Grains of Sand

Google Images The last two chapters of Galatians are rich with teaching. The issue throughout the book has been the problems that were being caused by the “wolves in sheep’s clothing” who had infiltrated the church and were trying to teach, as Paul puts it, “ a different gospel ” (1:6). As wolves are prone to do, they divided the flock of God. “Divide and conquer” is an effective strategy for getting what you want—every kid knows how to play off one parent against another. In these final words, Paul urges the Galatians not to give in, to “ stand firm ” (5:1), to continue to run “ a good race ” (5:7). He reminds them that it is important not to tolerate the untruth because “ A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough ” (5:9). Instead Paul urges the believers to walk in the Spirit and not fall into the trap of wolfish behaviour. “ You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love...

Reading: Isaiah 13-17, 2 Timothy 4 Paul has come to the end of his earthly journey. From his prison he writes to Timothy, his son in the faith, this letter of encouragement—and warning. Three times the old man tells the younger to beware of those who would corrupt the truth. These are enemies of the Gospel who come as much from the inside, from within the church, as they do from the pagan world. Oddly enough the apostle who was so conscious of the grace of God in his life, now mentions God the Judge, as he comes to the close of that mortal life (4:1, 8). Paul knows that though there is no question of condemnation, there is a question of God sifting through the thoughts and actions of those who profess His name and judging their quality (2:20, 21). He warns Timothy to stand firm. Paul writes: “ Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with s...

“ You gave me life and showed me kindness, and in your providence watched over my spirit ” —Job 10:12, NIV. This tiny ray of light appears in the middle of a long list of complaints that Job expressed to God as he went through some of the toughest times of any man’s life. How true to human nature is his example. How easy it is to forget the one truth that should hold us close when our world collapses around us. I guess the question we all end up asking ourselves is whether or not we really believe that the God who gave us life, showed us kindness and watched over our spirit in the past, would suddenly turn against us. Do we believe that God is always consistent? True to form? Of steady character? In the dark places of our lives, we sometimes think he has suddenly become fickle, deciding out of the blue to be vindictive, petty, or mean. Like Job, we don’t understand him all that well, nor do we understand the reasons for why his does what he does in our lives. This is where f...

“ A champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out of the Philistine camp. He was over nine feet tall ” —1 Samuel 17:4 Late yesterday afternoon I walked down to a nearby medical clinic to get a prescription renewed. Ahead of me in the line was a big man who was well over six feet tall. I remember thinking he’d make a good basketball player. The thought also passed through my mind that I wouldn’t want to have to fight him off if I happened to meet him a dark alley. He’d crush me like a grape. That experience gave me a whole lot of sympathy for the armies of Israel as they took a look at this Philistine champion. The deal was that Israel would send out its best warrior to meet Goliath and whoever was still standing at the end of the fight would determine the winner of the battle between the two nations. No one needed a crystal ball to figure out how this was going to end! The result was a standoff—no one did anything because no one in Israel was willing to get crushed like a...

The Galatian church was having "issues." People had crept into the church and were trying to persuade the believers to retain some of the old beliefs from which the Gospel of Jesus Christ had freed them. Paul called them on their drift back into the old and unproductive paths of believing that obedience to the law could save them. He even went so far as to call them "foolish" (Galatians 3:1). He recalled the uneasy meeting that took place between himself and the apostles in Jerusalem. The leaders of the early church were uneasy because in those early days after Paul's conversion, the believers were not entirely convinced that this "conversion" was another more than an elaborate hoax to trap them. Some of the Jews were still struggling with the entrance of the Gentiles into the Kingdom. Paul's claim to be an apostle to those Gentiles made him even more suspect to some. Paul was equally uneasy, uncertain about the reception he would receive from ...

" When he came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, 'Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.' Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. 'I am willing,' he said. 'Be clean!' Immediately he was cured of his leprosy " –Matthew 8:1-3. I wish I had been present when this incident took place. The leper shouldn't have been anywhere near the crowd. People suffering from this contagious and devastating disease were ostracized from society, forced to leave home and family and live in misery as far away from populated areas as possible. When approaching healthy people they were obligated to call out "Unclean! Unclean!" so that people could avoid them. How this man managed to get to Jesus was a miracle in itself. Jesus' fame had preceded him and the leper came in hope of healing. What most impresses me is his submission to the Lord. He knelt, but then anyo...

Psalm 67-69 When we are sloughing through the mud and mire of difficult circumstances, when we feel as though the troubles of life are about to pull us under and drown us in despair and depression, what's the first thing that comes to mind? Aside from calling for help from God, which should be our first step, what follows? David's words in Psalm 69 intrigued me this morning. The sweet singer of Israel is up to his eyeballs in difficulties. It doesn't appear that his troubles are the result of his sin though he is quick to acknowledge that even in the best of circumstances, he's not perfect (vs. 5). What is obvious is that David is being badly treated for all the right reasons. He is hated because he is doing what he knows the Lord wants of him. He's called for relief, but God is holding off sending the cavalry for the moment. What caught my attention the most in this psalm was David's concern for those other God-followers who might be watching his stru...

Psalm 28-30 I went through a period over this last year when God seemed silent. It wasn't that I thought that he had left me because I could see his hand on my life in many areas. It was just that in the areas where I wanted him to speak, he wouldn't. I felt a lot like David who wrote: " To you I call, O Lord my Rock; do not turn a deaf a ear to me. For if you remain silent, I will be like those who have gone down into the pit " —Psalm 28:1 NIV. The poet returns to a similar point in Psalm 30:7 when he writes: " …when you hid your face, I was dismayed ." In my desperation for answers that heaven was reluctant to give, I wondered if I had committed some sin that was keeping God from delivering. Since he was still blessing in other areas, that conclusion didn't make a whole lot of sense, but I asked him to examine my life anyway, to search out whatever might be causing the barrier in communication. Finding nothing that would result in such a huge ...

Numbers 25-27 Phinehas did a hard thing. He chose to do what was right in order to defend God’s honour. Israel had sinned by worshipping pagan gods promoted by women the Israelites had been told to avoid. God was angry and the punishment took the lives of 24,000 people until Phinehas stepped in, made a decisive move, and the angel of death removed his hand from God’s people. “ The Lord said to Moses, ‘Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, has turned my anger away from the Israelites; for he was zealous as I am for my honor among them, so that in my zeal I did not put an end to them. Therefore tell him I am making my covenant of peace with him. He and his descendants will have a covenant of a lasting priesthood, because he was zealous for the honor of his God and made atonement for the Israelites’ ” —Numbers 25:10-13. My curiosity bump is working overtime as I read this passage. The Lord told Moses to punish the leaders of those who had committed the sin (25:4). Moses t...