Day 5

Lisa Sheffler, author

How are you enjoying your time in Galatians so far? Reflect on what you’ve learned and seek to hear the Spirit through his Word.

But first, a reminder…

If you didn’t have time earlier in the week, read about Paul’s first missionary journey into the region of Galatia. Read Acts 13:13–14:28 and follow along on this map.

Also, if you didn’t watch the background video that sets the scene in Galatia, click th is link and check it out.

Reflect

When studying a book of the Bible, answering the following questions will help you interpret the overall message of the book. So, let’s see how well we can answer them after closely reading Paul’s introduction (Galatians 1:1–10) and learning a little about the historical context.

Who is Paul writing to?
What is this letter about?
When was this letter written? (Not necessarily the date, but when in the timeline of Paul’s ministry.)
Where are the recipients of this letter?
Why is Paul writing this letter?

Connect

The gospel is the most beautiful story ever told. It’s the best news you’ll ever receive. The Creator of the universe so wanted to share his love with his special creation that even after they rebelled against him, he was determined to bring them back into his presence. He did this because he loved them. He did this out of his grace. He did this even though they were not worthy. He did it through Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of all of God’s promises. He’s the long awaited Messiah, the one to whom all of history points. By his death and resurrection, we are redeemed and reconciled to God. We are brought into his worldwide family and under his eternal reign to serve him and each other. It’s Jesus alone who saves. There is no other way.

Paul believed so strongly in the sufficiency of this gospel that he spent his life sharing it, contending for it, and defending it. He was so convinced that Jesus is all we need, that he couldn’t stand by and let people he loved be convinced otherwise. He wanted to keep their eyes fixed on Jesus.

Do we feel the same way? Do we care enough about the people around us to make sure they understand the gospel? Let’s ask the Spirit to increase our faith in God and our love for people so that we become passionate about sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Respond

As we move through Galatians, we’ll keep talking about the gospel. Take some time to reflect on how you understand the gospel and its implications. How would you explain it to someone else?

Spend some time in prayer reflecting on the gospel. how God’s goodness, grace, forgiveness, and love are all yours in Christ. You are reconciled to him and can rest in his presence. You can have reconciliation with other people because of Christ’s sacrifice. Praise him and thank him. Seek the Spirit’s guidance as to how you can live out the truth of the gospel in your everyday life.

Coming up next week…

Coming up next week, we’ll look closely at how Paul shares his own story of life change because of an encounter with Jesus. We’ll talk about how we can share our own stories as a way to help point people to Jesus.