Good day dear friends.
I appreciate your prayers for those we share through these pages. God answers all prayers! I appreciate your prayers for me while at General Conference. I needed them! I got a fever on Thursday night with chills and the works and on Friday was sent to a minor care emergency center where the experience was worse than the chills. Nurse Allstate, as she called herself, proved I was in better hands on my own than in hers! After beating my arm senseless she said she could not find a vein and poked me three times causing me to say loudly, "Ouch, that hurts!" I'm a chicken when it comes to needles but I hate pain even more. What a baby. Anyway, that blood test and others showed I was fine with the possible onslaught of an upper respiratory infection. Antibiotics did the trick and by Sunday I was fine.
Here is our text for today from Paul's letter to the Galatians 1: 6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 not that there is another gospel, but there are some who are confusing you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should proclaim to you a gospel contrary to what we proclaimed to you, let that one be accursed! 9 As we have said before, so now I repeat, if anyone proclaims to you a gospel contrary to what you received, let that one be accursed!
In his teachings, Jesus had predicted that the day would come when followers would easily fall away for diverse reasons including the hearing of a "gospel" they liked better. And such was what Paul is addressing today. Some of the "Christians" of Galatia were abandoning the faith to follow a different "gospel" and that is of following those Jews who had said that they were not truly following Jesus if they hadn't embraced Judaism. The main issue was that of circumcision and these Jews were telling the Galatians they had to be circumcised to be truly followers of God. Paul stresses there is no other gospel and becomes quite frank in his saying if anyone comes to you with another gospel that person, even if he were an angel, is accursed!
Who or what distracts us from enjoying the grace of God? Is anything worth abandoning the Lord Jesus to follow someone or something else? Do we seek an easier way, less stressful or hectic way to be a true follower of Jesus? There is none, just faithful obedience to the truth we received from Christ about Himself and God.
PRAYER: Loving God we thank you for Your truth and how You have given Your all for us. Let me quit seeking the ways that we think would free us from what we think holds us back in being Christian. As we say in our ritual, "Free us for joyful obedience." Through Jesus Christ we pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
e.v.
