As I've been working through this book over the months- it's amazing how it has become alive and relevant in my life. It never fails to amaze me the deep desire of God to connect with me, teach me and reveal things through his word....my hope is that you are having these same experiences with me as you read and think along.
RECAP
It was this past winter, at the back of a small church in the farms of Iowa that I listened to Steve Backlund talk about Hope and Joy- if you haven't heard him preach, you need to do some searching on YouTube (HERE is one!) After Steve was done, there was ministry time. Ministry time at events like this are my favorite in that they are time set aside to encourage those that have come to the event. God often speaks powerfully through those that have come to serve and it is so fun to hear what He has to say to each person in the room! Furthermore, if you've never experienced something like this- it ignites your faith, pushes you outside your comfort zone and gives you places in your own pursuit of God to explore and question and contend with... Anyways, during this ministry time Steve and his student blessed the group richly and closed with blessing all of us that had come. As he exited, I grabbed his attention to connect with him. I LOVE to encourage leaders everywhere...I find it extremely important to encourage those on the front lines intentionally as often most people shy away from doing so because of intimidation, believing their encouragement is unneeded, etc. I told him I was a student at BSSM online and thanked him for his influence and guidance in my life all the way here in Iowa. I gave him a quick glimpse of the impact of what he was a part of and how it was changing my life. I asked him for his blessing. He took a moment and put his hand on my shoulder, then he responded with "Galatians". He told me that he felt that the Lord would do a great work in and through me with the way I would steward and study this book....(ps...there were two other of my friends that he bestowed this same blessing on)
And I've been reading and praying and studying it in the months since then.
Sometimes, God is just waiting for us to take an invititation we've been presented with to reveal and work in our lives. We may be looking for something we measure as BIG or IMPACTUFUL, but sometimes- He'll just give us something to see if we'll actually take it and steward it well- even if it isn't flashy or what we wanted it to look like.
I believe this moment was such an invitation.
Would I be willing to pair my faith with the invitation to study Galatians and meet the Lord in the process? I believed so.
Sometimes, God is just waiting for us to take an invititation we've been presented with to reveal and work in our lives.
So, here are some of my thoughts thus far taking the invitiation to pursue the content of Galatians:
We've come to the second third of Galatians. These first weeks I've found an uncanny familiarity of Paul's letter to a group of people being swayed back into religious tradition and rule to our current awareness and qualifications of "Christianity" in the world today. In the face of the Gospel, the religious world fought to reign people back into a system and structure of perfomance based measures because of the offensive nature of GRACE. Additionally, a group of people (first known as the Chosen) did not want to include the rest of the world into this incredible plan of God's and, as a result, were attempting to persuade and assimilate things BACK to how they were BEFORE Jesus. Am I the only one seeing a pattern here? (For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms Ephesians 6:12)
How many of us so often set aside grace to qualify or measure OUR religiousness (I hear "I am religious" alllll the time)...when the point of the gospel is to FREE you from such bondage? Religion is NOT relationship. Being a part of a church is NOT being a son or daughter of God. Christianity IS at the very basis a RELATIONSHIP with Jesus Christ. See what BOLD letters I declare this with? Iykyk.
We really, really need to be aware of where our identity lies, folks. Your salvation was a moment, yes, but it is a process and it will be one unto an infinite outcome. That moment is an invitation into SO MUCH more than just a destination one day- it is a moment when all separation ceases and everything you were created to be is restored and renewed and regenerated through HIS spirit...why would any of us stop at that point??!! I believe it has been a clever scheme of the enemy all these years to keep people satisfied with the moment so that they never pursue the intended process and life of abundance Jesus came for us to live in. How easy it is for the enemy to persuade anyone that religion is enough, that YOUR religion is enough. Keep you busy with church schedules and small group meetings and not swearing or losing your temper or going to parties so that you FEEL like a good Christian.
Listen to me. I am NOT saying that any of these behaviors or patterns is wrong or inconsistent with God's will for us- I AM saying that these things naturally transpire out of relationship with Jesus instead of doing them IN place of relationship.
Feeling offended? Good. I was once too. Offense is generally a place where you've come to a block in your experience or understanding that is being challenged-- now, it's up to you to either leave the "fence" or tear it down.
So. Where are we after finishing Galatians 2:15-21? Where do you find yourself in faith? Do you believe that you have been crucified with Christ? That it is no longer you that live, but Christ in you? Maybe you've never even stopped to think about it. Maybe you have never really heard the Gospel even though you've grown up surrounded by it. Maybe, this is your invitation to have faith and lean in to something, somewhere that God is desiring to reveal Himself to you....
Maybe.
The word is alive and active. It is. I can't explain it, but the Bible is more than a book. It isn't too intimidating or too hard to read or too hard to understand or something you need to learn to do right in order to gain anything from.....it is God's love letter to us. It is His words and His story and His invitation to Grace.
I'm excited to continue this journey with you with the next third of this incredible letter. And my prayer is that each of you would find Grace, that you would experience the power and reality of the Gospel in a way you never have yet (myself, included!). That Jesus and who He is would have a greater reality and revelation in your life and that you would come ALIVE today in His truth and power as son or daughter of God--rather than a member of any denomination.
Amen.
Now to him who is able to do exceedingly, abundantly more than we can possibly ask for or imagine, according to the power at work within us!
Lyns
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