Pastor Gary's OYB Devotion Archive for September 14

“But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles…” (Galatians 1:15-16 NKJV).

From: September 14, 2020

LOOKING BACK, WE CAN SEE GOD’S HAND ON US ALL ALONG

The apostle Paul made it clear to the Galatians that the gospel he had preached to them was not from men, but from the Lord Himself. He went on to explain that when he looked back on his life, he could see that God had set him apart for the ministry to the Gentiles since his very birth. Certainly, he had not recognized this before his conversion, but looking back, he saw that God had a calling on his life all along.

Regardless of the age when we finally trust Christ as Lord and Savior, when we look back, we can see that He has been at work in our lives all along. Can I get a witness? Look back. Don’t you see God’s hand at work in your life from the beginning?

PRAYER: Dear Father, we thank You for not only saving us, but calling us into Your gospel ministry. Looking back, we see You grace and mercy at work in us from the beginning. Thank You, Lord. Now, strengthen us and fill us afresh to fulfill our calling from You today. In Jesus’ name, amen.

“I received my message from no human source, and no one taught me. Instead, I received it by direct revelation from Jesus Christ” (Galatians 1:12 NLT).

From: September 14, 2019

THE GOSPEL IS FROM CHRIST, NOT MAN

The apostle Paul wrote to the believers in the Galatian churches to explain where he had received his gospel message. He wanted them to know that he had received it by personal, “direct revelation” from the Lord Jesus Christ. This is what it meant to be an “apostle,” as the word means “one sent.” For Christ Himself gave Paul and the other apostles the gospel message and sent them out to carry it to all nations as His ambassadors. They were eye-witnesses of Christ’s resurrection and they were personally commissioned as His apostles. The gospel is from Christ, not man. And it has been preserved in the New Testament until this day for those who would hear and believe!

PRAYER: Dear Father, thank You for the gospel of Christ. For it is the Good News unto salvation. Help us today to apply the gospel to our lives and to preach it to those around us. Give us strength to carry it to the nations as You have commanded. Help us not to mishandle it, neither adding nor subtracting from it. But help us to always give it out whole. We love You, Lord and we love Your gospel. In Jesus’ name, amen.

“Then at last the people will look to their Creator and turn their eyes to the Holy One of Israel. They will no longer look to their idols for help or worship what their own hands have made.” (Isaiah 17:7-8 NLT).

From: September 14, 2018

WHAT WILL IT TAKE FOR US TO LOOK TO THE LORD?

The prophet Isaiah received this word from the Lord concerning the people of Israel. They had lowered their eyes from the Creator to the creation, looking to their idols for help and worshiping the work of their own hands. As a result, a day was coming when their cities would fall, their crops fail, and the glory of Israel grow dim. Yet in that day, the people would pull their eyes off of their idols and look again to the Lord.

Someone has said that true worship is pulling our affections off our idols and putting them on God. The Israelites of Isaiah’s day had broken the first two commandments of the Decalogue. They had put other gods before the Lord and they had made and worshiped graven images. The Lord would not allow His chosen people to continue in this way. His discipline was sending first the Assyrians, and later the Babylonians, to help Israel remember their God.

What will it take for us to pull our affections off of our material manmade stuff and put them on God? Will it take another event like 9/11 or the devastation of a hurricane to pull our eyes off of the temporal to consider the eternal? The word that the Lord gave Isaiah for his people is just as true for us today, as it was for them.

“I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ” (Galatians 1:6-7 NKJV).

From: September 14, 2017

The apostle Paul warned the Galatians against adding or subtracting from the gospel. He said that they were at risk of deserting the “grace of Christ” and perverting the “gospel of Christ.” The gospel is not only that which sets free the one in slavery to sin, it is also that which sustains the freedom of those who are now sons of God. We never outgrow the gospel. As one commentator has said, the gospel is not only the ABCs of Christianity. It is the A-Z of Christianity.

“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel” (Galatians 1:6 ESV)

From: September 14, 2016

The apostle Paul wrote to correct those who had fallen prey to the “gospel” of the Judaizers, who insisted that new believers had to follow all the laws of Moses. He challenged them not to desert the “grace of Christ” revealed in the true gospel. Every generation must face a similar challenge. For every generation is faced with those who would add to or subtract from the gospel, proposing a “different gospel,” as if there could be another. But there is only one true gospel. Christ died for our sins, he was buried, and he rose again on the third day. If you will confess Jesus Christ as Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved (Rom. 10:9). This is the only gospel.

“Apply your heart to instruction, and your ears to words of knowledge” (Proverbs 23:12 NKJV)

From: September 14, 2015

Live change requires that knowledge moves from our heads to our hearts. When we know better than we do, we still have only head knowledge. What we need is heart knowledge. Better to know and do one thing than to know many things and do none of them. “Apply” what you learn from the Word to your life. Put your heart into it.

“The one who used to persecute us is now preaching the very faith he tried to destroy!” (Galatians 1:23 NLT)

From: September 14, 2014

When Paul encountered the living Lord Jesus on the road to Damascus, it began his transformation from persecutor to preacher. The life of Paul is one of the great proofs of Christ’s resurrection and power. Paul’s life demonstrates that no one is beyond God’s salvation and calling. God calls whom He will. Therefore, pray for the salvation of everyone. The one persecuting Christians today, could be preaching for Christ tomorrow.

“I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant” (Galatians 1:10)

From: September 14, 2012

The apostle Paul sought only the approval of Christ. He was not a people-pleaser. Whose approval do you seek? Be careful not to water-down your faith in order to gain popular acceptance. Better to be rejected by man and be received into the Kingdom with “Well done!” by Christ Himself.

“Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge” (Proverbs 23:12)

From: September 14, 2011

For real change to take place we must move knowledge from our heads to our hearts. All of us know better than we do. What we all need is heart change. Better to know and do one thing right than to know many things and do none of them. Pray for heart application.