March 4, 2025: Tuesday Bible Study on Paul’s letter to the Galatians 5:13-21
May the Name of Christ be on your lips, and in your heart today and always!
Our prayer chain offered prayers yesterday for another Brandon, a worker where Joanna is employed. He was doing maintenance work on the building when he fell four stories through a skylight. He is hospitalized with multiple broken bones, but his doctors say that he will survive this accident. Please pray for Dianne, Kandice, Jeff, Tricia, Steve, as well as me. All of us have cancer and really do need your continuing prayers. Please pray for Teri who will get news from her surgeon about whether or not her hip is healing in a way that will allow it to be repaired. That news will come today for Teri. Let us pray too for Tricia, who is also getting test results which we pray are encouraging.
In today's reading from Paul's letter to the Galatian church we must finally realize that there have been multiple problems in the community due to the teaching of a person or group who is encouraging the strict following of Jewish "law". Paul continues to hit this issue head on in our reading this morning. The purpose in God's sending His Son to suffer and die, was that we might be set free from the burden of our sinfulness under the law, God's interim solution given to the Jews. Now we have the power and might of the Son. Through His action we are set free. Initially this sounds like it will allow us to do whatever we want to do; nothing is a restriction any more since the believer is in Christ. Oops! That is not right for us! We are set free to be for God. That little three letter word is really important here. Just as the word is in the consecration of the Communion meal. This is my body. This is my Blood. In these words, Christ indicates His living presence in, with, and around the bread and wine of the Communion meal. For is another one of these words in this passage. Without its freedom to do anything would be how all of this would be viewed. However, Christ tells us that the freedom in His sacrifice is so that all believers can be for God. Paul goes on to quote Christ's own Words that we are meant to love like God loves. The law which bound God's children has now, through Christ, brought freedom. Some Christians do indeed think that they are free to ignore others they find too out of place in their houses of worship, turning those undesirable ones away from the Love of Christ, our love for them through Christ, and the fullness of God's grace for them. To do so places the perpetrator in grave danger, they might lose their very souls through such behavior. Oh! Just a minute! We all do that sometimes. But guided by the Spirit we are brought to our knees in confession. If we have someone who we cannot bear, and we have not treated them with loving kindness, then we are the bearers of the darkness of that world where hope and love do not exist. In these circumstances we are called to confession, forgiveness, and contrition before our LORD. Having been forgiven, it is upon us to change our hearts in that particular relationship, because Jesus did it for us first! His example is clear. Are you and I willing to act with a changed heart (metanoia in Greek)? As your pastor I believe that you would remove from serving the Gospel of Jesus Christ in your midst if I did that to anyone! So, are all of you pure of heart and acting out of kindness and love for those with whom you have had a problem at some time in your life? In the Gospel Music we have a song titled "Get on Board”. If you are stuck in the land of darkness, don't you think it's time for you to get on board? This is exactly what Paul is attempting to get across to the new Galatian Christians. The requirement of God's forgiveness through Christ is that through the Spirit's gift of faith we are set free to love just like Christ has, and always will, always ready to cover us with His Love, selflessness and giving, even to His very last breath on the cross, and today thousands of years into the future, and beyond, to love us always!
Thanks for being here with me this morning.
In Christ's Love for us all, Pastor Kim
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