Galatians!!!

Job 28-29
Galatians 1-2

Job 28:28 And he said to man, "The fear of the Lord - that is wisdom, and to shun evil is understanding." Thanks Lord for the reminder of what you've shown me in the past weeks about "fearing" you. :-)

SOAP - Galatians!!!

Sorry, this kinda turned into a rant...

Scripture
Galatians 1:6-7 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel, which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ.

Observation
Paul was teaching that we are saved by grace and can never earn God's love. Others were trying to tell the people that as Christians they still needed to follow the law in detail and had to earn their way into heaven. At the beginning of this letter Paul is trying to set straight some of the confusion between what he taught these people and what others are trying to teach them.

Application
I think this kind of confusion still happens a lot. There are parts of the Bible that make it sound like there is way more to it than grace. And there are parts that sound like grace is the only thing we need. And of course there is the thought that if we really have faith and believe in God's grace, God's love, Christ's sacrifice... our actions will change and we will in effect be following "the law". Actually in the present day it seems even more confusing because we want to love everyone, even when they are big time sinners. It's not our place to evaluate whether someone is a sinner, we are just supposed to love them. But then it's hard to keep from trying to "fix" people when we see the same sin in their lives that we've struggled with and see how much better our lives are now that we've let go of that sin. But we can't fix people, God does that part. I just know that I get confused. I've never been inclined to sit anyone down and point out their sins. But I do notice things going on in other peoples lives that I have struggled with too.

Actually, to me it's confusing for other reasons too. There are things God has convicted me of that I struggle with a lot. I really want to do the right thing. I really want to do what he has told me. But then I see what looks like entire congregations that are doing exactly what he's told me to avoid. And it makes me mad. Why should I have to struggle with this and yet he has apparently told this whole group of people not to worry about it? I don't understand the church's that have spent thousands of dollars on something like a cool lighting system, huge TV screens, extravagant decorations, etc., when two miles down the road there are homeless people out in the cold, hungry and freezing. There are probably even families within their own congregation that are struggling to get by. There are needs that are not being met everywhere we look! I'm not saying I use all that the Lord has blessed me with to feed the poor or help those in need, but I definitely feel a calling to improve there. So it confuses me when I see a church, an establishment I'd like to look to for guidance, that has embraced and attitude of glamour and self indulgence. To me, that is just confusing. I know the church won't be perfect and I try to keep from expecting it to be perfect, but I guess I want to look at it and see evidence that they are talking to the same God as I am. Ok, sorry for the rant. I know this is my problem and I shouldn't be worried about what other people are doing.

Prayer
Dear Lord. I get the feeling that the answer you have for me is that it doesn't matter what other people are doing. You are not asking me to serve you based on the actions of others, you are asking me to serve you based on what you've placed on my heart. Lord please help me stop looking at others and evaluating what they are doing. I know it serves no purpose. Lord I'm sorry that I'm so inclined to do that. Help me see clearly the things you have place on my heart. Thank you Lord for the many many blessings I have in this life. Thank you for your love and your grace. Amen.