Month: June 2016

06 19 Galatians 5.22-26 It doesn’t take very long to understand how to get under someone’s skin.  We know exactly what buttons to push to get a response out of a person be it a sibling, a parent, a co-worker, or a class-mate.  Here Paul talks about a willful, deliberate act of provoking someone else to do wrong.  How do we combat that?  He tells us we need to keep in step with the Holy Spirit.  It’s like a marching band synchronized to the majorette directing the beat and movement.  When we follow the leading of the Spirit, He will not only develop His fruit in our life, but will direct our steps away from the sinful desires of the flesh.

06 12 Galatians 5.13 In reality, it boils down to a decision of serving self or serving others.  Our motivation to serve others it out of love, fostered first by a love and devotion to serve the Lord after which we will want to serve others.  The proper attitude and motivation to serve others in love can only come from God working in us through His Spirit.  Jesus gave us an example by taking on the lowly task of a servant and washing feet.  Then He told His disciples to go and do the same – not necessarily to wash feet, but to serve others.  What’s keeping us from serving one another?

06 05 Romans 15.14 This is perhaps the most difficult one another exhortation of all.  I’m speaking of the command to admonish on another.  The reason we are to do so is because of sin, but with there are any number of reactions both positive and negative.  It is the negative reactions that I think keep us from admonishing.  And while everyone should, not everyone should.  In two separate passages Paul shares three criteria that I think are essential qualifications for someone to have.  In Romans 15:14 he states that the Romans were both full of goodness and complete in knowledge.  They were growing and mature believers.  From Galatians 5:13 we read that a third qualification is to be spiritual.  Without these we would be harsh in the admonition and perhaps critical and condescending.  If we are all to admonish, then it strikes me that we should endeavor to meet these criteria by a regular time of self-assessment to see if we meet them.  If not, we best get busy to grow in grace and in the knowledge of Christ.