Time To Recalibrate

Galatians 4:3-5, “In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive the adoptions as sons.”

There are several beliefs regarding what Paul was referring to as “the elementary principles of the world” in Galatians 4:3. One position is that he was referring to the Mosaic Law, and the full context of Galatians was Paul teaching against legalism and not paganism.

Another view is that Paul was referring to breaking free from what is stressed in pagan religion just as much as in Jewish law, that is the principle of cause and effect. In today’s times and culture, one might call it “karma.” It is a false belief system and philosophy that we need to stay away from. The term “karma” is not a term used in the Bible and comes from Hinduism and Buddhism. It means we get what we deserve; when we are good, we deserve to receive good things, and when we are bad, we deserve to receive bad things. It also has to do with reincarnation, which says what you do today determines your afterlife. The phrase, “what goes around comes around” reflects this thinking. Sound familiar doesn’t it? I do not think I will be using that phrase anymore because it contradicts the understanding of God’s grace.

Truth from Scripture:

  • Hebrews 9:27, “Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment.
  • Galatians 6:7-8, “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.”

Paul told the Galatians to go beyond being slaves “to the elementary principles of the world” and into an understanding of God’s grace in coming to saving faith in Jesus Christ. He was telling his version of the Christmas story, which was God’s plan of redemption.

Colossians 2:8 states, “See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.”

Here is a excerpt from Chuck Swindoll, December 25, 2019, from Insight For Today on Galatians 4:3-5: “As they were in Jesus’s day, so our times are desperate. Moreover, they often are a distraction from the bigger picture. Just as the political, economic, and spiritual crises of the first century set the stage for the “fullness of time” to occur . . . so today, in our own savage times, our God is weaving His sovereign tapestry to accomplish His divine will. Times are hard, indeed—but they never surprise God. He is still sovereign. He is still on the throne. As the psalmist reminds us: “Our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases.” Psalm 115:3.”

It is a good time to reflect – what is God doing in your life during these difficult days? I have to remind myself that God has a bigger purpose and I must continually recalibrate my beliefs and thoughts around the truth found in His Word no matter what is going on around me. How about you?

Listen to Oh My Soul by Travis Cottrell//New Song Cafe

Hearing In Faith and With Faith

Galatians 3:5-6, “Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by  works of the law or by hearing with faith – just as Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness?”

I think of the obedience to God that Abraham is known for (Genesis 15:6, Romans 4:3, Romans 4:9-10, Romans 4:22, and Galatians 3:6), because he believed God’s promise. Paul used Abraham as an example to the Judaizers, and quoted the law, since they were the very ones that wanted to take the believers back into the law. Paul showed them that salvation is by faith in Christ and not by works of the law. Abraham was viewed as the Jewish Christians spiritual ancestor which Paul knew from his own Jewish upbringing and training. “It mattered a great deal to the apostle that God saves people by grace, not on the grounds of their human achievement, and he found Abraham an excellent example of that truth.” (Morris)

Then I think of Noah, who kept building the ark as God had commanded him to do. Noah was obedient and believed in God’s promise to protect him and his family. What if Noah would have stopped building that ark because he did not see a current reason for using it? He kept to the task because God had told him to do it, so he was faithful to God in his obedience. Both Abraham and Noah not only believed in God, they believed God and trusted God is all-sufficient, and heard with faith. God has been impressing upon me during these past few weeks, that I must do the same, because He is faithful.

Our responsibility in our role in our work, in our family, in a ministry we are involved in is to be obedient to God in living out Biblical values in faith. What He has told us to do we are to do it with zeal. It is not about what we can do, but what great things God can do. We need to lead people to Christ through how we serve others all for God’s glory. We must be faithful, reliable, trustworthy, doing more than just enough in our work so our co-workers, or acquaintances we come across see it is because we believe in faith and with faith, in our God that we serve. God has given each of us spiritual gifts to be used in our holy calling, to help others, faithfully showing grace, as God has bestowed grace upon us in various ways (1 Peter 4:10).

When we have challenging times, our prayer should be, “God, here is the dilemma I have right now. What do you want me to do?” God does not ask what our forecast or goals are. He does not ask what our method is. He does not even ask what our motives are. Instead, He simply says, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28. Then wait, in faith and with faith, out of your obedience to God, for the answer to happen and God’s glory to be revealed. It may not be as you expected, but God is faithful. Tell God, “I believe what you say!”

Have You Been Foolish Too?

Galatians 3:1-3, “O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?”

Paul used strong words rather than gentle words with the group of Galatians in Galatians 3. Phillips translation says: “O you dear idiots of Galatia.” The Message’s paraphrase says: “You crazy Galatians! Did someone put a hex on you? Have you taken leave of your senses? Something crazy has happened, for it’s obvious that you no longer have the crucified Jesus in clear focus in your lives. His sacrifice on the cross was certainly set before you clearly enough.” In Galatians 3, Paul went straight to the subject in being direct in his confrontation and his defense of the doctrine of justification by faith alone, due to God’s grace, with the people in Galatia. Paul wrote with a personal tone, from his autobiography, example, allegory, satiric rebuke, and exhortation-he used it all. He had no tolerance for false doctrine and people that promote such. The Judaizes had turned the people in the church into fools in bewitching them to believe they needed something else besides faith – they needed to follow the law of Moses, and this was pure foolishness. When we take our focus off of Jesus Christ and all that He has done for us, then we too may forget how we first came to Christ, in believing faith, therefore we are empowered day by day by the Holy Spirit and are complete in Him.

So I ask you, how have you acted foolishly recently? Living godly is not just for Sundays. Can you identify the underlying reason you didn’t live out your faith as the bright light it should be before others at times? I just had a situation last week, within my work, where I am sad to admit, this happened to me. Whenever the stress of a crisis consumes me, instead of keeping my eyes focused on God, my provider, Jehovah Jireh, I fail to wait for God’s wisdom and face to shine upon me that would have delivered me. My own effort, independent of God, is doomed to failure, and unfortunately, leads to making mistakes in relationships and other consequences. I had to apologize this past Monday morning for a work related incident I highly regretted from the previous work week, with the president of the company I work for. My motive was not wrong in the situation, but my tone and audio level in the heated argument we had over the phone, while I was trying to explain and justify my actions in the situation certainly was not the best. I needed to set things right in how I reacted. I knew I didn’t need to consult with anyone, as the Holy Spirit was prompting me to call and apologize for losing my temper, referencing the previous week’s incident. I felt like an idiot all weekend. When I called him early Monday morning, to apologize, I took him by surprise and he was very gracious. We ended up laughing together on the phone, as he shared with me other catastrophes that had occurred due to being short handed in Customer Service and other sales issues that had seriously frustrated him, right before our heated conversation over the phone last week that then tumbled into our current conversation. I felt highly relieved. I felt freedom from the air being cleared and the reset button being reset in our relationship. I could now remove the dunce hat from my head, from obeying the Holy Spirit’s promptings I had felt all weekend.

Receive the Word of God by faith. Hear it and recognize you also have the freedom of the power of the Holy Spirit upon your life right now by obeying God’s will in faith, and not by following a list of rules. Having the Holy Spirit is not complicated or requires any hocus pocus magical moment. God provides His own presence, His Holy Spirit, working things in your life you could never do for yourself.

I like to use, and highly recommend one of the Bible aps of reading God’s Word out loud to yourself. Let it seep into your soul and calm your thoughts. Receive it, and ask the Holy Spirit to bless your day by hearing the reading of God’s Word pouring into your life so that you can walk in the wisdom of God, keeping Jesus Christ as the clear focus throughout your day, shining on your life continually, as Proverbs 28:29b declares, “But he who walks in wisdom will be delivered.”

Listen to You Cannot Be Stopped (Lyrics) by Phil Wickham and and Chris Quilala, 4/19/2019 by Aspire Christian Music.

When Your Life Feels Like A Blender

Galatians 2:20-21, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.”

Do you think during your day, very often, about the fact that Christ is living in you? Paul was saying that in his old life, he was self-centered, which was filled with envy, jealousy, and arguing. Paul was saying that it was in the past tense before his salvation. But in Christ, he now no longer lived for “I” and instead only lived to please Christ. Success was not his idol. People praising Paul was not his idol. The number of followers was not his idol. He lived to serve and glorify God. Paul did not have a problem with EGO-Edging God Out, all because of the grace of God, shown upon His life.

Paul lived by his faith in God alone and wrote the book of Galatians about his personal experience with grace, doctrinal instruction about grace, and gave the practical application of grace. Paul understood the right balance between Christian liberty and the grace of God. Paul preached it is how you live that matters in your character and what is in your heart, rather than merely what you eat or don’t eat.

One of the primary purposes for starting, the Fellowship of Women in the Workplace, was to bring Christian women in the workforce together in having a common desire and support in how to blend our faith into every aspect of our life within our work role since Christ lives in us. Too often we have our Christian experience over here, and our work-life over there, and don’t incorporate the two together. That shouldn’t be. Our faith and values need to be lived before others in every aspect of our lives, including the professional environment.

I sometimes feel like my life is all being put into a blender. The good things, the wrong things, home life, family life, my work life, my writing, and God mixes it all up together, due to His grace. Sometimes it goes in there at high speed, and other times at a low speed. My life is not as compartmentalized as it is more multiple integrated. I do not have an eight to five job. I get calls or texts from customers not only during daytime working hours but sometimes in the evening and on weekends, and it requires my response, and that is OK.

Dear friend, if you are feeling your blender is overflowing, take heart. God wants to bless you. Pray for it. Watch for it. Pray and put your faith and trust in God, moment by moment to work through you, in making the best leadership decisions that you can as you glorify God due to His grace and mercy bestowed upon your life, even when you have blown it. Some days you may feel like David before Goliath instead of a Proverbs 31 woman. It is how our life becomes integrated with God establishing our steps (Prov. 16:3) in achieving the Lord’s purpose for us.

Note the words found in The Message in Galatians 2:20,” My (Paul) ego is no longer central. It is no longer important that I appear righteous before you or have your good opinion, and I am no longer driven to impress God. Christ lives in me. The life you see me living is not “mine,” but it is lived by faith in the Son of God.” But by the grace of God I go. How about you?

Listen to Surrounded (Fight My Battles) by Michael W. Smith.

There Is A Time Not To Consult With Anyone

Galatians 1:15-17, “But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone; nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and returned to Damascus.”

So often, we want instant results and instant success, don’t we? We have a plan, we zealously do our research to substantiate the reality of our goals in our job and task at hand, and we enlist our team in support of the desired objective to be achieved. Paul, as highly intelligent as he was did not have instant notoriety in his ministry when he started out in being chosen by God to bring the gospel primarily to the Gentiles.

Paul shares his testimony with the Galatians in Galatians 1:11-24. Paul was one of the highest trained in Judaism. Paul’s teacher, Gamaliel, was a highly educated teacher of the law within the Pharisee sect, and his religious school was mainly oral. His students spent much time in memorizing the Old Testament. Gamaliel was a brilliant thinker and one of the most influential teachers in all of Jewish history (Acts 5:34). “Jewish historians tell us that Gamaliel’s criticism of Paul was that it was impossible to find enough reading material for him. This is not surprising, since those who study Greek tell us Paul’s vocabulary and sentence structure is the most sophisticated of any Greek writer. The guy  was brilliant.” Jon Courson’s Application Commentary. New Testament.

God dramatically chose Paul and gave him direct revelation to bring the good news of the gospel of grace. But God trained Paul in the desert. He spent three days there without sight in the beginning. Paul then ministered in Tarsus and other cities in obscurity for seven to ten years. None of the churches knew his name. After that time period, God directed Barnabus and Paul to be a team together in bringing the gospel to the Greeks, the Gentiles. Barnabus sought out Paul for this purpose, and the rest is history and the major turning point in Paul’s life of ministering to the people he was supposed to as God opened up a different door for Paul than what Paul had originally intended.

Before Paul was saved, the emphasis was on what he had done. But after Paul was saved, the importance was all on what God had done. Are you in a time of waiting? I often feel I am, especially since COVID -19 restrictions were put in place. Do you feel as if you are going through a challenging time in having to wait for answers as various achievements are having to be delayed? I sure have. Paul had those times, too, as did many other patriarchs of the Bible. Maybe the purpose for you and me is to see Jesus Christ revealed to us in a fresh new way while being in a time of isolation or know a goal is temporarily having to be put on hold. Did you know the book of Revelation was not written until John was isolated on an island? Think about that.

Draw close to the Lord. Ask Him to reveal Himself to you and to speak to you as you read verses in Scripture, giving you counsel, wisdom, and insight as no one else can. Be still and sit in quiet before His presence. Then thank the Lord for all of the things He has done in your life. You will see new things you would not have noticed in any other way.

There is a time not to consult with any of your friends  – just with the Lord and to be obedient in His call upon your life, as Paul did. and do it. God knows you intimately and chose you before you were born (Ps.139). Stay faithful. Do what God has told you to do. There is a time to seek advice and counsel, but there is also a time just to be obedient and go forth and do what God has purposed you to do for His glory. “OK, God, let’s go!”

Listen to Matt Maher, Alive & Breathing feat Ellie Limebear (lyric)

The Need For Applause

Galatians 1:10, “For I am now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.”

Paul’s audience, in his speaking preparation and then delivery, was, first of all, to please God. That was his primary objective. He was more concerned about being faithful rather than popular. When Paul spoke, He first spoke to God rather than men. Paul’s purpose was solely to serve Christ and bring the divine gospel message to people he loved that were in danger of hell or were being endangered spiritually by wrong doctrine. Paul did not live for any audience’s approval but solely for God’s approval.

One of the most impactful books I have ever read on leadership is “Lead Like Jesus Revisited. Lessons From The Greatest Leadership Role Model Of All Time,” by Ken Blanchard, Phil Hodges, and Phyllis Hendry. They talk about EGO – Edging God Out  – that it is the biggest addiction of all and leads to all other addictions. EGO-Edging God Out, they explain, involves being driven by self-doubt and demons of false pride and fear and continuously looking at what will make ourselves feel better about ourselves. It is primarily centered on one’s success. The solution is simply to return to the unconditional love of God and seek His approval, rather than men. I think we all struggle with the EGO-Edging God Out factor in our journey in promoting our winning arguments and showing off our strengths. But Paul didn’t live simply to please himself or other people; he lived to please God – as he was a faithful servant of Jesus Christ.

The Greek word for approved, tested, and acceptable, is docimos – dok’-ee-mos (phonetic spelling), and has seven occurrences in the New Testament. One of these verses is, 2 Timothy 2:15, which states, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.” So that tells me if I zealously pursue God’s approval by aligning my heart with His Word of truth, God gives me complete acceptance, and His unconditional love for me never stops, never falls short. I will then receive God’s applause. I found a note I had written in my ESV Study Bible, next to this verse that says “8/12/11 From my Dad, about himself.” That was nine years ago. That note and verse has special meaning to me. My Dad always taught me that one should not do things for others to expect to receive being thanked. One should do them because it is right and that should be thanks enough. But I would also say, saying “thank you” is just plain good manners and proper, by the receiver. But my Dad had a valid point.

How can God be visible with the people you encounter today by what you say and do?

Wait for God’s applause. Do you hear it? You are a genuine, approved, accepted, tried, by the LORD, daughter or son, of the living God. Well done!

Listen to Natalie Grant – My Weapon (Lyrics), 2/27/2020 YouTube.

I Am Rescued and Delivered

Galatians 1:3-5, Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.”

Galatians has been called the “Declaration of Independence of Christian Liberty.”  It is Paul’s public proclamation of the necessity alone in standing in Christian liberty in the grace of God vs. those that taught religion was a set of laws, rules, rituals, and regulations. But the gospel of the grace of God centers on asking the question, “So what will you do and believe about Jesus Christ?” That is the question and purpose, instead of a list of denominational rules. I have used that question and statement when encountering a rebuttal or argument when trying to witness to someone. That is the important question.

It is said that Julius Caesar had been known for saying that the Galatians were “fickle, fond of change, and not to be trusted.” Have you had that painful experience firsthand yourself with someone? Haven’t we all? “Paul experienced the fickle nature of these people when, after he healed a lame man, the Galatians bowed before him and worshipped him as Jupiter. That was in the morning. In the evening, the same people picked up rocks, threw them at Paul, and left him for dead outside the city in response to a whispering campaign instigated by his enemies (Acts 14).” Jon Courson’s Application Commentary New Testament. Yet God had other plans for Paul, and that was to continue preaching the gospel of grace to the very people that had tried to kill him unjustly.

We will not be delivered from the presence of “the present evil age” until we go to be with Jesus. But we are delivered from the power of “the present evil age.” Colossians 1:13 declares, “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son.”

Therefore because of God’s grace, I can:

  • Start each new day fresh, to begin again. Yesterday’s mistakes happened yesterday, and by God’s grace, I will learn lessons from them and go forward with new opportunities.
  • Discern right from wrong from having my conscience sharpened from reading God’s Word.
  • Because of my own sin, I have learned that forgiveness can and should be given.
  • Not be enslaved by irritations, anxieties, and fears.
  • Be full of joy, peace, love, gentleness, and goodness.
  • Have confidence in the fact that God knows my name, Isaiah 43:1.
  • Have freedom in not living only to please and impress others, but to please God first in all that I do and for God to say, “well done!”
  • Commit my work plans and agendas unto God and He will establish it (put in place, initiate, bring into being). Proverbs 16:3.

Because of God’s grace I am delivered and rescued from the realm and powers of Satan and set free in the liberty of Christ’s sacrifice for my sin on the cross. Our world is temporary and is headed for destruction, by which God has redeemed us that He calls by name and says, “You are mine (Isa. 43:1b).”

Listen to The Blessing (Symphonic Version)-Passion City Church, YouTube.

Is It Possible to Have Peace And Harmony?

2 Corinthians 13:11, “Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.”

The last chapter of 2 Corinthians is Paul’s final greeting and admonitions to the Corinthian Christians. His final closing words in his letter was his prayer and desire for them to do what is right and not what is wrong. He wanted them to be able to enjoy the joy of walking in a right relationship with God and with each other. I think we women long for our children, our nieces, and nephews, and those we lead with godly influence in our workplace, to live in peace and harmony.

Paul had a deep love for the Corinthians and was burdened for them to have a heart yielded to desiring to become complete in Christ – complete and mature in all that Christ purposed for them to be which the result then would produce living in peace with one another. Then the world would know Jesus was the son of God because they would see the power of transformation in their lives living out the power of the gospel and their love for one another, reflected by their identity in Christ.

How do we live in peace with one another during this unusual time of shelter-at-home?  “Resilience has now become a new skill to seek after and comes from hard work and perseverance in serving others (author, T.W. Lewis, Solid Ground).” I think it takes showing grace to others we may disagree with, as God has shown His grace and mercy to us over our own self-righteousness, pride, and judgment. It is not just being right on an issue that is the most crucial end.

Each morning as I have my time alone with God, I have the best of intentions. I study the verse or verses I am consecutively studying and seek to draw out the meaning God wants me to understand in them as He gives me instruction, correction, wisdom, and guidance for my day. Then the day begins, and by early afternoon or sooner, waves of problems and conflicts have dashed in upon my day like crashing tides barreling towards the shore like the ocean waves hitting over the rocks in the sand. Then a few trigger irritations with various people have barged in and taken root. Can you relate?

I hold the truths of God’s Word as my spiritual recalibration tools, for God is my rock of strength – my “El Sali.” My struggles and failures do not tell the whole story. I must keep the bigger picture in mind, for Romans 16:20 declares, “And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ is with you. Amen.”

So, the questions to myself are the following: Am I walking in the Spirit? Do I depend on God’s grace? Am I walking in the love of God? Am I guilty of blocking the Holy Spirit’s fellowship? Paul’s final benediction to the Corinthian believers fits even for today, 2 Cor. 13:11 NIV, “Dear brothers and sisters, I close my letter with these last words: Be joyful. Grow to maturity. Encourage each other. Live in harmony and peace. Then the God of love and peace will be with you.”

Listen to Matt Maher Your Love Defends Me (Acoustic) YouTube 8/4/2017 by mattmahermusic

Not An Explanation But A Promise

2 Corinthians 12:9,10, “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

I have been asking myself this week, am I living and holding onto God’s promise that His grace is sufficient for me? I would be the first to admit that I have many weaknesses and often fall into feeling insecure in my own abilities. I don’t know that I can always exude contentment as Paul was able to do, while undergoing harsh criticisms (which to me come off as insults), inconvenient adjustments in living right now, and the normal calamities of life. But I discovered Proverbs 12:16 this week, in my reading a chapter a day in Proverbs, which states, “The vexation of a fool is known at once, but the prudent ignores an insult.” Shrugs it off in other words. I find that verse amazing!

Paul lived before others a steadfast faith in the Lord’s power and grace and rejoiced in the “hope of the glory of God (Rom. 5:2)” to sustain him. In Romans 5:3, Paul declares, “More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope.” I ask myself am I growing in endurance? Is my character being further produced and refined, and is this producing more hope in God’s sufficiency in these current times? Patience includes uncomplaining suffering. That seems like an oxymoron. But it comes from the power which God gives in the day of the trial to show His glory.

When problems occurred before Covid-19, our modern society believed in self-sufficiency in handling issues in life with slogans such as:

  • “You have to have a positive mental attitude to meet this problem.”
  • “The power lies within you to conquer any problem.”
  • “Look deep within your inner resources for success.”

Maintaining a positive mental attitude will not take away the uncertainty of our current pandemic situation. But God’s promises will conquer the fears that creep in and can combat Satan’s ploys of defeat. We are instead, to pray without ceasing (1 Thess. 5:16). It might mean praying one hundred times or even three hundred times, until God takes away the difficulty, – until He supplies the answers to what you are asking or lets you know that His grace is sufficient for you to bear the pain or the disappointment, as he did with Paul.

Don’t allow your burdens to make you harden up and lose your purpose in going forward. James 4:10 states, “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.” The NIV says, “he will lift you up.” Every morning, lay it all out to God – all of your weaknesses, burdens, frustrations, etc.  Seek His approval. Then lay down your will and be quiet before the Lord. You will receive God’s sufficient grace and mercy for the day. The deepest struggles of our souls are just as great victories as any miracles found in the Bible. When we can control our temper, love others that have wronged us, having peace in the middle of a crisis, showing kindness without retaliation, having self-control with our mouth, all of these are just as great a victory as David slaying Goliath. Take limitations in stride and put your focus on knowing that God’s grace is sufficient despite weaknesses and gives strength through the power of His Word.

What lessons and rich nuggets of truth found in God’s Word, has God been teaching you? He may not give you an explanation in your suffering moment, but He has given you His promise, that His grace is never in short supply, is never on allocation, and is sufficient.

Listen to Casting Crowns, The Change In Me – YouTube.

Perception And Turning Points In Our Lives

2 Corinthians 11:28,29, “And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall and I am not indignant?”

Paul had continual sufferings and mistreatment throughout his ministry, yet he never kept his eyes off of God’s calling upon his life and had a daily burden for those who were weak in their faith or were misled by false apostles.

Paul lists a summary of what he had endured for making the gospel known (2 Corinthians 11:23-27): Imprisonments, countless beatings resulting in often near death. Five times Paul was given the Jewish punishment by the synagogue of 39 lashes for preaching the gospel, especially to Gentiles. It was the most severe beating allowed. The Gentile’s punishment for disturbing the peace was beatings with rods, which he received unjustly three times. Once in Lystra, Paul was stoned, which was the most common form of execution. Three times he was shipwrecked. At least one of the shipwrecks was so severe that Paul waited an entire day to be rescued, while drifting and floating on the wreckage of the ship. Paul was often in danger of robbers, and from false teachers while traveling. Yet despite all of these trials upon his health and life, Paul continued to have compassion and love for Christ and the churches because God had made Heaven real in his heart. Paul knew first hand how God had changed a sinner like himself; therefore, Paul was a testimony of God’s mercy. That was the turning point in Paul’s life, found in Acts 9:4-6. His salvation is a great example of a life transformed by God.

As I was sitting in my car at the drive-up-pick-up spot at Ralph’s recently, I was viewing people going into the store with their mask’s on and that struck me differently than I had viewed them before. I was wondering if they knew Jesus, and did they have a relationship with Him? Did they think that just being a morally good person will be enough? Why didn’t I look at people like that before COVID-19? It was something about seeing the masks covering up people’s faces that caused me to have a change of perception.

Paul never allowed his sufferings, which were no doubt caused by the enemy in trying to hinder his work for the Lord, to deter Him in his faith and trust in the Lord, and personal time spent reading the Word of God and praying. Paul warned about being on guard of Satan’s continual efforts to derail local churches and ministries. Satan seeks to destroy unity by generating bitterness and unforgiveness, to create fears (that is a big one), and to blind the unbelievers’ mind to respond to the gospel (2 Cor. 11:14,15).

Paul, a true man of grace and grit, had learned immense patience and endurance from all of the sufferings he had experienced. His relationship with the Lord made him strong as he focused on Christ and eternity because Heaven was a real place, and Hell was a real place to Paul in his heart. That held Paul’s perception of life after his turning point time of salvation as Paul ministered for seven to ten years in obscurity in Tarsus. Nobody knew his name or who he was, yet the Lord had plans for Paul when Barnabas sought him out to go minister together to the Gentiles in the north and that was a significant pivotal point of the gospel being spread.

Wondering what God’s plan is for you during these odd times of having life on pause in various ways? Paul had many detours throughout his ministry, but God used Him in ways he wouldn’t have expected, and that fruit still remains today. God may be choosing this unclear and difficult time to understand, to become a turning point in your life and my life (think of that word “obscurity.”). Screen your thoughts and opinions through God’s Word. Search for God’s wisdom upon your life. Your perception may change, and it may become a new turning point in your life, even during this time of shelter-in-place, as you walk by faith for what’s next. Hold onto Ps. 48:14 NIV, “For this God is our God for ever and ever (Elohenu Olam); he will be our guide even to the end.”

What turning points in your life has God used for His glory?

Listen to KING & COUNTRY – TOGETHER (feat. Kirk Franklin & Tori Kelly) Official Music Video. It was just released this week.