“Oh, You Know Me” – Galatians 5:19-21

Galatians 5:19-21
“Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”
During my many years in student ministry, I was known to say on more than one occasion that I would be writing a book about my experiences entitled, “Things You Shouldn’t Have to Tell People.” Nine times out of ten it was after a middle school boy did something incredibly stu….noteworthy. I would shake my head, take a breath and explain how people should act in public, on a church vehicle, in a restaurant, or pretty much anywhere outside of a zoo exhibit.
In Galatians 5:19-21, Paul presents this rogues gallery as his list of things you shouldn’t have to tell people not to do. What’s interesting is that in this lineup we find those “works of the flesh” that we tend to wink at or excuse in ourselves (anger, dissensions, divisions, envy) right alongside those sins we would consider most vile.
Paul doesn’t seem to distinguish a hierarchy in this list as we might. “Oh, you know me. Sometimes I get a little riled up and blow my top, but then it’s ok. No big deal.” However, it would turn a few heads at a church fellowship if we were to say the same thing, only substituting one of the other less palatable items. “Oh, you know me. Always messing up my witchcraft when I’m drunk.”
When we try to navigate life on our own power, following our own whims and desires, it shouldn’t be a surprise when we end up lost and in a place that we would have never dreamed for ourselves. The good news is, we don’t have to travel down this path. We don’t have to do it on our own. God has shown us a better way and given us the grace and power to live in beautiful freedom. Tomorrow we will look at a completely different type of life, and a different type of fruit. We all bear fruit from the decisions we make and the life that we choose. What will be your choice?
While using the HEAR method (see below) consider the following questions:
  • Think of a time when you’ve ended up on a path that you were embarrassed to find yourself on (possibly one of the characteristics mentioned above). What got your attention and turned you around?
  • Is there something you’re dealing with right now due to “works of the flesh?” Are you willing to take some time in prayer to confess your wrong choices to God and ask for the strength and guidance to follow Him into the abundant life?
  • Paul ends his list with the phrase, “and things like these,” signifying that this isn’t an exhaustive list. What else might be included in Paul’s list as the result of living by the works of the flesh?
Highlight – what words or phrases jump out at you? Explain – what does the passage mean? Apply – how does the passage intersect with your life today? Respond – how is God leading you to respond? 
Jon Price
Photo by Smit Patel on Unsplash
 

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“The Battle within” – Galatians 5:16-18

Galatians 5:16-18
 
“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law.” 
 
This passage of scripture reminds me of an illustration I heard early in my Christian life: A Native American Christian went to a missionary for counsel. He was very troubled by the spiritual conflict going on within his heart. He wanted to do what God wanted him to do but he frequently disobeyed God. He said to the missionary, “It’s as though I have a black dog and a white dog inside me fighting constantly.” The black dog, he explained, represented evil and the white dog represented good. The missionary asked him, “Which dog wins the battle within you?” After several moments of silence the native said, “The dog that wins is the one I feed and the dog that loses is the one I starve.”  
 
Let’s look at what it means to “walk in the Spirit”. Walking by the Spirit is living your life in the continual presence and power of the Spirit of God! In Ephesians 5:18 God’s Word tells us to be filled or controlled by the Holy Spirit. Which brings us to Galatians 5:17; we see the “flesh” and the Spirit pitted against one another, they are in total opposition to one another. What is the flesh? Simply put it is a metaphor for our sin nature. We are all born with a sin nature, but when we receive Christ as Savior, the Holy Spirit immediately comes to reside within us. This is when the battle begins, because those fleshly desires don’t disappear even for people who have come to faith in Christ and been justified by God’s grace. Living by the flesh means living life controlled by things that are not from God-things like anger, jealousy, greed, gossip etc. 
 
We need to be brutally honest with ourselves and with God. 1 John 1:8 is emphatic; “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us”. Living in the power of the Holy Spirit is living in freedom from those things and enables us to live lives that please and glorify God.    
How do we have victory in this battle with the flesh? Galatians 5:18 “If you are led by the Spirit”….when we submit to His leading and control, we are free from bondage to the inclinations of the flesh and from legalistic practices laid down by the Law.  Being led by the Spirit means we must turn to God and His Word. Psalm 119:9-11 instructs us; “How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Your word. With all my heart I have sought You; do not let me wander from Your commandments. Your word have I treasured in my heart, that I might not sin against You.  John 17:17 AMP says, “Sanctify them in the truth (set them apart for your purposes, make them holy) Your Word is truth”.
 
While using the HEAR method (see below) consider the following questions:  
  • What are some things you can do to “walk in the Spirit” and be “led by the Spirit” to have victory over the flesh?
  • What can you eliminate in your life to “starve” the old sin nature/flesh?
Highlight – what words or phrases jump out at you? 
Explain – what does the passage mean? 
Apply – how does the passage intersect with your life today? 
Respond – how is God leading you to respond? 
 
A big thank you to Bev McBride who provided today’s post
 

 

 

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“Storing Up”

It’s my typical practice whenever we have a trip down to Guatemala, to brush up a little on my Spanish. About a week before the trip, I open up Duolingo (a language learning app) and start cramming. Want to guess how effective that is? I’ll give you a hint – nada. I can’t expect to fluently communicate in a language that I barely learned over 30 years ago and never speak or rarely even think about. It takes focus, intention and lots and lots of repetitive practice.  

Similarly, the Bible is our language for life. It is our resource for understanding God’s character and involvement with His creation. It’s how we understand that we are lost without Him, and provides the roadmap to redemption through Him. We find our value, place and purpose through the scriptures as well. Knowing God’s word helps shape our perspective and guard our hearts. When Jesus faced temptation from Satan in the wilderness, he responded with scripture that he had memorized. 

It’s so important to read God’s word on a regular basis. It provides a foundation and a filter for our decisions. Reading is important, but it’s also important to let scripture permeate into our core through meditation and memorization. 

Consider the following verses: 

“I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” Psalm 119:11

“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” Joshua 1:8 

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17 

Through church and school growing up, I was expected to memorize large amounts of scripture. I wasn’t a huge fan at the time, but looking back I see how scripture memory helped shape my faith, my morality and my perspective in life. 

As you read the verses through the week, think about taking one or two that really speak to you and set about memorizing them for the week. Make a list of the verses that you are committing to memory and go over them frequently. Choose verses that encourage you, remind you of who you are in Christ, or what we’re called to do. If you have a problem with fear, memorize verses that speak to that. If you have a problem with anger, or laziness, or lust – there are passages that can help you and will be at your beck and call when you need them. You might have a friend or two join you in memorizing some agreed upon verses. I used to memorize verses with my son and we would go over them on Friday mornings at Waffle House. 

I’ve included a list of suggested verses for memory – you can change them to whatever translation you prefer. These are in ESV, I memorized the bulk of them in the NIV (1984). I’ve also provided the link to a great app that I use with my phone. The app allows you to create lists of verses by topic and share them with a group of friends. It also has a fun way of helping you memorize. There’s even a kid version of the app! 

Jon Price

The Bible Memory App

100 verses to memorize!

 

 

 

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“Free” – John 8:36

John 8:36
 
“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”
 
Jesus is telling the Jewish believers that the Truth will set them free. 
True freedom is not just the freedom to do, but the freedom not to do those things that destroy a person. People today are in bondage because of the lies of Satan.
 
As a teenager, I worked at Six Flags, and back then there was a Petting Zoo with goats, sheep, rabbits, sea lions to feed, and a two-year-old, two-ton elephant.  Part of my job was to care for the elephant.  Feeding, washing, and playing with her each morning and afternoon. Since elephants are always swaying back and forth, I had to stay alert.
 
The Veterinarian shared a story about a man who, as he was passing some elephants, suddenly stopped, confused by the fact that these huge creatures were being held by only a small rope tied to their front leg. No chains. It was obvious that the elephants could, at any time, break away from their bonds but for some reason, they did not.
 
He saw a trainer nearby and asked why these animals just stood there and made no attempt to get away. “Well,” the trainer said, “when they are very young and much smaller, we use the same size rope to tie them and, at that age, it’s enough to hold them. As they grow up, they are conditioned to believe they cannot break away. They believe the rope can still hold them, so they never try to break free.”
The man was amazed. These animals could at any time break free from their bonds but because they believed they could not, they were stuck right where they were.
 
Like the elephants, how many of us go through life hanging onto a belief that we cannot do something or stop doing something, simply because we failed at it once before? We can each relate to this story and the feeling of having failed at something or another over the years. Over time, we can begin to think that we are not capable of doing a particular thing or breaking free of a sinful habit and we accept this as the truth and limit ourselves to a very confined world. 
 
So, do not limit yourself to a small world. Stop confining yourself to a life that is restricted. Break free of your mental boundaries, embrace the Truth that Jesus can set you free, and expand out into the magnificent life of enjoying God’s grace!  You can do anything with the power of Christ. Go on, just try it and never mind what the outcome is, just embrace every experience you encounter (good or difficult) as an opportunity to exercise your freedom in the Truth of Jesus Christ.
 
You will never know how far you can go in your walk with Jesus, until you have the courage to do it! And if you fall, just get up again remembering that Christ loves you more than you can imagine.
 

While using the HEAR method (see below) consider the following questions:  

  • What limits have you placed on yourself that might be keeping you from experiencing God’s best? 
  • Spend some time in prayer asking God to reveal those things and free you to live fully for Him.  
Highlight – what words or phrases jump out at you? 
Explain – what does the passage mean? 
Apply – how does the passage intersect with your life today? 
Respond – how is God leading you to respond? 
 
 
A big thank you to one of my mentors, Barry Thompson, Pastor of Care, Prayer, Adult 65 plus at Midway Church in Carrollton GA.  Email: barry.thompson@midwaychurch.com website: midwaychurch.com

 

 

 

 

 
 

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“Wild Dogs” – Gal. 5:14-15

Gal. 5:14-15

“For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.”
 
I remember growing up on a farm where we had a lot of different animals that I had to take care of each day. I enjoyed seeing the different animals live together and to watch the beauty of each one. However, one day these wild dogs started to chase some of our cows and killed a few. This was a heartbreaking experience to see these dogs consume my cows. The cows did nothing to these dogs, but they wanted something they weren’t supposed to have, and just took what they wanted. 
 
At moments, I see this happening among believers to other believers in the church more often than I like to see. Paul is communicating that God calls His people to love one another past their neighbor’s understanding. Jesus Christ died on a cross to make a way to God the Father. Jesus gives us the ability to love our neighbor as ourselves through His salvation. 
 
The Galatian people had their focus on trying to be better than their neighbor, instead of loving them past their understanding. God’s people need to be always encouraging, always caring, always willing to serve, always willing to give of themselves, and always willing to love no matter the situation or circumstance. The church that Jesus Christ died for is better than wild dogs. Always live and walk by the love of Jesus Christ. 
 
While using the HEAR method (see below) consider the following questions:  
  • What would compel believers to bite and devour one another? 
  • Are there any church issues or individuals in your fellowship that are consuming your thoughts
  • Take some time to pray that God would renew your mind with peace, perspective and forgiveness so that you can love your neighbor as yourself. 
Highlight – what words or phrases jump out at you? 
Explain – what does the passage mean? 
Apply – how does the passage intersect with your life today? 
Respond – how is God leading you to respond?
 
A big thank you to Macon Jones for the devotional thought today!
 
Photo by Tahoe on Unsplash

 

 

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“Don’t Throw Away Your Shot” – Galatians 5:13

Galatians 5:13

“For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.”
 
“I am not throwin’ away my shot
I am not throwin’ away my shot
Hey yo, I’m just like my country
I’m young, scrappy and hungry
And I’m not throwin’ away my shot” “My Shot” by Lin-Manuel Miranda from “Hamilton”
 
Though likely not the actual words of Alexander Hamilton, I think we can all appreciate the desire to make our life and resources count for something. 
 
I remember family vacations as a child and the quick stops for gas and bathroom breaks. I would walk the isles of the mini mart considering my choices of candy, gum, chips and drinks – knowing that I could choose anything, limited only by the small amount of change in my pocket. 
 
Today I face a similar quandary when on rare occasions I’ll visit my favorite restaurant in Buckhead – Fogo De Chão, a Brazilian steak house. If I have a friend or family member with me that’s never been, I’ll coach them on how to make the most of the experience. “Don’t fill up on biscuits and mashed potatoes. Save stomach space for the good stuff!”  
 
We have one life and the older we get, the more we can appreciate when the scripture describes it as a vapor. Our lives are like the two examples above – wonderful freedom but limited resources. Paul is advising us, “You’ve been given an incredible gift, don’t waste your shot! Don’t fill up on the biscuits and mashed potatoes!” 
 
No one wants to look back in regret at a misspent life. So enjoy the freedom you’ve been given by making the most of it. Don’t throw away your shot. Live and love like Jesus! 
 
While using the HEAR method (see below) consider the following questions:  
  • How would you advise your younger self on spending your God given resources and freedom?
  • Would you agree that time spent for others is better than time spent on your own “fleshly desires?” Why?  
  • They say the best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago, and the 2nd best time is today. What can you do starting today to make the most of the time that you have left – be it one day or 50 years?   
Highlight – what words or phrases jump out at you? 
Explain – what does the passage mean? 
Apply – how does the passage intersect with your life today? 
Respond – how is God leading you to respond? 
Jon Price
 
Feeling like a kid in a candy store . . . 😋🍭 by twenty20photos

 

 

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