Good morning everyone! It's starting to get kinda cold, but hey, that's Vegas weather for ya. I just wanted to let you all know that after a year of being over seas on a mission trip my oldest sister is finally coming home on Saturday! We are so excited for her to finally get home. I hope you all had a restful night, and just remember to pray that God would fill you up with His Holy Spirit today, and give you strength to seek His will. So with that, let's get started.
This morning, God really put Galatians 2:20 on my heart. It reads: "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God. who loved me and gave himself for me." There are three parts to this verse. The first is "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me." After Paul became Paul on the road to Damascus, he considered his old self crucified on the cross with Christ. His old ways were gone, and he was a new creation in Jesus. I think we need to ask ourselves if we have truly crucified our old selves with Christ. When he died on the cross, it wasn't just Jesus' arm that died, or his leg that died, but he entirely and fully died. Have we "crucified" our old ways entirely, or have we just killed off the parts that were easy to kill off, or the ways that didn't really have a huge effect on our lives? After that, have we let CHRIST fill in those places we have killed off? If you don't allow Him to, then it will be impossible to keep those old ways at bay.
The second part of this verse is "And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God" This is one of the few times that when Paul mentions the "flesh" he is talking about literal flesh and blood. He is saying that since he has considered his old ways crucified with Christ, the life He is now living on earth can only be lived by faith in Jesus, the Son of God. Today, are we living completely by faith in Jesus? I mentioned earlier about how my sister is coming back from a year long mission trip, and some of the stories she has shared with us are absolutely incredible. Everyday, they were completely reliant on God. It may be extremely hard to do, but this is how we need to be, constantly seeking God's will.
The last part of this verse, and if you get nothing else out of my babbling, then I hope you at least get this, and it is "I live by faith in the Son of God. who loved me and gave himself for me." Paul got this. He understood fully how great the love of God was for him. So much to go as far as sending His only Son, lowering himself to a servant, and giving up His high place in Heaven, to become a man. Not coming to judge His people, or to ridicule them for their mistakes, but He came in love, guiding His people back onto the right course. Then He took it a step further. He lived a perfect, spotless life, and yet was convicted and betrayed by the ones that he loved so perfectly. They crucified him on a cross, but not before putting him through the worst torture one can imagine. They put a crown of thorns on his head, and mocked Him. He loved us so much that he took our punishment. He lived the life we couldn't live, and took the punishment we should have taken, because He loves us so dearly. But that's not the end. We don't serve a dead God. After 3 days, Jesus conquered death, defeating the grave once and for all. Death could not hold our Lord. Now we can rejoice like Paul when he writes to the Corinthians and says "“O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” THIS is how much He loved you and I.
I really do pray that you were encouraged today. If you have any prayer requests or just want to talk about something, you can message me on Facebook.
God Bless,
Bailey
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