Galatians Week 3

I was so busy at the end of last week picking up Drew from the airport, that I just realized I forgot to post my blog about week three of the Galatians study. Oops!

This week I've had the verse from Psalms 119:32 running over and over in my mind: "I run in the path of your commands, for you have broadened my understanding." As I read Paul's illustration regarding the story of Sarah and Hagar again, I could not help but be thankful for being freed from my own works by the work of Christ on the Cross. I can only keep myself in bondage. Often we think of bondage as things like addictions and other weaknesses or sins that we commit. However, religion fosters a unique bondage as well. Keeping rules, trying to be justified by what we do, or how we look, is confining and uncomfortable like walking a tight-rope; we always have to be worried about falling off. Freedom in Christ gives us room to run safely! Hallelujah!

Galatians Week 2

I've often wondered how anyone could read Galatians 3:26-29 "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" and still believe that God holds some groups of people in higher regard. How does the belief that women are not qualified to minister in the church stack up with what Paul said? How does the belief that the Jews are still God's "chosen people" stack up with that? Too much of the church is still functioning out of tradition, even when it plainly contradicts the Word.

Jonathan and I were talking this afternoon about how all of the major religions of the world consider women to be inferior to men in some respect. Only in Christianity are all considered equal. The only problem is, many Christians don't believe what the Word says about that. We are more comfortable with our traditions.

I pray that any traditions I am clinging to that contradict the Word of God would be revealed. Lord, let me cling to your Word and Blood of Jesus. Those are eternal; traditions are temporary. Amen

Galatians Week 1

One of the things that has struck me this week in the study is Paul's disregard for title or reputation. In chapter 2 verse 6 he says, " As for those who were held in high esteem—whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not show favoritism—they added nothing to my message." He was not impressed with titles or positions. He was not impressed with those who were popular. Paul was impressed with one thing: TRUTH. In chapter 1, verses 7 and 8 he says, "Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse!" No matter who is doing the teaching, if it is not TRUTH, we cannot accept it.

I think that we are still in danger of this on so many levels in our society that is so "celebrity" conscious. Even in the church we have those whose celebrity makes them seem infallible to many. Although we must respect those in authority such as elders and pastors, and although we may greatly admire others for their great preaching and teaching ability, we cannot quit testing everything we hear by the TRUTH of the Word of God. That is only one of the many reasons why we need to study and know the Word.

I'll finish with Paul's rhetorical question and answer from chapter 1:10 "Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ." While we all like to be liked by others, we cannot compromise the Word to please others. God help me to have the passion for the purity of Your Word as Paul did. Amen

Dirty Knowledge

I like to operate my life on a "need-to-know" basis. I have discovered that the less information I have, the easier my life is. Not that I am against knowledge. I have 3 college degrees. The information I'm against is the type of information that can change how I view someone. I don't want to know your vices. I don't want to know who you are mad at and why your anger is so justified. I don't want to know your dirt. I don't even want to know your dust. I have enough of this knowledge about myself. When we have information about others that should be between them and God, it places us in a precarious position. What can I do with the knowledge about anyone else's shortcomings? The (unfortunate) natural result of discovering "dirty knowledge" is usually sharing that knowledge with someone else. As Christians we are so good at spiritualizing our dirt dishing. "We need to pray for Poindexter" is the usual Christian code for "Guess what Poindexter did last week." Perhaps the most self-deceptive dirt dishing happens when the story starts with, "Please pray for me. I'm so hurt, and I can't seem to get over what Poindexter did to me." As Christians, if it is couched in a prayer request, we feel removed from what it actually is: gossip. The scripture gives clear instructions regarding "dirty knowledge"-- Proverbs 17:9--He who covers over an offense promotes love, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends, and I Peter 4:8--Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Knowledge is power, but most of all, knowledge is responsibility. In the Kingdom, Love trumps even "dirty knowledge." Play your trump card.

List Making

The past couple of weeks have forced me to do something I rarely do. Make a list. I found myself overwhelmed by the shear number of "to do" items bouncing around in my brain, and discovered that I was hanging on to the ragged edge of panic. My brother-in-law Gary is famous in our family for his list. He started this list about 30 years ago, and because of the numerous revisions and additions he has yet to experience the sense of closure that comes with marking everything "off." This knowledge of his particular plight always nags at me when I finally succumb to the creation of my own list. I don't want these chores hanging over my head for the next 30 years! However, I do acknowledge the need to sort things out, prioritize and FINISH SOMETHING. So I began by just making a list. Then I decided which task was most pressing, which was second and so on. Then I made another list, putting the items in descending order, beginning with the most pressing first. After a re-evaluation of my ranking, another list had to be created. Finally, I was ready to get to work. I created my list on Wednesday, January 25th. It contains 8 items. Today, I will be able to cross off 3 of the items. According to my plan, I should be able to cross off at least 1 more by the end of the weekend. I have to cross off 1 more by Monday, the 20th, and Monday, March 5th.

I've been reminded of the words of Solomon in Ecclesiastes 1:8&9: "All things are wearisome, more than one can say. The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing. 9 What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun." Sometimes it just feels like I'm spinning my wheel like a hamster in a cage. I expend all of this energy, but it always feels like I'm doing little more than repeating the same thing over and over again. Creating my list helps me to get a better perspective; it allows me to see where I have been stuck in a rut, or non-productive; it gives me the opportunity for closure as items are taken care of. I think that too often Christians get into this same feeling of just going through the motions without getting anywhere. When that happens, we need to find a way to see things from a different perspective. We need to decide if we are devoting our time to those things that are most important; we need to focus on those things that will make a Kingdom difference in our lives and the lives of the people in our sphere of influence; we need to renew our sense of purpose and meaning in Christ. I believe the apostle Paul took time to do this as well. In Galatians he shares that he needed to make sure he was on the right track by checking with the leaders in Jerusalem regarding his work in the Kingdom: "I went in response to a revelation and set before them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. But I did this privately to those who seemed to be leaders, for fear that I was running or had run my race in vain." (Galatians 2:2) Paul understood that we all need check points along the way. He also understood that Kingdom living is not a practice in futility like the hamster running in his wheel. In I Corinthians 9:24&25 he admonishes: "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever."

Taking the time to evaluate, prioritize and just "cut the fat" allows me to catch the vision that the writer of Hebrews describes: "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." (Hebrews 12:1-3) Amen.

I'm finally ready

I have been giving my husband, Drew, a hard time about joining the Facebook community. I keep telling him that those social networking sites are for people with too much spare time on their hands. However--I find myself at a point where I can see a bigger purpose for the "Blogging 101" workshop I took a couple of years ago. Suddenly the opportunity to share with others through this e-format seems more necessary than I previously thought. However, I still think Drew spends too much time on Facebook.