Worshipping the Lord

When our devotion to the Lord is being deepened, we learn to walk with Him on the way of the cross – “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20) When our devotion to the Lord is being deepened, we will be less concerned with being more popular and more concerned with pleasing the Lord – “approved to God” (2 Timothy 2:15).

What does this mean? It may be helpful to think, first, about what it doesn't mean. We must never think of the Holy Spirit as a reward that is given to us because we have faith - the more faith we have, the more the Holy Spirit is given to us. Where does this kind of thinking come from? It comes from human pride. We make too much of our faith - and we get things the wrong way round. When faith is real, it changes us. This is something that we must always emphasize - but we must make sure that we never give the impression that the Holy Spirit is a reward - God's way of recognizing how well we are doing in the life of faith. When we think that we are being rewarded, the focus is on ourselves - 'Look at what I've achieved. Look at the progress I've made.' We are called to make progress in the life of faith - but we must never forget where this progress comes from. It comes from the Lord. Every thought of holiness comes from the Lord. He puts it ...

Some schoolmasters may be viewed as disciplinarians. I think, however, we should see the work of the Holy Spirit here. He convicts us of sin and leads us to Christ. This is not the impersonal law. It's the personal approach of the Holy Spirit. In grace and mercy, He shows us how far we have fallen short of God's perfect standard so that He might gently lead us to the Cross of Christ, the place where we receive the forgiveness of all our sins. In Galatians 4:6, we learn that ‘God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts.’ The Spirit is not a reward which we earn by being good people. We are bad people who have broken God's law. The Spirit is God’s gift (Titus 3:5). The Spirit is not a reward which we earn because of our good works. Paul connects the gift of the Spirit with Christ’s death for us and our faith in Christ (Galatians 3:13-14). When the Spirit brings us to Christ our Saviour, He takes us through a process which could be described as discip...

* The love in us comes from the love of God. * The joy in us comes from the joy of God. * The peace in us comes from the peace of God. ... The God of love, the God of joy, the God of peace ... Without God, there can be no love in us, no joy in us , no peace in us ... ... Love, Joy, Peace ... That's what we find in Jesus. The fruit of the Spirit grows in us as we are learning to love Jesus, learning to rejoice in our Saviour, learning to rest in the peace of Christ. The fruit of the Spirit grows in us as we learn to walk with Jesus in the way of patience, kindness and goodness. The fruit of the Spirit grows in us as we travel to the Cross of Christ where we learn the way of faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

At the cross, we see Jesus Christ, “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” ( John 1:29). In the cross, we see the fulfilment of God’s eternal plan of salvation – “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Revelation 13:8). In the cross, we catch a glimpse of the eternal glory of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb … For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; ‘He will lead them to springs of living water.’ ‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes’” (Revelation 7:10,17). As we consider the glory of our Saviour, sent to us from eternal love, crucified for us, leading us on to eternal glory, let us join with Paul in saying “I will glory in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.” We rejoice in our Saviour. We give all the glory to Him. He's "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). What a great salvation He has given to...

Galatians 1:1-2:10 Lord, we thank you that You have given to us "a revelation of Jesus Christ" (Galatians 1:12). Christ is the Gospel. He is our testimony. He is our message. Help us to keep Him at the very centre of our life. In our ever-changing world, help us to keep on saying, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever" (Hebrews 13:8). Galatians 2:11-3:22 Lord, we thank You that Jesus died for us. we thank You that He lives in us. In Him, there is love - "He loved me." In Him, there is life - "He lives in me" (Galatians 2:20). Thank You, Lord, for Jesus, for the love that He has shown to us and the life that He has given to us. Galatians 3:23-5:6 Lord, we do not come to You with our religion in one hand and our morality in the other. We do not come, insisting that we deserve to be blessed by You. Help us to bring our pride to the Cross of Christ. Help us to pray, "Spirit of the living God, fall...

 * The love in us comes from the love of God.  * The joy in us comes from the joy of God.  * The peace in us comes from the peace of God.  ... The God of love, the God of joy, the God of peace ...   Without God, there can be no love in us, no joy in us , no peace in us ...  ... Love, Joy peace ... That's what we find in Jesus. The fruit of the Spirit grows in us as we are learning to love Jesus, learning to rejoice in our Saviour, learning to rest in the peace of Christ. The fruit of the Spirit grows in us as we learn to walk with Jesus in the way of patience, kindness and goodness. The fruit of the Spirit grows in us as we travel to the Cross of Christ where we learn the way of faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

When our devotion to the Lord is being deepened, we learn to walk with Him on the way of the cross – “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20) When our devotion to the Lord is being deepened, we will be less concerned with being more popular and more concerned with pleasing the Lord – “approved to God” (2 Timothy 2:15).

In Romans 7:20 , Paul speaks about "sin living in me." - That was true  of Paul - and it's also true of every one of us. In Galatians 2:20 , Paul speaks about "Christ living in me." - That was true of Paul - and it's also t true of every believer. What we are, in ourselves, is one thing. What we are, by God's grace, is something very different - and very much better. "Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!" (Romans 7:25). By the grace of God, this was the testimony of the Apostle Paul. By grace, it can be our testimony too. Like Paul, we remain deeply conscious of our sin. We will never cease to be sinners - but we can, by grace, become sinners who are learning, more and more, what it means to be saved by the Lord, to belong to the Lord and to bring glory to the Lord.  

Romans 1:16 ; 1 Corinthians 2:2 ; 1 Corinthians 6:19–20 ; Galatians 6:14 Paul was no silent disciple, no half-hearted follower of Jesus. He was not ashamed of his Lord. He was glad to say, "I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to every one who has faith" ( Romans 1:16 ). Why was Paul bold to say, "God forbid that I should glory save in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ" ( Galatians 6:14 )? Why was Paul so emphatic in saying, "I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified" ( 1 Corinthians 2:2 )? The answer is very simple and straightforward. He was a man who had been grasped by the power of the Gospel. Through the power of Christ, Paul was no longer his own. He belonged to Christ. This was why he was able to write to the Corinthian Christians, "You are not your own; you have been bought with a price" ( 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 ). He was a man filled with the power of the Holy Spirit....

The Law of God, the Spirit of God and the Son of God Some schoolmasters may be viewed as disciplinarians. I think, however, we should see the work of the Holy Spirit here. He convicts us of sin and leads us to Christ. This is not the impersonal law. It's the personal approach of the Holy Spirit. In grace and mercy, He shows us how far we have  fallen short of God's perfect standard so that He might gently lead us to the Cross of Christ, the place where we receive the forgiveness of all our sins. In Galatians 4:6, we learn that ‘God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts.’ The Spirit is not a reward which we earn by being good people. We are bad people who have broken God's law. The Spirit is God’s gift (Titus 3:5). The Spirit is not a reward which we earn because of our good works. Paul connects the gift of the Spirit with Christ’s death for us and our faith in Christ (Galatians 3:13-14). When the Spirit brings us to Christ our Saviour, He takes us ...

What kind of people are we to be? What kind of life are we to live? Lord, You’re calling us to live a life of “love” (Proverbs 17:9). How, Lord, do we learn what love is? – We learn from You. You show us what love is – “God so loved the world that He gave His only Son … ” (John 3:16). In Jesus, we see perfect love – “The Son of God loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). The Holy Spirit fills our lives with Your love – “The fruit of the Spirit is love” (Galatians 5:22). Help us, Lord, to live a Godly, Christlike, Spirit-filled life – a life of love.

At the cross, we see Jesus Christ, “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” ( John 1:29). In the cross, we see the fulfilment of God’s eternal plan of salvation – “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Revelation 13:8). In the cross, we catch a glimpse of the eternal glory of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb … For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; ‘He will lead them to springs of living water.’ ‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes’” (Revelation 7:10,17). As we consider the glory of our Saviour sent to us from eternal love, crucified for us, leading us on to eternal glory, let us join with Paul in saying “I will glory in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.” We rejoice in our Saviour. We give all the glory to Him. He's "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). What a great salvation He has given to ...

Two men with the same name – Saul, the first king of Israel, and Saul of Tarsus, the persecutor of Christ and His servants. In both stories, we read of a new man. * In the case of Saul, the first king of Israel, David was the new man. Saul was rejected. He was replaced. The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king … So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed David in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came upon David in power. Samuel then went to Ramah” ( 1 Samuel 16:1, 13 ). * In the case of Saul of Tarsus, it was very different. Saul became the new man. He became Paul the apostle. He was saved by the Lord. His life was transformed by the power of Christ’s love. He became a new creation in Christ Jesus. He had this great testimony: “It is no lon...