We named our cat “Maple” after a Robert Frost poem of the same name, about a girl named Maple who lives her whole life beholden to a name that almost everyone gets wrong. Everyone thinks her name is “Mabel,” because that’s a real name, and it is much more comfortable to call someone a real, normal name than a strange name.
“Her teacher’s certainty it must be Mabel / Made Maple first take notice of her name. / She asked her father and he told her, ‘Maple— / Maple is right. / ‘But teacher told the school / There’s no such name.’”
A name with no eponymous history made a girl feel strange and unseen, as if because her name wasn’t real or familiar, she wasn’t either, and thus goes the poem and her life story.
When Paul wrote the letter to the Galatians, he called out the false teachers who cried, “you can’t be Christian without being Jewish,” and asked Gentile (non-Jewish) Christians to follow Jewish laws, particularly those regarding circumcision and food. Their ideas were rooted in ethnic and cultural expectations that Paul was unafraid to challenge.
Similar to the teacher in “Maple” who wanted her name to be “Mabel,” the Judaizers assumed that Christians should look and eat like Jews (see Acts 15:5), because that made sense to them. The message of “be like us to be a Christian” is deeply wounding, rooted in racial superiority and cultural authority. It is a familiar story to nearly any era in Church history.
The radical transformation of faith in Christ, Paul claimed, equalizes everyone. Sin flattens us, all unworthy. But Christ redeems us and presents us beautifully clean, whole, and unified before God. Christianity is open and welcoming to all, and in it “there is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male and female; since you are all one in Christ Jesus,” Paul wrote in the next chapter (Galatians 3:28).
Paul talked often of the body of Christ (Romans 12:3–8), and the rubber of ethnic differences met the road of his ministry in Galatians. And in chapter 2, he specifically explained that the apostles to the Jews (James, Peter, and John) agreed with him that there was no need for Titus or other Gentile Christians to submit to Jewish ritual law.
I feel Galatians reading me as much as I am reading it. What expectations do I have for other believers and for myself? What do I think Christians should look like, act like? How should they think and feel? What do I add to the truth, or what do I believe that others have added?
In his commentary on Galatians, Martin Luther wrote, “The world bears the Gospel a grudge because the Gospel condemns the religious wisdom of the world.” The gospel calls us into deep and equal fellowship with all other believers. Anything less is hypocrisy.
Over and over, Jesus confronted the religious wisdom of the world. Paul showed us how true discipleship and evangelism should be shaped by Christ, not the world. It is as simple, and as profoundly complicated, as “God does not show favoritism” (Galatians 2:6). We can substitute categories from centuries of Church history into the slots of “Jew” and “Gentile,” but the truth does not change. The gospel is just as true for you as it is for me or anyone else. Our salvation is based only on the finished work of Christ—nothing we do or don’t do can change it. We are secure in our Savior. Thanks be to God.
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86 thoughts on "Paul Defends His Gospel at Jerusalem"
These verses I feel really call into question many religions that people feel they have to follow to be close to God and be accepted into Heaven.
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Amen to this! ❤️
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You will know my people by the fruit they bare. Am I displaying the fruits? This is my question daily.
“The gospel calls us into fellowship with ALL OTHER BELIEVERS”. Bless you Martin Luther, we need not remember anything else.
Actually, since we are all one human race with common ancestors in Adam and Noah, I prefer the verse as you said it. Or the line I learned from Answers in Genesis: “Shades or brown from dark to light, we are precious in his sight.”
There are not separate races. We are all made in His image. And that fact is actually not politically correct.
I hope you can appreciate this perspective and maybe pass it on.
And amen! ❤️
Thanks be to God! ❤️
So many good points in there. “I feel Galatians is reading me as much as I’m reading it” “Our salvation is based only on the finished work of Christ-nothing we do or don’t can change it. “ !!!!!
Thanks be to God ♥️
Transformation through the gospel… I keep thinking about the words from Isaiah 44:21-23 (which we read last Tuesday) where God calls us to remember, return and rejoice. All possible because of His grace!
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May we remember His faithfulness, repent and follow His way, and rejoice together for His glory.
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Although I am not commenting so much, I am still reading and praying along (KELLY NEO ❤️) Hope to be “fully” back in September.
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Awesome update.❤️
Hello Sister Shes
Melanie, in a salvo of searing devotionals, writes:
“I feel Galatians reading me as much as I am reading it. What expectations do I have for other believers and for myself? What do I think Christians should look like, act like? How should they think and feel? What do I add to the truth, or what do I believe that others have added?”
How convicting & challenging! I admit my shameful comparisons & competitive thoughts…measuring & misinterpreting the gospel in my own mind. Heaven, help me give it up & grow in acceptance, not misplaced expectations. Free me from foolish deceit & wasteful obsession.
In the end, it’s not about me.
It’s about Him.
Praises to the Risen King!
The gospel is the gospel. Period. And amen! Aren’t we thankful for His gospel?
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Have a blessed day today, sweet She’s. Praying for all requests.
So many people seem to add to it. Silly people.
Am I confident enough in Christ to defend the gospel – anywhere?
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I, too, appreciate Melanie’s wrap-up:
“Our salvation is based only on the finished work of Christ — nothing we do or don’t do can change it. We are secure in our Savior. Thanks be to God.” Amen and amen! Thanks to all of you for great comments and ponderings!
LINDA IN NC and
LYNNE FROM ALABAMA – Always good to hear from you – even if it is for a prayer request. Actually, ESPECIALLY then! Love y’all! ❤
We can’t play God. Unless it’s CLEARLY spelled out in Holy Scripture, we can’t put expectations on other people. Let the Holy Spirit do the convicting. I grew up with “you can’t play cards, you can’t go to movies, you can’t dance, you can’t drink…” As a teen, I would often ask to be shown in scripture where it gave these rules, and quite frankly, nobody could, but they still stood by them as law. Yes, there are strict rules and laws given to us in scripture that we should be following, but lets let God be God, and we just love people.
God does not show favoritism came to mind as I read our scriptures for today. Whether we’ve been a Christian for 60 years or just this year became a Christian, we are all saved by grace and in the process of sanctification until we die. As I’ve said before, the older I get the more I realize how much I need a Savior! I pray for the Lord to give me a humble heart and a teachable spirit. It is so easy to judge others but I ask Gods to help me focus on my “beam” and not on someone’s speck in their eye!
Praying for all of you or as we say in Oklahoma, Praying for ya’ll!
Praying
Amen
Lifting up Gayle this morning—God’s grace is sufficient, He will hold and shelter you under His wing, when you are weak He is strong!
If you all would join me in a day fast for our dear sister, we could organize that on FB page!
I love that we are ALL equal at the foot of the cross. All sinners, saved by the grace of Jesus Christ. NOTHING needs to be added to that! Yet, we have to have discernment for false teachings! And like Laura said, we must hold up the standards of God…yes accept everyone, but also know that we must repent and have transformation! Some of us are tougher cookies to break like myself. Boy, I was going to church but not changing my sinful ways. It matters. BUT, God will pursue us. (Won’t He?) I think of the ones that don’t change, and backslide…and wonder if they are like Pharaoh, that their hearts harden and they will not be saved, and thus the confusion sets in! Then we have churches that add..
From HRT— But false gospels will try to sneak in their lists of “do this and don’t do that.” They want to enslave people, corrupting the freedom we have in Christ and chaining them to their yokes and burdens.
So is it simple? I don’t know. Doesn’t seem to be. lol. Just food for thought..or maybe just might befuddled mind this morning.
I love learning new words – eponymous! So, I can somewhat relate to Maple. As a child, I was raised Seventh Day Baptist. My teachers insisted I was an Adventist. I knew I wasn’t. I was a Baptist who went to church on Saturday, or Sabbath. It was difficult to explain as a 7-year-old in a land of regular, run of the mill, Southern Baptists, LOL! I love that when we all get to heaven (start singing) there will be no denominations. We’ll be all one big family of God.
I also had to look that word up! And who knew there was Seventh Day Baptists! Lol. Two things I learned today ❤️ I agree, though!
“Sin flattens us, all unworthy.” It would do us all well, to daily remember this. ..we are all equal at the cross, all sinners in need of a Savior, all saved by the same grace of God. There is neither Jew or Greek, slave or free – we are all equal in God’s eyes….so then why do I compare? Why do I judge? I so dislike myself when I allow it to happen. Jesus Christ is the only one that we should be “measuring” ourselves against. He is the One to please, He is the One to imitate.
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Father God, help me today & everyday, to be mindful of your presence, to listen to your voice and follow you. He’ll each of my sisters to do the same. Forgive me when I compare, when I judge, when I think I am better than another. Show me my place. Humble my heart. Help me to keep my eyes on You alone. In Jesus name.
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On the train to Boston with hubby this morning! Have a blessed day today sisters, praying for you all – you are loved! ❤️
“Paul showed us how true discipleship and evangelism should be shaped by Christ, not the world.” This statement from Melanie’s devotional really stuck with me. In Paul’s world at the time, it was about circumcision. But our world is saying much different things. Inclusion is one word that comes to mind. I agree with some comments that were made about allowing all to come to church – that all should be made to feel as though they can come. BUT, I do believe our world has distorted the truth that it is not about just coming, but it is about the Church accepting, celebrating the sin even. COMING as you are and STAYING that way is not the gospel. Yesterday’s readings about transformation speaks to that truth. But more and more “Christians” are allowing the world to dictate how we treat others instead of following what the Bible has to say. When people heard about the hard line we kept with our daughter when she was in a homosexual relationship, many felt that we were not being Christian toward her. They would say Jesus accepted everyone where they were. He was a friend to the sinner. And yes, 100 percent, truth. BUT, He didn’t marry people who were practicing homosexuality. He didn’t celebrate anyone’s sin. It grieved Him. He loved them so much that He said, Go and sin no more. Very different story.
Our world isn’t preaching the Gospel of circumcision. But it is preaching the gospel of acceptance without repentance. It is important that we see this as a false gospel as well.
Quick update on our family situation with our daughter. Things continue to go very well. We are in frequent communication with her and she is texting her sister regularly. We plan to see her again this weekend. Right now, we are showing unconditional love toward her and mercy (even though prior to this reunion she only spewed hateful words to us and she hasn’t acknowledged any of that YET to us, but at this point we are moving on and rebuilding our relationship and getting to know her again.) This is contrasted to what many wanted us to do before, when she was still involved in a homosexual relationship. We were told that to love her, we had to accept her as she was. That she would see the love of Jesus through us in that way and come to Christ in that way. And I am not saying that this is the ONLY way to handle this situation, please hear me on that, but we were prompted to respond the way that we did, mainly because she wanted us to accept her way of life as normal and good and bring it into our family. And we would not.
I am rambling. Sorry. So many on here have followed our story and many of you are going through similar situations, and I just wanted to update you and encourage you that God is moving in this situation. And we have praying about it for 7 years. My older daughter is “cautiously optimistic” about her sister, but me? I am all in. I know how much prayer, how much petitioning has gone into this situation and I feel nothing but peace, hope, joy. All of it. I know that God is here with us and is leading our family. He has chosen to move at this time and we want to faithfully follow His lead. AND I want to share it with as many as possible, because I know so many struggle with similar things.
I agree with how you have handled this. My prayers continue that she would return to Jesus.
You have been in a hard place and to see a light at the end is so encouraging. ❤️
Great response It’s okay to not be okay but it is not good to stay that way.
Laura, just thought I would share something I read by Wiersbe this morning from his commentary on the Acts verses. The part that I was reminded of as I read your comment is the part about compromise (it’s part in marriage/parenting), but the entire commentary was so good I decided to share most of it! So excited for the way things are happening with your daughter! Continued prayers! ❤
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From Warren Wiersbe:
The letter recorded in Acts 15:22–29 expressed the loving unity of people who had once been debating with each other and defending opposing views. The legalistic Jews gave up insisting that the Gentiles had to be circumcised to be saved, and the Gentiles accepted a change in their eating habits. This willing and loving compromise did not in any way affect the truth of the gospel.
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As every married person and parent knows, sometimes, in a home, compromise is wrong, but sometimes compromise is right and necessary.
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We can learn a great deal from this difficult experience of the early church. To begin with, problems and differences are opportunities for growth just as much as temptations for dissension and division. Churches need to work together and take time to listen, love, and learn. Imagine how many hurtful fights and splits could have been avoided if only some of God’s people had given the Spirit time to speak and to work.
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Christians need to learn the art of loving compromise. They need to have their priorities in order so they know when to fight for what is really important in the church. Following some impressive member of the church who is fighting to get his or her way on some minor issue that is not worth fighting about is sinful. Every congregation needs a regular dose of the love described in 1 Corinthians 13 to prevent division and dissension.
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Jesus didn’t marry homosexuals, but he didn’t marry heterosexuals either. He never even spoke about homosexuality, and the words translated that way in our English Bibles did not even appear in our translations until the 19th century. I don’t know all of the answers to all of the questions that I have about this issue, but I do know that much of what I was taught about it growing up was based on someone’s interpretation of Scripture. I also know that Jesus calls us to love everyone unconditionally, even our wayward children. (I have wayward children, too, so I am preaching to myself as well.) And I know that it is the job of the Holy Spirit to convict people of their sin, and I am most certainly not the Holy Spirit. My job is to love everyone. Love your daughter the best way you know how. Study the Scripture and believers who may think differently than you, but it’s ok if you don’t know all the answers. It’s probably better that way. Your daughter knows what you believe; now she needs to know unconditional love.❤️ Bless you in your journey.
Even if the word “homosexual” didn’t appear until the 19th century, Scripture makes it pretty clear that it is a form of sexual immorality in both the old and new testament. Lev 20:13 & Romans 1:26-28 for example make note of it pretty bluntly. Since Jesus is the Word, I would argue He does speak of it… . Maybe it’s not red text in our Bibles, but the Lord does not shy away how He feels about men being with men, and women being with women.
I’m sharing this as a person who has walked through my own wrestling with this subject- I and many of my friends have questioned sexual identity and have come to see it is an issue of sexual immorality/lust based on experienced and the Word of God. ❤️
@Laura, I think you are doing a beautiful job in loving your daughter and keeping boundaries with her, still.
If the word homosexual doesn’t appear until recently, the Bible in KJV says woman who have sexual relationship with a woman, a man with a man, we understand what it is. Same with the word rapture is not used in the Bible, but being caught up in the air instead, same as the Bible rebukes a father having sexual relationship with a daughter and nowadays we understand that as ince$t. Jesus did not marry any homo or straight people, but He showed up at the wedding of a man and woman and blessed them with the first miracle of water into wine, which is an expensive bill to give good wine as a gift to them. Homosexuality was forbidden in Jewish culture. That is why Sodom Gomorrah the wicked town famous for homosexuality, that the men there wanted to have s-x with the two angels who came and dwell in Lots house, that town was burned with brimstone and fire from heavens. Please children of God..get your understanding right. Lets not waste time in debate but seek Him day and night. In all your getting, get understanding, and the Lord who is generous with bless you with it if you truly want it.
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Margaret, my previous answer was for you. I must confess I was angry reading it and I wanted to apologize if my response came across as harsh. I’m sorry if it does, but I beg of you, please know your misunderstanding of the gospel could open the door to hell, that the Bible by no means endorses homosexuality. Absolutely not. It is a deception. The holiness of God will demand us to turn away from our wicked ways to be with Him. Please. Our misunderstanding and the spreading of it can cost someone their soul.
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In Genesis 1:26-28 God says to be fruitful and multiply, to fill the earth. You can’t multiply in the animal or human world with two men or two women. In Genesis 2:15-25 we see our first and only example of what marriage is in the Bible. The first wedding. God doesn’t call Eve Adams girlfriend, he calls her his wife. Two become one. Again, the only way to be fruitful and multiply. I hope this helps you understand the only sexual relationship God accepts is this. And, I also remind myself fornicators are also in sin and not to disregard that because it is accepting to many.
Thanks for your reply, Margaret ❤️ This is an incredibly sensitive issue (perhaps not dissimilar from circumcision in Paul’s day) and I imagine it takes courage to offer a perspective that isn’t always vocally shared in more conservative Christian spaces such as this one. I appreciate it because it is a reminder to us all that spiritual development and study is complex — often far more complex than we’d prefer! — and we may not agree on every interpretation. For me, for example, the reference to be fruitful and multiply isn’t a directive for how every Christian must live out their life, since we know there are many heterosexual couples who are biologically unable to do that through no fault of their own.
Inclusion in the church is certainly a thorny issue as we see from our study of Paul’s letters. From my studying so far, it seems to me we are to reduce cultural barriers to entry, understanding that God’s church was meant to be diverse, as we read today in Isaiah 19. I think we can keep that in mind in our conversations about our studies as well, holding space for one another as we recognize that this community likely holds readers from a multitude of denominations and spiritual formations. I’m grateful that this can be a safe space for all!
Just because it holds many denominations it doesn’t mean they are all right. There is one word of God and lots of people twist it. The Bible is very clear on homosexuality and that it is a sin. If you are grateful for this forum being a safe space does that mean that you are encouraging the alphabet people to continue sinning or just closing your eyes to it? There are lots of safe spaces here on earth especially in the alphabet peoples communities, but there is no safe space once you are face to face with the Lord and he shows you all the sin you have committed and all the chances you had to turn away from it, especially the sin of homosexuality.
I would loudly disagree that this is a “conservative Christian” forum. It is SRT- meaning We are Women Reading Truth our Bible daily)…so we aren’t conservatives or liberals, or lukewarm..we are God-fearing women,(should be) wanting to build each other up in love and truth, biblical truth.
Kinda funny because in the last study I was thinking that it’s crazy in the 10 years I have been here daily there is rarely, I mean hardly ever have I seen “an argument” here on SRT. I believe though iron sharpens iron, and we are to try to sharpen each other. Over the years of being a Christian I certainly have seen my own Christian beliefs change..I lived with my bf, had sex before marriage, cheated, lied…all kinds of sins that I neatly tucked away while proclaiming that I was a Christian going to church weekly. I wasn’t making Jesus the Lord of my life, I was just picking and choosing what suited me. That is wrong, but unfortunately that is the way of probably half or more of all Christians. We like to feel better by proclaiming we are saved without the repenting and changing. Luckily, after getting into the word daily with SRT the Lord began to shine the light into my compartmentalized dark rooms of my life. Thankfully He is a forgiving, merciful and graceful God. So I guess I am saying that if we are wanting to claim being a Christ follower we have to keep growing and truly follow His ways and words, but also have grace and mercy for others. We can’t judge non-believers but we are to judge Christians and hold them accountable.
Sorry for not clarifying better. I thought that when I said being fruitful and multiply would go without saying not all can conceive nor want children. As women, we know may circumstances of those who can’t and those who have adopted. There’s examples of women in the Bible who couldn’t. My own DIL can’t conceive. The point was it takes a male and female to have children and populate the earth. No arguing here, just helping Margaret with some verses where God speaks on sexuality. We can’t help our sisters by comforting their feelings if they’re not lining up with Gods word. We have to speak truth and I hope all our comments have helped her. Have a wonderful day.
Today’s reading feels like one of those “Woe to you” moments in the Bible when we need to pay extra attention. Because this felt pretty convicting to me, especially this part of the devotion— “What expectations do I have for other believers and for myself? What do I think Christians should look like, act like? How should they think and feel? What do I add to the truth, or what do I believe that others have added?”
Because I know I tend to do this unconsciously at times, even though I know I should not. Professing of faith looks different for everyone, and I think sometimes I get into this little box of “this is what a personal Christian experience looks to me” than I can be judgy of others. May the Spirit continue to show me the areas of my life where I need to stop and let Him be the one who shows me what to add to the truth and also recognize what others have added. Thank you, Jesus, for continuously shedding light on the gray and dark areas I need to take a deeper look at.
Amen Maria.
This morning I am thankful for a new day! Thankful the Lord is faithful and His mercies are new each day. Seems as if the only time I comment is to ask for your prayers. I’m with you daily reading and praying with you.
Yesterday was a very rough day. Seemed like every time I turned around something not good was happening. We discovered that somehow this godly preacher man who has faithfully served Jesus for so many years, had unknowingly sent inappropriate texts and messages to family, friends and even our prayer group. He’s very embarrassed, as was I. I sent out apologies and everyone was very gracious. As a family we are going to have to take away his phone. In the moment he understands. The dementia may not allow him to understand today or tomorrow. Many tears and much grief for me yesterday. I really need a joyful, uneventful day! I love you ladies and so much appreciate our
hearts joined together through this platform.❤
Linda, I completely understand dear sister! I pray for you and Gene every day. I had to take Jack’s phone away a while back and he was not happy about it. It was a hard decision but definitely the right one. I pray that God will continue to strengthen you and give you peace in all the hard decisions. Love you, sister! ❤️
Prayers going up for you! Today will be better. His mercies are new every morning.
Praying for you dear sister.
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Ah, dear Linda in NC
Praying, wishing, hoping & trusting you have a God-given, heaven sent, tear-free, grief-ridden, ordinary & uneventful, joy given & received, wonder-filled day.
Hugs & Hallelujah!
PS…I was born & raised in the Pine Tree State!
Praying dear Linda..I am so sorry for this hard time you have to endure.
I haven’t commented in a while but have been here reading and praying for the requests. I get married Saturday! Please say a prayer the tropical storm Debby moves on from our town so we can enjoy our day! Our ceremony is outside on the water and I’ve been praying for peace this week about the weather and have definitely felt it but would still appreciative any prayers!
Congratulations, AG! Praying that Debby will move on and that your big day will be perfect! ❤️
Exciting news! Congratulations!
Prayers for good weather for your wedding ❤️
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Our Heavenly Father
Please bless your daughter AG with a glorious wedding day! May the only shower be of Your Love Supreme! Thanking you from the top & bottom of every Sister She’s hearts!
Amen & Amen
Has anyone in here ever looked into “meat not strangled”. I have a Jewish patient and she explained to me that they eat no meat that wasn’t prepared by a kosher butcher because you have no idea how the meat in the grocery store is prepared, but I am wondering are there some meats that are more likely to be strangled than others? Anyways, I spent a year eating vegan and only venison from my husband for health reasons and my health dramatically improved. I’m no longer eating restricted, but I am wondering if there is something to that? Food for thought?
I am a vegetarian (well, mostly vegan). I have wondered the same thing. Such a weird thing to mention…
Thanks be to God!
Wow! There is so much to chew on in these readings this morning! In the instructions given to those early gentile believers, I was struck by how simple they are: “abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from eating anything that has been strangled, and from blood”. It doesn’t even include all of the 10 commandments! This was such a reminder to me of the radical, unmerited grace of God! He asks so little from us when we turn to Him. His love for us and the grace he shows us really only asks for us to love him most in our lives.
I was raised in an evangelical church and I’m so thankful for the legacy of faith that my parents have given me. But in my adulthood, I’ve been forced to wrestle with the call to “go and preach the good news” and my own sense of propriety and what a Christian should look like. If God is extending such radical grace to humanity, am I the one keeping people from him because I’m requiring them to turn their back on sin before they come to him? If God isn’t even asking them to leave their lifestyle first, did I put up false barriers?
These are questions I’m chewing on this morning.
We covered this issue in our recent study of Corinthians, and the short answer is that much of the meat available for sale in Corinth had been sacrificed to idols. The pagan priests made money selling the leftovers from their sacrifices, and many new believers, especially those who had been pagan, felt like they were honoring their former gods by eating this meat. So Paul had taught them that if it bothers someone’s conscience, a believer should abstain from eating such meat, as an act of love.
Theresa, we are not all called to five fold ministry (apostle, pastor, teacher, prophet, evangelists) but we are all called to point to Jesus within our realm of influence. So fear not, your ministry is your family, your coworkers, we display the light of God to those whom we interact with.
This was so good. I need to always be checking my heart that I am not judging other Christians for how they worship, their minor theological differences, etc. I listen to the Daily Audio Bible and was recently convicted during the mini sermon afterwards about the difference between unity in the church and conformity. We don’t all have to look the same or act the same or expect the church universal to be all the same. Unity is different than expecting conformity. We all are sinners redeemed by Jesus. We should celebrate our differences as we worship the same God. Thanks be to God!
“Our salvation is based only on the finished work of Christ—nothing we do or don’t do can change it. We are secure in our Savior. Thanks be to God.”
Amen❤️
Red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in his sight…
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I teach preschool,, and that verse has changed to be “politically correct”. (“Every child in every land, Jesus holds them in His hand.”) I am more than a little bothered by that. We are all different races and colors…. There is nothing wrong with “Red and yellow, black and white…” PC things make me go, “Grr!!”
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Off my soapbox!
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Thankful that the gospel saves us ALL. ❤️
I think here the point is that God is not identifying or dividing us by race or color (no Jew or Greek) yet this song is. I personally like the new wording. I would rather error on the side not offending someone or otherwise putting a stumbling block to God’s invitation to all to come to Him.
Agreeing with MARY ANN GRAVES & TINA on emphasizing “Our salvation is based only on the finished work of Christ—nothing we do or don’t do can change it. We are secure in our Savior.”
Thank you, Melanie, for these closing words.
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Galatians 2:6 stood out to me today –
6 But from those who seemed to be something—whatever they were, it makes no difference to me; God shows personal favoritism to no man—for those who seemed to be something added nothing to me.
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in the midst of our world where celebrities, influencers, political leaders, etc. pull out all stops to draw attention to themselves and pull us toward them or their beliefs … they add nothing to us, though will take from us if we allow it (especially our time and our focus on the Lord).
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BG verse today: Ps 149:4 For the Lord takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the humble with salvation.
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TERESA DONLEY ❤️ praying, love seeing you here!
RHONDA J – praying, sister, for your nerve pain and overall health ❤️❤️
JEN COEN – welcome!
G – praying for your son and progress with therapist
MERCY -❤️ praying for healing of your eyes and that special contacts will resolve all issues. Loved your reply to TINA yesterday ❤️ May we be aware of others in need.
MICHELLE P – ❤️ repeated stories :) years ago, when an elderly relative was reminded that her story had been shared before replied …. I’ll tell you as many times as I want to!
Same for our dear TINA. She is lead to share at just the right times ❤️
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LYNNE FROM AL – praying, sister.
CEE GEE ❤️
Thank you! Last night we caught wind of him trying to do something dumb and had to stop it. I know rebellion is a healthy part of development but wish it wasn’t, lol.
Amen! ❤
❤️ amen!! Lol
Praying along with you. So thankful for you dear sister❤️❤️❤️
As I read this I’m thinking about the conversation I had with my son’s girlfriend yesterday when she was telling me that she feels judged by every church she’s ever gone to, mom having brought her to conservative, independent Baptist influenced churches. It’s so wrong that she should feel that way, I told her. I try to encourage her to go in and be as much her beautiful self as she can be and shake open the doors of the church and their hearts. Be bold for Christ and your own personal personal beauty, be honest about your shortcomings. We should all be able to be our most sinner self inside the walls of the church. If Jesus loves us, we should love one another.
Beautifully said!
“we did not give up and submit to these people for even a moment, so that the truth of the gospel would be preserved for you.”
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Thank you Paul and your team for persevering and overcoming those who would pervert the Gospel so that I would have it in my time. May we be faithful to keep the message pure for future generations.
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So still no power in the Cleveland, Ohio area except for a few pockets. Thankful for cooler weather so A/C is not needed. No time given for restoration as many poles and towers damaged by the tornado(es). Pray for the utility crews to be safe. Thanks
Praying for power restoration in your area, KELLY (NEO) ❤️, and that out of state crews will assist in speeding up the repairs.
Kelly, praying power is restored in your area. I’m in Florida ( where this storm began). Not bad in our area this time. Praise God! Will be keeping the Cleveland area and power crews in my prayers. So glad you have cooler weather.
Kelly, praying power is restored soon and safety for all involved. ❤
Praying..
Our salvation is secured by the finished work of Christ.Amen
Let’s not leave out Acts 15:11- “We believe that we are all saved the same way, by the undeserved grace of the Lord Jesus.”
Amen! Blessed Thursday Sister. May the Lord give you strength and peace in whatever you are doing for Him.
Amen!
Our salvation is based only on the finished work of Christ—nothing we do or don’t do can change it. We are secure in our Savior. Thanks be to God.
A resounding Amen to that Melanie RAINIER!!!!
Sending much love and hugs and prayers to and for all. ♥️♥️