Friday, March 20, 2009, 6:09 a.m. – I woke to this song in my head:
One Thing I Know / Selah
Something in your eyes I see
Reminds me of what used to be,
When I was still uncertain of the truth.
Sleepless nights I've turned to days,
Alone inside an endless space,
Counted on someone to see me thru.
How can I convince your heart,
His light can find you in the dark,
And only He can make your blind eyes see?
For if we speak of lost things found,
Or lives that have been turned around,
Then tell me who knows better, child, than me?
I would never stake my life on any lesser thing
Than the Cross of Christ, where He gave His life,
To ease my suffering.
And if there's one thing I know
You were never left alone,
'cause you can always call on Jesus' name.
And if there's one thing I pray
Is Jesus helps you find a way
To make a change and listen to your heart.
God will take away your pain,
If you'll choose to let it go,
If there's one thing I know.
There is not anything in particular on my mind this morning. So, I’m just asking the Lord to speak to me through His Holy Word. I read Galatians 1:
Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— 2and all the brothers with me,
To the churches in Galatia:
3Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
No Other Gospel
6I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! 9As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!
10Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.
Paul Called by God
11I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up. 12I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.
13For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. 14I was advancing in Judaism beyond many Jews of my own age and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers. 15But when God, who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace, was pleased 16to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not consult any man, 17nor did I go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went immediately into Arabia and later returned to Damascus.
18Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Peter and stayed with him fifteen days. 19I saw none of the other apostles—only James, the Lord's brother. 20I assure you before God that what I am writing you is no lie. 21Later I went to Syria and Cilicia. 22I was personally unknown to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. 23They only heard the report: "The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy." 24And they praised God because of me.
My Thoughts: The first part of this that stood out to me was the words to the song:
I would never stake my life on any lesser thing
Than the Cross of Christ, where He gave His life,
To ease my suffering.
And, then the first verses that really jumped out at me were verses 3b-5:
… the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory for ever and ever.
And, then I considered Paul’s words here about a “different” gospel that was being preached and how that people were turning to this “different” gospel. The different gospel to which he was referring was one that was being taught by the Judaizers of his day. They were “Jewish Christians who believed, among other things, that a number of ceremonial practices of the OT were still binding on the NT church… By introducing additional requirements for justification (e.g., works of the law), his adversaries had perverted the gospel of grace and, unless prevented, would bring Paul’s converts into the bondage of legalism. It is by grace through faith alone that he is to live out his new life in the freedom of the Spirit” (NIV Study Bible Intro).
We still have that type of group in today’s church who are legalists, yet I see a greater danger of a “different gospel” that is being taught today and it is one that lessens what Jesus did on the cross in freeing us from our sins (bondage to and punishment of) and it waters down the meaning of the word “faith” to where it basically renders the idea that faith is nothing more than an intellectual acknowledgment of what Jesus did for us on the cross of Christ. The danger of this is that it leaves people still in their sins. I have heard so many people say “I don’t have to repent; I just have to believe.” Well, I can’t help but see that “belief” and “repentance” are synonymous. If I truly believe someone has freed me from my sin, then why would I not turn from my sin?
That leads me back to verse 4 where it states that Jesus rescued us from this present evil age. He didn’t just free us so that we could go to heaven one day and escape hell, but he freed us from the control of and the bondage to sin while we are still on the face of this earth. Paul said that Jesus set us free, but not freedom to indulge in the sinful nature. I see so many professing Christians living lives that are no different from the world. I see so much of the world, too, in our churches, and conformity to the world’s patterns and standards in our churches and in the lives of individual believers because they do not understand what Jesus did for us or because they don’t care or because they choose to believe in a faithless “faith” that does not result in being truly “rescued” from this “present evil age.”
And, that takes me back to the song lyrics, too. Jesus gave his life to ease my suffering brought on me by sin (either the curse of sin or because of my own sin). And if there's one thing I pray is Jesus helps you find a way to make a change and listen to your heart. Change is a natural result of true faith. And, it is understanding and applying the truth of verse 4 by allowing Jesus to truly rescue us from this “present evil age” that truly brings healing, peace, and joy into our lives. If we hold on to this world and the things of this world and we don’t let it go; if we don’t surrender, then we are making a mockery of what Jesus did for us in taking all our sin upon his sinless body in order that we might be FREE!
When I finished writing my thoughts on this song and passage of scripture, the Lord then brought this song into my mind, so I will end with this:
Prepare Ye The Way / Karla Worley and David Maddux
Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight a path for Him.
For when He comes mighty things begin.
Every valley shall be exalted and every mountain made low,
The crooked straight, the rough places plain, and everyone will know…
That the glory of the Lord has been revealed
By the lives that are redeemed, and the hearts that are healed.
So, lift up your hearts and look for the Lord, our praises draw Him near.
He is ready to come, prepare ye the way for Him here.
For when he comes mighty things begin, prepare ye the way for Him here.
He is coming again one day soon for His bride, the church.
One Thing I Know / Selah
Something in your eyes I see
Reminds me of what used to be,
When I was still uncertain of the truth.
Sleepless nights I've turned to days,
Alone inside an endless space,
Counted on someone to see me thru.
How can I convince your heart,
His light can find you in the dark,
And only He can make your blind eyes see?
For if we speak of lost things found,
Or lives that have been turned around,
Then tell me who knows better, child, than me?
I would never stake my life on any lesser thing
Than the Cross of Christ, where He gave His life,
To ease my suffering.
And if there's one thing I know
You were never left alone,
'cause you can always call on Jesus' name.
And if there's one thing I pray
Is Jesus helps you find a way
To make a change and listen to your heart.
God will take away your pain,
If you'll choose to let it go,
If there's one thing I know.
There is not anything in particular on my mind this morning. So, I’m just asking the Lord to speak to me through His Holy Word. I read Galatians 1:
Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— 2and all the brothers with me,
To the churches in Galatia:
3Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
No Other Gospel
6I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! 9As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!
10Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.
Paul Called by God
11I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up. 12I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.
13For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. 14I was advancing in Judaism beyond many Jews of my own age and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers. 15But when God, who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace, was pleased 16to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not consult any man, 17nor did I go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went immediately into Arabia and later returned to Damascus.
18Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Peter and stayed with him fifteen days. 19I saw none of the other apostles—only James, the Lord's brother. 20I assure you before God that what I am writing you is no lie. 21Later I went to Syria and Cilicia. 22I was personally unknown to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. 23They only heard the report: "The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy." 24And they praised God because of me.
My Thoughts: The first part of this that stood out to me was the words to the song:
I would never stake my life on any lesser thing
Than the Cross of Christ, where He gave His life,
To ease my suffering.
And, then the first verses that really jumped out at me were verses 3b-5:
… the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory for ever and ever.
And, then I considered Paul’s words here about a “different” gospel that was being preached and how that people were turning to this “different” gospel. The different gospel to which he was referring was one that was being taught by the Judaizers of his day. They were “Jewish Christians who believed, among other things, that a number of ceremonial practices of the OT were still binding on the NT church… By introducing additional requirements for justification (e.g., works of the law), his adversaries had perverted the gospel of grace and, unless prevented, would bring Paul’s converts into the bondage of legalism. It is by grace through faith alone that he is to live out his new life in the freedom of the Spirit” (NIV Study Bible Intro).
We still have that type of group in today’s church who are legalists, yet I see a greater danger of a “different gospel” that is being taught today and it is one that lessens what Jesus did on the cross in freeing us from our sins (bondage to and punishment of) and it waters down the meaning of the word “faith” to where it basically renders the idea that faith is nothing more than an intellectual acknowledgment of what Jesus did for us on the cross of Christ. The danger of this is that it leaves people still in their sins. I have heard so many people say “I don’t have to repent; I just have to believe.” Well, I can’t help but see that “belief” and “repentance” are synonymous. If I truly believe someone has freed me from my sin, then why would I not turn from my sin?
That leads me back to verse 4 where it states that Jesus rescued us from this present evil age. He didn’t just free us so that we could go to heaven one day and escape hell, but he freed us from the control of and the bondage to sin while we are still on the face of this earth. Paul said that Jesus set us free, but not freedom to indulge in the sinful nature. I see so many professing Christians living lives that are no different from the world. I see so much of the world, too, in our churches, and conformity to the world’s patterns and standards in our churches and in the lives of individual believers because they do not understand what Jesus did for us or because they don’t care or because they choose to believe in a faithless “faith” that does not result in being truly “rescued” from this “present evil age.”
And, that takes me back to the song lyrics, too. Jesus gave his life to ease my suffering brought on me by sin (either the curse of sin or because of my own sin). And if there's one thing I pray is Jesus helps you find a way to make a change and listen to your heart. Change is a natural result of true faith. And, it is understanding and applying the truth of verse 4 by allowing Jesus to truly rescue us from this “present evil age” that truly brings healing, peace, and joy into our lives. If we hold on to this world and the things of this world and we don’t let it go; if we don’t surrender, then we are making a mockery of what Jesus did for us in taking all our sin upon his sinless body in order that we might be FREE!
When I finished writing my thoughts on this song and passage of scripture, the Lord then brought this song into my mind, so I will end with this:
Prepare Ye The Way / Karla Worley and David Maddux
Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight a path for Him.
For when He comes mighty things begin.
Every valley shall be exalted and every mountain made low,
The crooked straight, the rough places plain, and everyone will know…
That the glory of the Lord has been revealed
By the lives that are redeemed, and the hearts that are healed.
So, lift up your hearts and look for the Lord, our praises draw Him near.
He is ready to come, prepare ye the way for Him here.
For when he comes mighty things begin, prepare ye the way for Him here.
He is coming again one day soon for His bride, the church.