Daily Devotion for November 24, 2025
Prayers
Scripture
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.
Cloverton, a modern gospel band, shows us how to taste Heaven in this life.
Prayer of Supplication
Bow down Your ear, O Lord, hear me, for I am poor and needy. Without you, I have nothing. I pray that this day I will have food, and shelter, and be free of pain and fear. If it is not your will for me to suffer, Lord, I pray that I will not. And above all, cleanse my soul of sin, that I might someday be free of all pain and evil; for, whatever I may bear in this life, I have faith and hope in the life to come, through your goodness and mercy. In Christ’s name, I pray,
For Peace of Mind
Blessed Lord Jesus, I need you now because I am filled with stress and anxiety. But you have promised that if I read and remember your Word, and come to you in prayer, your Holy Spirit will come to me. I lay my burdens on you, precious Christ, as you have promised to take them. Please carry them for me so that I don’t have to, for they overwhelm me. Replace my fears with your humble and gentle yoke, so that I will find rest for my soul today. Let me feel your love.
I accept the peace of mind and quietness of heart, which you offer to all men as a gift. My praise and thanks that it is possible for me to lie down this evening in peace, and find the rest of sleep, by your gift. For with you, I have faith that I dwell in perfect safety. What should I fear, when you have promised to be with me for all time? I pray that I can find your perfect peace, by your Word and your promise, this day and every day, until I see you face to face.
Meditation
“I will not cause pain without allowing something new to be born.”
Dedication
Oh Heavenly Father, in whom I live and move and have my being, I humbly pray you so to guide and govern me by your Holy Spirit, that in all the joys, occupations, and cares of this day I may never forget you, but remember that I am ever walking in your sight. In Christ’s name, I pray,
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.
Favorite Things
I would rather worship God than do any other thing I know of in all this wide world.
~ A. W. Tozer
Galatians 2:15-17 (DP Bible)
Jew and Gentile (Galatians #15)
ow can you, a Jew by birth, first act like a Gentile, and then turn around and urge the Gentiles to live like Jews?” I asked him. “You and I were not raised like Gentiles, ignorant of right and wrong, yet we know that following the law of Moses, apart from our faith in Christ Jesus, did not and cannot justify us before God. No flesh will be justified by works under the law. So why hold onto it?”
“When we, who were born Jews, preach justification through faith in Christ, we are His representatives. We cannot become servants of sin. If we preach the faith of Christ and then sin, do we not imply that Christ Himself is a servant of sin? This cannot be!”
DP Parallel Bible (3-Column) - Galatians 2
Notes on the Scripture
In this passage, we begin to dig into Paul’s great theological statement, the difference between Judaism and Christianity. We discussed the setting of this speech previously: Peter was in Antioch, but when a group comes from Jerusalem, he stops eating meals with the Gentiles in the Antioch church and begins to eat separately with the Jews-only group.
The reason he and the other Jews did so was their ingrained Jewish belief that they might be made impure by eating with Gentiles. They were following the Pharisees’ interpretation of the Law of Moses, which during their early lives had always been presented to them as the law of God. By following God’s law to the letter, the Jews had sought, unsuccessfully, to be saved. And this had become a powerful habit, difficult for them to break.
Paul calls Peter to task for it; and he uses it as an opportunity to explain the fundamental nature of Christian salvation. This is, remember, Paul’s first foray into formulating written doctrine. It is sometimes a bit difficult to understand what he is getting at, but we will chew his words until they are digestible.
Peter (by Giotto)
Paul begins his argument by pointing out an inconsistency in Peter’s actions. Peter was a genuine pure-blooded Hebrew, born and raised to follow the law of Moses as one of God’s chosen nation. Yet he had previously eaten with Gentiles and, perhaps, committed other breaches of the Pharisaic oral law, because Peter had been instructed by a vision from God to accept the Gentiles into Christ’s church. Peter was actually a leader in this regard. God sent him a vision, which he interpreted correctly, and thereafter went to the house of Cornelius, a Roman centurion, and baptized him and his household into the body of saints. Peter had neither treated Cornelius as unclean in any way, nor suggested that he be circumcised or otherwise act like a Jew.
When Peter returned to Jerusalem, unnamed brothers criticized him for “eating with Gentiles.” But when he told them what had happened, “they quieted down and glorified God, saying, ‘Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life.’” (Acts 11:18) Thus Peter was actually the first champion of Gentile conversion, and its first defender.
Why did he participate in a separation of Jewish and Gentile Christians in Antioch? One can only speculate. My personal guess is something like, “old habits die hard.” Maybe Peter just hadn’t thought about it and sat with the people he was most comfortable with. But everyone has had occasion to look back on some absurdly incorrect choice they made, and wondered, “What was I thinking?”
What Peter clearly had not considered was the final step: that he was creating an appearance of valuing the Law above the unity of Christians in faith. He should have known better, as the saying goes. It was a prominent lesson taught by Jesus Himself, in Matthew 15:1-20. But it is a good reminder that Peter and Paul, both, were human.
