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READ IT IN Galatians 5:9 A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.Yeast to primarily represent sin, corruption, or false teaching. In this account, Paul is using yeast to represent sin - ideology of salvation through works instead of grace. Yeast is a tiny living organism that changes the chemical makeup of dough and ferments or leavens it. It makes the bread rise and creates that irresistible fluffy texture. It spreads organically like a chain reaction, eventually working through the entire batch. But it doesn’t happen instantly – it takes time. At first it doesn’t look like anything is happening at all. And it only takes a small amount to affect a large batch of dough. Also – left unchecked, it can sour or ruin the batch. And, interestingly, Yeast can even survive dormant for years and years. The oldest trick of the enemy is to get people off track by asking questions that seem almost harmless. Genesis 3:1 the crafty serpent asks “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”. Right then and there Eve should have cried out to God and sent the enemy running. But instead, a dialogue begins where the serpent continues to spread a little yeast that starts to organically turn the truth of God's command into something blurry enough where disobeying it seemed small and harmless in the moment. This is why it’s so imperative to stay in and know God’s Word. Without the guardrails of God’s loving wisdom, we fall prey to convincing arguments of the enemy.  The enemy does his best work in this blurry area that seems like mostly a large batch of truth, but then he drops in little kernels of the yeast that start working and we may not even know until it's too late. A little bending of the truth here, a little questioning boundaries there.  PRAY IT UP - James 1:15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. God Help us to detect the little grains of sin in our lives that seem so small, but can work their way into every area of our lives and then cause big consequences. - Isaiah 53:6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. Remind us daily that our iniquities have been laid on him and it is by Jesus’s sacrifice and resurrection we are saved, by grace – not by our own best efforts. - 1 Peter 5:8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. God please help us to know your Word and protect our minds and hearts from the attacks of the enemy – that we would be able to discern the truth and call on you in our times of need. LIVE IT OUT Is there any yeast that may be creeping into your own life right now? Ask God to reveal to you any areas that are out of alignment with God. Invite the Holy Spirit into these areas to help bring conviction and clarification.

READ IT IN Imitation of others is something we work at when the person we are imitating is respected or approved of.   We want to be like people we admire; people we aspire to or those we want to emulate.  We copy the speech, habits, and styles of those we commend. But in Galatians 4:12, the Apostle Paul makes a startling personal appeal: "Brothers, I entreat you, become as I am, for I also have become as you are." To understand the weight of this request, we have to remember who Paul was. He was once a rigid, Law-keeping Pharisee, obsessed with religious duty. Yet, when he met Jesus, Paul abandoned that heavy yoke of self-righteous performance. He became like the Gentiles—living free from the ceremonial Law—so he could reach them with the Gospel. Now, seeing the Galatians slide back into legalism, he begs them to imitate his freedom. This echoes Paul’s call in 1 Corinthians 11:1: "Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ." Paul wasn't asking them to copy his unique behavioral habits. He was inviting them to imitate his complete surrender to grace;  a grace that changed him from the inside out. Christ had set Paul free from earning God’s favor, allowing him to walk in total spiritual liberty. Even more striking is how this freedom played out in real life. Paul reminds them that he first preached to them because of a bodily illness (Galatians 4:13–14). He showed up vulnerable, weak, and unimpressive, yet they welcomed him like an angel. True gospel freedom frees us from the exhausting need to appear spiritually perfect. When we imitate Paul’s release of the Law, we no longer hide our weaknesses behind religious checklists. Instead, we rest in the unconditional acceptance of Christ. We receive His grace to extend His grace to others. His grace brings freedom like no other. Ministry and acceptance by people are not built on human perfection but on divine grace. PRAY IT IN - (From Proverbs 4:25-27) Lord, keep my eyes forward and direct the path of my feet, that all my ways may be sure. - Jesus, thank you for your death and forgiveness. I look to you and your sacrifice first before all else. - Lord, give me wisdom and let the Holy Spirit direct my attention in any decisions I make today. LIVE IT OUT What does your path as a follower of Jesus look like? What or who hinders you most? What would “staying the course” look like today and this week?

READ IT IN Galatians 5:7 - You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth?  The apostle reminds the Galatians that they were “running well,” growing as a church and growing in their relationships with Jesus. People at this time often used the metaphor of track athletes at the Olympics - Paul paints a picture here that the Galatians were in the first lane, in perfect full strides, representing they were on their way toward living out Jesus’ plan for them as a people and as a church. They had begun to live as though they were saved by grace and not righteous works, and  they were beginning to act in this revolutionary way toward those around them. Their striving was not easy nor effortless, but a good race. The Bible and the world are full of stories of people like Samson or King Saul who started strong, but could not finish that way. Another person has now jumped into the first lane, causing that cruising frontrunner to break stride, dodge, stop, slow down or even be disqualified. Paul asks who this other person is - who did this, who “cut in” on you to hinder your race? The Judaizers have caused the Galatians to stumble and stop obeying the truth - the runner flailing his arms as he tries to go around the obstacle is the Galatians focusing on adherence to the law, ritual or circumcision. But this is their chance to stay the course, also illustrating us as Christians like distance runners: Hebrews 12:1: Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. The Bible tells us to stick to the course with endurance, continuing to obey the truth. Samson was hindered AND LOST his race due to his love of women, Saul by his pride and refusal to submit, and the Galatians are beginning to stumble into legalism. Paul’s encouragement to them and to us is to stay the course to win the prize. It is reserved for those who start and finish strong. PRAY IT UP - Psalm 119:23: Father, “I run in the path of your commands, for you have broadened my understanding.” - God, strengthen me to stay the course so that I may return home to your words of “well done, good and faithful servant.”  - God, give me wisdom and strength to recognize and trust you when I am hindered from obeying your true word. LIVE IT OUT What does your path as a follower of Jesus look like? What or who hinders you most? What would “staying the course” look like today and this week?

READ IT IN Paul continues speaking truth to the Galatians in Galatians 5:5–6 by correcting their misplaced focus on works instead of faith. He reminds them that, as believers, they are already in Christ through faith. They have received the Spirit of God and now eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness to be fully realized in their lives. This eager expectation rests on faith, not on human effort. Therefore, it makes no sense for believers to abandon a faith-based hope and begin relying on their own fleshly efforts.  These verses make a powerful statement about the nature of our faith and our relationship with God. Paul emphasizes that true faith is not merely shown through religious practices or external rituals, but through faith that expresses itself in love. When we understand what Paul is saying, we see that Christian identity is not defined by rule-keeping alone. What truly matters is a genuine connection to Jesus Christ and a life shaped by love. In this way, the verses remind us that Christianity is not primarily about following a strict list of outward requirements; it is about the inward transformation that takes place in the heart. We can easily become weighed down by religious obligations, believing we must follow countless rules in order to be accepted by God. Paul directly confronts that mindset by explaining that external actions—such as circumcision, which was an important Jewish practice at the time—do not make a person right with God. Instead, righteousness comes through faith in Jesus Christ, and that faith produces love-filled action. Genuine faith does not remain passive; it moves us to love and serve others. This kind of love becomes the visible evidence of our relationship with God. PRAY IT UP - As a believer, do you trust that you are secure in Christ or do you strive to earn acceptance through your own efforts? Pray that He would help you rest in the righteousness that you have through faith in Christ Jesus.  Pray this: “Holy Spirit, renew my heart so that my faith is not merely outward or religious, but genuine, active, and expressed through love toward others.” - Ask God to reveal any areas where you are relying on your flesh, performance, or rule-keeping instead of faith. - Ask Him to lead you back to the hope of righteousness and help you live from that hope each day. LIVE IT OUT Live with eager hope, not anxious striving. The “hope of righteousness” teaches believers to wait with confidence for God’s work to be fully completed. Rather than becoming discouraged by our imperfections, we can live with faith-filled anticipation that God will finish what He started.

READ IT IN Salvation is God’s free gift! “You have been alienated from Christ.” (Galatians 5:4) These are sharp and frightening words none of us would ever want to hear!  It is a harsh judgement that we might expect to be applied to someone in a deeply sinful lifestyle.  But, wait…this is not Paul’s judgement of a fallen sinner, but actually his judgement of the Judaizers trying to add conditions and rules for new gentile Christians to adopt.  They wanted to impose Old Testament laws such as circumcision on those who accepted Jesus’ salvation.   By imposing these laws and traditions, these leaders were implying that Jesus’ death and resurrection were not enough for salvation! Paul is very clear;  the law does not, and cannot add to or enhance Jesus’ freely given gift of salvation!  Paul addresses this issue in Romans verse 11:6 as well, when he says “And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.”  This lesson applies to us today as well.  After receiving the free gift of salvation, we want to live for our Lord who has changed our life and given us eternal life!  We want to do God’s work because He loved us and gave His life for us.  But…we need to be careful that we don’t begin to think that we can earn more of God’s love and approval with our actions (or good works).  Nothing we can do can make our loving God love us more or less. He loves us perfectly!  He is pleased when we do His will and when we live for Him, but it doesn’t  change His feelings for us.  We want to always be resting in God’s grace as described in Ephesians 2:8-9, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-not by works so no one can boast.”   Those who try to earn it will be alienating themselves from Christ, according to Paul.  Trying to earn God’s love, or His salvation puts the emphasis on us instead of on God’s free gift of grace, and Jesus’ sacrifice. In a sense it is like rejecting a gift carefully given to you by someone who loves you.  We must always remember our salvation was a free gift and accept it gratefully!   PRAY IT UP - Pray a prayer of thanksgiving; thanking God for the gift of salvation freely given to us.  Thank Him that His gift to us is all we need to be forgiven of our sins and to be with Jesus in eternity! - Pray that God will help you be sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s prompting, and lead as you seek to do God’s will freely, and out of love and thankfulness, not out of a sense of duty or obligation.  Pray the Holy Spirit will guide you and how you can “do the work of the Lord,” as Timothy did. (I Corinthians 1610)  - Pray that God will help you be a joyful, helpful, giving friend, neighbor, or colleague so that others will see God’s love in your life and become interested in it.  Pray you will be ready to share the good news of God’s free gift of salvation and eternal life, when asked questions.  Let your life show God’s love in action, and be ready to describe the wonderful free gift that is ready for them! LIVE IT OUT Make a short prayer list of people in your sphere of influence who need Jesus.  Pray for them daily, and watch for opportunities to share God’s gift of salvation with them.  Watch for opportunities to show God’s love by stepping up to provide a need, or comfort, or friendship.  Invite them to church or to Lifegroup.  Offer to babysit.  Put feet to God’s love for them, and then be ready to share His free gift!

READ IT IN In the first half of Galatians 5, Paul urges the Galatians to properly understand and use the freedom they have in Christ. While he wants them to stand fast in their freedom, he also warns them to guard against lawlessness. It must have been a challenge for the Jewish Christians to see their salvation in grace and faith rather than the law. On the other hand, some might be tempted to disregard the law altogether under the “covering” of grace and freedom.  We see Paul strike this balance often. Even in this balance, though, Paul makes it clear that salvation and belonging to God’s family is a result of Jesus’ work on the cross and is not achieved by observing the law. It is about walking in the freedom that Christ purchased for us. Paul doesn’t want the Galatians to submit to legalistic rules, but to Christ. In verse 3 Paul tells them that if they are going to achieve salvation through the act of circumcision, they would then be obligated to keep the whole law. He is saying that the law is a whole unit and one can’t be selective about which ones they will follow.   In James 2:10 James says, “For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.” James is not saying that if a person is guilty of one particular sin, then they are also guilty of every other listed sin in the law. He is showing us that the law is an expression of God’s will and that it is not a fragmented bunch of rules that come together, but that the law is whole. So, if you break it anywhere, you break it all because you are rebelling against God himself, disregarding his will as revealed in the law. So, this isn’t about following each and every law perfectly as much as it is about if our hearts are surrendered to God.  PRAY IT UP - Jesus, I thank you for your gift of salvation. I thank you that you secured that in your obedience so that I could receive it even in my disobedience. Thank you that the salvation of my soul is up to you and not me. Thank you for the freedom that comes with that realization. - Holy Spirit, please empower me to walk in the freedom you offer. Show me the ways in which I still try to secure my own right standing with you. Help me to obey and follow you out of love and freedom and not fear and control. - Father God, help me to extend your grace to those around me. When they stumble, let me be the first to help instead of condemn. LIVE IT OUT Take some time to reflect on what Jesus has done so that you can know and experience him. Let your heart take in his great love for you. How does that impact the things you do in your day-to-day life? What changes in your heart when you are operating out of His love for you rather than trying to live up to a standard to earn that love?

READ IT IN Paul has just declared to us that Christ has set us free. We no longer have to be tied or yoked to that long list of over 600 laws and regulations. Through Christ and His grace, we can truly live unselfishly by faith. Continuing in verse 2, Paul adamantly declares that Christ has no value if they, the Galatians, allow the Judaizers to persuade them that circumcision is needed for Gospel salvation.   You can hear Paul's strong, urgent tone as you read this verse. It is a foundational truth to a relationship with Christ. Working to be saved by keeping the law versus being saved by His grace are two entirely different viewpoints on a relationship with Christ - The Gospel. “Christ having no value to you at all” points directly to those trying to save themselves by adding anything to what was already done for us by Christ on the cross. The Galatians were adding circumcision. For you it might be church attendance, moral behavior, those “feel good” or “at-a-boy” moments. But Gospel salvation remains out of reach as long as we try to work our way to God by adding anything. Christ alone, nothing added, offers complete salvation.   Obedience to the law, legalism, does not make us more acceptable to Him. Nor does our striving earn His favor. Legalism and striving are not ways to earn salvation. We cannot reap the benefits of Christ’s sacrifice while simultaneously trusting in our own efforts to save ourselves. Trusting our own efforts for salvation will not work. There is nothing we can add to Christ in order to receive the Gospel. All we can do is accept His  gracious gift through faith, as Paul tells us in his letter to the Ephesians: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God” (Eph 2:8). Our striving will never get us there. Our obedience is not the price we pay for salvation. Our obedience is our response of love to the One who saved us. We will receive grace as a gift. Grace is not given as a reward for our effort. We will never receive eternal life unless we surrender our self-reliance, repent, and embrace His free gift of grace by faith.  Jesus +  nothing = Gospel  PRAY IT UP - “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight” (Prov. 3:5–6). Pray and ask God to reveal any areas of your life where you are trying to earn His favor or carry burdens through your own strength. Ask Him for the grace to lay down self-reliance and fully depend on Christ's completed work. - “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast” (Eph. 2:8–9).  Spend time in thankful prayer for the gift of salvation that you didn't have to earn. Praise God that His grace is entirely sufficient, freeing you from the pressure of perfectionism and self-justification. - “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery”  (Gal. 5:1). Pray for a heart that rests securely in gospel freedom rather than striving under legalism. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide your daily actions out of love and gratitude for Christ, rather than duty or fear. LIVE IT OUT Think of a situation this week where you feel pressure to maintain control or prove your worth. A place where you may be letting legalism or striving creep in. Pause, pray, and explicitly surrender that situation to Jesus, confessing: "Lord, I can't save or fix this in my own strength. May my motivations be Gospel-focused, not me-centered. I trust Your grace is sufficient."

Read It In “Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you” (Col. 3:15). Forgiveness is one of the hardest things to truly do and do well. We are, in essence, like the disciples when they walked with Jesus before their eyes were open to His mission. They questioned Him numerous times about His teachings and continually asked why. In Matthew 18, before Jesus tells the parable of the unforgiving debtor, Peter asks how many times he should forgive a brother or sister who sins against him and offers up the number seven. “Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times (v.22).” It’s easy to be forgiven but it’s harder to forgive because you must let go of the wrong done to you. And yet, God forgave us of so much because He wanted to, not because He needed to. He had no sins to let go of, but He had love to give. God suffered for all of our wrongs, our debts we owed, and when we forgive we are handing Him the wrongs from others so we can be renewed and live in His peace. Forgiveness comes from the heart, the place where we store what we love most. Our hearts, where feelings and desires compete, are the center of conflict and the reason it’s hard to forgive. Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:21, “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” God is our treasure, He is our most beloved. To be at peace and truly love, we need to offer forgiveness and let Jesus’ suffering remind us how precious forgiveness can be. In his book Forgive: Why Should I and How Can I?, Tim Keller says that forgiveness is a form of voluntary suffering. “In forgiving, rather than retaliating (like the hardened hearted servant from the parable), you make a choice to bear the cost.” Think of Jesus on the cross. He made the choice to suffer for us. Pray It Up Pray that the reality of forgiveness resonates within you, so that when you have an opportunity to forgive someone, you can reflect on what God has forgiven you and extend the same peace. Live It Out Today is the day to ask God to search your heart and help you find the strength to forgive that deep thing you are holding on to, to nail it to the cross. “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you (Eph. 4:32).” Lord, we ask that You would unharden our hearts and help us forgive others so that we can truly live without the burden that unforgivness puts on us. An unforgiving heart fills us with resentment, taking up valuable space and time that we need in order to do Your good works. We ask, Lord, that we could love like You and forgive seventy-seven times until it becomes automatic and not wasted time.

READ IT IN “Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” Galatians 5:1b Paul is speaking to believers who had genuinely placed their faith in Jesus Christ. They had received the righteousness that comes by grace through faith in Christ alone. But now they’re being tempted to take up again the yoke of slavery – keeping the laws of Moses to be right with God. The choice is ours: yoked to slavery or yoked to Jesus. What we believe about how we’re made right with God determines who – or what – we are yoked to. The yoke of slavery is legalism: believing it’s on us to earn God’s approval or maintain our own salvation. It’s taking up a burden far too heavy for us to ever bear. In contrast, Jesus offers His yoke. “For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” – Matthew 11:30 He becomes the One who carries the weight for us – our sin debt, our shame, all our striving. He provides everything needed for us to be made right with God. Our response is simply to receive this amazing gift of grace, walk in grateful and loving obedience, and remain yoked to Him. “Stand firm.” Paul urges us to hold to this truth because he knows the battle to stay yoked to Jesus – and not to slavery – is exactly that…a battle. The apostle Peter warns in Acts 15:10, "Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear?" We must reject any thought, feeling or teaching that contradicts the message of grace. We all sin and fall short (and continue to do so) of the glory of God. Fight the pull toward earning what Christ has already secured. Stand firm, Hold fast. Persevere. Resist the old yoke of slavery and remain in Jesus – and in the freedom He has won for us. PRAY IT UP - Ask God to reveal any areas where you might be slipping back under a yoke of slavery and invite Him to give you the strength to embrace the yoke of Jesus– where you are free to live in the love of God. - Take a moment to marvel at how great God’s love is for you – that He sent His one and only Son to die on the cross and pay the penalty for your sin so He could have a relationship with you. Thank Him for the freedom He has given you in Christ. - Ask God to make you bold and courageous in sharing the freedom you have in Christ. LIVE IT OUT Now that you know you’ve been set free by Christ, who is God prompting you to share your freedom story with? If this is the first time you’ve truly understood that you are free, tell a believing friend. Or if you’ve known this truth for a while, share your faith story with someone who needs to hear it this week.

READ IT IN “It is for freedom that Christ has set you free.” – Galatians 5:1a What freedom is the Apostle Paul referring to? After spending the first several chapters of Galatians refuting the false gospel – the claim that obeying Jewish laws was necessary to be right with God – Paul now calls the Galatians back to the freedom that is already theirs through faith in Christ, not through the law. This was God’s plan from the very beginning: to free us from the law’s impossible demands and to rescue us through Christ, because we could never rescue ourselves. We need this reminder as well. Have you ever felt like you had to follow certain rules to stay “right” with God – and that if you slipped up or didn’t do things perfectly, He’d be disappointed? Let Paul’s words wash over you again: “It is for freedom that Christ has set you free.” Our chains have been broken. We have been set free from perfect rule-keeping. We are no longer slaves to sin or shame. Christ has set us free! Jesus Himself tells us: “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” – John 8:36. We are now free – to live freely. We have been set free – not to go our own way or return to rule-keeping, but to become who God created us to be. Living free means loving and serving God and others through the Holy Spirit’s guidance. Only then do we discover that God’s way is the only path to true freedom. "Free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty, we are free at last." – Martin Luther King PRAY IT UP - Do you struggle to believe that God accepts you just as you are? Deep down, do you feel there are certain “rules” you must follow to be right with Him or to earn His love? Ask God to pour His love over your heart, soul, and mind so you can experience His unconditional grace in a fresh and tangible way. - Do you struggle with a habit, choice or addiction – something you know in your heart is outside God’s will for you? Invite God to break the chains of that pattern and give you the strength to say yes to what He desires to put in its place. - Is there someone in your life who struggles with legalism – believing they can earn or maintain salvation through their own effort? Pray that God will give you an opportunity to share the true gospel with them, and that He will soften their heart and give them ears to hear and understand His gospel of grace. LIVE IT OUT Memorize Galatians 5:1. Return to this truth often as a reminder of the freedom God has given you through Christ.

READ IT IN Paul has been contrasting law-way with faith-way with respect to how we are saved. A right standing before God is never going to be achieved by the works of the law; it’s going to be received by faith in Jesus Christ.  This is the message Paul preaches in Galatians 4:29-31 using Hagar and Sarah. Hagar was a slave woman who bore a son according to the flesh, representing slavery and bondage. Whereas, Sarah was a free woman and whose son was born fulfilling God’s miraculous promise.  Hagar illustrates the Siniatic (Mt. Sinai) covenant, representing those trapped in legalism and spiritual slavery.  Sara, represents the new covenant of grace, given to us through Jesus, bearing children of promise.  By quoting Isaiah here, Paul shows that those who put their faith in the finished work of Jesus, are true children of the promise. Just as Isaac was born through a work of God, believers in Jesus are freed from the bondage of the law and its demands and adopted into God’s family as His children.  Paul’s main point is clear: A right standing before God is not achieved by works of the law, but received by faith in Jesus Christ. We who belong to Jesus are truly free and very blessed.  PRAY IT UP - Father, as we read your precious word today, open our eyes to see You, the God who gives us an inheritance. May we see Jesus as the one who was enslaved under the law to free us from its power. - Praying each of our hearts be filled with a deep and profound sense of privilege and love and joy because we are the children of the free. May we live our lives worthy of this calling. - Father, we are thankful, give praise and celebrate that we are heirs of Your Kingdom and that you welcome  us as sons and daughters.  As we go out this week, help us to remember that we live in the freedom that you created for us and what a blessing this is. LIVE IT OUT Spend some time reading Galatians 4 and ask God to give you a fresh perspective on your identity as a son or daughter of promise. Then, rest in the freedom that Jesus came to offer you as His child!

READ IT IN In today’s scripture, we see a contrast between living by the flesh and living by the spirit. Just a few verses earlier, Paul contrasts the difference between Ishmael and Isaac. Ishmael represents the flesh. Remember: Sarah and Abraham, tired of waiting on their promised child, took matters into their own hands, and Ishmael was the result. Isaac represents the Spirit. God miraculously provided his conception and birth when they were in their old age.  A few weeks ago in this sermon series, our Lead Pastor, Dean Fulks said, “When we coast spiritually, we’re always going to default back to a gospel distortion.”  For some reason, this default tendency to gospel distortion can tend toward legalism or license. Legalism can be defined as a demand for strict obedience to rules and regulations - before or after salvation – to either earn salvation or earn some correct standing with God. License is the tendency toward living however we want because God’s grace covers all sin, and we want to selfishly do as we please.  Both are living by the flesh. One is trying to earn God’s favor or salvation through our merit, our striving, our flesh. The other is using our Christian freedom to satisfy the fleshly desires, possibly to gratify our own passions and serve the god of self. As we grow in Christian maturity, the third way is to live by the Spirit - the middle road, so to speak - not the ditch of legalism or the ditch of license, but liberty in Christ. Walking by the leading and guiding of the Holy Spirit. To be honest, this way can be much scarier. It’s not as clear-cut; we can’t check a box of religiosity to declare we are doing the right thing. We can’t live as the world states - by our own truth and a license to do as we please. But living in liberty of the Spirit requires full dependence on the Lord - releasing all control and surrendering to Him.  PRAY IT UP - When we live out our Christian walk, we might face persecution, as the verse today states. In fact, Jesus says, “In this world, you will have trouble, but take heart, I have overcome the world.” Pray and ask God to give you the strength to stand strong in Him when opposition comes (John 16:33, Galatians 4:29). - Is there an area in your life, you are selfishly following your own will or way? Pray a prayer of confession to God, and Lord, God, help me not to use my freedom as an opportunity to satisfy my flesh, but through my love for you to serve others (Galatians 5:13). - Maybe you’re in the middle of the road, and it’s hard to determine the Holy Spirit’s leading in an uncertain decision. Pray Father, we know you give wisdom when we generously ask for it, without any approach, so please give me wisdom in this area and make the way clear so I may follow the leading of the Holy Spirit (James 1:5). LIVE IT OUT Are you coasting spiritually? Has control overtaken surrender in your family life, work, school, or relationships? Let us ask the Holy Spirit to give us fresh eyes to see the gospel distortions in our lives, repent, and turn from those ways back toward Him.

READ IT IN “I wasn’t made to be tending a grave; I was called by name, born and raised back to life again. Why would I make a bed in my shame, when a fountain of grace is running my way. I know I am Yours, and I was made for more.”  -Song “Made For More” written by Josh Baldwin In today’s Scripture, one simple yet stunning truth is that in Christ, we are children of promise, children of the King. God promised Abraham that his descendants would outnumber the stars, and that all the nations of the earth would be blessed through him. That promise was fulfilled as Jesus’s earthly lineage was through Abraham, and because of salvation, all the nations of the earth were also blessed and Gentiles with them. Most of us aren’t of Jewish descent, but through salvation, we have been grafted into God’s family and as a result, we are children of Abraham, children of promise.  Have you ever read the story, “The Prince and the Pauper” by Mark Twain where a prince, who lives in luxury, decides he wants to switch places with the pauper, who lives in poverty?  Before the gospel, we were like the pauper - living in sin, death, and shame. We were trying to earn our salvation by doing good works and abiding by the Jewish laws to prove we belong to the family of God. But then came Jesus who traded places with us on the cross. Jesus died for our sins, giving us salvation and now we can be called children of the King. Jesus picked us up out of the pit, cleansed us, gave us robes of righteousness, and baptized us in the river of His grace. There isn’t a need to abide by circumcision or any other “spiritual” markers to prove we belong to the family of God. But, out of love for our Father, and the result of the Holy Spirit’s power through sanctification, we can live as children of the promise. We are His new creation, recipients of the fountain of grace. Let’s live as sons and daughters of the King - children of the Promise.  PRAY IT UP - I Corinthians 12 talks about how we are all parts of the body of Christ with different roles and callings. Are you currently functioning as part of the body of Christ, serving Him through your local church? Pray and ask God to show you your unique calling in the church to serve and honor Him (I Corinthians 12:12). - What areas of your life are you slipping back into the role of pauper? Maybe it’s an area of sin, or an idol that has a stronghold in your life. A good way to know if something is an idol is how strongly that item (i.e. habit, material possession, or anything else) has a grip on you. A good question to ask: Is it something that I can’t live without? Pray and ask God to root this out of your life and live as a child of promise.  - “He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion on the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil 1:6, ESV). It’s easy to get discouraged when we don’t see the fruits of our labor for Christ. Pray and ask God to encourage your heart and cling to the promise that even when you don’t see it - He’s working.   LIVE IT OUT How are you doing in living out your role as a child of the King? So often, we can let daily life beat us down- social media, the news, the effects of sin; we begin to lose perspective. This life isn’t all there is. We were created for an eternal Kingdom. How can you confidently live out your position in God’s family today?

READ IT IN As Paul continues to remind us in this letter that we who love Christ belong to the family of God, he uses the example of Sarah and Hagar, of two Jerusalems, of slave and free, to implore us that our adoption into the family of God is a means of God’s grace and unimaginable restoration—not the result of our own human efforts. Take a moment to imagine being a woman who is told she cannot have children. There is no treatment, medicine, or diet that will change this condition. While this remains a painful reality for many women today, in the biblical world, barrenness could carry consequences far beyond the personal grief of not having children. It could mean economic instability, uncertainty about the future, humiliation, isolation, and even the painful perception that one had been forgotten or judged by God. It was a condition that could be marked by unimaginable hopelessness and shame. Your reaction to news like this would likely be to fight it—to search for answers, read books, seek out physicians or alternative remedies, and try anything within your power to change the situation. Anything but simply rest in the reality that you cannot produce what you so desperately desire. And yet Isaiah says to the barren woman, “Rejoice.” How is it possible that, in the midst of such circumstances, God would tell the woman who cannot bear children to rejoice? Paul is actually delivering to us good news of great joy through this parallel. Our belonging to the family of God is not dependent upon our ability to produce righteousness on our own, but upon God's promise fulfilled in Christ and received through faith. Like the barren woman, we could not produce what was required of us anyway. We are unable to fix our condition through our own strength, effort, or righteousness. But this is precisely where God's grace meets us. The barren woman is a picture of someone who has nothing to produce, yet God promises fruitfulness. Sarah's story reminds us that God's promise does not depend upon human ability. His promise supersedes our failures. His grace accomplishes what our efforts never could. And in Christ, God does more than repair what is broken—He restores us to Himself, adopts us into His family, and makes us children of promise. So the command to “rejoice” is not based on what the barren woman can produce. It is based on what God has promised to do. And that is the good news of the gospel: we do not rejoice because we have finally become enough; we rejoice because Christ is enough. PRAY IT UP - God - there is no one like you. No one that could take the barrenness and brokenness of our lives and produce something magnificent, beautiful, and pleasing to you. - Lord, I confess that I can either grieve over my sin laboriously or boast in my righteousness – either way falsely making myself the main character in my salvation. God, thank you for the gift of Christ, assuring me the promise of freedom that I could never have obtained on my own. - Lord, help me to continuously remember and remind myself of the gospel– the good news that I belong in the family of God. Abba, we love you–we long for the full fulfillment of your promise through Jesus Christ. LIVE IT OU As a reminder of the gospel– there is no task for you to “do” and instead for you to “be”. Take 5-10 minutes for uninterrupted time to sit with God. Close your eyes. When the temptation comes for your mind to linger, worry, or feel inadequate of His love… remember Jesus. Rest in the truth of the gospel - that you belong in the family of God because of Christ. Allow this time simply for God to love and minister to you, not needing to attempt to bring anything to the table in exchange. Enjoy the freedom of being His.