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Lord’s Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever.

Turn Your Face Unto Us

Look upon us, O Lord, and let all the darkness of our souls vanish before the beams of your brightness.

Fill us with holy love, and open to us the treasures of your wisdom. All our desire is known to you, therefore perfect what you have begun, and what your Spirit has awakened us to ask in prayer.

We seek your face, turn your face unto us and show us your glory. Then will our longing be satisfied, and our peace will be perfect.

(St.) Augustine of Hippo, 400 A.D.

To Live in the Joy of Faith

Almighty God, who has promised that, if we confess our sins, you will be faithful to forgive them: renew and strengthen my faith in your incomprehensible love and mercy for the penitent sinner. Free me from the burden of guilt and anxiety that the judgments of the human mind try to inflict upon me. Let me live as a forgiven soul, filled with the joy of salvation that only faith can bring. As Christ himself was faithful, even unto death, let me be truly faithful, even to the end.

I know that, as your Son suffered, I must suffer in life; but I pray that you will be with me, to comfort and assure me, even when the world and the flesh abuse me. For I know that you will bring me to an end of perfect bliss and that, even in this perilous life, I may live in joy and thanksgiving by virtue of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ,

Mason Barge 7/2018

Meditation

“We do not see things as they are; we see things as we are.”

Closing Prayer

And finally, grant me O Lord, I pray, the lamp of charity which never fails, that it may burn in me and shed its light on those around me, and that by its brightness I may share a vision of that holy City, where dwells the true and never-failing Light, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Think of the day ahead in terms of God with you, and visualize health, strength, guidance, purity, calm confidence, and victory as the gifts of His presence.

Ephesians 2:10 (ESV)

Galatians 1:6-9 (DP Bible)

One Gospel (Galatians #4)

am astonished to hear that you have deserted the true Gospel of Christ and have begun to follow perverted “gospels” taught to you by fakes and con men. I call these “gospels”, but it is a misnomer. There is one and only one Gospel: the one I have taught you.

If I myself should come and preach something different to you – if an angel should descend from the heavens and tell you something different – turn your back and walk away. These teachings, and those who promote them, are accursed!

I have said it before and I will say it again, in writing: those who teach their own thoughts and call them the Word of God are accursed.

DP Parallel Bible (3-Column) - Galatians 1

Notes on the Scripture

I realize we have been studying the same rather short passage for several days, but the discussion has all been quite detailed in some parts and rather argumentative, talking about the epistle rather than teaching the message of the epistle. We don’t want to miss the most important element: What is Paul’s message as it relates to us, today?

Even after we become believers, the most devout person is prone to wander away from God, from time to time, and the good news of our free grace in Christ can become dim. Various influences pull us constantly away from Christ - including our own nature. Galatians especially addresses how important it is for us to be grounded in the true Gospel that the Bible contains. We can’t let phony preachers lead us off the true path.

First off, we are constantly bombarded with anti-Christian thought. Atheists, who are not necessarily trying to be evil, seem to shout anything they hear or can think up to discredit Christianity. Public television airs more subtly destructive program matter, often with titles like “The Search for Historic Jesus,” or Bill Moyers’ popular show about myth some years ago.

Values of our world:
Beauty, fashion,
celebrity, and diamonds.

Less direct messages lure us away from Christ more subtly. A commercial for Ralph Lauren. An article about fabulous jewelry or English estate houses. A friend talking about politics. Many a sitcom. These all have a subtle eroding effect on Christian values, until we come to the point where we accept them to some degree. They deceive us by misdirection. Look cool! Own expensive stuff! Be famous! Elect a Republican/Democrat! —these are not Christian values, and the more we become invested in them, the farther from Christ we move.

The worst are in the guise of Christian teachings; it is these Paul calls “accursed”. The most recent crop have been church leaders and members preaching that having sex with someone of the same gender is now somehow “okay”, or that we are discriminating against homosexuals by not wanting to marry them in our church, the same way they convinced themselves that having heterosexual relations outside of marriage was “okay” in the 60s and 70s. Adultery? No, they say, a “lifestyle choice.” Not so new is the deification of our national military (which started @ 320 A.D.) or, even older and worse, prosperity gospel - “Find Jesus and Get Rich!”

The effective antidote against false teaching is to fill our heads and hearts with knowledge of the Gospel. When we truly understand that our righteousness is only in Christ, we will be much harder to deceive. There is one truth, and one truth only.

Paul’s outraged tone is an act of love — like shouting “Watch Out!” to someone who is about to drive over a cliff. Part of becoming obedient to God is to act always out of love, and sometimes this involves telling somebody they (or the voices they are listening to) are wrong. We need to be careful, careful, careful when we do, that we are not arguing a personal opinion or becoming judgmental or self-righteous. But we must also remember that, if one of our brothers or sisters wanders off course and we steer them back to Christ, we might save a soul from death. (James 5:19-20.)

Daily Inspiration

“The New Commandment”

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