Galatians chapter 3 & 4-Maurice

I've read

Galatians Chapter 4-Hanjun

I have read. 

Galatians chapter 3 - nathanael

So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Galatians 3:26‭-‬29 NIV
http://bible.com/111/gal.3.26-29.NIV

Thank you Jesus that I have become a child of God by trusting in you!

Galatians Chapter 2-Hanjun

Verses 11-21 talk about Paul opposes Peter and other Jews for their hypocrisy and misunderstanding of being justified. I admire Paul's boldness to speak the righteous words to the brothers, since these words are important and the foundation of the gospel. I also admire Peter's humbleness for he accepted Paul's words. Both Paul and Peter have the same heart of loving the Lord Jesus Christ and the zeal of preaching the gospel to people no matter Jews and Gentiles. 

Galatians Chapters 1,2,3 Debbie

I've read.  I'm grateful of his gift of faith, and his promises.

He is a good father.  Thank you Jesus without you it is impossible.

Galatians chapter 2 - nathanael

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!"
Galatians 2:20‭-‬21 NIV
http://bible.com/111/gal.2.20-21.NIV

Paul recognized that the only way to live a righteous life is by the power of Christ Jesus in him. We cannot fulfill God's law on our own but only Christ can and did and now we die to our selves and follow Jesus our lord and master. His righteousness is credited to us and then his Spirit begins to change us from within, sanctifying and purifying our hearts and lives so that we begin to reflect Jesus's righteousness in our lives and  then continually grow in that righteousness and change by the power and working of his Spirit.

Thank you Lord Jesus for you gift to us and for your love that changes us!

Galatians Chapter 1-Hanjun

I have read it.

Verses 3 and 4, "Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father". It summarizes the gospel: because of Jesus Christ's sacrifice, our sins can be forgiven, and we can be rescued from the evil age and get grace and peace from God. It also indicates that the Lord Jesus Christ, who is God the Son, obeys the will of God the Father, even if they are the same and only one God. Jesus took himself as an example of obedience for us. 

Verse 10, "If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ", reminds me who I need to please in daily life. 

Verse 20, "I assure you before God that what I am writing you is no lie". I believe what Paul said and shared is true in both my mind and heart. Not only because I cannot find any evidence that approves Paul lies, but also because I have seen and experienced God's love and faithfulness in my personal life.

 

 

Galatians chapter 2 -Maurice

I've read

Acts 28 & Galatians 1-Maurice

Galatians chapter 1 - nathanael

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ.
Galatians 1:6‭-‬7 NIV
http://bible.com/111/gal.1.6-7.NIV

This whole topic of circumcision is quite a big deal in the early church and causes Paul to argue quite forcefully, and rightly so.

The concept behind this is still one of great confusion to many believers, namely: what is my responsibility to obey the old testament law.

Some throw out all the law saying that have covers all so it doesn't matter how I live or what I do. Others still hold rigidly to many old testament laws such as sabbath, recitation of the 10 commandments and dietary restrictions.

Neither extreme is what God wants for us. He wants us to live in freedom and in the free gift of forgiveness and be clothed in his righteousness and to follow him. As we follow him, and give up our own control, his Spirit changes us to become more like Christ. We fulfill the moral code of loving God with all of our heart and loving our neighbor as ourselves, not because we are able by ourselves, but again by his Spirit living in us.

Thank you Jesus for your indescribable and great gift!

Acts Chapters 26-28 Debbie

I've read.  It's amazing how much a person might

have to go through to get where God wants him to

be.  Paul sent to prison, ship wrecked,  just to be able to speak to the

people about Jesus.  We need the Lord to keep directing

us or we could focus on the circumstances and lose sight of our

calling. 

On to Galatians!

For those who are following along in the Daily Bible Reading group, we are finishing up the book of Acts..  Let's continue on to the Letter to the Galatians.  

Galatians is perhaps the earliest of the New Testament books to be written. Galatia is a region (not one city but multiple) in what is now modern day Turkey and there are three main cities in Galatia that Paul visited - Iconium, Lystra, Derbe.  We read about these visits first in Acts 14 on Paul's first journey, after which he went to Jerusalem for the council on the topic of circumcision of Gentiles.  We also read about Paul visiting them again in Acts 16 on his second journey and in Acts 18 on his third journey.  So he visited the Galatian cities the most.  On the first visit in Acts 14, God did great miracles, many from the towns put their trust in Jesus but also in Iconium they were going to stone Paul so he fled.  Then in Lystra, they did in fact stone Paul to the point where they though that he was dead.

So Paul experienced great joy among the Galatians and great persecution and hardship as well.  So let's jump in to the letter to the Galatians! 

How to participate

If you plan to participate, pray before you read and ask God to speak at least one thing to you from the reading.

Then after you have read, you can simply send your email to say that you've read to encourage others to continue reading as well, or you can also send your post update about what God has spoken to you, what thing(s) stood out to you, or about questions you have about what the chapter.  Feel free to comment on posts, ask questions and get involved!

Send an email to info@di.church for more details on how to get involved.

Acts chapter 28 - nathanael

His father was sick in bed, suffering from fever and dysentery. Paul went in to see him and, after prayer, placed his hands on him and healed him.
Acts 28:8 NIV
http://bible.com/111/act.28.8.NIV

I'm always interested to see how healings happen. Here Paul visits, then prays, then places his hands on the man, an then heals him.

I'm wondering if the first prayer was asking God if he should pray for healing, or if he was praying for God to heal him. In either case it seems that after prayer he felt led to put his hands on the man and heal him.

Thank you Father for your love and for demonstrating you love through the healing of our souls from sin and the healing of our bodies from sickness!

Acts 26 & 27 -Maurice

I've read

Acts chapter 27 - nathanael

We boarded a ship from Adramyttium about to sail for ports along the coast of the province of Asia, and we put out to sea. Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, was with us.  The next day we landed at Sidon; and Julius, in kindness to Paul, allowed him to go to his friends so they might provide for his needs.
Acts 27:2‭-‬3 NIV
http://bible.com/111/act.27.2-3.NIV

Even though Paul was theoretically a prisoner, he was given favor by God and so treated quite kindly. He had a friend, aristarchus, sailing with him and at ports of call he was able to visit friends.

I have experienced God's favor and regularly pray for it. Thank you father for your love!

Acts chapter 26 - nathanael

Then Agrippa said to Paul, "Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?"  Paul replied, "Short time or long—I pray to God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains."
Acts 26:28‭-‬29 NIV
http://bible.com/111/act.26.28-29.NIV

Agrippa recognized that what Paul was saying was true. He threw up a defensive wall though and chose not to listen.

Many times when God is speaking to us, perhaps more when another person is bringing the message, we give excuses why we shouldn't listen and change. By them we justify our inaction as OK, even though it is the sin of rebellion - choosing to go our own way.

Lord Jesus, make my heart soft and help me to listen to your voice and obey, especially when you are speaking through another person!

Acts Chapter 25 - Nathanael

Acts 25:25 -  I found he had done nothing deserving of death, but because he made his appeal to the Emperor I decided to send him to Rome.

I used to think that Paul made a mistake in appealing to Caesar since clearly Festus and others didn't think he had done anything to deserve death and probably would have released him.  But then I realized that it was actually God's plan for Paul.  In Acts 23:11, Jesus visited Paul in prison personally and spoke to Paul and told him that he wanted him to testify in Rome: Acts 23:11 The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, "Take courage!As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome."

That is actually quite a dramatic scene but it is so easy to pass over because it is only one verse.  Jesus actually visited Paul in prison - it appears in bodily form, not a vision! In this situation though the natural inclination would be to get out of jail as soon as possible.  Paul ends up staying in jail a long time and then basically requests longer so that he can go to Rome. It would have been a much more difficult decision to do that unless Jesus so clearly spoke to him.

  

Acts Chapters up to 26 Debbie

I've read.  It's a good idea to remember that you can do what is right

and still be in the middle of trouble. 

Acts 23, 24 & 25-Maurice

I've read

Acts Chapter 24-Hanjun

I have read. 

In verse 25, Felix was afraid and stopped Paul talking when Paul discoursed on righteousness, self-control and the judgement to come. But when a person is in Christ Jesus, he/she will not be afraid about all these Paul talked about. This is the true freedom and source of joy that God gives to his people.