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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.

For God’s Help

Lord God, Enlighten what is dark in me,
Strengthen what is weak in me,
Mend what is broken in me,
Bind what is bruised in me,
Heal what is sick in me,
Revive whatever peace and love that has died in me.

Restore me, Father God, as you would have me,
That I may better serve you
And show your Glory to all the world.
In the name of Christ, I pray,

Mason Barge, partly copied unk. source 4/9/2015

For Courage to Speak the Truth

Holy God, whenever I am in fear that someone will be angry with me for telling the truth, let me remember that Christ did not come bearing a sword to kill his enemies, but a cross upon which his enemies would kill him. Be with me, Holy Spirit, when I am afraid to speak up against falsehood, knowing that people will be angry with me, for to follow Christ means to carry the cross.

If I know that the powerful might hurt me, I also remember that the wounds of Christ were momentary. The power of this world will fade, but your truth will remain forever and will reward me for such good and truth as I can accomplish in my life, no matter what hostility it encounters from the evil of men.

I pray you will imbue confidence in the depth of my heart, dear God, utter certainty that wounds suffered in your name will be healed forever, and rewarded in this life by the knowledge of your approval, and in the life to come by the peace of heaven. In Christ’s name, I pray,

Mason Barge 1/14/14

Saint Luke
by Josef Kastner, 1906

Prayer of Resolve

I  bind myself to you this day, oh Christ, in your truth and in your sacrifice. I give to you my anxiety and my fear, my depression and my doubt, for you have promised to take them if we only ask; and I take upon myself your burden, for it is light and your way is gentle. May I keep this in my heart and mind all this day.

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.

Psalm 1:1-2 (NKJV)

Galatians 2:15-17 (DP Bible)

Paul Corrects Peter (Galatians #18)

15-16 “How 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?”

17 “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

e start in 2:17 today, but have included the preceding verses as an introduction, to give some sense of the flow in Paul’s argument. Verse 17 begins a transition, as the writing becomes less historical in emphasis — how Paul showed himself Peter’s equal by correcting his behavior — and more directly theological. He uses the encounter with Peter as a vehicle to tell the Galatians about the importance of faith — the preeminence of faith — in salvation.

In verse 17, Paul characterizes Peter’s actions as sinful. It is easy to see that Peter was being rude, and failing to do all in his power to unite the church, but was it really what one would call a “sin” for him to go off and eat with other Jews? Yes it was.

First off, we must remember that those who would teach will be judged by a higher standard. “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.” (James 3:1) So what a brother in the church might have done, Peter cannot. A new convert from Judaism might simply not understand that eating with uncircumcised church members was permissible and even advisable.

Secondly, we must jump forward to a teaching of Paul from a later epistle, concerning whether one should engage in behavior, which is not wrong in itself, but which might damage another in his faith. “All things are lawful, but not all things edify. Let no one seek his own good, but that of his neighbor.” (1 Cor. 10:23-24) To restate Paul’s teaching in terms of modern life, there is no sin in having a drink; but one should not do it in front of an alcoholic who is struggling to stay sober, or a person who thinks drinking is sinful.

Peter knows that eating with an uncircumcised Gentile is in no way wrong. (Acts 11:18; Matthew 15:15-20) But a group of converted Jews might not fully understand this. By engaging in the separation, Peter is tacitly undermining their faith.

Moreover, he is dividing the church. Peter’s own epistles (written later) will be filled with the importance of Christians’ love for one another and the unity of the church.

But the most compelling evidence of Peter’s error comes from Paul. Your secular reader of the Bible might have fun with this passage, ascribing motives of self-justification to Paul and trying to find friction between him and Peter. We must not fall into their trap. Paul’s epistles are inspired by God. To call his writing inspired by self-justification, or sinful pride, is to deny the authority and ultimately the meaning of the Bible.

There is no contrary account on the matter from Peter or anyone else. Peter, being the great apostle he was, undoubtedly accepted Paul’s correction without protest, in total humility.

Blessed Mother, by George Hitchcock, ca. 1890.

Daily Inspiration

“Spiritual Warfare and Sin: Irreconcilable Hostility”

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