Grains of Sand

Google Images After Jesus was tempted in the wilderness He returned to Galilee. John had been put in prison, his voice effectively silenced. But there was another voice now—that of the Messiah Himself. Jesus moved from Nazareth to Capernaum, along the north shore of the sea of Galilee, This was reportedly the home of some of the fishermen who would become Jesus’ disciples and Matthew’s home. The move was deliberate for another reason—it fulfilled the prophecy from Isaiah 9:1-7 that told of the Saviour who would come to “Galilee of the Gentiles” and bring light into the land of darkness and establish a kingdom of justice and righteousness that would last forever. It is interesting that Jesus, whose primary mission was to the people of Israel should, through the choice of where He would make His home base, signal hope for the salvation of the Gentiles. “ …the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned ” (Ma...

Google Images Compartmentalize. That’s a good word. It means: categorize, pigeonhole, group, classify, characterize, stereotype, label, brand; sort, rank, rate. At the top of the first landing in our church building we have a wall full of boxes. Anyone in the church who wants to, has a box assigned to them. Anything belonging to that person goes into the appropriate box. Everyone is effectively “pigeonholed.” That’s great for mail, but not so great when it comes to our spiritual well-being. We tend to compartmentalize our lives. A portion belongs to...... Another part is given to.... A third part is dedicated to.... A certain amount of this “sorting” is necessary to keep our lives as organized as the vicissitudes of life will allow. But however we compartmentalize life, there is an overriding truth that needs to be applied to every area. Here’s how John describes it: “ But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: Whoe...

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...