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Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies John 11:25 |
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| Archived Manna: | |
Dear
Friend,
If you do not already have a habit of gathering daily manna the first thing in the morning (we can look at the example given to us in Exodus 16 and find the pattern for make it a habit. Establish your life and your schedule to allow you the necessary time to do your daily collection first thing every morning to give you the strength to make it through the day. And remember that today’s manna will not be sufficient for tomorrow; tomorrow’s manna must be collected tomorrow morning. Monday, March 16, 2026
Today's Passage : Today's Passage :Who Has Cut Us Off from the Truth? Bible Verse: Galatians 5:7-12 "You were doing so well. What cut you off from the path you followed? Who persuaded you? They cannot have your best interest at heart, or they would not be trying to hinder your freedom like this. (It doesn’t take much, does it? “A pinch of yeast leavens a pound of dough.”) And actually, I worry more for them than for you. I am sure you will come around; but whoever is trying to mislead you will have much to answer for, one day. As for me, brothers, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? For then the offense of the cross has been removed. How I wish that those who trouble you would be chopped off. DP Parallel Bible (3-Column) - Galatians 5" Message:
n these verses, Paul concludes the primary intention of the epistle — persuading the Galatians to reject the Judaizers, who have been teaching them that they must follow the Law to become Christians. Having (hopefully) persuaded the listeners that the Law will not save them, that Judaism was superseded by Christ, and that returning to Judaism would actually sever the freedom they have found in Christ, he ends with a few mordant remarks about the Judaizers themselves.
Who has impeded their faith, by making these absurd claims? Paul does not expect them to answer him; he does not foresee a letter, in return mail, giving the names of the people doing this. Rather, he wants the Galatians to identify, in their own minds, those persons who have preached the Gospel of Christ to them, as opposed those who have misrepresented the path to salvation.
It is a question for the ages. We will do well to consider it ourselves. The sources of damaging untruths are both external and internal; and they are, as Satan himself puts it, “Legion.” (Mark 5:1-9) There is one truth, but falsehoods are without number. For the world has many billions of inhabitants, and each of us is, by our nature, a little heresy machine capable of pumping out falsehoods.
The sources completely outside the church, we hardly need bother with. Aggressive Satanists, also known as “atheists”, form their suicide pacts with books and speeches ranging from scholarly to sarcastic. They are hell-bent anti-evangelists, and they want as many as possible to share their Kool-Aid.
Christian unity
The more worrisome sources are more insidious: those within the church, and those within ourselves. One might see church denominations as groups of Christians who have banded together because they share a desire to ignore or distort the same parts of the Bible. Paul would not blame us for belonging to a Christian denomination, no matter how errant the official doctrine, but he has strong words for their leaders; in fact, he shows confidence, in these verses, that we will find Christ and freedom even when we are misled by distortions of the Word.
Within ourselves, how can we find the undefiled Christ, when we see our neighbor’s doctrinal error? We must ask for the Spirit’s help, to help us test our thoughts honestly against God’s Word. (1 Thess. 5:21.) We must always humble our own ideas before the Word, for our temptation to stray will never end. Our thoughts are distorted by our sinful desires and by our emotions. To try to read God’s Word without imposing our own thoughts upon is an act of love, for Christ and ultimately for ourselves.
Secondly, we must always pray for clear understanding of the Bible, keeping an open mind. And third, we must always confess our distorted thought, for just as Paul has taught us in the preceding four chapters, our efforts at righteousness will never fully succeed. We must ask God to forgive us for the lies we tell ourselves (and others) about His Word, and especially, for those we do not recognize. For Christ is faithful to forgive us, if we are struggling to know Him fully.
The last two verses are two quick shots at the Judaizers. First, some of them were claiming that Paul was performing circumcisions. Paul retorts, why would I be subjecting myself to persecution if I were performing circumcisions? In other words, if Judaism was sufficient for salvation, I wouldn’t be preaching the cross! Second, he allows himself a bit of a bawdy joke, saying that he wishes they would be “cut off” — and yes, he actually means the double entendre: If they are cutting off foreskins, he wishes they would go ahead and cut off the whole thing!
Meditation : Prayer : Holy God, I pray to be filled with your Holy Spirit for the rest of this day. Let me go forth, walking with your Spirit in my heart, that I may be filled with the joy and energy and praise for your entire creation, thankful in the many gifts you have given me, and showing forth your light in my every word and deed. This I pray in Christ’s name Amen. |
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