Who are we pleasing? - Galatians 1

I chose the book of Galatians to start. I wanted to jump right into Paul's letters.

Galatians 1

One thing I noticed about Paul's letter to the Church at Galatia, was that he felt that an "autobiography" of sorts was in order. He greets, rebukes, and then basically gives a testimony as to the authority he writes with.

As we live our lives on mission, the cool part about what we are asking people to do, is love your neighbors as commanded by Christ. In John 13, Jesus says that" people will know we are HIs disciples by our love for one another". But people want to know your life and what you are about before they are willing to honestly be open about "spiritual" things.

Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ. – Galatians 1:10

We can’t expect to speak into someone’s life the moment we meet someone. People want to know your “deed matches your creed”. For what ever reason, people have a distrust of 'religious' things. Whether they have been burned in the past, bored in the past or have little to no faith backgrounds.....people have their reasons, and most of them are pretty good. When people tell me....."and thats why I haven't been back to church"....honestly, I can't blame them. So keep that in mind as we share our lives and our stories. Don't be offended if people aren't as excited about your life as you are.

As you guys probably know, Paul (then Saul) was a persecutor of the earliest Christians. He stood and gave approval as the first Christian martyr (Stephen) was stoned to death. He was a Pharisee...also the son of a Pharisee. These men were the most educated, religious, pious Jews of their day. They also were known to be very "works-centric" and self-centric. So as we will learn about Paul's conversion, Christ changed him from the inside out, starting with his heart and even changed his name. We will see Paul humbly yet full of conviction, rebuke churches, but also refer to himself as a "slave" or a bond servant. He also recognizes God's "call"...and introduce God's "elect" (those called by God).

I am seriously excited for you guys as men, to desire to walk through the bible with me. I would ask that you hold me accountable, read for yourselves, form your own ideas and bring them to the table. Even if this is a totally NEW concept to you….it’s okay.

I use commentaries…..all the time. You can google....Galatians Commentary…and find hundreds of documents from different writers. Also another tool that takes more getting use to....is the translator at Biblios. It breaks verses down by word in the Greek (New Testament) and Hebrew (Old Testament).

Today as you read, if you want to add anything….just reply all…and put it out there. It doesn't have to be ultra deep...it might just be a question, or a realization.

Sorry, today's post was a little nuts and bolts...NOW JUMP IN!