Read Galatians 6:1-18

“So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time
we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. Therefore,
whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to
everyone — especially to those in the family of faith.”
(Galatians 6:9-10)

Thoughts… Sometimes you don’t always feeling like doing good. I think that’s what Paul means when he uses the word “tired”. There are times when you feel tired of doing right. There are times, honestly, when you feel like doing bad—like grousing at your family, running a red light when it’s late at night and there’s no one around, eating a chocolate covered peanut out of the bulk food bin without paying for it, drinking directly out of the juice container rather than using a glass…or worse!

That’s just a part of what it means to live as a fallen human being in a broken, messed up world. Doing good all the time isn’t the easiest thing to do. Giving into your fleshly feelings is.

But being a Christ-follower means being ruled by a law, not by a feeling. It means being ruled by a higher law. Paul describes that law here in Galatians when he speaks of the law of love (5:14), the law of Christ (6:2), the law of servanthood (5:13), and in our verse today, the law of sowing and reaping (Galatians 6:7-9).

To be an authentic follower of Jesus, to live as Jesus would, to think as Jesus thought, and to do as Jesus did, means to treat these higher laws just as you would the laws that rule our universe. For instance, I’ll bet you dollars to doughnuts that you’re not going to go up to the roof of your house today and defy the law of gravity. You might feel like flying, you might feel like weightlessness would be a cool thing, but you are not going to challenge the higher law that outweighs your wants of weightlessness. There is a name for people who do that—dead!

So it is with doing good. You don’t always feel like doing good things, but there is a higher law that you must serve rather than your feelings. In this case, it is the law of sowing and reaping. When you don’t feel like doing good, you remember that you will reap blessings at some point down the road if you do the right things now. So you just will yourself to do good.

Now by and large, there is an interesting thing that happens when you grab your “wanter” by your “willer” and do what these higher law are calling you to do: Your feelings begin to line up behind your actions. If you act like Christ, you begin to feel good about it. And when you string enough good acts together with a string of corresponding good feelings, you begin to have a pretty good day. Plus, you make God pretty happy with you as well…and that’s always a good thing.

So be a do-gooder today…even if you don’t feel like it.

People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self centered;
Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish,
Ulterior motives; be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some false friends and
some true friends; succeed anyway.
If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.
What you spend years building,
Someone could destroy overnight; build anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, they may be ejalous;
Be happy anyway.
The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.
Give the world your best anyway.
You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God;
It was never between you and them anyway.
—Mother Teresa

Prayer… Father, today I will find some good things to do, because that is simply what the law of Christ is all about. I will love someone who isn’t too lovable. I will serve someone when I feel kind of selfish. I will do good for someone with no thought of repayment. By my actions, help me to fulfill your law today.

One More Thing… “Grab your ‘wanter’ by your ‘willer’ and make yourself do what you know you ought to do, and God will help you do it.” —Paul Faulkner

Read Galatians 5:22-23

“But the fruit of the Spirit is …self-control.”
(Galatians 5:1,13)

Thoughts… What does the Bible mean by self-control? There are several different words used in the New Testament, but the word in our Galatians text is enkrateia, which refers to being strong in something.

In this case, it means to master your moods, impulses and behavior. Self-control is not simply “delayed gratification.” Now it is important to understand, particularly in our culture, that delayed gratification doesn’t just mean waiting two minutes in the fast food drive-thru instead of one, or giving up Coke for Lent—and drinking Pepsi instead. Biblical self-control may mean giving something up completely entirely.

Self-control is the ability to direct my physical desires to fulfill God’s purposes, instead of using them for my own personal gratification. Self-control means taking care of my body in a God-honoring way. Self-control means biting my tongue instead of making that sarcastic remark. Self-control means saying “No” to something I want but isn’t good for me. Self-control says to a watching world that God’s long-range purposes for my life are more important than what looks and feels good right now. Self-control means to take dominion over my desires.

The root word from which self-control meant to “take hold of something” or literally, to “get a grip.” In whatever particular area of life we struggle, the Biblical writers would say, “Get a grip on this thing!”

And these writers are very specific about the areas where we are to get a grip and practice self-control. Foundationally, they would say get a grip in every area of your life. Don’t let anything be out of your control…bring every area of your life under the supervision of the Holy Spirit. The Apostle Paul talked about bringing his entire body under control. He even said he would bring every thought captive.

But there are some specific areas where we are exhorted to exercise self-control. The book of Proverbs in particular speaks to many of these areas:

In Proverbs 29:11 we’re told to get a grip on our temper…and I think it would be safe to broaden that to include all of our emotions…get a grip on our moods. “A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control.”

Proverbs 6:25-26 tells us that we’d better control our sexual desire: “Do not lust in your heart after the beauty of an adulterous woman, or let her captivate you with her eyes, for she will reduce you to a loaf of bread…”

In other words, you lack control in the area of sexual purity, you’re toast man! You give over control to impure thoughts, pornography, or an inappropriate relationship, it will lead you right down the path to destruction.

Proverbs 21:20 teaches us to get a grip on our consumption and spending: “In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil, but a foolish man devours all he has.”

If you are out-of-control in your spending habits and in bondage to materialism, debt, or living from paycheck-to-paycheck, robbing Peter to pay Paul, begin to cultivate this fruit.

Proverbs 23:29-35 talks about getting a grip on our drinking habits. It warns that if you’re loosing the control battle to strong drink, “in the end, it’s going to bite you like a viper.” That’s why Paul says “don’t get drunk with wine, which leads to excess, but instead be filled, or controlled, by the Spirit.”

Proverbs 23:4 warns us to get a grip even on our ambition: “Do not wear yourself out to get rich; have the wisdom to show restraint.”

Proverbs also speaks of getting a grip on our physical lives…being self-controlled in our eating habits. Proverbs 23:1-3 says, “When you go out to dinner with an influential person, mind your manners: Don’t gobble your food, don’t talk with your mouth full. And don’t stuff yourself; bridle your appetite.” (The Message)

Perhaps the most discussed, and most difficult area where Proverbs calls for getting a grip is on our mouth. The 31 chapters of Proverbs have over 150 references to the words we speak. Proverbs 10:19 says, “Don’t talk too much, for it fosters sin. Be sensible and turn off the flow!” (New Living Translation) Proverbs 21:23 says, “Watch your words and hold your tongue; you’ll save yourself a lot of grief.” (The Message) In the New Testament, James says when we get control of our tongue, we’ve gained perfect control, because that ittle slab of muscle in our mouth is the last and most difficult physical member of our body to bring under self-control.

And when it’s not under control, it does enormous damage. If you are prone to gossip, criticism, harshness, lying, discouraging words—the Bible says “do what it takes to get a grip, because you are destructive to other and putting yourself in eternal danger.”

There is no area of life where we’re exempt from developing self-control. We need to blanket our lives with this fruit so that the devil can’t get a foothold and distract us from the life God desires us to live.

So where do you begin? Let me suggest three “baby steps” for cultivating self-control:

Step one, start with you! One of the most profitable discoveries we can make in life is to realize that we can only work on changing us! This is the very first step is to take responsibility for your lack of self-control. Instead of worrying about the change that should take place in someone else, focus on you.

D. L. Moody was once asked, “Of all the people you come into contact with, who gives you the most trouble?” Moody’s answer: “D. L. Moody. I have the most trouble with myself.”

The cartoon character Pogo said it well: “We have met the enemy…and the enemy is us.” The whole issue of self-control starts with self. You’ve got to begin to work on you!

John Maxwell said it this way: “The first victory that successful people ever achieve or win, is the victory over themselves.” No person is truly free until he or she attains self-mastery.

Now this may sound elementary, but most people trip up right from the start because they are unwilling to face reality about themselves. So start the self-control you with you!

Step two, start small! The old adage is true, “you can eat an elephant…one bite at a time! ” Don’t get overwhelmed with how far you may have to go. God is ready to give you just the right amount of grace and strength to gain mastery over these areas right now. He doesn’t give you a reservoir of grace and strength for a month or a year from now. But like the manna in the desert, he gives you the right amount for today. And tomorrow, he’ll give you the right amount for that day. Do what you can today.

You don’t become a spiritual giant by praying an hour a day…you begin by praying five minutes a day. Or may three or two…you just begin spending time with God. So it is with any area of self-control.

So begin by identifying your area, ask God for help and begin to take some simple, doable and resolute action steps.

Step three, start now! Do it today. John Hancock said, “All worthwhile men have good thoughts, good ideas, and good intentions, but precious few ever translate them into action.”

The Bible says today is the day of salvation! Don’t let a minute go by without taking action to develop self-control. All heaven is holding its breath for you to begin…and succeed. The time is short and heaven is a nearer reality than ever before. And you have a Father who will move heaven and earth to give the will and the power to develop self-control in any and every area of your life, because he loves you and wants you to be free from any bondage that is holding you back from his best.

Paul tells us in Philippians 2:12-13, “Be…careful to put into action God’s saving work in your lives, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire to obey him and the power to do what pleases him.”

There is a prize for us who run the race and train our bodies and discipline our minds and partner with the Spirit to develop the fruit of self-control. It is the reward of heaven and recognition of God in the life to come. It is to have God’s final approval that will make every effort you put forth now to develop self-control, as painful and sacrificial as it may be, worth it in the end.

Prayer… Father, today I would like to take some small steps to bring self-control to my life, especially the troublesome areas of my mind and my mouth. With your strength, I will think only on what is pure, noble, uplifting and glorifying to you, and I will speak only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs. At the end of this day, may the self-control that I exert over my flesh be pleasing to you and take me a step closer to full devotion.

One More Thing… “Our words are the commentaries on our wills.” — Antony Farindon

Read Galatians5:1-26

“It is for freedom Christ has set you free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery…You were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather serve one another in love.”
(Galatians 5:1,13)

Thoughts…. The big idea of Galatians is that Christ’s suffering on the cross means that you don’t have to. His death was substitutionary—he took your place; his death was atoning—he paid the penalty for your sins because you couldn’t pay for them yourself; His death was sufficient—there is nothing you can do to add to it or to make it better. What all that means is that when you were saved, you were freed from a long list of do’s and don’t’s and rules, regulations and requirements that you could never keep anyway. By Christ’s death, you were set free from living under that bondage of impossible expectations.

So Paul’s challenge then, is not to allow anyone or anything to enslave you again to either the works of the law on one end of the spectrum, or the works of the flesh on the other end. Religion, in this case, meeting the requirements of the Jewish law, is all about what you can do to get God to accept you, favor you, and save you. True Christianity is radically different. It is all about what was done for you. Christ has already done it all—and you can do nothing to improve upon it. Your salvation is by God’s grace through faith in Jesus’ atoning death, plus nothing else.

Therefore, you are free. You are free from the requirements of the law. You are free to do what you want, to live like you want, to eat and drink what you want, to worship like you want. You are totally free.

But here’s the deal: Remember the “flesh” that I said was on the other end of the spectrum from the law? Don’t use your freedom from the requirements of the law to gratify the desires of your sinful nature. Rather, use your freedom to love God by serving others. After all, your freedom didn’t come cheaply! God gave his very best to deliver you—he gave his one and only Son to die on the cross for the sins of the world. Likewise, Jesus gave his all—he offered his sinless life as your substitute, taking on your sin and paying the penalty for it so you didn’t have to.

Now if you truly understand the profound implications of that, you would never cheapen God’s grace by indulging your own sinful desires. You would never use your freedom from the requirements of the law to live a spiritually slothful or self-indulgent life. If you truly grasp grace, you will offer all of your life for the rest of your life as one continual offering of worship to God. How? By loving God with all your heart, soul, and mind…which is expressed in its highest form by loving your neighbor as yourself. (Galatians 5:14; Matthew 22:37-39).

If you will make that your highest priority—or as Paul says in verse 16, if you “live by the Spirit” …then “you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.” What are those sinful desires? Verse 17 lists them out: “Sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

Out of gratitude for God’s grace, those must be put to death. And when you do, when you offer your life as a living sacrifice of gratitude and worship to God, then fruit of the Spirit will be produced in abundance in your life: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22-23)

It is for freedom Christ has set your free, Paul says. So use your freedom in a way that reflects your deep, profound, and inexhaustible gratitude to God for the amazing grace that has set you totally and forever free.

Prayer… Father, thank you for the freedom that I have been freely given. My freedom cost you your very best, and I never want to abuse that by cheapening your grace with self-indulgent living. Rather, I want to use my freedom to serve you by serving others in love.

One More Thing… “Spirit filled souls are ablaze for God. They love with a love that glows. They serve with a faith that kindles. They serve with a devotion that consumes. They hate sin with fierceness that burns. They rejoice with a joy that radiates. Love is perfected in the fire of God.” — Samuel Chadwick

Read Galatians 3:23-4:31

“Now that you know God—or rather are known by God—how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable principles [of the law]? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? You are observing special days and months and seasons and years! I fear for you, that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you.” (Galatians 4:9-11)

Thoughts…. Every so often a well-intentioned Christian will come up to me and suggest—demand would be more accurate, but I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt—that our church ought to incorporate a certain practice within our worship. These people are usually passionate about Jesus, committed to personal discipleship, and are convinced that if we don’t observe this particular expression—usually rooted in some obscure Old Testament passage—then we aren’t truly worshiping and will not experience the presence of the Lord among us.

Over the years, I have seen pastors pressured into allowing worship expressions like “Jericho marches” to “holy laughter” to “slaying in the Spirit” to “encountering personalized angels”, just to name a few. Years ago, I had a close ministry friend who became convinced that since our church didn’t participate in the Old Testament Feast of Tabernacles, we were under God’s judgment. At about that same time, a very sweet lady, a Bible teacher in our church, had come to believe that it was wrong of us not to include a Passover Sedar during Holy Week. At various other times I have had people tell me that we are missing it by not waving flags during our singing or blowing a ram’s horn as our call to worship. I could probably fill a chapter in a book with the variety of things that, according to these folks, we’re not doing right in our worship services. Sometimes I wonder what the next craze-phase will be: Ritual circumcision? Sacrificing goats? Reconstructing the Ark of the Covenant?

Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t think these ideas are completely weird—though the last three are really weird! I think that periodically it is helpful to incorporate some of these things into our worship as a way of teaching the roots of our faith and giving us a stronger foundation for our worship. What I have trouble with is when people insist on establishing these expressions as a necessary part of our worship theology.

The Apostle Paul was pointing out that to do so was to slip back into the tutelage of the law. It was to willingly give up our freedom in Christ and come again under the domination of that from which Christ’s death and resurrection has set us free. The only scriptural requirements I can recall for those of us who live under the new and better covenant are pretty broad—and strategically so.

Jesus himself addressed this issue with the woman at the Samaritan well. A discussion was being had about the proper place and style of worship when Jesus made this declaration about new covenant worship:

“The time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true
worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth.
The Father is looking for those who will worship him that
way. For God is Spirit, so those who worship him
must worship in spirit and in truth.”
(John 4:23-24)

If you want to observe a feast, go ahead. If you want to wave a flag, go ahead. Just don’t make it into a law. And don’t draw attention away from Christ and on to yourself when you do it. Remember, worship is about exalting Christ, not feeling good, although you will feel good when your exalt Christ. Whenever you worship, wherever you worship, in whatever way you worship, just remember the Father is wanting your heart. He is still seeking men and women who will worship him out of a sincerity of the heart that is rooted in the foundation of his new covenant truth.

Prayer… Father, keep me from backsliding into law. May grace and truth always season my worship. May you find in me a worshiper who gives you my heart and who stays cemented in your truth.

One More Thing… “Resistance to God’s changes is the origin of Christian doctrinal debates!…Not many call for circumcision today. Millions, however, do not consider the full implication of God ‘casting away,’ then ‘grafting in,’ going from a Kingdom to a Body, from law to grace, and the corresponding rule changes.” — Bob Enyart