Week Eleven

Hello, ladies!

First of all, how are you all doing with the daily readings + posts?  I hope you are all seeing them as a tool for connecting with God and not as another "works" thing.  I know for me, especially when I come to the end of something like this I catch myself just trying to push through + get done instead of truly seeing it for what it is.  I hope you are each meeting up with God + are hearing Him speak through Galatians.

As we are in the middle of the week, a few things have stuck out to me while nearing the end of chapter five.

• Yesterday, I posed this question to my group: "What does walking by the Spirit mean to you?" (vs. 16) One response was constant prayer.  I know this is so true for me.  When I specifically set apart time for journaling/reading/listening with God, I definitely notice a difference in my thoughts + actions.  Then Paul follows it up with why we need to be walking with the Spirit: because our flesh + our Spirit is fighting against each other.
  
  Paul doesn't say "fight against your flesh", he says "walk by the Spirit".  This made me think of Exodus 14:14: "The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still."  I am confident that if I walk hand-in-hand with God, I will have an advocate through Christ + through the Holy Spirit!  Since we're talking of freedom.. that's pretty freeing! 

• The other thing that has stood out to me is vs. 13 - It feels instinctual to hold on to things I receive, including (+ maybe especially) my freedom.  This is so not the plan God has for us, though!  Paul shows us that by keeping our freedom to ourself and to use it for our benefit will destroy it; but to grow freedom, to experience that true freedom, we are to give it away.  

So, knowing this what are you doing with your freedom?  vs. 13 makes it clear that the question isn't if we are made for freedom, it's what we are doing with it.  Who in your life are you sharing your Freedom with?  So, walking by the Spirit, we fight our flesh's desire to use our freedom for ourselves + instead we do what God intended: serve, love others.  Whether that is your family, your neighbors, your local church, your nation, your world.  I encourage you to join me as I evaluate my life + take some hard looks at where my Freedom is going, then make the necessary changes according to Galatians 5:13.

I so hope you feel the freedom ringing loudly in these passages!  We are getting some awesome tools for experiencing Freedom in Christ!  Praying for each of you..

Justine

Week 10

HE IS RISEN!

As I sit here this morning, it is Easter Sunday.  The reality of reading about our freedom in Christ on Easter Sunday morning is not lost on me today.  Freedom is something we take for granted in our society.  I think sometimes American Christians don't fully understand persecution and freedom in our faith the way others around the world do.  But, without Christ's death and resurrection almost 2000 years ago, we would all be living lives of slavery to sin and the law.

PRAISE GOD FOR THE WORK OF HIS SON!

We are getting near the end of the book of Galatians, near the end of our time together.  And I just love this section at the beginning of Chapter 5.  I especially love verse 6: "For in Christ neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love."

That is a powerful verse.  No matter what we do on earth to try to keep the law, it won't do us any good in God's economy.  Only our faith working through love makes a difference.  No amount of good works, law abiding, or trying to do our best will gain us anything.  Our freedom in Christ is not of our own doing, but our only hope for righteousness is through our faith in His death and resurrection.

What a great think to ponder this Easter Sunday morning.

I pray your week goes well as we dig in deeper to these verses and continue to learn about the freedom that was bought with the blood of Christ.  May we all grow in our love for Jesus this week.

Week 9: Walk in the Spirit

As I researched this week's passage in Galatians, one phrase in a Bible commentary jumped out at me: "In all of the New Testament, there is perhaps not a more difficult passage to interpret." (BibleGateway.com)

That being said, I'm going to offer simple conclusions/applications from Galatians 4:21-31. I'm all about keeping it simple! :) I gathered these applications together from Bible Gateway.

• Paul's descriptions of Hagar and Sarah emphasize the identification of believers in Christ: "Therefore, brothers, we are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman." ~Galatians 4:31
• The children of the free woman (Sarah), who were born by the power of the Spirit (v. 29) must learn to express their freedom by walking in the Spirit. They must not submit to slavery under the law or gratify the desires of the flesh.
• Identity is the basis of behavior: a clear understanding of who we are in Christ guides our conduct in the Spirit.

How do I apply this to my life? Well, here's what God's teaching me this week. I hope you don't mind a personal testimony!

My 7 year old son (Aaron) is battling a form of epilepsy. We're trying to manage it with medications, but so far have not found anything that works. I've lost track of how many different dosage changes he's endured in our quest to find the right one for him. Throughout this process, my flesh is filled with worry and fear. These medicines are powerful and potentially damaging to his liver, among other nasty side effects. Living with uncontrolled epilepsy makes normal, everyday activities potentially dangerous: bike riding, swimming, etc. I wake up every morning with a choice: am I going to walk in the Spirit and let God guide my conduct as I submit my fears and release my son's life to Christ? Or am I going to let fear and anxiety rule my heart?

I'm learning it's not a once-and-for-all decision. It's day by day and moment by moment. (1Thessalonians 5:17) I can tell when I'm living in fear and not walking in the Spirit. I parent my kids differently. I might favor Aaron over his brothers. I over-analyze Aaron's health and google his symptoms until my eyes cross. When I'm walking in the Spirit, I'm not held captive by that behavior. When it comes down to it, do I want to live in slavery to fear, or in freedom through Christ? Living in freedom doesn't mean giving up the pursuit of Aaron's healing through medical care. But it does mean that I put my trust and faith in God when everything in my flesh is crying out in fear. I choose freedom through Christ.

This is my personal battle right now. I'm sure all of you reading this have your own struggles and challenges which bring you to the same decision I face every day: Will we choose to walk in the Spirit and let Christ guide our conduct? Or will we choose to live in slavery to the things that hold us captive? From one sister in Christ to another, I challenge you to choose freedom through Christ! Let's live like children of the free woman!
Sarah Luke

Week 8: Holy Adoption!

As we step into Chapter 4, we are greeted with an overarching theme of "family"!  Since we all are a part of family - no matter what type - this is easily relatable.  Paul starts it off in the first few verses when he explains that we have been emancipated (freed from legal, social, or political restrictions).. + adopted as His children!  Isn't it so like the character of God to always go one step further?  Freedom from the law would have been enough but He doesn't stop there.  He goes on to bring us intimately + permanently into His family!

I love the concept of adoption + I fully believe God uses this word knowing how powerfully it would speak to our hearts.  My husband has a niece and a nephew that are adopted + it is so neat to watch how they so specifically fit into the family.  Being around them, you would never guess they are adopted - + the funny thing is, his nephew is hispanic in a white family!  I can think of numerous families with adopted children that I am absolutely shocked to find out they're adopted!

In vs. 5-7 Paul explains that when we are adopted we have access to such a beautiful, intimate conversation with the Heavenly Father.  When we are adopted we are set free to experience that heritage (the MSG version even says our "rightful" heritage!) and become a child of the Lord.

In review of the first 3 chapters of Galatians, this chapter really gives me a sense of peace.  I have felt stretched + challenged up to this point, + now I just feel like soaking in the promise of God.  I hope you each have enjoyed the study so far + thanks for sticking with us still!  -Justine

In vs. 8 Paul talks about being enslaved to gods with no divinity + in vs. 9 asks how anyone could go back to them after knowing - or rather being known by - God.  What in your life is God gently showing you is a god with no divinity?  Through this study, I hope you gain a strong sense that God knows you so intimately + has chosen you!  And embracing this, I hope we can all find freedom from the things of this world.

Week 7

All this talk about Law and the Promise has made me have to really clear out the cobwebs and read over this text numerous times.  Ultimately, this section of scripture offers so much hope to those of us trying to do this life under our own power or control.  For those of us who have at times tried to follow the "rules" to the letter, understand that it is impossible to follow every rule of the law under our own power.  And we were never meant to do that!  We were never meant to live this life on our own or by our good works follow the law.  No, we were meant to have the law point us to the Promise, point us to Jesus.  Only through the work He did at the cross can we find any liberation from the prison sin puts us in.

vs. 22 says, "The Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin, so that what was promised, beign given trhoguh faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe."

vs. 25 says, " now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law."

The law no longer applies to us.  We no longer have to live in its prison.  We are liberated through our faith in Jesus Christ.  And I don' t know about you, but that is the most wonderful news I could have ever been told.  To know that my eternity does not depend upon my ability to fulfill the law give such great comfort to me every day.

Questions to Consider:
What about you?  Do you still struggle with being in the prison where the law places you?  Or have you been able to experience the liberation of fatih in Christ Jesus?

Week 6: Faith or the law?

Like many of you, my Bible is full of notes in the margins. Sermons, Bible studies, chapel services in college...taking notes helps me understand what I'm reading and helps me remember what I learned. When I found out I was assigned to write the weekly blog post for week 6, it sure was nice to open my Bible and find some notes in the margins!

Paul begins chapter 3 with, "You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you?" Those are pretty strong words. I can only imagine the emotions that must have been behind those words. Why was Paul so stirred up? In this portion of Galatians, we see Paul rebuking the mentality of working to keep salvation. Galatians 3:4 says, "Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?"

Talk about taking one step forward and two steps back! Like the Galatians, we need to challenge ourselves to begin with the Spirit--and then we need to remain there! We are redeemed from the curse of the law because our Savior became a curse for us. Paul sums it up in verse 14. "He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit."

Some thoughts to ponder today:

• Am I living foolishly like the Galatians, trying to work to keep my salvation?
• If so, what does that say about Jesus's sacrifice on the cross?
• Is there anyone in my life who needs to hear the freeing message of living by faith?

God, give us Your Spirit and work miracles among us. We receive You by faith!

Sarah Ann

Week Five

Galatians 2:11-21

Good evening, ladies!  I can't believe we are at week five of our study + coming to the end of chapter two.  I had planned to reflect on the different parts of these last few verses, but the more I read it the more I just wanted to settle on this:

17 Have some of you noticed that we are not yet perfect? (No great surprise, right?) And are you ready to make the accusation that since people like me, who go through Christ in order to get things right with God, aren't perfectly virtuous, Christ must therefore be an accessory to sin? The accusation is frivolous.18 If I was "trying to be good," I would be rebuilding the same old barn that I tore down. I would be acting as a charlatan [fraud].

19 What actually took place is this: I tried keeping rules and working my head off to please God, and it didn't work. So I quit being a "law man" so that I could be God's man.20 Christ's life showed me how, and enabled me to do it. I identified myself completely with him. Indeed, I have been crucified with Christ. My ego is no longer central. It is no longer important that I appear righteous before you or have your good opinion, and I am no longer driven to impress God. Christ lives in me. The life you see me living is not "mine," but it is lived by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.21 I am not going to go back on that. Is it not clear to you that to go back to that old rule-keeping, peer-pleasing religion would be an abandonment of everything personal and free in my relationship with God? I refuse to do that, to repudiate God's grace. If a living relationship with God could come by rule-keeping, then Christ died unnecessarily. [MSG]

Throughout all that we have read so far in Galatians, we know that this life is simply not about us.  This Greater Story being written has Christ as the center, so very graciously allowing us to play a part in God being glorified.  So as we go throughout the rest of this week + then open chapter three, I want us to slightly pause + do some authentic heart-work: 

am I "working my head off to please God"?  If so.. why?  

what is inhibiting my ability to be called "God's man" instead of "law's man"?

This is such a struggle for me, so know that you are not alone!  I pray that God would use this Word as a turning point for you - so that you would be known as God's woman, living free of the rule-keeping, people-pleasing nonsense that the enemy is trying to keep you in.  

I hope you are blessed greatly in the weeks to come!

Justine