The Daily Dose

He was separated from the cross

But 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

As I read this verse, I saw a picture of the cross and Jesus being separated from it after His death on it.  That old cross was thrown away and is long gone.  Jesus was laid in a tomb that He used for only three days.  Then He got up and walked out and that is when He became my Savior.  He was always the Son of God, but not until He nailed my sin to the cross did He become my Savior.  When He was taken off the cross, that sin, suffering, shame, sickness and separation went with the cross.  Eternal life, resurrection, relationship and revelation went with Jesus.  When that cross was thrown away, my sin went with it.  Jesus was laid in a tomb, but after three days He rose up and that is when my life began.  The story then follows Jesus, not the cross.  Now I am in Christ Jesus who carries my wholeness!  The cross has been destroyed and my sin with it.

In today’s verse, Paul says don’t ever let it be said that I brag about anything except the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ on the cross.  In other words, he was saying the only thing that matters is my sin was thrown away with that cross.  I walk in newness and wholeness with my risen Savior Jesus.  In Him the world has been crucified to me and in Him I have been crucified to the world. Now the ways of the world have been thrown away and put far from me, just as the cross was move far from Jesus. He draws a line in time at the cross and when Jesus was separated from it and the sin of the world.  That’s when the world died to him and he died to the world.  Of course we know that happened at the point when he received His salvation, but he looks back to that moment in time when sin was nail to the cross and names that as his separation moment from the world’s ways.

Paul concludes this letter to the Galatians by saying: nothing else matters in this life.  Not physical works, but only becoming a new creation in Him.  Lastly he says, I bear in my body the marks of the LORD Jesus.  He identified himself with Jesus as a branding that he belongs to God, not to the world.

Today I want to encourage you to look at the moment in time of the cross as the point you were separated from your sin.  Even though it was 2000 years later when you received your salvation, your sin, past, present and future was nailed to the cross that day with Jesus.  Now, even though it is 2000 years later when you walked away from your sin and received newness in life, you can see that it happened when Jesus was separated from your sin, suffering, shame, sickness and separation from God.  Now you are a new creation, branded with the name Christian saying that you not only identify with Him, you belong to Him!

Today’s scripture reading: Galatians 6:11-18

  Personal growth

“And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.”  Galatians 6:9

Today I want to focus on getting on a personal growth plan.  So, let’s start by defining what a personal growth plan is.  It is actually just that.  A plan that you set up for yourself to grow into the best version of you.  Personal growth is essential for living life to the fullest.  If you aren’t moving forward, then you are drifting backwards and not living your life on purpose.  It’s a lot like paddling a boat in the direction you want to go.  However, if you stop paddling, you may feel like you are just resting, but the reality is the wind and waves are carrying you somewhere and it may be somewhere you don’t want to be.  Suddenly, you look around and think, “How did I get here?”

So, a personal growth plan can be very simple.  It is basically just setting some small daily goals to reach a desired result.  It can be in the area of finances, for example, if you are trying to get out of debt or save money. A daily goal may be to set aside a certain amount for each day and then stick to that plan.  It could be in the area of health and fitness.  Maybe you want to eat healthier, so you set up some limitation for your eating habits.  The important thing is to set attainable goals not unrealistic ones.  It can also be something like journaling each day or setting aside time to spend with God.  Outreach is another opportunity for growth.  Volunteer someplace or find a place in your church to serve, anything you have a desire to do to better yourself and your life.  By setting up a plan you are more likely to achieve it.  Just start with one thing, write it down, and then you can add to it monthly or yearly.

After you have set the daily goal the next step is to ask a close friend that you trust to be your accountability partner.  This is better to be someone outside of your home.  If you choose your spouse as your accountability partner you risk the chance of their help turning into nagging and can make for unnecessary stress on your relationship.  When you have chosen someone to help keep you accountable, simply communicate with them each day with your progress.  If you were successful in your daily goals then they will celebrate with you and if you were unsuccessful, they will encourage you to do better tomorrow.  That’s it.  It doesn’t need to be complicated.

Todays verse talks about not growing weary of doing good things.  Whether it’s for yourself or others, if you are consistent and don’t give up, you will reap great benefits from your efforts and hard work.  Setting up a personal growth plan will enable you to become the best “you” you can be.

Today I want to challenge you to begin your own “personal growth plan”.  Consider one thing that you could begin doing today that would make your life fuller, then set up a daily goal that will help you to accomplish that desire.  If you cannot think of anything, talk to God and ask Him what one thing you can do to take a step closer to Him.  He will reveal it to you and will also help you come up with a plan to accomplish it.  Celebrate your success each week and you will begin to step into newness in your everyday life.

Today’s scripture reading:  Galatians 6:6-10

Reap what you sow

“Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.”  Galatians 6:7

This scripture passage about reaping what you sow is pretty obvious that if you sow goodness, or to the spirit, then you will reap good.  If you’re sowing bad, or to the flesh, then you reap to the flesh. I have always perceived this verse to be negative because even the world says, “watch out because you will “reap what you sow”, meaning if you are doing something unkind or spiteful toward someone it will come back on you.  But the seed you plant produces either way, good or bad.  It just depends on what you are sowing.

Although sowing God‘s Word brings a harvest; we are also sowing all our words and actions too.  These will produce after their own kind.  They bring a harvest either for the good or the bad. Much like a farmer when he plants corn, he doesn’t expect wheat to come up, he expects to get a harvest of corn.  Likewise, when we are sowing spiritual seed like kind words, giving of our time and resources, or sowing the love of God to others, then we can be assured we will reap spiritual fruit like joy and peace.  But if we are sowing/planting complaining, criticizing or condemning words and actions, then we can expect a harvest of discontentment and strife.

Today I want to encourage you to consider what you are sowing/planting. Make a conscientious effort to begin to plant God’s goodness wherever you go. You won’t have to name or claim your harvest, it will automatically produce because it’s what you planted.  Sowing spiritual seed is the key to a life of satisfaction and contentment.

Today’s scripture reading:  Galatians 6:1-7

Connect with others

“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”  Galatians 6:2

How do you connect with people?  Do you reach out and offer a helping hand?  Do you look for ways to encourage others on to reach their goals?  Or are you the kind of person that thinks all relationships are for you to benefit from?  Sadly, many do not realize that the deepest relationships are those in which you have invested your time, love, and resources.  In order to have a true connection with someone, your relationship needs to be more about the other person than yourself.  How can I help this person accomplish their goals or even how do I encourage them through their current struggle?

Today’s key verse talks about bearing each other’s burdens.  It’s the idea of walking alongside of someone through life’s ups and downs.  As believers, we are to care for one another and reach out to others in a way that we become connected.  In other words, our concerns, interests, and efforts are all about other people, not ourselves.  This is not common, popular, or even comfortable.  Reaching out to others can be risky and even painful if rejected.  However, it is imperative that we take the risk, especially in the times of crisis.  Now more than ever before, people are fearful and hurting.  They need to hear that there is a God out there that truly loves them and gave His Son so He could have a relationship with them and get them through every adversity.

In the past it has been taught that the most important thing is to get the message of the gospel out there.  People need to be saved and we need to speak the message loud and clear.  That is true, but the real way to reach a person is through demonstrating the love of God.  You know the old saying “actions speak louder than words?”  People will not be able to hear the message of the good news until they see the actions of the Good Shepherd coming through your life.

Today I want to encourage you to make a connection with someone who is seeking, just one person at a time.  Reach out to a neighbor or co-worker with a word of encouragement or helping hand.  Cultivate a relationship of love with that person and let them see who Jesus really is through the way you love them not condemn them.  Don’t retreat or pull back from your calling, push forward and make steps of progress every day.  Advance God’s Kingdom today by showing His love to all those around you.

Today’s scripture reading:  Galatians 6:1-5

Follow the Leader

Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.  Galatians 5:25

Did you ever played the game “follow the leader” when you were a child?  The idea was, after one person was chosen to be the ”leader” the rest of the group would follow and copy everything the “leader” did.  If you messed up, you were out of the game. As the “leader” you couldn’t mess up because your were leading.

Today’s scripture is about following the leading of the Holy Spirit.  Not exactly the same as playing a game of follow the leader, but the concept is comparable.  Following the leading of the Holy Spirit of God is like following the example of Jesus.  Since He was led in this world by God’s Spirit, we can learn what His life looked like and follow that example.  That is certainly one of the ways, but there are other ways too.  Following the wisdom and direction in God’s Word can be one of the ways we follow the Spirit.  Since God’s Word was given by the Holy Spirit to the men and women that wrote it, it makes sense that it would be following His direction to listen and copy it.

Then there is the voice of the Holy Spirit on the inside that gives us step by step instruction and direction for daily living.  Specific things that aren’t necessarily in the scripture.  Things like God’s personal plan and assignment for your life.  Where you should work or where you should live.  Who you should marry, things like that.  The best way to tune into that voice is to spend quiet time getting familiar with His voice and conversing with Him privately, on a daily basis.  Get to know His voice in the little things, then when the big issues come, you will already know what He sounds like, so you can stay on track.  One clue is that He always backs up His inner voice with His written Word.  The voice of the Holy Spirit on the inside of you will never and I mean never contradict His written Word.  You can even ask Him (if you are not sure) to give you two or three passages of scripture to confirm what you are hearing on the inside.  He will, I promise!  God’s Word is His fail-safe.

Today I want to encourage you to follow the leader!  Follow the leading of the Holy Spirit in your daily living.  Get His input on your day to day activities and listen as He guides you into all truth.  Many are praying for God to lead them into some great world wide ministry, but when God says, “I need you to get up a half hour early each day to talk with me and get to know my voice first, they are not even interested in that direction.  That is way to small and insignificant.  Yet, that is the very thing that will lead them to the next thing He has for them.  Since we are living by the Spirit, lets start following the Spirit in every area of our lives and let’s start consenting to connect in every way, in the big things and the little.

Today’s scripture reading: Galatians 5:24-26

Spiritual Fruit

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.”  Galatians 5:22-23

The fruit of the Spirit.  Many of us are familiar with this list of spiritual fruit here in Galatians 5.  It is commonly referred to as things that Christian people should do and how we should behave.  However, if you take a closer look, some of the characteristics on this list are not always so easy to do, things like peace.  With all the turmoil in the world and even in day to day living, peace can be very elusive. Worry and fear can be our constant companion if we let them.  Longsuffering can also be challenging because we live in a demanding, “right now” world that doesn’t want to wait for anything let alone suffer for it.  Self-control??  That is almost unheard of these days.  From credit card debt to road rage, self-control is not something that is popular in today’s culture.  Most would rather talk about how they told somebody off or got the best of someone rather than how they humbled themselves in a situation. 

Having said all that, is it even possible to live by the fruit of the Spirit?  The answer is in a seed.  In a natural seed, there is every part of a plant within it.  The stem, the branches, the leaves and if it is a fruit plant, then the fruit is in the seed, too.  When it is planted and cultivated, the things that are already inside the seed will automatically come out, including the fruit.

The spiritual life is the same.  The fruit of the Spirit is not something you attain to or try to accomplish in life by being a good Christian.  It is merely the produce of the measure of the Spirit inside of you.  If you find that fruit doesn’t come out of you easily and that you are working hard at living by a set of rules to try to produce fruit, then it is an indication that there isn’t much of the Holy Spirit inside you.  As you fill your life up with the things of God and His Spirit, such as personal time with Him, pursuing a deeper understanding of the Holy Spirit, fellow-shipping with other believers, and separating from worldly distractions, then the fruit will be the result or evidence of these spiritual habits and it will be easy for others to see the fruit you are bearing.  It is the Holy Spirit within you that produces the fruit, not you.  You may not even realize you are displaying fruit just because you have become so close to God by hanging out with Him so much, and developed the spiritual habits that result and automatically produce spiritual fruit.

Today I encourage you to consider how much time you spend focusing on spiritual things and how much time you could be spending growing closer to God.  Make a shift in your activities to give God’s Spirit a great place inside of you.  Then fill that space up with His presence each day before you let any other influence in.  Let the fruit of God’s Spirit be the evidence of who you have become in Christ Jesus.

Today’s scripture reading:  Galatians 5:22-26

Walk in the Spirit

Walk in the Spirit, and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh.  Galatians 5:16

Walk in the Spirit.  What exactly does that look like?  It doesn’t mean you go around as a ghost and it doesn’t mean that you see things beyond the physical.  It does mean that you live your life in line with the Kingdom of Heaven.  How do you do that?  By lining up with the Word of God.  All through out the scripture, our heavenly Father shows and tells us the kingdom principles to live by.  Jesus especially spent a lot of His teaching on how the kingdom of Heaven works and how it was designed to be the same in this world.  It is basically lining up every area of your life and submitting it to God and His order of doing things.  This is not about keeping rules and regulations although that is part of the process.  It is not about controlling your behavior, although that is one of the results.  It is about living life successfully by the way that God created us to live.

For example, in verse 17 of this chapter it talks about how our flesh wars against our spirit man.  It wants to control our life by what it “feels like” doing.  A simple illustration would be when your body doesn’t “feel like” getting out of bed in the morning to go to work.  Your spirit man takes over and says, I am getting up because it is the right thing to do.  If you don’t take your authority over your physical body (flesh) it will lead you to a lot of wrong places in life.  In the verses following (19-21) there is an extensive list of the works your flesh will take you to if you do not exercise your authority over it.

I know this is a little confusing because we are one person, but we do have three parts.  The body, soul (which is the mind, will and emotions) and our spirit.  The spirit man should be the part of you that is in charge of all you do and your spirit’s primary responsibility is to be lined up with God’s ways and led by His Spirit!

Today I want to encourage you to walk in the Spirit!  If you are unsure how to line up with the Kingdom of heaven, spend some time looking in the scripture.  Especially look at how Jesus taught us to live.  He gives us so many examples on how to handle all areas of life. He told us in Matthew 6:33 that the order of our lives starts with God Kingdom and look for God’s kingdom first in every area of life, then everything else gets into place. (But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Matthew 6:33)

Today’s scripture reading: Galatians 5:16-21

Love your neighbor

For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.  Galatians 5:14

In this verse, Paul says that in loving your neighbor as yourself, you are fulfilling the requirement of the whole law.  (That is everything that is required under the old covenant)  This brings me to the question how do I “love my neighbor as myself”?  It has always been something hard for me to grasp.  Almost like a vapor, very cloudy, because I think I didn’t feel it was attainable or I just didn’t know how.  Then God showed me a practical way to view my neighbor so I would know how to love them with the God kind of love.  When I see my neighbor, I see myself.  If I see my neighbor struggling with something, what would I do if it were myself or what would I want someone to do for me if I was the one struggling with the same thing?  If I see my neighbor rejoicing about something, how would I want others to rejoice with me if I were celebrating something?

Now that I looked at it from this angle, it seemed very simple to understand, but not so simple to follow through. The first thing to identify is, who is my neighbor?  Is it those who live next door to me or in my neighborhood?  What if I live in the country and don’t have anyone living close to me?  Secondly, how do I know what to do to “love” them? In Luke 10:25-37 Jesus tells the story of the Good Samaritan to illustrate loving your neighbor as yourself.  In this parable, there were strangers who passed by a man that had fallen among thieves, and yet He calls the man who showed mercy his neighbor.  The Samaritan didn’t even know the guy and he certainly didn’t live next door to him. I also want to make the point that this was not a fellow believer, this was a dirty, hurting, dying, helpless, and hopeless sinner. The point is that anyone you can do good for is your neighbor.

The last thing I want to consider is why does God want me to love my neighbor as myself?  Is it only to make rules for me to keep me in line?  Is it to make me look like a good person?  No, the reason is to show others the very heart of God!  The only way others can know God is if they see His heart in our actions.  The other part of that is, we can see God’s heart in action when we are showing it to others.  If you want to see a great act of God, then watch it play out in your love for your “neighbor”.

Today and every day I encourage you to look for those God will send across your path to “love” as you love yourself and do good to them as you would do for yourself.  Let your actions toward others reflect the heart of God’s love for them.

Today’s scripture reading: Galatians 5:7-15

Entangled

Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.  Galatians 5:1

I love how the Apostle Paul repeatedly talks about being free in Christ Jesus.  He continues here in the 5^th Chapter to tell the people in Galatia how vital it is not to entangle themselves in the things of the world.  He says that you are a slave without Salvation in Christ Jesus.  Yet he qualifies that he is actually talking about being bound by the laws of the old covenant as opposed to sinful habits. He tells them that if they insist on their salvation being based on one of the old laws, then they are obligated to keep all the law (which they could never do) and that eliminates their need for their Savior Jesus.

I have heard people say in our time that it is hard to be a Christian.  That you have to give so much up and live this kind of impoverished life.  My response to that is, in this day and age how can you live this life without Jesus. Who do you turn to when you have trouble?  Who do you call on when you’ve got yourself in a mess and where do you go when you are without hope? 

It’s the same thing that the Galatians were facing.  They felt that to follow Jesus, they had to give up their false sense of security that they had in the old testament law.  They were feeling like to follow Jesus took away what was most important to them.  However, that’s just not the case!  Salvation in Christ Jesus is the only place to have security.  When you put your trust in the one who perfectly lived in this world and died a sinless death to free all from the bonds of sin, the work to gain freedom is done.  You no longer have to strive and struggle to try to be perfect because the perfect one perfected the work of salvation for you.  All you have to do is fall in love with Him and walk with Him each day.  It’s not difficult, in fact it’s so much easier to live this life in clearness and with the blinders of the world gone.  There is no more gray area, now you can see what living is really all about.  It’s not about keeping a bunch of rules and regulations, now its about a love story that never ends.

Today I want to encourage you to receive freedom in Christ Jesus.  Don’t let the lies of the world keep you in bondage to it.  Instead, turn a blind eye to the worlds ways and see clearly how to live through the lens of the love of God demonstrated in His Son’s sacrifice to make you a child too.

Pray this prayer today to receive your salvation in Him: :  God in heaven, I know I’m a sinner and I need a Savior.  I want to turn away from my sinful life to the life You have planned for me.  Please forgive me for my sins, cleanse me from my past, and make me new.  I know you Son, Jesus died for me.  I believe in my heart that You raised Him form the dead.  At this very moment, I accept, confess, and proclaim Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior . . . to be Lord of my life from this day forward.  I now have a right relationship with God my Father. I also ask for Your Holy Spirit to guide me and to empower me to do the things that You have planned for my life in Jesus name, Amen

Today’s scripture reading: Galatians 5:1-6

The family business

Before you Gentiles knew God, you were slaves to so-called gods that do not even exist. So now that you know God (or should I say, now that God knows you), why do you want to go back again and become slaves once more to the weak and useless spiritual principles of this world? Galatians 4:8&9

Yesterday I talked about being a slave or orphan vs. being a child of God.  In today’s verse, Paul talking to the Galatians, asks:  Why, after you have become a child of God, are you still living like you did as a slave?  It seems the group of Christians there were accepting Jesus as their savior, but not as their LORD.  The difference is in how you live.  They were receiving Jesus to rescue them from an eternity of separation from God, to save them.  However, they didn’t recognize that He was their LORD right here and now in this world.  They went right back into their old lifestyles and ways of living.  Paul says that they were still slaves to “gods” that didn’t really exist.  They were giving more importance to everything else in life instead of putting God in first place.

In Galatians 3:11 Paul says that the just live by faith.  Here in chapter four, he is trying to show the people of Galatia what that looks like.  He says that your life is different now and you have a Father.  Now you live your life by the Fathers ways.  These are not burdensome.  They are success principles.  Fundamentals that the Kingdom of Heaven was build on.  They are God’s ways and they are what works in this life.  We don’t follow them because we are obeying a set of rules and regulations, we live by them because we live in His house and His kingdom and they are the truths that work in this life.  This is how we honor our Heavenly Father, by living by faith a successful and virtuous life.  Not because we are forced to, but because we are His family and we work together with our Father and His ways to get His business accomplished!  We love our Father and are part of the family business.

Today I want to encourage you to live your life by faith.  Learn the success principles of the Kingdom of Heaven and then do them.  Take your place in God’s plans and be a part of the things your Father is doing in the world right now.  Not because you are following a set of rules and laws, but because you are a functioning part of your Father’s will and plan.  Make your life all about His work and not the worlds.

Today’s scripture reading: Galatians 4:8-31