Moments With God

Galatians 2

"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. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!" Galatians 2:20-21

In the book of Galatians we learn the precious truth that our eternal salvation rests on grace alone. Our salvation entirely rests in our faith in Jesus Christ's atoning sacrifice for our sins on the cross. In the book of Galatians the apostle Paul was fighting against legalistic teachers who were falsely teaching the Galatian church that they had to return to the ceremonial practices of the Old Testament times. By teaching this the legalistic teachers were in effect saying that Christ alone was insufficient for salvation. Paul admonished the Galatian church that these ceremonial practices of the past had merely been pointing to the coming of the Savior. These ceremonial laws were no longer necessary. Jesus had fulfilled the law's requirements. Jesus had paid the total penalty for sin. So too, our salvation as believers today rests in grace and faith alone. Praise God that this is true! If our salvation rested even in part on our own merit, we would be in dire straits! The law and our sins no longer have power to condemn us to a Christless eternity. All of our sins have been washed away by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross!

Because of God's grace we now are new creatures in Christ! Galatians 2:20a says, "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me." Because of Christ's sacrifice on the cross we now belong to Him. As His children you and I have relinquished our lives to Christ. We are no longer in sin's grip or in the devil's grip. The Lord has "set His seal of ownership on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come." (II Corinthians 1:22). Instead of living in Satan's realm we now have relinquished that life for an exchanged life in Christ. "I no longer live, but Christ lives in me."

Galatians 2:20b goes on to say, "The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." As followers of Jesus Christ our new lives in Him are characterized by a walk of faith. Our new lives in Christ are trusting lives. In our new lives in Christ we can come to the Lord with all our needs and trust that He will always be with us. In our new lives in Christ we can trust that the Lord will always be our source of comfort and our friend. In our new lives in Christ we can trust that He will always guide and protect us. In our new lives in Christ we know we have a Savior who loved us so much that He was willing to give Himself on the cross to pay for our sins. Finally, in our new lives in Christ we are confident that Christ's sacrifice for our sins was sufficient. We need not and can not add anything to salvation's requirements. It was all taken care of by our Savior! As His children we now can relinquish our old lives of sin and live new lives in Christ. We can do this; because Jesus Christ lives in us, giving us the power to live for Him. Christ died on the cross for us, and He lives within us. Hence, we can now live lives of trust and faith in Him! Praise His name!

Psalm 42

We all have a passion for certain things in our lives. We all have a priority list for what we feel is most important in this life. We all have certain goals for which we strive and which consume our energies. The psalmist in Psalm 42 had a deep longing and passion for God. His very heart was longing and crying out for the Lord. What is most important to us in our lives? Like the Psalmist in Psalm 42 our consuming passion should be for the Lord God. Our consuming passion should be for developing our love relationship with the Lord. Our consuming passion should be to live for the Lord.

The psalmist said in Psalm 42:1-2, "As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?" A deer pants and longs for water, because its life is dependent on water. This is especially true when the deer is being chased by hunters. So also the psalmist longed to be with God. Apparently circumstances prevented the psalmist from temporarily going to the temple and communing with the Lord on the level that he would have liked to commune with God. Hence, the psalmist's heart was aching and longing for God. His heart was crying out for God. The psalmist was not running after and longing for pleasure, position, or the material things of this world; but he was overwhelmed with a longing for God Himself. You and I need that kind of passion for our love relationship with the Lord. The things of this world will pass away. Only our love for the Lord and our relationship with the Lord will last throughout eternity. Also our hearts will be restless and will not find true peace and joy until they are resting in the Lord. The Lord alone is the answer to our soul's thirst. Joy, peace, and the longing in our souls can not even be found in what the Lord gives us or does for us. It is found in the Lord Himself! Jesus said in John 7:37b, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink." The Lord alone is the answer to our soul's longing.

The psalmist apparently was going through a difficult time in his life when he wrote this Psalm. He said in Psalm 42:3, "My tears have been my food day and night, while men say to me all day long, 'Where is your God?'" Sometimes during times of trial and difficulty in our lives, we may be tempted to think the Lord has forgotten us. Just the opposite is true, however. The Lord is always with us. This is especially true during the difficult times in our lives. Also the Lord uses times of trial and difficulty in our lives to draw us closer to Him. Difficult times in our lives help us to grow in our love relationship with the Lord. Hence, trials in our lives help to satisfy our passion and longing for the Lord.

When the Psalmist was feeling overwhelmed with the problems in his life, he remembered the Lord's past blessings in his life. He also remembered the past joys of worshipping with God's people in the temple. The Psalmist then went on to say in verses five and eleven of Psalm 42, "Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God." God will fulfill our every need during both times of trial and during times of relative ease in our lives. The Lord will do this for us, if we put our trust and hope in Him. The Lord will do this for us, if our consuming passion and longing is for Him. Even when we feel overwhelmed with a difficulty in our lives, the Lord is always with us. In Psalm 42:8 the psalmist said, "By day the Lord directs His love, at night His song is with me-a prayer to the God of my life." No matter what the circumstances in our lives the Lord is our source of joy and peace. May the Lord be our consuming passion in life!

Psalm 37

Those who belong to the Lord experience true wisdom, prosperity, and success. They may not be wise in the world's view of things. They also may not be successful or wealthy according to the world's standards. A true child of God, however, has all he or she needs for time and for eternity! As children of God we experience the Lord walking beside us and directing all of our steps! As children of God we possess the Lord's wisdom. We experience the Lord's definition of success and prosperity in our lives. The secret to being wise and successful according to the Lord's definition is to trust in the Lord. We need to not only trust in the Lord, but we need to actually delight ourselves in the Lord. We must have a sense of the Lord's presence in our lives. We must have a passion for the things of the Lord. We must delight in reading His Holy Word. We must delight in seeking to do His will. Our ultimate delight should not be in our homes, our jobs, or even our families. Our delight and purpose for our lives should be found in the Lord and in serving Him. Then the other things in our lives will take their rightful place in our lives. Then the Lord's desires will becomes our desires, and thus we will also be given the desires of our hearts!

As children of God you and I are rich in His blessings and promises! All the wealth and wisdom of this world can not begin to compare to the joys and blessings of belonging to the Lord. He promises to always be with us. We read in Psalm 37:5-6, "Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him and He will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun." Even when we face insurmountable problems the Lord will see us through or around our problems, if we trust in the Lord. No problem is too small or too large for the Lord. God is all sufficient. We only need to come to Him with our needs and leave them with Him. The Lord will work out all the details of our lives in His best way and in His best timing. Psalm 37:7a tells us, "Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him; do not fret." We need to calmly wait in trust for the Lord to work out the details of our lives. We need to be busy in God's kingdom, but we need to be trusting the Lord to work out the plan of our lives and all the details of our lives. The Lord's command to us is "do not fret," and do not worry.

The child of God is rich and successful in the Lord! The child of God is successful in things that matter for eternity! The child of God is rich in the blessings of God's promises. "The Lord upholds the righteous. The days of the blameless are known to the Lord, and their inheritance will endure forever. In times of disaster they will not wither; in days of famine they will enjoy plenty." ( Psalm 37:17b-19) God never promises that we will have all days of sunshine and days where everything goes according to our plans. He does promise, however, to always be with us and meet our needs. "If the Lord delights in a man's way, He makes his steps firm; though he stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with His hand." (Psalm 37:23-24). What a awesome promise! No wealth or success we might experience in this world can begin to compare to the wealth and security we have in the Lord and in His promises! Verse Twenty-five is one of this devotional writer's favorite verses in Psalm 37. It reads like this, "I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread." This devotional writer doesn't like to think of herself as old, but she has lived long enough to see that the Lord is always faithful. His plan is always best, and His timing is always perfect. God's people will always be protected forever, and there is a future for the child of God!

II Corinthians 12:1-10

II Corinthians 12:9a

The apostle Paul had an affliction or infirmity of some kind. The precise nature of this infirmity that plagued Paul's life is uncertain. Paul called his affliction "a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me." (II Corinthians 12:7b) It would seem as if the "thorn" that Paul experienced in his life was significant. Paul went on to say in II Corinthians 12:8, "Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me." God had a purpose for allowing that "thorn" to remain in Paul's life, however. God's answer to Paul's prayer was "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." (II Corinthians 12:9a) God was telling Paul that His love and kindness would be enough for Paul. The Lord was telling Paul that with the Lord's strength in his life Paul would be able to bear the "thorn" in his life.

The "thorn" or affliction in Paul's life had been given to him to keep him humble. It was given to Paul to keep him from self-reliance and to cause him to rely on the Lord alone for strength. The Lord's strength and grace in Paul's life would be sufficient. Because Paul was willing to accept God's will in not removing the "thorn" from his life, Paul experienced the Lord's blessing. Even the thorn became a blessing to Paul! Paul's "thorn" or weakness enabled Paul to experience the Lord's strength in his life. God's strength was more clearly exhibited and completed in Paul's weaknesses!

God sometimes allows problems and afflictions in our lives also. The Lord does not always remove every affliction and problem that we ask Him to remove from our lives. He will give us the grace that we need to live victoriously in spite of those problems, however. The Lord's grace is sufficient for every circumstance and need. Only as we lose our dependence on self and avail ourselves of the Lord's strength do we become dynamic instruments in the Lord's hand. Sometimes the Lord allows afflictions and trials in our lives to keep us close to Him and dependent on Him. Relying and resting on the Lord's strength brings glory and honor to the Lord. Trials are in this way turned to blessing and triumph in our lives!

Paul went on to say in II Corinthians 12:9b-10, "Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ' sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." Through Paul's affliction Christ became increasing real to him. Through his trials Paul grew in his personal love relationship with the Lord. Paul was willing to even endure his "thorn" or affliction, if it would help him grow spiritually. Paul was willing to endure his affliction the rest of his life; if it would better display the power, presence, and glory of the Lord in his life. Paul even delighted in his afflictions, because he knew they were bringing about favorable results in his life. He also knew they were bringing greater glory to the Lord. Paul knew that his weakness in his own human strength resulted in a greater flow of the Lord's strength in him.

We too can glory and delight in our trials and weaknesses. It is in our weakness that the power of our Lord is most clearly displayed. The Lord can not use our foolish attempts at self-reliance. When we depend on the Lord and His strength alone, however; we can be used in powerful ways for the glory of the Lord. Let it be our passion to rely on the Lord's all-sufficiency, power, and grace alone!

II Corinthians 5