Bible Reading Plan | Devotion for the week of September 5, 2021

Weekly reading: Galatians 1-6; Psalm 45

Passage referenced: Psalm 45:2,13-17; Galatians 1:10, 2:12, 3:2, 4:5,5:16-17, 6:14

No person apart from Jesus himself shaped the history of Christianity like the Apostle Paul. His encounter with Jesus changed his life and subsequently changed the lives of many others. Our God who loves, forgives, and performs miracles, changes lives and draws us to Him.

When Paul wrote to the Galatians, he admonished them for having lost their way in a short time. He accused them of being fooled by those twisting the truth of the Good News. It’s easy to compare our world today with its twisted truths, immorality, and lack of God in people’s lives, to Paul’s fight to regain the Good News for the people of Galatia. We must stay unified in our love of Jesus Christ and always remember what He did for us.

Paul worked hard to convince the Jews that Gentiles were acceptable to God. And he spent even more time convincing the Gentiles that they were acceptable to God. Paul spent much of his time teaching the Gentiles about the difference between life in the flesh and life in the Spirit. He taught the Gentiles that their previous sinful nature produced idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, division, and envy while having the Holy Spirit in their lives produced love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control!

Paul completed three missionary journeys during his lifetime. He spent countless days in prison, even while continuing his letters to the churches he had visited. He traveled to Corinth, Thessalonica, Philippi, Colosse, Ephesus, and Galatia.

Here are a few observations from each of this week’s chapters:

Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant. – Galatians 1:10
Today, it feels like far too many Christians are not speaking out for fear they might offend someone, when in fact, Jesus wants us to be bold!

When [Peter] 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. – Galatians 2:12
This is another example for us today of caving to peer pressure, being afraid to offend others. We must remember we answer to God alone, not man.

Let me ask you this one question: Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law of Moses? Of course not! You received the Spirit because you believed the message you heard about Christ. – Galatians 3:2
We must remember that Jesus sent the Holy Spirit back to all of us after he ascended to Heaven to be with the Father! He is with us always – to teach us, guide us, show us the way to heavenly life.

God sent [Jesus] to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children. – Galatians 4:5
How full our lives would be to remember this each and every day! A child of God!

So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. – Galatians 5:16-17a
There are millions of Christians in the world today, but so many people find it easy to live sinful lives – some without realizing it. Those are the people we much reach to tell of the Good News!

Because of that cross, my interest in this world has been crucified, and the world’s interest in me has also died. – Galatians 6:14b
The cross! His blood! He, not the world, died for us!

Psalm 45 describes the Messiah’s future relationship with the church, His body of believers. Verse 2 says, “Gracious words stream from your lips. God himself has blessed you forever.” And verses 13-17 depict Christ’s bride, the church, with the richest blessings as she unites forever with him.
Imagine! Hundreds of years before the birth of Christ, these words were scrolled as a prophecy about Christ! – Chip Wallstead

•  Check out The Bible Project’s overview video of the book of Galatians. It is an excellent source for background information and context that walks through the book’s sections and themes. It can be really helpful for those who appreciate some visuals while learning.

• Do you have questions about this week’s Bible reading? We’d love to help! Rather than relying on the first thing, you find on the internet, email us at biblequestions@warsaw.cc. We are more than happy to answer that nagging question you have, provide you with some clarity, or point you in the right direction for further study.