CHRISTIANITY IS NOT A SELF-IMPROVEMENT COURSE The apostle Paul wrote to the believers in Galatia instructing them to be like executioners, dealing cruelly with their own sin. Our human tendency however, is to deal cruelly with the sin of others, rather than our own. For when we see sin in others, we do not hesitate
DAVID’S SWEET PSALM OF PRAYER AND PRAISE David made a commitment to praise and pray to the Lord all the days of his life. The superscription of this psalm states that David was in the wilderness of Judah when he wrote it. Many scholars believe it was written during the time he was hiding from
HOW DO WE LET ALL THAT WE ARE WAIT QUIETLY ON GOD? Do many opinions seem to be battling it out within your mind? You try to quiet the many voices, so that You can hear the most important One, but try as you may the cacophony remains. Ask the Lord to help you, so
TRUST IN THE LORD ALWAYS When all else fails, we tend to finally shift our trust to the Lord. Yet Isaiah calls us to a better way. Trust in the Lord “always.” Those who try to take a stand on sand soon discover it only seems to work on sunny days. As soon as clouds
LIVE IN THE SPIRIT, NOT BY HUMAN EFFORT The apostle Paul warned the believers in Galatia not to foolishly give up their freedom in Christ to be entangled once again under a yoke of slavery to religious rule-keeping. For if we are saved by faith, we must live and walk by faith. Self-effort neither saves
JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH IN CHRIST ALONE Justification is the doctrine that God pardons, accepts, and declares a sinner to be just, “made right with God,” on the basis of Christ’s righteousness. Justification is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ apart from works. Paul was concerned that the Christians at Galatia, who had received
THE GOSPEL IS FROM CHRIST, NOT MAN The apostle Paul wrote to the believers in the Galatian churches to explain where he had received his gospel message. He wanted them to know that he had received it by personal, “direct revelation” from the Lord Jesus Christ. This is what it meant to be an “apostle,”
A BEAUTIFUL BENEDICTION With this beautiful benediction, Paul closed his second letter to the Corinthians. Paul’s trinitarian blessing bestowed three powerful attributes of the Godhead upon the believers at Corinth: 1) The “grace” (χάρις – charis) of Jesus. Which is Christ’s free and unmerited favor. 2) The “love” (ἀγάπη – agape) of God. Which is
GOD CONFIRMED THIS PROPHECY IN CHRIST JESUS Isaiah prophesied God’s judgment of Israel and Judah. Yet, he also prophesied that though the tree would be chopped down, leaving only a stump, there would be a shoot that would grow from the old root. This shoot would grow into a “new Branch,” which is Christ, the
REMEMBER 9/11 BUT LOOK TO THE FUTURE WITH HOPE Isaiah is filled with words of judgment and destruction, yet it also overflows with future hope. Isaiah prophesied the overthrow of the Northern Kingdom, “the “land of Zebulun and Naphtali,” by the Assyrians. This prophesy concerning Israel came true during Isaiah’s lifetime. But the prophecy of