RSS

Category Archives: Galatians

Galatians 3:26-29

29 Aug

For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you.
Galatians 3:26-29

Dear God, why is prejudice just so darn easy? I’m in a production of “12 Angry Men” in our local community theater and I was talking with my wife this morning about what a difficult time the man playing the bigot is having rehearsing his last tirade over and over again. It’s just so evil. And it’s easy to judge that character, but how much of his views are some combination of what he was taught and his life experiences?

I suppose that, when it comes down to it, this is just Satan executing his game plan. He wants us divided against each other. From the beginning, he wanted to pit Adam and Eve against you and then each other. He wanted Cain to kill Abel. And on and on, right down to devotees of one news network being intolerant of those who watch and subscribe to the bias of another one. Division, division, division. It’s so easy!

Father, open my eyes to my own prejudices and the things I might do to foster division in all of my relationships and the ones that touch my life. Make my life a source of unity in our community. Let it start in my own family and go from there. And do it all for your glory.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on August 29, 2019 in Galatians

 

Tags: ,

“No Insult Like the Truth” by Charlie Peacock – No lie like independence, no demon like control

27 Jul

“No Insult Like The Truth” By Charlie Peacock

I’ve run my ship aground
on the rocks of the soul
There’s no lie like independence
there’s no demon like control
I’ve fanned the burning embers
til my house was on fire
There’s no parody like power
There’s no fever like desire
I’ve drained the wine of darkness
to the dregs of deceit
There’s no drug as strong as pride
There’s no blindness like conceit
I’ve railed against the mountain
With a pickaxe and a file
There’s no minefield like presumption
There’s no death wish like denial

There’s no gunshot like conviction
There’s no conscience bulletproof
There’s no strength like utter weakness
There’s no insult like the truth

I’ve adjusted my prescription
til I couldn’t trust my vision
there’s no killer like convenience
there’s no sickness like omission
I’ve amended resolutions and resisted explanation
There’s no trap door like emotion
There’s no pit like reputation

There’s no gunshot like conviction
There’s no conscience bulletproof
There’s no strength like utter weakness
There’s no insult like the truth

There’s no cancer like ambition
There’s no cure like crucifixion
There’s no cancer like ambition
There’s no cure like crucifixion

There’s no gunshot like conviction
There’s no conscience bulletproof
There’s no strength like utter weakness
There’s no insult like the truth

This is part of a series dissecting the song “No Insult Like the Truth” by Charlie Peacock. In the series, I am taking two of the statements he makes and exploring the depth of meaning behind them and what I can learn about myself in the process.

Dear God, it’s time to dig in and spend some time with that.

Part 1: There’s no like like independence.

I looked up the definition of independence today. Of course, there were many. The basic idea, however, is that you are able to do it. Yourself. No accountability. No help. No need for help.

My first thought is to think of a child becoming an adult. Becoming independent. Of course, they want that independence long before they are ready for it. It’s probably the root of most of the conflicts that teen children have with their parents. Okay, children of all ages, including toddlers.

But here’s the secret. We are never independent. Unless we move to the woods, forage for our own food and build our own shelter with our bare hands (no tools made by someone else), we will always be in need of something that someone else does. Business people need customers and staff. They need suppliers and deals. Consumers need home builders/apartments, grocery stores, banks, etc. Just to live, we need community.

But on a deeper level, we all benefit from people who reach out and help us, whether we want to acknowledge it or not. My dad is very accomplished, but he is quick to tell anyone the long list of people who impacted his life and helped him achieve what he did. He didn’t do it “on his own” even though he would be considered a “self-made man.” For me in my life, beyond my parents, I have had several people who have blessed me and helped me over the years. As the director of a nonprofit, we depend on literally hundreds (actually over 1,000) of people every year to do what we do.

Then there’s you. I need you. I need the forgiveness and love that you give to me. I need the accountability. I need it for peace. I need it because a truly independent life is a lonely life.

Yes, I think it is fair to say that there is no lie like independence.

Part 2: There’s no demon like control.

What are the things I try to control? I try to control myself. In fact, one of the “fruits of the Spirit” in Galatians 5:22-23 is self-control. But good self-control is something that flows from being in right relationship with you and the Holy Spirit living in me. It isn’t something that I can will. Paul makes that clear in Romans 7:15-20.

What about controlling others. As I think about it this morning, I wonder if this is what is behind a lot of our current national angst. Is the reason a lot of us feel the need to put our opinions up so freely on social media because we are needing to feel like we can control something that we want to control. Do I want to control what is happening politically? Religiously? Socially? Is that Satan’s primary tool that he uses to divide us? Control?

I’m about to head out on vacation today. What kind of control will I try to exercise in the name of leisure? Will I try to dictate our schedule? Our driving route? Our menu and meals? What we listen to? Our conversation? And if I do, what kind of division will it cause between my wife and me and how much will Satan enjoy that?

That example can be applied to a lot of things. Control is selfishness–the root sin. Independence is it’s cousin.

—

Father, help me to die to myself enough to recognize that I am completely dependent upon you and others. Let my pride go by the wayside so that I might be a blessing to others instead. And help me to be part of building them up as well. Help me to go through the next week thinking about giving up control and enjoying the freedom you offer.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on July 27, 2019 in “No Insult Like the Truth” by Charlie Peacock, Galatians, Hymns and Songs, Romans

 

Tags: , , ,

Hebrews 12:1-3

15 Jun

Hebrews 12:1-3
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Dear God, “the sin that so easily entangles.” What is that sin? Probably the easiest way to name it is to go to the “acts of the flesh” in Galatians 5:19-21a:

“The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like.”

That’s a pretty good list. These are, indeed the things that entangle us. I would add lethargy and self-indulgence to it as well. I don’t know that Paul intended this to be a complete list, just one that everyone could relate to.

So how do we “throw off” these things? Part of it is good old self-discipline, but it’s not about disciplining ourselves not to do these things as much as it is disciplining ourselves to pursue you. When I discipline myself to pursue you then I get the fruits of the Spirit that Paul goes on to mention in Galatians 5:22-23a:

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

The idea isn’t that I can discipline myself into these things, but that I “[fix my] eyes on Jesus” and “run with perseverance.” (Hebrews 12:1-2) That brings me to the question, what does fixing my eyes on Jesus look like in my everyday life?

About a month ago, I put a question out to friends on social media: What things do you do to pursue your relationship with God? Here are some of the answers I got back:

  • I like to study with my first cup of coffee in the morning. I make my coffee then sit at our old antique family table with my Bible study book. First, I put in my earplugs. I do this because I am easily distracted. Putting those plugs in my ears seems to take me to a different place. I begin with a sip of coffee and a prayer. In this prayer, I ask God to open my eyes as I study his word and be open to hearing his voice. I usually add in there that I pray that I would act on what he is teaching me through his word. I take this time to ask for special requests–i.e. persons that have asked for prayers. After praying and listening to him, I am ready to begin my study. I usually have a study book. I make sure I look up all the scriptures in my Bible and read them. I prefer to read a scripture out of the Bible instead of just reading it out of a book. It somehow makes me feel closer to God. I usually study anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour. I end my study with a prayer of thanksgiving for his word and for his grace.
  • Weekend Mass–our family prefers Saturday, 5p at St Francis in Stonewall. But we attend Sunday Mass, too. We’ll try to catch the Life Teen Mass at St Mary’s more often since my son is in high school and that’s his cohort. And I enjoy the contemporary Christian songs their choir performs.
    Daily Mass: St Francis has noon Mass on Wednesdays. I attend first Wed of month because the priest has anointing of the sick and we also have a luncheon.
    When I’m in Comfort at noon time I catch Mass there but that’s infrequent –4 times over past year.
    I attend the school Mass at St Mary’s about once a month. And I catch the Tuesday noon Mass at St Mary’s about once a month.
    Bible studies: the one I started today is Bishop Barron’s Word on Fire (free videos emailed to me). This morning was an hour video about St Francis of Assisi. I think each day will be different…. I’ll find out.
    And we’ve done 2 recent Bible studies at St Francis through Formed.org. 6 week studies. Recent one was about St Paul’s letters to the Philippians.
    And… I’m trying to read the Bible more. After all these years of being a faithful Catholic I’m a bit embarrassed to admit I haven’t read the Bible cover to cover. I’m working on it.
  • This is what I have been improving on to pursue a closer relationship w Christ: I am early riser so I use this quiet time  for prayer in our parlor to thank God for another day of life and multiple blessings and then out the door for a 3 mile run, sometimes recite verses from memory or simply enjoy beauty and majesty of His creation and remind myself how incredible that God would take time to create me and know me even before I was formed in my mothers womb. After returning, my wife and enjoy reading our bible and share scripture readings while drinking our coffee. I think God delights in us when we reach out to him by quiet time, prayer, scripture reading or simply acknowledging him.
  • Not listing all the obvious answers, for me music and spending time in His creation help keep me connected. Small group Bible studies best help me grow, which is different for me than staying connected.
  • I have not been much of a person to get up and go to church these last few years.  But God has put me in the path of Al-Anon.  I believe my purpose is being filled by supporting that group and the fellowship.  It is a very spiritual program.   I have learned to meditate.
  • Prayer Walks…..both listening for His nudging and lifting up petitions.
  • I get up around 5:30 in the morning, get some coffee and sit in a chair in my living room. I read God’s word, sometimes I use a devotional, sometimes I don’t. Right now I’m doing a read through the Bible plan, but God has led me to a more intensive study of Romans 12. I pray, on my knees, beginning with the Lord’s prayer, and then for God to guide my day, then for my family (husband, children and grandchildren) and then for others as God leads. Sometimes I journal but not consistently and my journaling takes on various forms. For example, right now as I read through Kings and Chronicles I’m keeping a list of the Kings of Israel and Judah to keep it all straight in my mind. Aside from this very specific time. I try to listen for God’s voice and pray throughout the day. I try to read Christ focused books (both fiction and non fiction), listen to podcasts, listen to sermons. P.S. I’m not perfect at any of it.
  • I actually “wrestle” with God and talk to him very matter of factly…of course about why [my son] was taken from me.   I’m honest with him about my current emotional state…He knows anyway, so why not say it out loud…example “God I’m right now I’m more excited about getting to see [my son] again than you or Jesus…I know that’s not right, but I also know you are big enough and love me enough to work with me…help me feel differently and work through this feeling!”
  • I feel close to God when I work in my garden, because it is a vehicle for spiritual and emotional connection.. you are already on your knees… and you push a seed into the earth, add water, and wait, and in time the miracle unveils itself. It might not be as dramatic as being witness to the creation of the universe, but it is as close as most of us will ever get to witnessing a miracle firsthand when the green shoot unfolds out of the seed and pushes through the earth.  The whole process – from seed to fruition to dying-off and then renewal in the spring, is a metaphor for human life death and resurrection. It makes me feel close to God.  Oh, and also, sometimes I drink too much and lie on my back in the driveway and yell at him.

As for me, these nearly daily prayer journals are a big part of my fixing my eyes on Jesus and running to finish. I also pray with my wife almost every day. While I attend church, it’s one that ministers more to my wife than it does to me, so I don’t get as much out of that. But I think it is good for our marriage that we worship you together. I have found myself longing for a certain kind of challenging preaching, so I listen to Andy Stanley’s sermons through my podcast app while I’m exercising, driving, or getting ready in the morning. I have a Christian friend with whom I speak nearly every Friday morning and we talk about our lives. And my wife and I are in a couples group through our church that meets once a month.

Yet, with all of that, I still find myself sometimes in the middle of sin that entangles. And there you always are with grace for me. You love me. You forgive me. In fact, you are the one who is able to throw off that sin that easily entangles me and helps me to run to finish this great race.

Father, help me to be the embodiment of your child. Help me to be more and more like Jesus and the example he set for me. Help me to love richly in your presence, regardless of my physical circumstances. And use my life to bring your will and kingdom to Earth, as it is in Heaven.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on June 15, 2019 in Galatians, Hebrews

 

Tags: , , ,

Galatians 5:13

22 May

Galatians 5:13
For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love.

Dear God, when I was younger, my friends and I used to reference this verse and say that someone who said they were Christians but living worldly lives were “living in their grace.” Of course, we were saying it sarcastically. How could they just blatantly do that? Of course, as I aged you revealed to me how much I do that in my own life. I am certainly not pure, and I still have sinful parts of me that I’ve either not realized need purging or have intentionally allowed to stick around.

So what IS the freedom Paul references here? Well, in the verse leading up to this, Paul is referencing circumcision and how it’s no longer important because of what Jesus’s death and resurrection did for us. So Jesus and what he did bring us freedom from the legalistic laws and ushers us into a realm where we have some flexibility to show love and grace. For the person who is not yet free because they haven’t experienced the grace Jesus offers, it can be hard, if not impossible, to offer that freedom to others.

Father, if I’m allowing anything sinful in my life right now that is holding me back, or, better said, holding you back from living more fully through me, please show it to me and help me to purge it. And help me to take the freedom Jesus gives me and use it to offer others freedom. Help me know how to be an encouragement to others. Right now, I have a young man on my heart who is in juvenile detention and just going through hell. I don’t know that I have anything to offer him, but I know he’s on my heart. Show me what to do for him and how to offer him Jesus’s freedom.

I pray all of this in Jesus’s name,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on May 22, 2019 in Galatians

 

Tags: ,

Galatians 5:22-23

19 Mar

Galatians 5:22-23 [NLT]
But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

Dear God, this is one of my favorite passages and also one of the few that I can pretty much quote chapter and verse. It’s something that I use to look at my own life and try to get some sort of perspective on how I’m doing. I also use it when I’m evaluating people who claim to be Christians. I try to see if their lives, words, and actions match up with these things. A lot of people can say the right words, but they simply can’t grow this fruit without you.

Then there are the verses that precede it. Galatians 5:19-21 gives us a look at the other side of the coin. The life lived completely away from you:

When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

How am I doing when I hold those things up to the mirror my life reflects. Do I say that pornography is awful and yet engage in it? Do I preach patience and gentleness and yet exhibit hostility and jealousy? Do I claim to have peace, but live a life of dissension, division and envy?

Father, help me to allow the Spirit just a little more access to my being today so that you will continue to grow over and choke out the desires of my sinful nature. I am getting the image of St. Augustine grass. The stronger it gets the more it will choke out the weeds growing around it. The problem is, it needs A LOT of water to be that strong. Help me to do what I can to water the Spirit in my life so that it will choke out the weeds that I allow to still grow in me.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on March 19, 2019 in Galatians

 

Tags: , ,

Peter & John — Galatians 2:11-13

30 Dec

Galatians 2:11-13
11 But when Peter came to Antioch, I had to oppose him to his face, for what he did was very wrong. 12 When he first arrived, he ate with the Gentile believers, who were not circumcised. But afterward, when some friends of James came, Peter wouldn’t eat with the Gentiles anymore. He was afraid of criticism from these people who insisted on the necessity of circumcision. 13 As a result, other Jewish believers followed Peter’s hypocrisy, and even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy.

Dear God, it’s interesting to see Peter give into peer pressure and Paul chastise him for it. It must have been tricky for Peter to lead in this environment. I wonder if there was a part of him that just had a hard time being certain that it was okay to eat what Gentiles ate. Did he believe, but Paul had to help his unbelief?

It makes me think about some of the issues that Christians currently differ about. Abortion is one issue where there are a lot of people who love you, but think it’s okay, while others who love you believe it is murder and it is the political issue that makes up 90% of their decision for whom to vote during an election. Homosexuality is another one. Is it okay or isn’t it?

I have a friend who is an associate pastor at a large church in a small town in another state. I asked him over lunch while he was in town recently how his church (it could be considered an evangelical Bible church) deals with this issue. He said that while they don’t condone it, they don’t call it out. He said that they are free to worship there, but cannot have any leadership roles. He also said that they would not be able to join as members. In retrospect, this feels to me a little like Peter in this story. Are you going to draw the line or aren’t you? At the same time, I can appreciate their dilemma because I am not 100% sure about this issue myself. I have homosexual people in my life whom I love and adore. I feel no compulsion to make them change to be in relationship with me. At the same time, I am not completely comfortable with their lifestyles, but I cannot tell if that is your conviction or the teaching I learned growing up.

Father, I don’t want to be a hypocrite, which is what Paul accuse Peter of in this passage. I don’t want to accept someone to their face and reject them to others. I suppose that is the most important thing I can do in situations such as what I described above. At the end of the day, I love these people and I am not in a position to judge or convict them. That is the Holy Spirit’s job. My job is to encourage them in their relationships with you and then count on the Holy Spirit to work with them in the various aspects of their lives the same as how the Holy Spirit works on me. I confess that I have grieved you as much sexually at different times in my life as much as any homosexual might have, and it has nothing to do with preferring the same or opposite sex. It goes back to the sexual immorality that Peter mentioned to the church back in Acts 15:28-29. It takes all forms, and it is important that I not use judgment of others to make me feel better about my own failings in this area.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on December 30, 2018 in Galatians, Peter and John

 

Tags: , , ,

What are we selling?

18 Aug

Dear God, I am giving a sermon tomorrow morning at the Presbyterian church. It will be the first time I’ve done two Sundays in a rom, and I have felt the leading for a long time to give them a good serving of the Gospel–the Good News. But is it for them or is it for me?

A couple of years ago, I heard David Brooks say something that I’ve looked for online and I cannot find. He made the comment that Christians have this great message of grace, love, forgiveness, compassion, etc., but what we communicate to the world as a group is that all we really care about is what happens in their bedrooms. While I think there is a call to a certain level of purity by you and that cannot be overlooked (for example, porn is extremely toxic and dangerous), I completely agree with this thought. We do have this great message to give people.

I just stopped in the middle of writing this to see if I could find that David Brooks quote. I didn’t find it exactly, but I found a good interview with him. I found this quote in the middle of it: “Some of my more popular columns have been those about forgiveness, or the role of suffering, or what graciousness looks like. There’s a widespread hunger to hear people talk about those issues. When you touch upon those themes, I think, ‘I’m not the only person out there who is wrestling with these things and troubled by them or comforted by them.”

Later in the interview with him, the interviewer asked, “To grasp the beauty of a love for thngs that are unlovable, you have to recognize yourself as unlovable. If we don’t want to reckon with sin, is it possible to see grace?

Brooks replied, “I think you have to have a sense that you’re loved beyond what you deserve. I think we experience grace both in this world and in a divine sense when we have messed up and don’t deserve to be forgiven but are. That’s when grace becomes shocking.

So with all of that said, let’s look at the passage I have set out for tomorrow after praying to you and see if I can make some sense of the message you want me to share.

Exodus 34:29-35: When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the LORD. When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant, and they were afraid to come near him. But Moses called to them; so Aaron and all the leaders of the community came back to him, and he spoke to them. Afterward all the Israelites came near him, and he gave them all the commands the LORD had given him on Mount Sinai. // When Moses finished speaking to them, he put a veil over his face. But whenever he entered the LORD’s presence to speak with him, he removed the veil until he came out. And when he came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, they saw that his face was radiant. Then Moses would put the veil back over his face until he went in to speak with the LORD.

2 Corinthians 3:7-18: Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, fading though it was, will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? If the ministry that condemns men is glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness! For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory. And if what was fading away came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts!//Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold. We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over this face to keep the Israelites from gazing at it while the radiance was fading away. But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed because only in Christ is it taken away. Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

Matthew 11:28-30 [Jesus speaking] “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Father, it’s time for me to start to work on my outline, but I think it’s going to come down to this. We need to be reminded of what you are offering us and what we accepted:

  • Forgiveness of our sins and freedom from our shame
  • Peace to know that the circumstances in our physical world are all under your control, whether them seem to be working out for us or against us
  • Hope that even if tomorrow isn’t better, in the end, we win!
  • Joy that is driven by the freedom, the peace, and the hope

Then we need to be reminded that this is what we have to offer others. We have it to offer our friends and acquaintances. And as a church, they have it to offer their neighborhood and our community.

We aren’t selling morals and judgment. We aren’t selling condemnation. What we are selling is the fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23. And the only cost for the person is a willingness to humbly confess their sin before you, turn from their sin as they know it, and then pursue you. If those things happen, it won’t necessarily be an easy life, but the trials will shape us, and the fruit will be love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, faithfulness, kindness, goodness, and self-control. Who wouldn’t buy some of that?

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

 
4 Comments

Posted by on August 18, 2018 in 2 Corinthians, Exodus, Galatians, Matthew

 

Tags: , , , ,

Galatians 5:13-15

22 May

For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love. For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you are always biting and devouring one another, watch out! Beware of destroying one another.

Galatians 5:13-15

Dear God, what does this freedom look like? The only way to experience this true freedom is to start with true repentance. That’s the only gateway to the freedom you offer. The person who just says, “God forgives me,” without first coming to the foot of the cross, denying themselves, confessing their sin to you, consciously turning from their sin and then receiving your forgiveness will never experience the freedom you have for all of us.

It’s interesting because freedom is a word I have used with my wife when talking about some friends who seem to be living with a lot of shame and pride. I’ve said, “There is freedom waiting for them if they will just let go of the secrets they are hiding and allow them to be exposed.” In some cases the secrets are what they did that I happen to know about. In other cases they are things that I suspect happened to them. Either way, they seem to be locked into a cycle of deception and angst.

There’s a Dennis Jernigan song where the chorus says, “I wish I could take your heart into my heart. I wish I could show you just how good it feels to let go of the things you know are killing you and cling to the only one who can heal you. But I know if I did then it wouldn’t be you. Cuz you, you’re the only one choosing for you. It’s true.”

Father, let it start with me. Let me know if there is anything I need to bring before your throne, repent, and receive freedom. And help me to know how to offer your gift of freedom to friends and those around me whom I truly love.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on May 22, 2018 in Galatians

 

Galatians 5:24-26

19 Mar

Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another.

Galatians 5:24-26

Dear God, there is a lot in these three verses. 1.) I should nail my passions and sinful nature to the cross. 2.) I should follow the Spirit’s leading in every area of my life. 3.) I need to not be conceited. 4.) I need to not provoke others. 5.) I need to not be jealous of others.

Each of these is worthy of its own prayer journal, but I want to focus on #2–following the Spirit. I have two or three things (that I know of) happening today that will require a lot of leading and wisdom. There’s some emotion wrapped up in them. There’s some fear of man in there too. I don’t want to offend or hurt someone’s feelings, but I also don’t want to spare their feelings and neglect an issue that’s more important. But what I really don’t want to do is address anything today without you.

Father, I know my tendency is to do things on my own, and I’m sorry for that. Holy Spirit, lead me today. Lead me in the moment? Give me your sense of clarity and peace. Show me what you would have me do so that I will be a source of your presence in the world and so that your will will be done on earth through me and my life.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on March 19, 2018 in Galatians

 

John 4:13-14

27 Feb

Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”

John 4:13-14

Dear God, I wonder how many Christians truly experience your living water. I wonder if I am experiencing it to the fullest.

I guess the first thing I would want to look at is what do I think someone fully experiencing your living water looks like? I guess the first place to go is the Fruits of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5:22-23. The person exhibiting a natural flow of love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self control is probably getting it from this spring of water “bubbling” within them.

But Galatians 5:22-23 is only part of the equation. Is the person also naturally, through their relationship with you, NOT exhibiting the attributes from Galatians 5:19-21–sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, envy, drunkenness, and wild parties. I can fake a lot of the Fruits of the Spirit, but evidence of your living water flowing from within me is also an absence of the others.

Father, please help me to continually pursue you. Too many times in my life I have had to endure hardship of some sort to go to the next level of working out my faith with you. I hope that always need to be—not because I expect an easy life, but because I would hope that my love for you and my gratitude to you would drive me onward and upward. That I would naturally give “My Utmost for [Your] Highest.”

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on February 27, 2018 in Galatians, John

 
← Older posts
Newer posts →