“It is a risk to love. What if it doesn't work out?
Ah, but what if it does.”
Peter McWilliams
Galatians 2:21 I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.”
Holy Spirit tells us that we will know others by the love they show. He cultivates His fruit in those believers who choose to let Him transform them, precept by precept, into the character of Jesus Christ.
Psalm 145:18 (ESV) "The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth."
We are justified by our faith in Jesus. It is in His righteousness, not in ours, that Holy Spirit can work in our lives and change us from the inside out. God is love!
"One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life" (Psalm 27:4). Carla
Christ’s death and resurrection frees believers from the law and its curse (3:10–14; 4:4–5). Paul does not refer here to physical death, but to the death of his former self (Ephesians 4:22). Paul’s understanding of union with Christ begins with the cross of Christ. This enables Paul to endure shame, contempt, and false accusations like Jesus, God’s Suffering Servant (Colossians 1:24; Philippians 1:29).
Crucified with Christ refers to new life in Christ as well as the presence of God’s Spirit, which empowers obedience to the gospel (Galatians 3:2; 4:6; 5:16–18, 22–25). Paul’s title for Jesus, the Son of God, anticipates the parallels he will draw between slavery and the law, as well as sonship and promise (4:4–7). Faith in the Son of God transforms a person from a slave to a child of God.
Paul describes the sacrificial love of Christ in personal terms. Christ’s willingness to die on behalf of sinners brings deliverance from the power of sin for those believe in Him (1:4). 2:21 This suggests that Paul’s opponents had accused him of using God’s grace to justify unrighteous living. Faithlife Study Bible
Paul and every believer were crucified with Christ in order to die to sin, the law, and “this present evil age” (1:4). While believers live on physically, Christ also lives within them spiritually. Christ’s resurrection power through the Spirit is worked out through the Christian (Romans 6:4–11) who chooses to live by faith in the Son of God.
If righteousness is attainable through keeping the law of Moses, then God’s gracious act of sending Christ to die on the Cross to pay for sin was unnecessary and useless (Romans 3:4–26). The NKJV Study Bible
Romans 7:4–6 Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another—to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God. For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death…
Romans 6:6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.
Romans 6:8–11 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him…
Romans 8:37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
Galatians 1:4 who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father
We live in a world where we wonder if we can make a difference. “You don’t mean me, do you?”
And it doesn’t help that too many of us have been wired to see “difference making” (or service or ministry) as an obligation to complete or status to achieve. I confess that there was always a part of me that was sure I didn’t have what it took to “make a difference”. As if making a difference is about how you're wired, or a pecking order, or a beauty pageant.
And yet. What we often fail to see is the power in the gift of presence.
Simply making the choice “to be here now”.
Love and healing and affection and impartiality are born in (and grow in) the soil of “Presence”.
And this week we are reminded that when we see with our heart, we are grounded. We are present. And we are conscious, and no longer numbed. And tender hearts create sanctuaries for those left out and for those mistreated. So, if ever there was a time for the soft- and tender-hearted courageous women and men to step forward, it is now. Indifference is not an option. “Sabbath Moments”
Mommy, listen to me!" My young son cupped my face in his hands, somehow aware that my head nodding and occasional "mm-hmm's" indicated I wasn't fully listening. He was right. I heard him, but between replying to emails and preparing dinner, I was not attentive. I was with him but not fully present. My mind was distracted, and my heart was distant.
Thankfully, our heavenly Father's mind never wanders, and His heart's never heavy. He isn't distracted, overwhelmed, or weighed down.He's both near and fully present with His children at all times, in all places, and through all circumstances.
In today's key verse, David wrote, "The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth"(Psalm 145:18). This means God is near both physically and relationally. God is close to us in proximity and is intimately attentive.
Today, God's nearness is still what makes it so great to be His child. To "call on him in truth" means we sincerely cry out to the Lord and seek His help (Psalm 145:18). It implies a personal relationship in which the caller is confident God will respond. Especially if we've been blessed to follow Jesus for a long time, we may not always remember the immense privilege of His presence in our lives. But let's consider how amazing it truly is that the God of unsearchable greatness listens to us (Psalm 145:3)!
In the New Testament, the writer of Hebrews expressed similar confidence in the significance and privilege of God's presence with His children. Hebrews 13:5-6 says, "Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you,'" reminding us that Jesus satisfies our needs. In Him we also find strength "so we can confidently say, 'The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me? '"
When we call on God in truth, with sincerity, we can be certain He hears us. We can be confident He is with us. In His presence, we have His attention: He sustains us in our weakness, satisfies us in our longing, and allows us to experience every privilege of being His child. First5
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