Striving to Be Like Christ’s Blog

Saving Grace: Saved by Grace, Through Faith

Striving to Be Like Christ — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 02:20:26 +0000

But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Ephesians 2:4-10

Next Monday, as odd as this may sound from a Christian organization, we will be celebrating and examining the Death of Religion.

Here’s why: religion is not the equivalence of salvation.

Many believers and non-believers alike get caught up on or halted in their faith and growth by the practices of religion. These practices may include fasting, covering of hair, special prayers, gatherings on specific days and speaking a certain kind of language or lingo. None of these things in themselves are bad things, in fact, all of them can be supported biblically. However, none of these things, has anything to with what religion professes to do: which is to connect you with God and protect you from His wrath. The only thing that can save you from the wrath of God is God Himself. And in His loving mercy – that is exactly what he chose to do.

Thank God for that mercy.

But for His Grace

Striving to Be Like Christ — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 01:49:15 +0000

For by grace you have been saved through faith.

And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,

not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

~ Ephesians 2:8-9

Saving Grace…

The scripture mentioned above is probably one the most commonly quoted scriptures in the Bible, and rightfully so, as it perfectly describes the process of salvation and emphasizes that it is only possible through the grace of God. It is very important that this fact be understood by all who profess to be followers of Christ, because, believe it or not, there are still those who preach false doctrines of salvation by works. It is therefore critical that true Christians understand the role of grace in saving us.

So how exactly are we saved by grace? And why is it that salvation cannot come through works? To answer these questions, we need to first establish the need for salvation, and to do that we must discuss sin.

Sin, put simply, is anything that violates the law or will of God. Romans 3:23 informs us that all have sinned. Every person; old, young, big, small, wise, foolish, saved, or unsaved; has sinned. That includes mothers, fathers, pastors, priests, bishops, teachers, presidents, and the like. Everyone who has ever lived, with the critical exception of Jesus, has violated God’s law at some point, and in doing so has sinned against God.

The degree of the affront of sin before God can hardly be exaggerated. It is so appalling, so abominable, so reprehensible, that he must ultimately destroy it. Romans 6:23 warns us

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of

God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

~ Romans 6:23

Sin results in death. It’s that simple. This means that everyone who has ever sinned; that is, everyone besides Jesus who has ever lived; is condemned to eternal death along with their sin. All it takes is one mistake to fall short of God’s standard, which is perfection. This is why works cannot save. In order for a man to save himself by works he must live a perfect life, that is, a life completely devoid of sin. This is an impossible task. No mere man can hope to accomplish it. All is not lost, however, because this is where grace comes in.

God, in his grace, sent his Son Jesus to pay the penalty for our sins. With this singular act of sacrifice, he paved a road for us to reach him. Here is the greatness of God’s grace shown: in that he was willing to separate himself from his only son in order to give us one more chance at salvation. We were doomed, incapable of fulfilling the requirements to see him. Had he not looked down with pity on our plight, not one soul would be able to stand in his presence. This is why our works cannot save us. Only by his grace are we granted access to his kingdom.

Salvation is a free gift. Whether we accept it or not is up to us

A Blast From The Past (Part 2)

Striving to Be Like Christ — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 17:10:17 +0000

Gerald: Chapter 2

A few weeks ago in “A Blast From The Past” we began the story of Gerald, a man who didn’t think he was important enough to serve God. We watched as he struggled with a message of purpose from a mysterious stranger, and rejoiced as he finally came to terms with the truth of his calling. Now, Gerald faces an entirely different sort of challenge. He knows that God wants him to deliver his country from its enemies, but how in the world is he supposed to do that? Let us rejoin our hero as he tackles this particular problem…

“An army,” Gerald muttered,” I need to make an army.” There was really no other way. It wasn’t like he could walk to the oppressors’ stronghold and ask nicely; they’d laugh him to scorn and then cut him into pieces for their amusement. “Besides,” he thought as he clenched his fists,” I know I’m not the only one who’s been itching for some payback on these guys.”

As it turned out, he was right. After only a few days of covert campaigning, he was able to gather over thirty thousand of his countrymen( This was actually pretty extraordinary considering how small his country was). Gerald was almost beginning to feel optimistic. Sure, they were still outnumbered ten to one; and sure their cobbled together equipment was far from state-of-the-art, but they did have the almighty God on their side, right? Plus, they were defending their homeland; and with God’s help they would be successful.

The next day, while taking a break from the constant preparations, Gerald recieved a surprise visit from the same stranger who had revealed his purpose to him. “Greetings, mighty warrior,” came the stranger’s greeting. His smile seemed to have a wry twist to it this time, as if he possessed some knowledge that secretly amused him. “Welcome, stranger,” replied Gerald,” or should I say angel?” The stranger continued to smile,” You may call me whatever you wish. It is my message that is important.” “Our mutual Father wishes to inform you that you have too many recruits. Already, the people have begun to credit themselves with their own deliverance. Go to your men, and inform them than anyone who harbors fear of any sort in their hearts can leave without recrimination.”

Gerald was speechless. The man couldn’t possibly be serious. They were outnumbered ten to one! How could there possibly be too many of them? He examined the stranger’s face for any sign of jest, but of course he was entirely serious. “Great…” he thought,” this should be fun.”

Gerald wasn’t sure what was more painful; giving thirty thousand farmers and herdsmen a ready excuse to abandon a fight, or being forced to watch as over twenty thousand of them did just that. Just as he finished preparing an encouraging speech for his remaining men, however, the stranger appeared again; and in his private quarters no less. Considering the repercussions of the last message he had recieved, the angel’s presence wasn’t exactly comforting.

“More good news?” he asked, sarcasm dripping from his tone. The angel smiled. “I do carry good tidings,” he replied,” though you may not think them so. The Lord God Almighty wishes you to test the remaining recruits; there are still too many. Inspect their quarters at midnight tonight and record how many are awake and how many are asleep. I will tell you then who to keep and who to send on their way.”

Gerald was once again flabbergasted. How could this man keep claiming that there were too many of them? They were outnumbered twenty to one! It was undoubtedly going to take a miracle to win this fight, surely there could be no mistaking that fact. Despite his confusion, Gerald inspected his recruits that night as instructed. To his relief, only three hundred of his ten thousand men were still awake. That, he reasoned, left him over ninety-five hundred men sensible enough to rest before a battle and serious enough to realize they would need the strength. This wasn’t going to be nearly as bad as he had expected.

Unfortunately, it turned out to be much worse than he expected. The stranger, when he finally did appear, told him to keep the restless ones instead of the sensible ones. Of all of the scenarios that had passed through his mind, somehow the possibility of God choosing 300 sleepwalkers over 9700 worthy soldiers had never even occured to him. 300 men against hundreds of thousands? At least there would be no questioning who was responsible for victory if they won.

It was not long after the puzzled departure of most of of his army that Gerald was visited again by the stranger. This time he was comanded to gather his men for battle. “Give every man a trumpet in addition to his weapons,” the stranger instructed,” and attack you oppressors in the middle of the night while they are most complacent. Blow your trumpets, give your war cry, and make as much noise as possible during the attack. The Lord will do the rest.”

So Gerald gathered the troops in preparation for battle. And, though he recieved several questioning glances while issuing trumpets, had his men deployed and ready by midnight. After waiting an hour for the enemy camp to settle, Gerald gave the signal, and his troops rushed the camp; blowing their trumpets and crying out as loud as they could. As they entered the enemy camp, however, many were shocked into silence by what they saw.

The enemy troops, hardened soldiers from four different nations, seemed to have completely lost their minds to panic. Thousands upon thousands of men ran in blind terror in every direction, and thousands more used their state-of-the-art weaponry to lash out, slaughtering their fellow men by the hundreds. Gerald’s troops were momentarily dumbfounded; staring in shock as their unstoppable opponents destroyed each other! Their silence was broken when Gerald raised his voice above the chaos. “Men of God!” he cried,” the enemy has been delivered into our hands. For our wives! For our children! For our nation! Let us finish what God has started!”

With that, he charged into the enemy troops, followed closely by his men. Needless to say, it was a spectacular victory. Gerald, with three hundred men and God, was able to deliver his nation from an army of several hundred thousand possessing superior weaponry. And furthermore, he did so without losing a single one of his men. God, in his infinite wisdom, chose the least of the least to carry out his plans.

So, whenever you start feeling insignificant or unimportant, remember the story of Gerald; the poor little farmer that God used to deliver an entire nation. All Gerald had to do was obey.

P.S. For the full story of “Gerald’s”exploits, read chapters 6 & 7 of the book of Judges in the Bible.

Grasping the Grace of God (Intro)

Striving to Be Like Christ — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 10:33:47 +0000

Hello family! I pray all is well for you!

This is a quick post to let you know among the other various posts, there is a new upcoming series.

This series will be on the doctrine of God’s grace He has provided through His Son Jesus Christ.

Please continue to pray for this ministry as we continue to move in grace for the sake of the Glory of God!

Much Love,

C.S.

Bigger Than Me, Bigger Than You! (Part 6)

Striving to Be Like Christ — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 17:59:30 +0000

Support the your brother, be a team player!

Galatians 6:

¹Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.

Eagles are amazing to me, particularly mother eagles. They hunt and can kill very large prey with their talons, carry it off and feed their young. With these same talons, claws and all they can dive down and save their baby chicks if they happen to fall out of the nest. These same razor sharp talons that this mature, powerful beast used to kill a cow, can be used to snatch a baby bird from death.

Those who are spiritual, (those who are mature and stronger in particular areas of their walk than others) have the responsibility of gently and lovingly restoring their brothers who are in sin. In the pride of “correcting bad” , often times we dive off the cliff for our brothers and either hurt them with our talons forgetting the love, or in misappropriated zeal/misunderstanding our own flight ability, fall into the same predicament with the ones we want to save. Let us remember love, and let us be true to ourselves in that love.

Galatians 6:

²Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. ³If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. ⁴Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else, ⁵for each one should carry his own load.

The NBA playoffs seem to have been done a long while ago, but in reality it’s only been a few months. I recall the heartbreaking Cavs-Magic series. Many were confused as to how the Cavaliers and it’s leader Lebron James could fall when they were doing so well prior to that series.

I am no NBA buff, in fact I know less than the average guy, however even I could see that those who were on the team, the supposed leaders on the team, were not supporting one another. From what I understand, the “law” or rule in basketball is teamwork, but I just saw alot of Lebron and very little team throughout the series. It also seems that the other players, though doing very little on the court were gassing themselves up to be making such large contributions, but in actuality they scored, played defense, set picks, etc.. very seldomly.

In the exhaustion of Lebron carrying everyone’s load, the team lost, and it seems no one was more hurt than Lebron.

The team was not only not carrying one another’s burdens, the personal problems/conflicts they may have had, they were also placing their loads (their team role responsibilities) on Lebron, and though they seemed to be doing well for a time, they all ended up falling in the end.

In studying this chapter I could see how Gal 6:2, and Gal 6:5 could be seen as a contradiction. One says to carry one another’s burdens, and verse 5 says to carry their own load. However I believe it is important to look at the terms used between the verses. “Burden” and “Load”

A burden is something that is something that one truly needs help/prayer/support with, i.e death in the family, major illness, etc. A “load” is something that we all have to bear, our daily responsibilities such as our job, our team role, paying bills, classwork.

Let us remember to love, to keep in mind what our loads and burdens are, and in that what to share and what to pick up on our own. In humility and love and in servitude let us do these things, not in sinful pride of serving ourselves.In moving in the Holy Spirit, let us remember these things.

^{Gal 6:7}Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. ⁸The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that naturewill reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. ⁹Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. ¹⁰Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

Much Love in Christ Jesus,

C.S.

A Blast From The Past (Part 1)

Striving to Be Like Christ — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 16:58:41 +0000

Gerald: Chapter 1

Have any of you ever struggled with low self-esteem? Have you ever felt insignificant, like your life couldn’t possibly matter in the grand scheme of things? Has God ever seemed so great and imposing, and his plans so grand and magnificent, that he couldn’t possibly have time for little ol’ you? I know that I sometimes struggle with such feelings, and I suspect that I am not alone.

So…

I would like to share a story with those of you who, like me, have struggled with thoughts of insignificance; a story that I hope will be of encouragement. It is the story of a man who, like me and you, thought himself beneath God’s notice.

Once upon a time in a far away land, there was a small nation. Now, this nation was not what you would call powerful. In fact, it was beseiged on all sides by enemies and all but helpless to defend itself. Its citizens were forced to hide their wealth and its farmers had to hide their crops because raiding parties from their hostile neighbors could swoop in and steal whatever they wanted whenever they wanted to. While there were a few faithful citizens who held on to promises of deliverance relayed by one of the prophets, the majority had long ago ceased looking to God for help.

In one of the nation’s outlying provinces, there lived a poor family of farmers who made their home on a small tract of land outside a minor town. One day, the family’s youngest son, who shall for the purposes of this story be referred to as Gerald, was searching out suitable places to hide wheat when he ran into a stranger who greeted him in a very strange manner. “Greetings, mighty warrior! You are truly blessed of God.” Now Gerald was a man not easily flattered, and this greeting would have set him on edge if it didn’t make him want to laugh.

“Are you serious?”” he retorted,” you obviously don’t know me very well, or you’d know that I am the weakest member of one of the least important families in a nation beset by enemies. Where do you find ‘blessed’ or ‘mighty’ in that?” The stranger seemed unfazed, however, and proceded to inform Gerald that God would use him to deliver his country from its enemies. At this, Gerald had to laugh. It seemed so ridiculous for this man, a complete stranger, to claim to know the will of God when he obviously didn’t even know the person he was talking to. He told the man as much, but again the stranger didn’t seem to get the point. When he starting repeating his original message about God being with Gerald, Gerald had to interupt him.

“Alright look. First of all, if God is with us, then why are we cowering before our enemies and hiding our food? And second, who are you to say how and when God’s deliverance will come if indeed it is coming?” This seemed to finally get the stranger’s attention. He stopped and looked Gerald over as if to see if this was really the man he wanted. Then he smiled and motioned grandly to his right. Gerald followed the man’s gesture, and then did a double-take. There, in the middle of nowhere, was a kitchen table layered with cakes, meat, and all manner of delicacies. Gerald was stupified. There was absolutely no way this table of food should be in the middle of the wilderness. He turned his eyes towards his companion, who was now gesturing for him to aproach the table. He did so somewhat eagerly as it had been some time since he had eaten such delicious fare, but just as he aproached the table the whole thing went up in flames. Ticked, he whirled on the stranger; words of fury on his lips. However, the mysterious stranger was nowhere to be found.

“What?” he thought,” he was just…” Then it hit him. The stranger he had just met was an angel. “That was an angel,” he thought,” oh God…”

On the way home, Gerald found that he coundn’t put the stranger and his words out of his mind. No big surprise really, considering the stranger was an angel and all. He still couldn’t quite make sense of the stranger’s words though. He had said that Gerald would deliver his nation from its enemies. There had to be some kind metaphorical or metaphysical meaning, right? The angel couldn’t possibly have actually meant that little, insignificant Gerald would literally deliver the nation could he? But the more Gerald tried to find some alternate interpretation of the words he’d heard, the more it became obvious that he was wasting his time. The most likely explanation was also the simplest; the angel did in fact mean exactly what he had said.

“Wow,” Gerald thought,” this is big.” It was even bigger than the angel talking to him in the first place. Too big, in his opinion, to accept on a hunch. So, he asked God for a sign that he was on the right track. “God,” he prayed,” please, if you are truly trying to tell me this, let the ground be wet as though it had just rained.” When he looked up, the ground was as dry as ever. “Ok,” he thought,” so maybe God wasn’t trying to tell me that. Or maybe he just doesn’t feel like playing my games…”

At that very moment, he felt his boots suddenly sink into ground. Glancing down in shock, he saw that he had stumbled into a mud puddle. Only it wasn’t a puddle at all. In fact, it seemed as though the entire ground was suddenly one big soggy mess. Almost as if…

“Oh God,” he thought for the second time that day. From the condition of the ground, you would think it had been raining for days. Gerald knew he hadnt passed a swamp on the way out here. In fact, he didn’t know of any swamp within twenty miles. There was only one explanation, God had given him his sign. Unless… Could it have rained over here while he was with the stranger? He had been pretty engrossed. But no, there was no way the ground could have become this waterlogged in so short a time. But it could have rained really hard couldn’t it? No, this was insanity, God wanted him to deliver the the nation. Yet there still remained that sliver of doubt…

“God?” he prayed again,” please don’t be angry with me, but , if you would, could you give me one more sign? Please, let the ground now become dry, so that I know without a shadow of doubt that this is you.” This time, the ground had become dry before he even opened his eyes. There it was. God did want him to deliver the nation despite his insignificance. It was indisputable.

Now, how exactly would he go about doing that?

(Come back next week to read the rest of Geralds story.)

Many thanks to all who read, and I hope that someone has been encouraged.

God Bless,

God’s Servant

Bigger Than Me, Bigger Than You! (Part 5)

Striving to Be Like Christ — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 03:53:40 +0000

Galatians 5^:13You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. ¹⁴The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹⁵If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.

Using our Liberation for God’s Glorification !

When we watch professional sports, we are often watching a TV full of millionaires. All of them have money and in some sense freedom. Often times I have watched these games and seen very poor performances. I say to myself “my goodness, this guy is getting paid 20 million and he can’t even catch the ball/run the play/make the tackle?” I used to think that these players couldn’t perform, but the more and more I matured, the more I realized that the players simply did not care. They had the talent, and received their bonuses and multi-million dollar contracts and were just riding it out…instead of loving the team they were on, they indulged themselves and took advantage of the gifts they had been given.

How many of us have been guilty of this? How many of us have the freedom and wealth of Christ Jesus, and instead of moving in love for the team (loving our brothers in servitude) we use our freedom to serve ourselves in sin? Paul speaks specifically against this in this chapter. We are to pray and keep mindful of the grace by which we have been saved, and in humility open our hearts continually to be lead by the Spirit.

Galatians 5:¹⁶So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. ¹⁷For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. ¹⁸But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.

¹⁹The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; ²⁰idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions ²¹and 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.

All love in Christ,

C.S.

Bigger Than Me, Bigger Than You! (Part 4)

Striving to Be Like Christ — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 04:06:10 +0000

Shake the Devil off and keep him off!
Don’t run back to the sin that was killing you!

Back when I was growing up the “bank head bounce” was a popular move, as was the song “shake shake shake”, a song we sang in the choir that spoke about “shaking” the devil off. The choir I was in would bank head bounce as we sang the song, and my goodness family I used to be the main one shaking up there, and I had a great time, not only because I enjoyed the dance, but I truly enjoyed the worship. The folk in Galatia also shook the Devil off by the power of the Holy Spirit, but were quickly running back to the sin they were trapped back in..

^{Gal 4:8-10}

⁸Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods. ⁹But 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? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again?¹⁰You are observing special days and months and seasons and years! ¹¹I fear for you, that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you.

These folk were free!

However they got themselves caught up, confused and led astray in tradition and culture and letting these things be the standard by which their salvation is measured, and thus were enslaving themselves.

Many of us do this today. Many of us have accepted Christ and been freed but for whatever reason (pride, pressure, confusion) go back to what we were delivered from to gauge our salvation/merit. This can be by going back to following religious tradition, staying on top of fashion, following the hottest Drake song, you name it, anything that we were once delivered from.

Let us remain cognizant of the Grace of Jesus Christ. We are nothing aside from God’s gift, no matter how logically it sounds or how good it may temporarily feel. Let us keep this first in our hearts not in guilt, but in appreciation, love and acceptance. By this we glorify the Father and then called children of a most holy God.

Gal 4:But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, ⁵to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. ⁶Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba,Father.” ⁷So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.

Stay Strong and Encourage in the Lord!

Much Love in Christ,

C.S.

Remember the Christian Revolution

Striving to Be Like Christ — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 03:23:56 +0000

In this you rejoice, though now for a little while if necessary, you have been greived by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith – more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire – may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

1 Peter 1:6-7, ESV

Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. You are the salt of the earth…You are the light of the world.

Matthew 5:11-13,14

Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and golf you in their synagogues, an you will be ragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles.

Matthew 10:17-18

The last couple of weeks have been full of news on Iranian protest against their unfair presidential election. Now most of us would never have been concerned about an election in Iran, but due to the nature of their protests many of us have green tinted twitter avatars and are keeping Iranians seroiusly in our prayers. How did Iranians manage to move even Americans into a form of support?

The answer is the nature of the protests: the protestors became willing to lay down their lives for the cause. The instant they defied a notoriously restrictive government, reported to have a harsh penal system – the world’s eyes were drawn in their direction. But when the protestors truly began to experience true harm – danger to their bodies, to their lives – the heart of the world was there. Suddenly, we all care about why they feel the need to protest and about what they hope to accomplish. Their sacrifice produced our interest.

As Christians we have a similar oppurtunity: everyday. By laying down our own lives and holding up under the persecution we may face evereyday for the faith, we can produce a curiousity in the world about our God and the Grace he has shown us through Christ. We can turn our sacrifice (the daily crucifixion of our flesh and all that we give up with that) into a chance to capture the attention of the world around us, and bring the focus to Christ. Everyday we have the oppurtunity to initiate our own Christian Revolution, fighting with our sacrifice, for Christ.

As for our brothers and sisters in Iran sacrificing for their right to a legitimate vote – let us continue to pray, continue to support in the ways that they let us know to.

God Bless,
C.S.

Bigger Than Me, Bigger Than You! (Part 3)

Striving to Be Like Christ — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 02:44:50 +0000

Galatians 3:1-5

Faith or Observance of the Law

¹You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. ²I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? ³Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? ⁴Have you suffered so much for nothing—if it really was for nothing? ⁵Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?
Paul was perplexed about the folk in Galatia. With their customs and culture, they began to validate the blessings in their lives by their own hands, counting their works as credit for their salvation. The key questions is posed in v. 5

“Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?”

So how do we apply this today? Well, here’s are some questions for you:

Do you have the blessings in your life from the grace God provides through His Son Christ Jesus, or from your works/obedience ?
Have you “earned” what good you have in your life through your obedience/church attendance/moralistic behavior/good attitude?
Is it Jesus alone or your do you need your traditions (baptism, confession, Oprah books,circumcision)

It is always important to remember the grace by which we were saved. We did nothing for God to choose us out of our transgressions to be called His Sons and Daughters, and we do nothing to earn or maintain the calling He has for us. Let us keep mindful of the gift God has given us, and pray to love and learn more about Him, striving to be obedient out of love-not out of effort to maintain the salvation we never deserved.

^{Gal 3:26}You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, ²⁷for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. ²⁸There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Much Love in Christ and God Bless,

C.S.