Author: Carolyn

I am a Christian, a sinner saved by God's amazing grace. Much like my life, my blog is a work in progress. The main objective I have for this blog is to "proclaim the praises" of the One who called me out of darkness and into His marvelous light! (1 Peter 2:9)

Verses for the Day – Romans 12:1-2

Carolyn

I found a slip of paper this morning in my Bible. It’s been there for a number of years, though I don’t often look at it. There were some notes on it that I wrote down one time when I had to give a brief testimony years ago.

It said, “What drew me to God?”

And I had written, “The Word and His Spirit.” Then I explained with this sentence, “Started with diligent study [of the Word] and led to His supernatural invasion [by His Spirit].”

That pretty much sums it up. I remember moving in 2002 to where we live now and starting Bible studies that took me to study the Bible each day. It was regular, it was consistent. I was learning and growing. There wasn’t anything earth-shattering or emotional. It was just consistent, deliberate study of the Bible every day.

Over time, God’s Word began to take root in my life, and He by the power of His Spirit made all that I had studied and was studying come alive to me. Indescribable joy and blessing followed.

The Lord showed me that if I loved Him, I would obey Him (1 John 5:3). But I wouldn’t obey Him and His Word if I didn’t really believe Him. These things (faith, love, obedience) were all connected.

My faith and belief in God would lead me to obey Him which would show my love for Him, and that would lead to blessing.

FAITH leads to—-> OBEDIENCE which shows my —–> LOVE for God, which ultimately brings —-> BLESSING and great JOY.

Maybe it sounds complex, It’s not. This is why I encourage you to read the Bible because that’s where truth is and that’s where these things will begin to grow. You may not see it or feel it at the start, but you keep doing it because you believe that it matters and that it changes you. And God by His Spirit will do the work.

I end this post this morning with two verses from Romans 12:1-2. I looked up the word “beseech” at the beginning, and it means beg eagerly, implore urgently.

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

PRAYER: Father, we see that transformation comes by the renewing of our minds. As we renew our minds in Your Word and truth, our lives are changed by the power of Your Spirit and Your Word, leading to joyful hearts and great blessing. Help us today to believe You and that these things are true, to obey You, to love You, to present our bodies as a living sacrifice, pleasing to You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Verses of the Day – Galatians 2:15-16

Carolyn

Today’s passage picks up in Galatians 2:15-16 where Paul was confronting Peter about not being straightforward about the truth of the gospel:

We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles, 16 knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified. (NKJV)

Here Paul seems to be contrasting the sin of the Jews and Gentiles, but he is not saying that the Jews are without sin. (His words in Romans 3:23 make it clear that “all” have sinned.) Perhaps the Jews had been given the law and tended to live with more moral restraint and discipline, yet still were with sin. The Gentiles did not have the law and lived in more obvious sins of wickedness with less restraint. Perhaps it’s the contrast of a life well-ordered, yet still sinful through pride or hypocrisy, and the life lived with willful abandon and more obvious, outright sin.

My Bible notes say that Paul isn’t saying the Jews are without sin, but he is implying that Jews enjoy spiritual privileges (see Rom. 9:4-5) that should make them more knowledgeable about how to be justified before God.

We then come to this marvelous verse 16 which is a key verse in the book of Galatians. Paul states that justification (being made right with God) comes by faith in Christ, not by works of the law. He actually states it three times over (“a man is not justified by works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ”; “we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law”; “for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified”).

Paul is clearly pointing out that we are not justified by our works, but by faith in Christ. Maybe the works we are depending on today do not include circumcision, but other religious acts or ceremonies (baptism, communion, confirmation, etc.). Perhaps it’s tempting to think our works could earn us something – by being good, doing right, helping others, living a good life of moral restraint and self-discipline in hopes that it will save us or merit us something. No matter how we have lived or what good we have done, we all have sinned, and we all need to be saved from sin and its power.

Our good works cannot save us; only Jesus can. Only His death and resurrection on our behalf and by faith in Him can we be saved from our sins and made righteous before God. This glorious gospel truth will lead us then to do good works, but the motivation is different. We aren’t doing good works to be saved (for we could never do enough to cancel out our sins on our own); we are doing good works out of love for Jesus who has saved us through his death on the cross and out of love for and obedience to Him which brings us great blessing.

PRAYER: Thank you, Lord Jesus, for making a way for us to be made right with God, that we can be justified through you, Lord Jesus, not by anything we do. Thank you for your death on the cross where you bore our sins and the penalty for them so that we don’t have to. We are not saved by religious acts or ceremonies, but by confession of You as Lord, believing in our hearts that God raised You from the dead. Open our ears to hear, our eyes to see, and our hearts to understand that we might then live our days in full faith, believing, following and pursuing You, loving and obeying You, our Savior and King. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Verses for the Day – Galatians 2:11-14

Carolyn

It appears I have taken almost a two week break from my study of Galatians. I have spent time tonight going back through the study so far and reminding myself again of the author (Paul), the recipients (the churches of Galatia), the major theme (the truth of the gospel that Paul will defend and clarify), and the various issues that we’ve been studying. Galatians is rich with theology and doctrine, which is perhaps why I find myself taking it slowly, too slowly, though, if I want to finish the project I began!

By clicking on the “Galatians” tag on any of these Galatians posts, you can see all of the ones in one place related to this series.

I pick up now with Galatians 2:11-14:

11 Now when Peter had come to Antioch, I withstood him to his face, because he was to be blamed; 12 for before certain men came from James, he would eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision. 13 And the rest of the Jews also played the hypocrite with him, so that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy.

14 But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter before them all, “If you, being a Jew, live in the manner of Gentiles and not as the Jews, why do you compel Gentiles to live as Jews?

Did you know that Peter, the disciple of Jesus and leading figure of the Bible, was accused by Paul of hypocrisy?

The passage today tells us that Paul withstood Peter to his face, that Peter was to be blamed, that Peter feared those of the circumcision, that Peter played the hypocrite, carrying others along with him, and that Peter was not straightforward about the truth of the gospel. Wow! And Paul is once again defending the truth of the gospel (as he did in Gal. 2:5).

We always think of Peter as the one who walked on the water, but started to sink, the one who pledged allegiance to Jesus, only to deny him three times, the one full of passion and zeal, but also with flaws. Yet Jesus always related so tenderly to him. Don’t you love that not one of us is perfect? And that the Bible uses its biggest figures to demonstrate that to us:

  • Moses with his fear of speaking and challenges to what God was asking of him;
  • Moses who struck the rock and lost entrance to the Promised Land;
  • David who committed adultery and practically arranged for the death of Uriah, costing him a son;
  • Saul who was chosen to be king, but disobeyed God, keeping the best of the animals he was told to kill, and being removed from leadership.

We could go on and on, and not just with one flaw, but with many. Anything else wouldn’t be the reality we are faced with living in a sinful world with sinful flesh. It’s these failures that show us our need for Jesus, that lead us to the cross, and that in Scripture bring us some of the greatest psalms of repentance. Think of Psalm 51.

What was Peter’s issue here? He had been eating with the Gentiles until along came a group of Jewish people, and then Peter separated himself from these Gentile believers. It was hypocrisy, making these Gentiles feel as though they lacked something necessary for salvation. It was not straightforward about the truth of the gospel. And Paul withstood Peter to his face about this because Paul always defended and explained the gospel, understanding that its truth must be guarded.

We know Peter understood this truth from his interaction with Cornelius in Acts 11. But we don’t always live out what we believe, do we? And it can be subtle (or not), and that is hypocrisy, saying one thing, doing another.

Peter was also afraid of man and their thoughts of him, not fearing God (something I just wrote about last week) and choosing to do what was right out of that awe of God and who He is.  Isn’t it easy to want to live to please man or peers instead of God, such that even the truth of the gospel could be confused?

As you can see, I suppose there are many things we could take from this passage. One might be to pray for our leaders (like Peter) to stand – and for ourselves. One might be to recognize our similar challenges and to examine ourselves for areas where we need to repent. One might be to develop “iron sharpening iron” relationships like we see with Peter and Paul so that we challenge others and they challenge us in our faith.

The one I will leave us with today is the truth of the gospel message that saves us and can sanctify us each day. Jesus died on the cross for our sins that by faith in Him, not by any works we can do, we are justified (we will see that tomorrow in verse 16), made right with God, and forgiven. Simple truth, amazing grace, worth living and defending and telling others about. This gospel not only saves us, but in Christ’s power, we are able to stand each day, walk in the fear of God, and lead lives of joyful obedience. We look to Him in faith.

PRAYER: Thank you, Jesus, for dying for our sins on the cross and bearing our sins that we might be forgiven by faith in You. We would be condemned to death if You had not made a way for us to know You and have fellowship with You. Thank you! Thank you for truth we can know and on which we can stand. Help us not to live lives of hypocrisy, saying one thing but doing another. Give us wisdom to see where we do this, and faith to repent and live consistently with what we believe, fearing You. We love you, Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Verse for the Day – Proverbs 1:7

Carolyn

I’ll return to Galatians tomorrow, but for today, here’s a real short and simple verse that I love, Proverbs 1:7:

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

Do you want wisdom to know how to live moment by moment? Walk in the fear of the Lord. This will bless you and lead you and give you knowledge. Fear Him. Not man, friends, or peers, but God!

What is the fear of the Lord?

The best way I would describe it is standing in awe of God — His might, His power, who He is! It’s not fear in the sense of being afraid (though there may be aspects of that); rather, when we rightly consider Him, though we can’t comprehend Him fully, this will be our reaction to the God that He is.

The fear of the LORD involves walking in His ways, trusting Him, hoping in His mercy, serving Him, departing from evil, loving and obeying Him — just to name a few things I’ve seen in Scripture.

However, the thing that has blessed me the most in my study of this so far is that when I see the fear of the LORD, I see timelessness, promises that extend beyond my lifetime and into eternity. Unlike some of the other promises given in Scripture, these promises to those who fear God go beyond today to future generations:

Luke 1:50 “His mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation.”

Psalm 103:17 “But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, and His righteousness to children’s children”

Psalm 19:9 “The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever.”

How amazing to think that the result of fearing Him might not only be my complete joy and His great mercy upon me, but also extended to my children and their children!

PRAYER: Lord, please help us to fear You and walk in the fear of the Lord! You are awesome and mighty and powerful and worthy of all our worship and honor. May You be exalted in our lives, lifted up, and feared. We love You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Verses for the Day – Galatians 2:6-10

Carolyn

Picking back up in Galatians, we arrive this morning at Galatians 2:6-10:

Paul has been reporting on where he spent time after his conversion and how he has defended the gospel. Now he writes:
6 “But from those who were of high reputation (what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality)—well, those who were of reputation contributed nothing to me. 7 But on the contrary, seeing that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been to the circumcised 8 (for He who effectually worked for Peter in his apostleship to the circumcised effectually worked for me also to the Gentiles), 9 and recognizing the grace that had been given to me, James and Cephas and John, who were reputed to be pillars, gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, so that we might go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. 10 They only asked us to remember the poor—the very thing I also was eager to do. (NAS)

It’s not completely clear who Paul is speaking about in verse 6, but it is those of “high reputation,” or those “who seemed to be something” (NKJV). Most commentaries I read seemed to indicate this is speaking of James, Cephas (Peter), and John, who are again mentioned in verse 9. Back in Galatians 2:2, Paul also wrote about speaking privately to those who were of reputation, and the notes say this was presumably the inner core made up of James, Cephas, and John.

With that understanding, it seems this small section is pointing out that, though there is one gospel about which Paul has been writing, there are different callings, each of importance. Paul is saying those of high reputation, though esteemed, added nothing to him. God has called and equipped Paul, and though his path is different from the others, coming from a radical conversion after persecuting the church, his calling is not insignificant compared to theirs. God does not show personal favoritism, Paul notes.

We see that Peter has been entrusted with the gospel to the circumcised (Jewish people), and Paul to the uncircumcised (Gentiles), and that God is working effectively in both Peter and Paul. And when James, Cephas (Peter), and John (pillars of the church) recognize the grace given to Paul, they extend to him and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship. My NKJV Nelson Study Bible notes, “The right hand of fellowship was a common sign of acceptance and friendship. It indicated full recognition of Paul by the representatives of the Jerusalem church.”

So here we see unity among these leaders who are all witnesses to the true gospel and involved in making disciples and growing the church by the power of the Spirit, but in different ways according to their callings from God.

In our current day, it’s easy to look around and want to compare or be competitive or think someone else’s life or ministry is more valuable or effective or wider reaching, but this passage tells us that God doesn’t show partiality. We should be faithful and obedient to the calling God has given to us, leaving the results in His hands, and not look around at others to validate or add something to us, but look to God who has given us our salvation and calling. And of course, we encourage one another with gospel friendship and are unified around the gospel of Jesus Christ that is directing our lives.

Paul concludes with the mention of remembering the poor, the thing he was eager to do. This was something they were also all united on doing, too, helping the poor in the church, giving from those who had an abundance to those who had a need. This is something our church does with its “Helping Hands” and something we should also consider individually.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, we thank you again for Your Word that is living and active and by which You teach us and lead us, correct us and train us. Please help us to keep our eyes fixed on you, being watchful and prayerful about what it is you have called or are calling us to do, the places you would have us be involved. Show us where you are calling us to give to those in need. Open our eyes to see and our hearts and minds to know and understand where you are leading. Help us to follow you and obey.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.