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Galatians 1 Devotional – Day 5

ADORATION – Reflect on God’s Greatness

GOD IS INFINITE – God is limitless. God is not limited by anything outside of His character. This applies to all of God’s attributes. God is not limited by time or space. He cannot be limited.

Psalm 139:7
Where can I go from your spirit?

Praise God because He is Infinite.
We are all limited by space and time but God is limitless. There is no space and there is no time where God is not present. Think of a time when you felt alone. Think of a time when you were aware of God’s presence. He was  fully present in both of those instances. He will always be everywhere regardless of your physical location or mental state. Praise Him because he is not limited by time or space.

CONFESSION: Confess your sins to God and receive his continued mercy.

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9

THANKSGIVING: Giving thanks to God for his specific blessings in our lives.

“Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.” Psalm 100

SUPPLICATION: Bringing our requests to God.

  • Bring your personal prayer requests to God.
  • Pray for wisdom and courage to build trust relationships with your friends who do not know Christ.

SCRIPTURE READING:

Galatians 1 Christian Standard Bible
Paul, an apostle—not from men or by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised him from the dead— 2 and all the brothers who are with me:

To the churches of Galatia.

Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father. 5 To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

No Other Gospel
6 I am amazed that you are so quickly turning away from him who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 not that there is another gospel, but there are some who are troubling you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, a curse be on him! 9 As we have said before, I now say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, a curse be on him!

10 For am I now trying to persuade people, or God? Or am I striving to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.

The Origin of Paul’s Gospel
11 For I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel preached by me is not of human origin. 12 For I did not receive it from a human source and I was not taught it, but it came by a revelation of Jesus Christ.

13 For you have heard about my former way of life in Judaism: I intensely persecuted God’s church and tried to destroy it. 14 I advanced in Judaism beyond many contemporaries among my people, because I was extremely zealous for the traditions of my ancestors. 15 But when God, who from my mother’s womb set me apart and called me by his grace, was pleased 16 to reveal his Son in me, so that I could preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone. 17 I did not go up to Jerusalem to those who had become apostles before me; instead I went to Arabia and came back to Damascus.

18 Then after three years I did go up to Jerusalem to get to know Cephas, and I stayed with him fifteen days. 19 But I didn’t see any of the other apostles except James, the Lord’s brother. 20 I declare in the sight of God: I am not lying in what I write to you.

21 Afterward, I went to the regions of Syria and Cilicia. 22 I remained personally unknown to the Judean churches that are in Christ. 23 They simply kept hearing, “He who formerly persecuted us now preaches the faith he once tried to destroy.” 24 And they glorified God because of me.

The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.

SCRIPTURE REFLECTION:
Paul finished this chapter and it’s biographical section with “…and they glorified God because of me.” The early Christians knew of Paul’s former way of life, how he tried to stamp out the church and opposed the gospel of Christ. Now they heard the reports that this same person was preaching and living the gospel and planting churches. The result of this significant life change was that they “glorified God because of Paul.” I can imagine that Paul felt significant shame and pain as he remembered those he had hurt in his past life. He had to remember being there and approving of Stephen’s death. It seems that part of what helped him deal with the guilt and pain of his past was that the very reason others were “glorifying God” for his life is in the fact that he has changed. His old way of life has given way to a new way of life…this transformation was powerful to see. This is not to say that what he had done before was “good” but that God had brought about good even from his “bad” past. Do not be stuck in what you have done in your past. Live in the present “good” of others glorifying God because of what he has done in your life. Rejoice that God desires to get glory from all aspects of your life, good and bad. He can do this, he is doing this…do you see it?

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