Reading: Galatians 1: 1-10, Greetings, No Other Gospel
Reference verse: Am 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.
Prayers: I pray for the grace to be a servant of Christ – to feel accepted and seek ONLY your approval in everything.
Thoughts: Today, I decided to start a brand new series of Bible readings. I decided to use published Bible Study Guides received as gifts and that I’ve not yet read. The first one I’m doing is Galatians: Why God Accepts Us by Jack Kuhatschek (published by InterVarsity Press). Today’s study is Chapter 1, Good News and Bad.
As I read Galatians 1: 1-10 and answered the study questions in the guide, I realized that the gospel is not like a custom made dress or suit, changed to fit various audiences. Rather, it is an incompromising but wonderful one-size fits all mystery. Jesus died so that we can be saved. This was the will of God our Father. By living and dying as a man, Jesus, God intervened in our history and this is the good news. I can have a relationship with God, with Jesus – if I’m willing. Just like free will is at the essence of being human, it is also a very human thing to want to feel accepted and approved. But a servant of Christ does not seek human approval; only seeks to do the will of God. In order to hear God and bettter understand His will, the servant of Christ invests time and resources into developing this most important of all relationships.
[...] than do another Bible book study such as I’ve done in the recent past like Ephesians, Galatians or the Spiritual Exercises of Loyola, I’ve decided to pray The Daily Office (used by [...]