Hello Lovely Ladies! I hope that you have all gotten a chance to begin your study and are anticipating great things! This week was a great start to get some ground work built up but if you are like me, you may be thinking that their is much to learn over the next 5 weeks in Galatians! So I am looking forward to the fogginess to get cleared up as we continue to pursue God's truth in this Book!
I thought I would post a few of the questions for thought below, but feel free to comment on any or all, or something completely different! Remember to support your answers from the text! :)
~ What was Paul's purpose in writing Galatians?
~The title of our study book is "Free from Bondage God's Way", do you sense that the Galatians were under any sort of bondage? If so, what was it? Can you relate in any way?
~What did you learn about the gospel from marking each reference in Galatians?
Well I don't want to dominate the discussion but I will just add a couple thoughts from my study this week!
ReplyDeleteWe see in 4 verse 9 that the Galatians were turning back to the elemental thing that they were freed from. Elemental things meaning in the Greek the "primary or fundamental principles of any art, science or discipline." And like 4 v 21 tell us that they were wanting or choosing to be under the law. So we see that their bondage is to the law. The thing I find so interesting and convicting is that they were turning back to what they had already been freed from! I have to ask myself, why do I do that too? God has freed us from so much yet many times I am turning back myself and headed straight into bondage. Bondage of religiosity, worry, insecurities, man's approval. Praise God for our freedom in Christ! I pray that we would not yield to the false messages of the world so that the truth of the gospel of Christ would remain in our hearts and minds!
here was what seemed to strike me most from our readings/studies this first week:
ReplyDeletei'm horribly analytical, pick everything apart, have to know all the "whys," have to make everything painfully complicated...so when my first few instructions with this study were to "simply" (which may have been a misconception on my part) highlight words, my initial reaction was that this particular task wouldn't be much of a challenge or productive quite yet, but i assumed i'd later utilize them in some kind of analysis...
surprisingly, quite surprisingly, here's what i got from this "simple" task: over and over, i highlighed "grace." and it struck me, after i went back over each lesson, continued to highlight "grace," in particular: it's not about my ability to "do" anything; to pick apart, to analyze to save myself through my understanding or effort...it's all been done already, all been completed; all the messy details and intricate undertakings; all i have to do is just SIMPLY accept it...gladly accept, thankfully accept, enjoy grace without making it so complicated...it's as simple as that, GRACE...i don't know, i think i'm having trouble explaining...did that make any sense?
I do love this study and I love after you highlight, like Julia said, items jump out at you. You can see the running theme just glancing over after you have highlighted. I found from Galatians that in the first chapter that it is hard not to seek the approval of men, I feel like that is an ongoing battle for me to not worry about what others think but concentrate on God and what he would have me to do.
ReplyDeleteI also love to hear Paul's story when he writes it, I bet all the people back then were very skeptical of him but I love how in ch 1 vs 24 that the people glorified God because of his conversion- they knew it could only come from Him. I love how Paul brings in how he once was, with the law and how zealous and concentrated he was on it , and shares that's not how he is now because of Christs change in him.
Hi Mel it's Emma...I'm a new follower and I'm doing the bible study. Please follow my blog! Love ya!
ReplyDeletehey everyone! alright, here are the week 2 insights. i hope it's ok, i kind of just typed out my notes for days 1-5, so anyone can help catch me if i'm spinning off in the wrong way. Days 6 and 7 were more personal and straighter for me, so hope it's ok i didn't include them:
ReplyDelete- Day 1: Paul doesn't stop to think about what's right or question; he allows himself to be completely moved by God, he doesn't stop to assess his instruction or worry about how he will be perceived (Gal 1: 15-16)...ok, i can use that...
- Day 2: My work for/in God is a process, make progress to grow to what God wants me to be, but it doens't have to be perfect all at once (ex. Paul's work grew over years)...just keep making progress. To help, get a faith-ministry family (Gal 2:10), such as Life group or engage in a Bible study (good for me, because i'm notoriously shy and isolative). And, speak up for what you know is right (Gal 2:14), stop sitting in pain as you watch, speak up and don't apologize for doing what you know in God is right...right?
-Day 3: God doesn't give up on me; he knew Paul even before Paul accepted His grace, and God had a plan for Paul and despite Paul, God didn't give up or forget Paul (Ephesians 1). God keeps watching us to guide us and intervene at the right time according to His plan, so God isn't a hands-off God, like many argue. He won't forget or turn his back, because He's still working His plan no matter how much we're down here messing it up. But that said, we're not passive pieces in the plan; it's our responsibility to look to God, via free will (Psalm 139), to follow the basic structure He set up for us, so we don't miss what He wants us to do when He dispatches us. Right?
-Day 4: God still believes in us, no matter what- no matter what, he kindly and readily accepts us.
-Day 5: Paul accepts his past, puts it behind him and moves on, he doesn't hold onto it, he doesn't torture himself with it, he lets it go! whoa, what a concept...use that too...
Thanks for sharing ladies! I love learning through what God revealed clearly to you!
ReplyDeleteAlyssa- I am with you on the struggle to please man. Wow did Galatians 1:10 stick with me! That if we live our life to please men, then we will not be bond-servants of Christ! So I have seen how making it my focus to be a bond-servant to Christ is to be my number one priority and if men are displeased or pleased so be it! Bond-servant: One who gives himself up wholly for another's will.
Julia- I loved your insight on Day 5, I had not thought of that at all! Paul did not live in the guilt of the past but truly embraced every moment. I love how we are told in Acts that he immediately proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues in Damascus!
Well I know this is WAY back from week one but it has stuck with me so I thought I would share.
ReplyDeleteConcerning the Gospel in chapters 1 & 2 notes: some fabricate a different "gospel", the gospel is preached, it is not mans gospel, truth of the gospel, to the circumcised and uncircumcised.
V. 5 that the gospel should be protected or preserved by sound conduct. Paul preserved the truth of the gospel by acting according to it's truth, even when he could have yielded in one area to make "peace." however he perceived that these were enemies of the gospel because of this very reason - they desired man's approval and wanted Paul to put man's approval above God's in this area. How does our conduct effect the gospel for other people around us? even if we yield to man in a "small" area or do something just to make peace with others, friends or enemies of the gospel? How can we better preserve the truth of the gospel? Not that we have any effect of God's everlasting truth, but could he mean that as Christians we reflect God's image and inconsistent conduct would tarnish this reflection to the detriment of others?
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ReplyDeletehey ladies...i'm sorry, i'm starting to have some trouble putting things together as the study goes forward...when doing week 3's study and then particularly week 4's study, i was horribly distracted (child custody fears), and so while i attempted, read the words over and over again, all i could get was separate words, had trouble keeping the sentences together, but even now as i go back over it, i'm still having trouble interpreting our readings. i'm trying to figure out how my recent trouble with the scripture readings and their interpretation may be something God is using to encourage my growth, whether that's the purpose of my trouble reading at all and how to grow closer to God and Christ through it, when I feel like I'm not getting the message from the readings...maybe it's the process i'm going through in attempt to do the readings that will be my message this week...I just can't figure out what it is...in other words, help?! did anyone hear anything in that babble that made sense?
ReplyDelete