God's Word For Every Day

Romans 1:16 ; 1 Corinthians 2:2 ; 1 Corinthians 6:19–20 ; Galatians 6:14 Paul was no silent disciple, no half-hearted follower of Jesus. He was not ashamed of his Lord. He was glad to say, "I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to every one who has faith" ( Romans 1:16 ). Why was Paul bold to say, "God forbid that I should glory save in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ" ( Galatians 6:14 )? Why was Paul so emphatic in saying, "I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified" ( 1 Corinthians 2:2 )? The answer is very simple and straightforward. He was a man who had been grasped by the power of the Gospel. Through the power of Christ, Paul was no longer his own. He belonged to Christ. This was why he was able to write to the Corinthian Christians, "You are not your own; you have been bought with a price" ( 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 ). He was a man filled with the power of the Holy Spirit....

"  I have been  crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the  life  which I now live in the flesh  I live by faith in the Son of God,  who loved me and gave Himself for me" (Galatians 2:20). Many years ago, in the early years of my Christian life, I was greatly blessed through reading two books - Watchman Nee's book, The Normal Christian Life , and John Stott's book, Men Made New. Watchman Nee concentrated much attention on Galatians 2:20, while John Stott focused on Romans 6 (as part of a series of talks on Romans 5-8, given at the Keswick Convention). These faithful men of God instructed me in the things of God. Their ministry was reinforced by two other booklets - William Still's booklet, Towards Spiritual Maturity , and James Philip's booklet, Christian Maturity. Each of these men - Watchman Nee, John Stott, William Still and James Philip - have entered into the glory of their Lord. They were faithful men in th...

“God forbid that I should boast of anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Galatians 6:14). These words of Paul take us to the heart of the gospel. They remind us of his words in 1 Corinthians 1:23 – “we preach Christ crucified” – and 1 Corinthians 2:2 – “I decided to concentrate only on Jesus Christ and his death on the cross.”

"This is My blood of the   new  covenant,  which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins" (Matthew 26:28). Early on in my Christian life, I read James Denney's book, The Death of Christ.  Reading this book gave me a real sense of the importance of the death of Christ. This has stayed with me over the years. It helped me to understand why the Apostle Paul said, "we preach Christ crucified" (1 Corinthians 1:23),  " I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified" (1 Corinthians 2:2) and "God forbid that I should ever boast (or glory) except in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Galatians 6:14). It helped me to understand what John the Baptist when he pointed to Jesus and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). Many year have come and gone since I read James Denney's book. It is still my great desire to join, with John the Baptist, i...

"Or  do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit  who is  in you, whom you have from God,  and you are not your own?  20  For  you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s" (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) These verses speak to us of our great privilege and our great responsibility. We have been called by grace - and we have been called to holiness. What a great privilege is ours - the Holy Spirit has been given to us. He lives in our hearts. What a great responsibility is ours! We are to "be filled with the Spirit" (Ephesians 5:18), and we are to "walk in the Spirit" (Galatians 5:16) - and may we never forget this: "you were bought at a price" - we have been "redeemed ... with the precious blood of Christ" (1 Peter 1:18-19). --- Here's a link to a song that reminds us of how much our Lord Jesus Christ has done for us -  Nothing but the Blood of Jesus ( moder...

Galatians 1:1-2:10 Lord, we thank you that You have given to us "a revelation of Jesus Christ" (Galatians 1:12). Christ is the Gospel. He is our testimony. He is our message. Help us to keep Him at the very centre of our life. In our ever-changing world, help us to keep on saying, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever" (Hebrews 13:8). Galatians 2:11-3:22 Lord, we thank You that Jesus died for us. we thank You that He lives in us. In Him, there is love - "He loved me." In Him, there is life - "He lives in me" (Galatians 2:20). Thank You, Lord, for Jesus, for the love that He has shown to us and the life that He has given to us. Galatians 3:23-5:6 Lord, we do not come to You with our religion in one hand and our morality in the other. We do not come, insisting that we deserve to be blessed by You. Help us to bring our pride to the Cross of Christ. Help us to pray, "Spirit of the living God, fall...

What kind of people are we to be? What kind of life are we to live? Lord, You’re calling us to live a life of “love” (Proverbs 17:9). How, Lord, do we learn what love is? – We learn from You. You show us what love is – “God so loved the world that He gave His only Son … ” (John 3:16). In Jesus, we see perfect love – “The Son of God loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). The Holy Spirit fills our lives with Your love – “The fruit of the Spirit is love” (Galatians 5:22). Help us, Lord, to live a Godly, Christlike, Spirit-filled life – a life of love.

Galatians 6:11-18 "God forbid that I should glory ... " (Galatians 6:14). This is more than "I will never boast ... " Who says, "I will never boast"? Remember Peter. He said this, and, then, he denied the Lord three times. "God forbid ... " is a prayer for God's help. It's not an assertion about what "I will never" do. How do we glory ... ? - This is more than singing hymns about the Cross of Christ. It's more than celebrating the Lord's Supper. It's being "crucified to the world" (Galatians 6:14). It's living as "a new creation" (Galatians 6:15). This is what Paul speaks about in Galatians 5:22-25. We have received new life from the Spirit. We are to live the new life of the Spirit - the life of "love."

When our devotion to the Lord is being deepened, we learn to walk with Him on the way of the cross – “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20) When our devotion to the Lord is being deepened, we will be less concerned with being more popular and more concerned with pleasing the Lord – “approved to God” (2 Timothy 2:15).

"But with You there is forgiveness  so that You can be feared" (Psalm 130:4). There is a sense in which forgiveness means the end of fear -   " There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1). When we are rejoicing in God's salvation, we rejoice in this - " perfect love casts out fear" (1 John 4:18). There is another sense in which "the fear of the Lord" (Proverbs 1:7) continues after we've been forgiven. Filled with with thanksgiving to God for His free gift of salvation, we seek to glorify the Lord in our lives. Loving the Lord, who first loved us (1 John 4:19), we pray that He will keep us close to Himself. There will be times when we're looking to the Lord to lead us in His way - "This is the way, walk in it" (Isaiah 30:21). There will be times when we need to hear the word of warning - This is not the way. Do not walk in it. "The fear of the Lord" keeps us f...

In Galatians 3:14 , we read about "receiving the promise of the Spirit through faith." What does this mean? It may be helpful to think, first, about what it doesn't mean. We must never think of the Holy Spirit as a reward that is given to us because we have faith - the more faith we have, the more the Holy Spirit is given to us. Where does this kind of thinking come from? It comes from human pride. We make too much of our faith - and we get things the wrong way round. When faith is real, it changes us. This is something that we must always emphasize - but we must make sure that we never give the impression that the Holy Spirit is a reward - God's way of recognizing how well we are doing in the life of faith. When we think that we are being rewarded, the focus is on ourselves - 'Look at what I've achieved. Look at the progress I've made.' We are called to make progress in the life of faith - but we must never forget where this progress comes ...

Galatians 1:1-2:10    ‘A revelation of Jesus Christ’(1:12) - This is what the Gospel is all about. Christ is the Gospel. Without Him, there is no Gospel. What was Paul’s testimony? What did he preach to others? - God ‘was pleased to reveal His Son in order that I might preach Him…’ (1:15-16). We have no other testimony. We have no other message. Christ is our Testimony. Christ is our Message. Paul’s conversion, Paul’s preaching - All of this comes from a very long time ago. So much has changed. Things are so different now. We listen to this kind of talk and we wonder, ‘Is the Gospel still relevant?’. Should we not leave Christ in the past and ‘get on with living in today’s world?’ We listen to the world’s talk and we are filled with doubts. Listen to God’s Word: ‘Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and for ever’(Hebrews 13:8).   Galatians 2:11-3:22   Who is the Christ who stands in the centre of Paul’s testimony and preaching? He is the c...

Galatians 1:1-12  "The Gospel" came to Paul "by a revelation of Jesus Christ" (Galatians 1:11-12). This was important for Paul - and it's important for us. Our faith has come to us from above, from God. It doesn't come from ourselves. It is given to us by God. At the heart of our faith is Jesus Christ - "our Lord and our God" (John 20:28), "the Way, the Truth and the Life" (John 14:6); "Look! He is coming with the clouds" (Revelation 1:7).

We're creatures of habit. We have our daily routines. What are we to say about this? - Take care that you don't get stuck in a rut! If we are serious about our commitment to Jesus Christ, we must be ready for change. Jesus doesn't leave us the way that he finds us. He changes us. In him, we become "a new creation" (2 Corinthians 5:17). Change that comes from the Lord is good change. It's change that comes as a result of being "transformed by the renewal of our minds" (Romans 12:2). Jesus changes our way of thinking - and he changes our way of living. This change in our way of thinking and our way of living begins with a change in our attitude towards him. Our thinking and our living are to be shaped by the attitude of gratitude. We learn to see how much Jesus loves us and how much he has done for us - and we are thankful. When we begin to give thanks to our Saviour, we cannot remain the same as we were before we came to see how much he has loved us....

“God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (Galatians 6:14). No boasting of ourselves – only glorying in the Lord: that’s what we learn at the cross of Christ. How can we even think of boasting of ourselves when we consider what we needed to be done by Christ to purchase, for us, our eternal salvation! As we come to the cross of Christ, we are changed. How can we remain the same when we consider how much our Saviour has done to provide, for us, our eternal salvation!

"No one can ever buy back another person  or pay God a ransom for his life" (Psalm 49:7). What no-one else could ever do for us, God has done for us -  "... the  Son of Man came ... to give His life as a ransom for many people” (Mark 10:45). "God forbid that I should glory except in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Galatians 6:14).

Two men with the same name – Saul, the first king of Israel, and Saul of Tarsus, the persecutor of Christ and His servants. In both stories, we read of a new man. * In the case of Saul, the first king of Israel, David was the new man. Saul was rejected. He was replaced. The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king … So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed David in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came upon David in power. Samuel then went to Ramah” ( 1 Samuel 16:1, 13 ). * In the case of Saul of Tarsus, it was very different. Saul became the new man. He became Paul the apostle. He was saved by the Lord. His life was transformed by the power of Christ’s love. He became a new creation in Christ Jesus. He had this great testimony: “It is no lon...

"Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: ...    Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law" (Romans 3:24,28). In God's way of salvation, there's no room for boasting from us. Salvation is God's gift. It's given to us "by His grace." We do not come to Him, saying, 'Look at all the good things I've done.' We look away from ourselves to Jesus Christ. He is our Saviour. We look away from what we have done. We turn our attention to what He has done for us - and we rejoice and give thanks that "He loved us and gave Himself for us" (Galatians 2:20).

"Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: 'Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.'" (Galatians 3:13). The law condemns us - every one of us. None of us is without sin. The love that sent Jesus to the Cross - this is what redeems us. From the Cross, love is reaching out to us. Jesus is reaching out to us. We look at Him on the Cross - and we know that He loves us. We know that His love triumphs over our sin. He has gone to the place of crucifixion for us. God's perfect Son has been crucified for us. Through His death, we receive the forgiveness of our sins - and this is just the beginning of the pathway that leads to His eternal glory. Let us praise the Lord - with hearts full of joyful thanksgiving.

Galatians 3:23-5:6 ‘God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts’(4:6). The Spirit is not a reward we earn by being good people. The Spirit is God’s gift (Titus 3:5). Paul connects the gift of the Spirit with Christ’s death for us and our faith in Christ(3:13-14). We do not come to God with our religion in one hand and our morality in the other, insisting that we deserve to be blessed by Him. We look away from ourselves to Christ - ‘Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to Thy Cross I cling’(Church Hymnary, 83). All pride in ourselves must be brought to Christ’s Cross as we humbly pray, ‘Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me, break me, melt me, mould me, fill me’(Mission Praise, 613). God has given His Spirit to us. Let’s give ourselves to Him - to ‘be filled with the Spirit’(Ephesians 5:18). Galatians 5:7-6:18 What are we praying for when we ask God to fill us with His Spirit? We are praying ‘for love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness...