (or more – UGH!), not because the parent stood over them and forced them, but because they knew the gesture would delight the parent. And so it does. It is delightful when a child does the right thing because they love their mom or dad, because they want to make them happy, make them smile.
So, I believe, it is with God. He is delighted when our obedience is an expression of our love for Him. And as we focus on Christ and follow Him each day, He will teach us His discipline, not our own, after all that is what it means to be a “disciple.” We are disciples of Christ, because we place ourselves under His teaching to learn His disciplines, the way He does things. This is much more delightful than following a set of rules, isn’t it?
Do your disciplines – Bible reading and study, prayer, fasting, etc. – result from following a list of things to do, or are they an expression of your relationship with Christ, a natural extension of all that He is teaching you? That’s a pretty tough question to answer isn’t it? I find that even I am having trouble knowing, for sure. Let’s spend some time talking to God about it today, and discover where each of us needs to go from here.
Monday, September 25, 2006
Human Effort
Galatians 3:2-3, 5
Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?...Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?
We, as Christians, understand that we are brought into relationship with Jesus through our belief – our understanding of the truth and our willingness to submit to its authority over our lives. Saved by grace – the mighty grace of God. Yet, when it comes time to grow in Him and in faith, we decide to take matters into our own hands, generally.
We cannot become like Christ through our own efforts – nothing we do will mold us to be like Him. God, alone, can change us and make us more like Christ. He has many tools by which He does this – the Word, prayer, fasting, fellowship – yet He is the only One who can truly change us. Merely reading the Bible won’t do us much good, if we’re not reading it in the context of our relationship with God. Prayer isn’t much good if we simply rattle off a bunch of words and call it good for the day.
No, Jesus forms us to look like Him by hanging out with us. Spending time with God will begin to change our habits, our thinking, our talk, our ways. What are some ways you like to hang out with God? When you read your Bible, are you reading God’s letter to you, or just some old books that have some really wise sayings (sayings, consequently, that your spouse really should take to heart!)? When you pray, do you consider it a one-time event each day, a quick conversation and then you’re on your way? Let’s be honest – I won’t “read” your answer, if you won’t “read” mine.
Spend some time thinking about (and asking God) how you can make Him a part of everything you do, the most important part of your life. We can’t do this Christian life on our own, no matter how many spiritual disciplines we check off our lists, if we’re not doing them with the only One who has the power to change us dramatically, permanently, perfectly.
Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?...Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?
We, as Christians, understand that we are brought into relationship with Jesus through our belief – our understanding of the truth and our willingness to submit to its authority over our lives. Saved by grace – the mighty grace of God. Yet, when it comes time to grow in Him and in faith, we decide to take matters into our own hands, generally.
We cannot become like Christ through our own efforts – nothing we do will mold us to be like Him. God, alone, can change us and make us more like Christ. He has many tools by which He does this – the Word, prayer, fasting, fellowship – yet He is the only One who can truly change us. Merely reading the Bible won’t do us much good, if we’re not reading it in the context of our relationship with God. Prayer isn’t much good if we simply rattle off a bunch of words and call it good for the day.
No, Jesus forms us to look like Him by hanging out with us. Spending time with God will begin to change our habits, our thinking, our talk, our ways. What are some ways you like to hang out with God? When you read your Bible, are you reading God’s letter to you, or just some old books that have some really wise sayings (sayings, consequently, that your spouse really should take to heart!)? When you pray, do you consider it a one-time event each day, a quick conversation and then you’re on your way? Let’s be honest – I won’t “read” your answer, if you won’t “read” mine.
Spend some time thinking about (and asking God) how you can make Him a part of everything you do, the most important part of your life. We can’t do this Christian life on our own, no matter how many spiritual disciplines we check off our lists, if we’re not doing them with the only One who has the power to change us dramatically, permanently, perfectly.
Remembering the Poor
Galatians 2:10
All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.
America, “Land of Opportunity.” This is the place where dreams are made and come true . . . for some. For others, however, life is not so good, dealing them a hand less desirable. It’s easy to think that because we are doing OK, everyone else should be too. If we can make a living, so should everyone else.
We have no idea the situations that lead to a person needing help. We probably couldn’t fathom the lives people have had, leading them to desperation. We’ve all made mistakes, and we should be thankful if ours have not given us over to a life on welfare or on the streets. If it has, well, then you can be sure that God has not forgotten you!
We, as Christians, are to remember the poor – what exactly does that mean? You know, the early Church, as it is often referred to, took care of each other. If there was someone poor among them, struggling to make ends-meat, they would help that person. When I think about that I often think of the LDS church. Now, I’m not advocating their beliefs by any-means, however, when it comes to remembering their poor, they have it figured out! They have a better “welfare” system than the government! They take care of each other, help each other find work, and get clothes and groceries. I am amazed at all they accomplish by simply remembering others, and acting on their behalf.
I have been marked by a study of the word “remember,” as I learned that when God remembers us it means that He is acting on our behalf. It is not as though He ever forgot us, it is just that He is taking our situation into consideration and doing something about it. (Conversely, when He “forgets” our sin, it means that He does not take it into consideration when dealing with us – praise His mercy!)
So, when we are told to remember the poor, it is not as though we are being asked to think about them, feel sorry for them, or wonder at their plight. Rather, we are being urged to do something for them – donate to the benevolence fund at our churches, donate time or money to our local rescue missions, take dinner to someone in need, give them clothes they may need. . . whatever the Lord may lay on our hearts! We should not be surprised at what He may give to others through us. And I would imagine that we will end up just as blessed (if not more) than those who are receiving!
Won’t you pray today and ask God whom He would have you remember today? Ask Him what He would have you do for that person, and then step out in faith and remember them! And know that if you need to be remembered, God is acting on your behalf this very moment, even if no one else on earth is.
All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.
America, “Land of Opportunity.” This is the place where dreams are made and come true . . . for some. For others, however, life is not so good, dealing them a hand less desirable. It’s easy to think that because we are doing OK, everyone else should be too. If we can make a living, so should everyone else.
We have no idea the situations that lead to a person needing help. We probably couldn’t fathom the lives people have had, leading them to desperation. We’ve all made mistakes, and we should be thankful if ours have not given us over to a life on welfare or on the streets. If it has, well, then you can be sure that God has not forgotten you!
We, as Christians, are to remember the poor – what exactly does that mean? You know, the early Church, as it is often referred to, took care of each other. If there was someone poor among them, struggling to make ends-meat, they would help that person. When I think about that I often think of the LDS church. Now, I’m not advocating their beliefs by any-means, however, when it comes to remembering their poor, they have it figured out! They have a better “welfare” system than the government! They take care of each other, help each other find work, and get clothes and groceries. I am amazed at all they accomplish by simply remembering others, and acting on their behalf.
I have been marked by a study of the word “remember,” as I learned that when God remembers us it means that He is acting on our behalf. It is not as though He ever forgot us, it is just that He is taking our situation into consideration and doing something about it. (Conversely, when He “forgets” our sin, it means that He does not take it into consideration when dealing with us – praise His mercy!)
So, when we are told to remember the poor, it is not as though we are being asked to think about them, feel sorry for them, or wonder at their plight. Rather, we are being urged to do something for them – donate to the benevolence fund at our churches, donate time or money to our local rescue missions, take dinner to someone in need, give them clothes they may need. . . whatever the Lord may lay on our hearts! We should not be surprised at what He may give to others through us. And I would imagine that we will end up just as blessed (if not more) than those who are receiving!
Won’t you pray today and ask God whom He would have you remember today? Ask Him what He would have you do for that person, and then step out in faith and remember them! And know that if you need to be remembered, God is acting on your behalf this very moment, even if no one else on earth is.
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