Written by: Laurence James-Davis
Galatians 6 v 1-5
Brothers and sisters, if someone in your group does something wrong, you who
are spiritual should go to that person and gently help make him right again.
But be careful, because you might be tempted to sin too. By helping each other
with your troubles, you truly obey the law of Christ. If anyone thinks he is
important when he really is not, he is only fooling himself. Each person should
judge his own actions and not compare himself with others. Then he can be proud
for what he himself has done. Each person must be responsible for himself.
Notes
We have all been there. You are looking in the mirror and notice that
you have a big bogey hanging from your nose. Then horror kicks in when you
realise you have spoken to about twenty people in the last ten minutes! And
you ask yourself: "Why did nobody tell me?"
I bought a card for a mate recently that said on the front: "A real friend
tells you when your face is dirty." Real love means that you don't mind
pointing out the things that are wrong because you want the best for that person.
The law of Christ is to love God and to love one another. I'm so thankful for
people who "gently help make [me] right again". It may not always
be nice to hear, but in the long run I'm so grateful.
"If anyone thinks he's important when he really is not, he's only fooling
himself."
Doing is so different to thinking. Most people judge others by their actions
but judge themselves by their intentions: "I was going to do it later"; "I
will get around to it". Or we say things like: "I can't believe they
said that"; "It's all right for them because…"; "At
least I'm not as bad as them". Any of these sound familiar? But look what
this scripture says: "Each person … should not compare himself with
others." Yet we compare ourselves to others consciously or subconsciously
all the time!
We need to change our thinking and compare ourselves to God's word. Are my "actions" not
intentions matching up with what Jesus wants for me? People are always going
to be doing "better than us" and people will always be doing "worse
than us"; but Paul reminds us here in Galatians: "Each person must
be responsible for himself."
Prayer points
• Pray for wisdom to discern when you have to intervene
if someone you know needs help.
• Pray for courage and the right attitude when you have to help someone
who is doing wrong.
• Pray for the ability to humble yourself and not think that you are "important".
• Pray for God to empower you to compare yourself to God's word and not
to other people.
Galatians 6 v 6
Anyone who is learning the teaching of God should share all the good things
he has with his teacher.
Notes
I remember when I first started to tithe. I was 16 and had got my first
part-time job in a café/restaurant. I had come to understand that giving
10% of my income to the church was a biblical principle and that God would
bless me if I did it. That said, getting that 10% to the offering bucket at
my church was at times more difficult than I thought. It was incredible the
amount of excuses I could think of to convince myself that it was okay not
to give it!
I still tithe and give to the church and find great joy in doing so. Why? I
believe its God's will for us as believers and I enjoy being in God's will
rather than my own. Acts 20 v 35 says: "It is more blessed to give than
to receive." I know that verse is true because I have experienced it.
Another reason why it's a joy to give is the immense impact the church has
had on my life. "Anyone who is learning the teaching of God..." Think
about that phrase: "The teaching of God." You can't put a price on
that.
I believe the "good things" Paul mentions here means "money" -
contributing towards the financial needs of those who diligently preach the
word. 1 Timothy 5 v 17 states: "The elders who lead the church well should
receive double honour, especially those who work hard by speaking and teaching,
because the Scripture says: ‘When an ox is working in the grain, do not
cover its mouth to keep it from eating,' and ‘A worker should be given
his pay.'"
When we give, give generously and do so with thankfulness. When we do we are
following God's plan, which only leads to him blessing us more anyway!
Prayer points
• Thank God for the people who teach you the word and pray
that God will bless them.
• Thank God whatever your financial situation, for every need he has met
and for the finances he has blessed you with.
• Pray that God will help you in the area of giving, that you will be a
generous giver.
• Pray for an increase of faith in the area of financial giving to God's
work.
Galatians 6 v 7-10
Do not be fooled: you cannot cheat God. People harvest only what they plant.
If they plant to satisfy their sinful selves, their sinful selves will bring
them ruin. But if they plant to please the Spirit, they will receive eternal
life from the Spirit. We must not become tired of doing good. We will receive
our harvest of eternal life at the right time if we do not give up. When
we have the opportunity to help anyone, we should do it. But we should give
special attention to those who are in the family of believers.
Notes
I used to have this verse on my wall. Every time I fasted, prayed or worshipped,
I could look at it and feel encouraged that I was "sowing to the Spirit".
This also worked the other way. When I was being lazy, like neglecting the
word of God but watching a DVD or overeating, I would look at that verse and
feel convicted! Sad to say that the latter happened more than the former!
This verse is not on my wall any more but on a scripture card that I attempt
to read every day. I do this because I want to deposit heavily into my Spirit
bank account and not my sinful one.
The sinful account is like a high interest credit card account. You can spend
easily with a credit card - you want it, you get it straight away, instant
gratification. But it will cost you immeasurably more than you wanted to pay.
The Spirit account is a high interest savings account, where the interest you
earn is immeasurably more than you could ever imagine. That is why the writer
says: "We must not become tired of doing good…". He knows there
is a huge amount of interest building up in your Spirit account.
" When we have the opportunity to help anyone, we should do it. But we should
give special attention to those who are in the family of believers." I love
the way God constantly keeps us other-focused. He cares about his people so much.
Can you imagine a church which lives this verse out? A church which is helping,
focusing and giving special attention to our brothers and sisters in Christ?
It would be incredible! Let's keep sowing to the Spirit, both for the effects
it has now and for the high returns later.
Prayer points
• Ask God for forgiveness for sowing to your sinful self.
• Thank God for the incredible gift that is eternal life with him.
• Pray that God will help keep your life focused on things of eternity
and not just things of the immediate.
• Pray again for those you are trying to save, that they will turn to God
and spend eternity with him.
Galatians 6 v 11-16
See what large letters I use to write this myself. Some people are trying
to force you to be circumcised so the Jews will accept them. They are afraid
they will be attacked if they follow only the cross of Christ. Those who
are circumcised do not obey the law themselves, but they want you to be circumcised
so they can boast about what they forced you to do. I hope I will never boast
about things like that. The cross of our Lord Jesus Christ is my only reason
for boasting. Through the cross of Jesus my world was crucified, and I died
to the world. It is not important if a man is circumcised or uncircumcised.
The important thing is being the new people God has made. Peace and mercy
to those who follow this rule—and to all of God's people.
Notes
How many of us like Paul can say: "The cross of our Lord Jesus Christ
is my only reason for boasting. Through the cross of Jesus my world was crucified,
and I died to the world"?
Whenever I read a verse like this, I am reminded again at the cost of being
a Christian. Has my world been crucified? There are so many things that make
up our world. "People will often say, and I'm sure you have too: "Welcome
to my world!"
If Paul were to say to people: "Welcome to my world" he would probably
have to take them to a graveyard and show them where his "world" was
buried. I imagine the date on the tombstone would be the day he became a Christian.
Not only was Paul's world dead, he was dead to the world around him. Dead to
everything the world consists of: peer pressure, advertising, public recognition
from education, business or sporting achievements, escapism in entertainment,
social acceptance through fashion and popularity, drinking and drugs, comfort
and security from materialistic possessions, identity in liberal or conservative
thinking, satisfaction from sex and relationships … all of these things:
DEAD.
All these things represent the world to which Paul was dead. "The important
thing is being the new people God has made." The world, our worlds, other
religious views and expectations ("Some people are trying to force you
to be circumcised so the Jews will accept them") - all of these things
would be a lot easier for us to overcome as Christians if we would just die
to our worlds and be dead to their world in order to live for Jesus.
My friend Andrew McCourt from Ireland said: "The most comfortable people
on crosses are dead ones." Think about it. It's true!
Prayer points
• Come before God and ask him if there is anything in your
world that needs to die.
• Pray that God will give you the strength and wisdom to live in the world
and yet be not of the world.
• Pray that you will take up your cross and follow Jesus today.
Galatians 6 v 17-18
So do not give me any more trouble. I have scars on my body that show
I belong to Christ Jesus.
My brothers and sisters, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.
Amen.
Notes
A couple of years ago I had the privilege of watching a man called Brother
Yun preach in Milton Keynes. I came to know about Brother Yun through a book
called "The Heavenly Man". This book has been (and still is) a top
seller in the Christian market and I recommend it to anyone who has not yet
read it. In this book, Brother Yun shares his incredible story of miracles,
imprisonment for the gospel, faith and salvation. One of the overriding themes
of the book is the persecution Brother Yun endured because of his faith in
Christ Jesus. He shares the horrific stories of beatings and torture, not just
physically, but mentally too, all because of his faith in Jesus Christ.
I was reminded of the Apostle Paul as I watched Brother Yun preach. You could
see the scars that he carried from his persecution for Christ. You could also
see the love of God shine through him. Paul too did not just talk the talk
of the Christian faith; his scars showed he was walking the walk too. His flesh,
his own body showed he was willing to suffer for the cause of Christ.
We too may have scars. Maybe they are not physical scars of persecution, but
scars from hurtful words or rejection for being a Christian. Yet like Paul
we can boast in our scars and rejoice that we have been counted worthy to be
followers of Christ. The scars we bear, whether visible or not, are proof that
we are really his.
Prayer points
• Pray for your brothers and sisters in Christ that are
being persecuted all around the world.
• Ask God for strength for when you face persecution for him. Give thanks
for being counted worthy to share in his sufferings.
• Thank God for sending his only Son and paying the ultimate sacrifice
for you.
Psalm 43 v 1-4
God, defend me.
Argue my case against those who don't follow you.
Save me from liars and those who do evil.
God, you are my strength.
Why have you rejected me?
Why am I sad and troubled by my enemies?
Send me your light and truth to guide me.
Let them lead me to your holy mountain, to where you live.
Then I will go to the altar of God, to God who is my joy and happiness.
I will praise you with a harp, God, my God.
Notes
There are so many lessons you can draw from the life of David. His life
left a trail of successes and victories, disappointments and failures and we,
God's people, can identify and associate with a life like that.
I love the fact that David's security was in his God. When things got rough
he knew to turn to God. Often we can try to sort things out on our own, pretend
we can cope and maybe not think that God can or wants to help us, but he does.
We can go to God and say: "Defend me" and we can be confident that
he loves us enough to respond and act.
Here was a king of a nation, unashamedly saying that his strength
was in his God. When was the last time you heard a Prime Minister, President
or world leader say their strength was in God? David's humility and dependence
on God shines through the scripture. Where is your strength? Is it in your
ability or in God's divinity?
The openness David displays with God is fantastic. He did not try to hide away
his feelings from God. He aired his frustration and anxiety, knowing God cared
for him. I believe God longs for us all to be real with him. David was not
trying to tiptoe around God, politely asking his advice. His heart cried out
to God because he loved him and needed him. Let us make a decision to come
to God, our dad, and be real - not religious - towards him.
David longed to be in God's presence - there he knew he could find joy and
happiness. Where are you searching for happiness? The truth is we can search
all over, but there is nowhere that will satisfy us like God's presence.
Prayer points
• Pray openly to God, being real not religious. Express
fully what is on your heart.
• Pray that you will learn to lean on God whether things are going well
or not.
• Pray for God's presence to be with you today. Ask for forgiveness if
you have been looking for happiness anywhere else.
Psalm 43 v 5
Why am I so sad?
Why am I so upset?
I should put my hope in God and keep praising him, my Saviour and my God.
Notes
Earlier in this psalm we read that "liars", "those who
do evil" and his "enemies" are all out to get David. Quite a
lot to deal with, really! It would seem perfectly acceptable then that David
would be "so sad" and "so upset" as stated in verse 5.
Yet we find David questioning his emotions. Why? The reason was that David
knew God is faithful. Regardless of situation and circumstance, God is a faithful
God. Things have gone wrong? God is a faithful God. Things seem to be getting
worse? God is a faithful God. You have no easy answers? God is a faithful God.
God is faithful. The Bible says that God never changes, which means that we
can always trust him. That is why David said: "I should put my hope in
God and keep praising him, my Saviour and my God." We too can respond
like David did, even within the pressures life throws our way. Whether it be
exams, finances, relationships or health, we can look to God and not to our
circumstance.
One very powerful way to do this is by praising God. Praising
while it's painful is one of the most productive things we can do. Praising
God is 100% focused on God; it is one of the greatest acts of faith we can
do as believers. When we praise through the pain we are showing God, our situation,
the enemy and anyone one else who cares to know, that God is bigger than anything
life throws at us and he is worthy of praise at all times.
Prayer points
• Spend some time just praising God for who he is. Grab a psalm, put a
worship CD on and focus on him.
• Bring everything that has been worrying you to Jesus' feet and leave
it there.
• Pray that God will help you live a God-focused life, even in the face
of challenging circumstances.
word-on-the-web uses the Scripture text taken from the Youth Bible, New Century Version (Anglicised Edition) copyright 1993 by Word Publishing Milton Keynes