Galatians 5:24-26

And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

Personal Challenge…

Wow! What an indictment fo the true condition of my heart. Have I ever really crucified my flesh with its passions and desires? Do I purposely, regularly walk in the Spirit, or do I choose to walk in the flesh? Do I go through life conceited, provoking and envying? If I am truly pursuing Christ, striving to grow in His image, then there must be radical changes in my life. I must be set apart for Him.

Psalm 111:4 (110:4 LXX)

He made a remembrance of His wonders; the Lord is merciful and compassionate.

Personal Challenge…

No matter how hard I try I can find no reason for every man, woman or child to not know of God. He has placed His essence in every aspect of creation. This may not mean that everyone expresses their belief in God the same way that I do, but who am I to judge others on their belief and even better yet, who am I to judge God on how He has chosen to touch others hearts. The Lord is merciful and compassionate.

Galatians 6:14

But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

Personal Challenge…

I am nothing without Christ, I am everything in Him through the work that He did on the cross. Through His crucifixion, burial and resurrection I can be crucified to the world and its pull on me toward worldliness and sin. If I live my life in this power then I will only want to boast in Him.

Psalm 104:33-34 (103:33-34 LXX)

I will sing to the Lord all my life;
I will sing to my God as long as I exist;
May my words be pleasing to Him,
And I shall be glad in the Lord.

Personal Challenge…

My God and Lord has taken such good and loving care of me throughout my life. My desire is to sing of Him to those around me. My prayer is that my words will always be pleasing to Him.

1 Corinthians 1:18

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

Personal Challenge…

In light of this week’s events (the release of a film slandering Islam and the following response that took innocent lives) I was moved by this verse to ask myself a question, “Am I a fool for Christ? Am I willing to defend and proclaim the message of the Cross even unto my death?” I do not condone either of the actions in this chain of events, but I am moved to assess my own commitment to my God and what He has done to save mankind, which includes me. Am I willing to be a radical for Him as those whom we often condemn are for their beliefs? Would I be willing to walk up to a man with a bomb strapped around himself and give him a hug in the name of Christ?

Galatians 3:28

Luke 11:28

But He said, “More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”

Personal Challenge…

We live in an age where information is king, where information is prolific and often wrong. Because of this we have developed the ability to filter the information flowing at us and selectively chossing what we want to keep and what we want to reject. We are told here by Christ that our blessing comes from not only hearing the word of God but keeping it, meditating on it, applying it to our lives, living it out and letting it change and control us.

Psalm 85:15 (86:15)

But You, O Lord, are compassionate and merciful,
Longsuffering and very merciful and truthful.

Encouraging Words…

We are commanded to love our neighbor as ourselves, to love our enemies, to put others first…even those who hate and persecute us for Christ’s sake. We are not asked to do something that our Lord does not do Himself.

Psalm 70:6 (71:6)

By You I have been supported from birth;
From my mother’s womb You have been my protector;
My song shall be always of You.

Encouraging Words…

God has been actively participating in my life since my conception. He has always been my protector and provider, whether I was walking with Him or not. Why wouldn’t my song be of Him?

John 3:16-17

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

Encouraging Words…

The early church fathers (those who built the church in the first couple of centuries) taught that God created mankind with free will, and with that free will we have been given a choice to believe in Christ and follow Him or to reject Him and face eternal condemnation. If you read through the scriptures with this in mind then they look so much different than reading them from the perspective that we do not have a choice, that some are pre-chosen and some are not. Praise God for His love for mankind and providing us a way to be with Him throughout eternity.