Category Archives: Following

Abiding, Bible, Examples, Following, God's Will, Leading, Scripture

FOLLOWING THE SPIRIT

GALATIANS 5:25

“If we live by the Spirit, let’s follow the Spirit as well.”

I can’t help but think about the childhood game of “Follow the Leader” when I read this verse. That was such fun as a child, especially when you got to lead. Over and under things, up and down others. The leader would often make it challenging, but if you followed the path of the leader and watched what they did, you could make it.

Paul tells the Galatians here since they are alive in Christ through their acceptance of Him as Savior and Lord, they should also follow Christ’s example. The Greek word translated “follow” is only used five times in the New Testament. It means to “walk in line, in strict accordance to a particular pace (‘stride’); walk in cadence, ‘keep in step.’” (HELPS Word-studies) It can also be defined as “to be in rows, fig. to walk by rule.” (NAS Exhaustive Concordance). So, you see it wasn’t just to follow Christ. It was to follow exactly.

APPLICATION

How in the world does the Lord expect us to do that? I can’t live just like Jesus. He is the Son of God. Sure, He had an earthly body, but He had superpowers. Right? I can’t turn water into wine. I can’t heal leprosy by touching someone. I can’t raise the dead. Or can’t I? Now, hold on. Don’t think I have lost my mind. Hear me out. No, hear the Word out.

In John 14:12-14, Jesus says, “‘12 Truly, truly I say to you, the one who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I am going to the Father. 13 And whatever you ask in My name, this I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.’” What a promise! I am not going to go build a whole, new denomination of churches on that, but I am told He can do anything through me.

You see, that right there is the key. It is Him working through me to do these things. It is not me. So, when He tells me to follow Him exactly, He empowers me to do so. He will not force me to march like a robot. We have that irritating free will. But if we will allow Him to work in our lives, we can do anything for Him. Isn’t that awesome?

Follow! follow! I will follow Jesus!
Anywhere, everywhere, I will follow on!
Follow! follow! I will follow Jesus!
Everywhere He leads me I will follow on!

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Bible, Following, Holy Spirit, Leading, Scripture, Submission

LED BY THE SPIRIT

GALATIANS 5:18

“But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law.”

There have been many decisions that I have made in my life as a believer that were not led by the Spirit. I simply chose to do what I wanted to do because I wanted to do it. Those decisions seldom if ever turned out for the best. But whenever my wife and I prayed about a matter and listened to the Spirit’s direction, things turned out better. I am not saying it was always the easiest way, but it was the better way.

Paul knew all too well the controlling power of the Law. He knew how it bound people to a rigid, unforgiving, impossible lifestyle. Once he was set free by Jesus on that Damascus road, Paul couldn’t wait to tell others about this freedom. Read Acts 9 sometime and see how Paul responded. He says in today’s verse that we are to be “led by the Spirit.” What does that mean?

APPLICATION

Being led somewhere is very different than being driven or pushed somewhere. Let me give you an example. Get a piece of string and lay it on a table so it’s straight. Now place your finger on one end of that string and push it towards the other end. What happens? The string just bunches up in a wad. Now, straighten it out again and this time, place your finger on one end and pull the string away from the other end. What happens? The rest of the string follows. That’s “being led.”

In Luke 4:1, we see Jesus being led by the Spirit. “Now Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led around by the Spirit in the wilderness.” The Spirit doesn’t always lead us somewhere that is comfortable. He led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan. Jesus submitted to the Spirit in order to show Satan who was boss!

Over in Romans 8:14 Paul says, “For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons and daughters of God.” We should follow the one God has sent to dwell within us. Do you understand that the God of the universe indwells you through the Holy Spirit? That person of the trinity lives in each of us if we have accepted Jesus as our Savior. So, follow Him.

Forgive me, Lord, when I buck up and refuse to follow Your Spirit. I know He only wants what is best for me. 

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Abiding, Bible, Choices, Comfort, Commands, Decisions, Following, Grace, Law, Scripture

CASTING OUT

GALATIANS 4:30

“But what does the Scripture say? ‘DRIVE OUT THE SLAVE WOMAN AND HER SON, FOR THE SON OF THE SLAVE WOMAN SHALL NOT BE AN HEIR WITH THE SON OF THE FREE WOMAN.’”

In our recent move from Chattanooga to Knoxville, my wife and I did some “casting out.” We got rid of furniture that would not fit in our new home. We got rid of clothes that we had not worn or did not fit anymore (I will not say why, lol). And we cast out household stuff that we just did not have room for anymore. All these things didn’t  make the cut, so to speak. Downsizing meant things had to go.

Paul quotes Genesis 21:10 in today’s verse. I mentioned 21:9 yesterday in my blog. Paul continues the story of Ishmael and Isaac (Hagar and Sarah) and uses this story to point out why the old law could not coexist with the grace of Christ. There was no room for the old way in their new faith. It just did not fit. Paul was not rejecting the Jewish people. He was rejecting what those Jewish believers were trying to insert into their faith in Christ.

APPLICATION

Before you get all self-righteous and say, I would never do that, you might better check out your way of living in Jesus. Do you demand people do certain things? Do you put your church’s traditions above doing what the Word says? What does God require of us? We are told that in Micah 6:8, “He has told you, mortal one, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” We don’t need a bunch of rules and regulations to tell us to do that.

I noticed a bottle the other day on my desk. Can you make out the name on it? It says “Purity.” It’s a brand of eyeglass cleaner my eye doctor gives to her patients. Don’t you wish we had a spiritual eyeglass cleaner so we could see more clearly. Oh wait, we do! He’s called the Holy Spirit. If we will just listen to Him, He will tell us what to keep and what to cast out, how to live pure lives.

As you go through your spiritual closet, look for those things that just don’t fit God’s Word. Look for the old, worn out excuses you have hanging up that you continue to put on every day. Throw out those things that hold you back from living the victorious Christian life. You will be all the better for it, He promises.

O Lord, I want to have only what will draw me closer to You.

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Abiding, Bible, Commitment, Dedication, Following, Obedience, Scripture, Surrender

WHEN THE CAT’S AWAY…

GALATIANS 4:18

“But it is good always to be eagerly sought in a commendable way, and not only when I am present with you.” 

You’ve heard that expression – When the cat’s away, the mice will play. Some people will only do what is right when someone is watching them. As a former supervisor, I had some employees like that. They were model employees as long as I was observing. But the moment I was out of sight, they would stop doing what was expected of them.

Paul seems to be saying something like that to the Galatians. I love how Barnes explains this. He says Paul was saying this. “You were exceedingly zealous in a good cause when I was with you. You loved the truth; you loved me. Since I left you, and as soon almost as I was out of your sight, your zeal died away, and your ardent love for me was transferred to others. Allow me to remind you, that it would be well to be zealous of good when I am away, as well as when I am with you. There is not much true affection in that which dies away as soon as a man’s back is turned.”

APPLICATION

Does that describe you? Are you zealous only when you think God is watching? I hate to tell you, but He is always watching. There is never a moment He does not know where you are and what you are doing. That reminds me of Psalm 139. Look at verses 7 through 12. “7 Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? 8 If I ascend to heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. 9 If I take up the wings of the dawn, if I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, 10 Even there Your hand will lead me, and Your right hand will take hold of me. 11 If I say, ‘Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, and the light around me will be night,’ 12 Even darkness is not dark to You, and the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to You.”

Do you get the picture? God knows where you are. God knows what you’re doing. He expects us to love and obey because He loves us, not because He is standing over us and demanding it. Give Him honor today by your blind obedience to Him. Obey Him simply because you love Him. Just think of what He did because He loves you.

Father God, I want to be zealous for You at all times.

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Bible, Clothing, Following, God's Will, Scripture

WEARING JESUS

GALATIANS 3:27

“For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.”

Wearing the right clothes for the right occasion is important. For instance, you wouldn’t wear a baseball uniform to play football. You wouldn’t put on our tights and ballerina shoes to run a marathon. We have clothes for all kinds of things, don’t we? Some are expensive and some are just our “knock around” clothes. (I keep telling my wife those old shirts are necessary, lol.)

Paul reminds us that as believers we have another garment. We have been “clothed…with Christ.” What does that mean? We wrap ourselves with His sentiments, His passion, His love. We clothe ourselves with Him so that when people look at us, they see Him, not us. Paul may have been thinking also about the white robes believers often wore at baptism. Wearing those robes must have made those early believers connect to the idea of a totally different life now in Jesus.

APPLICATION

New clothes can make a man. 2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us. “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, this person is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.” Over in Colossians 3:9-10, Paul gives us another picture of taking off the old and putting on the new. “9 Do not lie to one another, since you stripped off the old self with its evil practices, 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created it—”

What are you wearing today? Are you wearing Jesus? Or are you still pulling on those old ugly dungarees stained with self? They may feel comfy, but they come with a lot of baggage. Do as Paul said and put on the new self. That new self is only possible as we throw away the old stuff. Get rid of it. I know it’s hard to do but do it. You’ll be glad you did.

Back to today’s verse – “clothe yourselves with Christ.” I worked with a fellow pastor who was described by the middle schoolers he worked with as “Jesus with skin on.” They meant he lived like Jesus. Is that not the goal of each of us? So, change your clothes today if you are not wearing Jesus.

Lord, I am so thankful that I have been given a new garment.

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Abiding, Belief, Bible, Eternity, Following, God's Will, Scripture, Surrender

THE SEED

GALATIANS 3:16

“Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, ‘And to seeds,’ as one would in referring to many, but rather as in referring to one, ‘And to your seed,’ that is, Christ.”

I have mentioned several times in my blogs that I grew up in a small, South Georgia town. It was surrounded by farms, big and small, that grew all sorts of crops. But one thing you could almost always depend on – those farms would have their own garden to grow vegetables for their tables. Those vegetables (at least most of them) were grown from seeds. Each vegetable required their specific seed. If you plant okra seeds, you get okra. If you plant corn, you get corn. Very specific!

Why am I giving you a farming lesson? I want you to understand what Paul is saying. There was one specific seed of Abraham that led to the Messiah, Jesus Christ. There were not and still isn’t many seeds. There is just one seed. There is only one way to receive the promises God has given through Abraham’s seed. That seed is Jesus. You have to plant that “Jesus seed” in your heart as you accept Him as your Lord and Savior.

APPLICATION

John 14:6 says, “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.’” Jesus won’t accept a divided heart. You can’t have one foot in the world and another in Christ. The two just don’t go together. If you want to grow rich in Christ, you have to invest your whole self in Him.

A couple of chapters earlier, Jesus gives us this in John 12:24-26. “‘24Truly, truly I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. 25 The one who loves his life loses it, and the one who hates his life in this world will keep it to eternal life. 26 If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.’”

Follow the One Seed. Follow Jesus. Give up your life to follow Him. There is nothing in this world that is worth dying for except Jesus. And as you die to this world and plant that One Seed deep within you, you will see a harvest of thirty, sixty and one-hundred fold. Plant the right seed, the only Seed.

O Lord, I know Your promises are real and will produce in me what You want, if I die to myself and live in You. 

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Abiding, Belief, Bible, Decisions, Faith, Following, God's Will, Grace, Justified, Obedience, Righteousness, Salvation, Scripture

THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH

GALATIANS 3:11

“Now, that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for, ‘THE RIGHTEOUS ONE WILL LIVE BY FAITH.’”

In March of 1969, a song was released by Frank Sinatra that gained worldwide popularity. “My Way” was an instant success. That song is still sung around the world. You should google the lyrics to that song and read them. Wow! It epitomizes self. Its premise is all that matters is that you do it your way.

In today’s verse, Paul emphatically states what he has been saying in this whole letter. Man is not justified by what he does for himself, by his works, by following the Law. He may feel better about himself, but that doesn’t matter in God’s eyes. God is concerned with faith, with confession of sin, not in how many works a person does or how good he feels about himself. There is no other way to the Father except faith in His Son, Jesus.

APPLICATION

The quote in today’s verse comes from Habakkuk 2:4. This is God talking to Habakkuk. “‘Behold, as for the impudent one, his soul is not right within him; but the righteous one will live by his faith.’” Now, if God says it, that settles it. He says through faith we find righteousness. We know that only the righteousness of Christ can make us righteous, not what we do.

Paul uses this same quote in Romans 1:17. “For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written: ‘BUT THE RIGHTEOUS ONE WILL LIVE BY FAITH.’” Paul must have liked that verse in Habakkuk to use it in two letters. Better yet, he believed it to be true. Do you? Do you believe it is not up to you? Do you believe your righteousness has nothing to do with you and everything to do with Jesus?

An old hymn just popped into my head. Don’t you love it when that happens?  “Faith is the Victory” is a great hymn that describes our reliance on faith in our daily battles. The chorus simply says this:

Faith is the victory!
Faith is the victory!
O glorious victory,
That overcomes the world.

Go out today and be faithful. Place all your trust in Him and Him alone.

Father, I give You praise for the faith You have birthed within me.

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Abiding, Belief, Bible, Covenant, Following, God's Will, Indwelling, Salvation, Scripture

MY LIFE VERSE

GALATIANS 2:20

“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”

Soon after I got saved, my Youth Pastor encouraged me to ask the Lord to give me a verse that I could claim as my life verse. For a baby Christian that is a monumental task. There are a lot of great verses in the Bible. The Lord led me to today’s verse. I have quoted it over and over through these years, and each time I recite it, it goes deeper and deeper in me. Thank you, Lord.

Today’s verse comes almost at the end of Paul’s rebuke of Peter, Barnabas and the Jewish believers in Antioch. Look at that fourth phrase in the verse – “and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God.” Paul knew this was the key. Faith in Jesus, not the Law, was how he was to live his life. Only Jesus mattered to those in Christ. Paul’s new life was totally led by the Spirit of Jesus, not the spirit of the Law.

APPLICATION

I did not realize until a few years ago that this verse was part of Paul’s rebuke of Peter and the others. Taken by itself it doesn’t sound like a rebuke. And Paul wasn’t saying he was literally crucified with Jesus. We know that wasn’t true. But his sins were nailed to the cross with Jesus. He was free now to live in and through Jesus’ resurrection.

Paul explains this well in Romans 8:9-11. “9 However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. 10 If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.”

What a glorious promise! We have a new life in Jesus because of His death and resurrection. He has given us His Spirit to live in us to produce in us the faith needed to walk with Him daily. The next time you start to have a pity party, read today’s verse out loud. In fact, let me encourage you to memorize it so it is always accessible to you. You won’t be sorry.

Thank You, God, for my new life in Christ and the promise I have of His indwelling Spirit.

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Abiding, Accountability, Bible, Blameless, Encouragement, Following, Integrity, Ministry, Reputation, Salvation, Scripture, Testimony

YOUR REPUTATION PRECEDES YOU

GALATIANS 1:23

“but they only kept hearing, ‘The man who once persecuted us is now preaching the faith which he once tried to destroy.’”

I have had the opportunity to go back to my hometown church a few times to share about my ministry. Now, you need to understand something about me. I wasn’t always what you would call “ministry worthy.” My life before Jesus was filled with self. I wouldn’t call me a persecutor of Christians like Paul, but I didn’t want to be labeled as a “do gooder.” I kind of liked the reputation of a tough guy or at least as someone who loved to party. So, when I return now as a minister of the Gospel, those who knew me then raise an eyebrow or two.

As I mentioned in yesterday’s blog, the churches outside of Jerusalem had heard about Paul, but didn’t know him. They would have been a little wary of this guy showing up preaching Jesus. They may have seen him as a threat, as someone who was trying to trick them. Paul is still laying out his story here in Galatians. He is telling them who he was and where he had come from. He wasn’t who he was before. He had changed, and Jesus was the One who had changed him and given him the message he was to preach.

APPLICATION

Have you ever met someone for the first time, and they told you they had heard of you? That’s happened to me a few times, and I usually reply, “Well, I hope it was all good.” Listen to me – our reputation matters, especially to a lost world. I love Revelation 12:11 that says, “And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death.” Notice that phrase “word of their testimony.” Our testimony has an effect on people. I don’t mean you have to have this testimony of coming out of drugs or alcohol. Your testimony consists of when you accepted Jesus and what He has done in your life since then.

But back to our reputation. How others see us and hear about us matters. Proverbs 22:1 tells us, “A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold.” We are told in Ecclesiastes 7:1, “A good name is better than precious ointment, and the day of death than the day of birth.” I could go on and list numerous verses on the importance of our reputation, but I will stop there. You can do your own study on that.

Why is our reputation important? Because we are representing the King of kings and Lord of lords. We are Christians – Christ like. We are His ambassadors who have been given a mission to carry out to a lost world. Paul had to overcome his bad reputation of being a persecutor of believers by showing them how he had changed. He had to love them. He had to share what Christ had done for him on that road to Damascus. He was faithful to the end, up to the moment he was martyred in that Roman prison. How about you? What is your reputation?

Let me never forget, Lord, that I represent You? I want others to know Whom I represent.

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Bible, Calling, Following, God's Will, Gospel, Ministry, Missionaries, Scripture, Witnessing

TRAVEL PLANS

GALATIANS 1:21

“Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia.”

When I travel, I like to have the travel plan mapped out. I want to know how far we are going, where the best stops might be along the way and where we are staying once we get there. My wife accuses me of panicking when I miss an exit, or the GPS stirs us wrong. It’s not that I panic. I just want to know where I am and how to get where I am going. I would not be a very good nomad, lol.

After Paul’s visit to Jerusalem, he tells us he traveled to Syria and Cilicia. Some background to this would prove helpful, I believe. We find this described in Acts 15:22-23. “22 Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them to send to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas: Judas who was called Barsabbas, and Silas, leading men among the brothers, 23 and they sent this letter with them: ‘The apostles and the brothers who are elders, to the brothers and sisters in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia who are from the Gentiles: Greetings.’” Paul and Barnabas had previously spent over a year in Antioch teaching after the Word had spread there. It was in that city that believers were first called Christians.

APPLICATION

Thanks for the history lesson, Carl, but what does this have to do with me? Well, I am glad you asked. Where is God sending you? Where has he called you to go and share the good news? I remember a quote I heard from Keith Parks, one of the former presidents of the Foreign Mission Board of the SBC (now called the International Mission Board). He said unless God has called you to stay home, you are called to go and spread the gospel. That is true. We are all called to go somewhere – across the ocean or across the street.

Acts 1:8 tells us, “‘But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’” How about this one? Jesus tells us in Mark 16:15, “He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.’” One more Jesus quote – Mark 13:10, “‘And the gospel must first be preached to all nations.’”

I think you can see now how today’s verse in Galatians applies to us. We are just like Paul; in that we are being sent out to proclaim the good news to a lost world. Take some time right now to ask the Lord who He wants you to share with today. It could be that crusty, old neighbor who just grunts at you when you meet at the mailbox. It might be a server at a restaurant or your car mechanic. Your mission field is your mission field. Pray for it.

Lord, I am grateful You call each of us uniquely. You have a place for us to go and share the good news.

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