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Galatians Chapter One 

 

     Father, God, Holy Spirit, help me understand your Word.  Let your TRUTH sink deep into my heart as I read from Galatians, chapter One.  Help me to listen to what you are saying to me.

 

     Paul begins by saying that God sent him and he greets them with GRACE and PEACE from Jesus, who wiped away our sins.  My bad choices from my past are wiped away! Jesus did that for you and me because his love is so powerful and he loves us so much.  I think about how I greet people who may not hangout with the same people I do, or who look differently, think differently, express themselves in a way that I don’t relate to.  Sometimes I just ignore them.  Forgive me Jesus.  Help me greet them with GRACE and PEACE. 

 

     Paul knew that he was chosen by God to help people understand why Jesus came to save us.  He knew that God had an amazing plan for his life, just like he does for you and me.  It’s hard to believe that before he met Jesus, Paul greeted believers in Jesus with his sword.  He made it his mission to murder them!  At the end of the chapter it says, “The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.”  Powerful things happen when we give our lives to Jesus.  To go from ignoring or murdering people to greeting them with grace and peace only comes from the power of God’s love in us.  

 

     Paul continues to teach us, “We know the meaning of those words because Jesus Christ rescued us from this evil world we’re in by offering himself as a sacrifice for our sins.  God’s plan is that we all experience that rescue.”  He continues with, “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by 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.”

 

     As I read this from the NIV and The Message translations of the Bible, I’m reminded to get out my Bible everyday and read straight from the WORD; to seek the truth and speak it because Paul writes, “If anyone is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!  Am I trying to win the approval of men, or of God?  Or am I trying to please men?  If I were trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.”  Seriously!

 

     So this is what I will leave you with.  Really think about the question Paul asks about pleasing men or God.  We all long for approval, but where are we getting it from?  When we focus on loving God each day, by reading his word, talking things over with him, and learning to love others, not please them, we will live life full instead of in confusion.

 

     Jesus, help me to see the areas in my life where I am trying to please others instead of you.