Devotional Thoughts

As part of my personal devotions, I recently finished reading/using Galatians for You by Timothy Keller. While there were so many sections that spoke to me, I just wanted to share a few particularly thought provoking portions.


Solitary time with God is fundamental to the Christian life; but the Christian life is not a solitary one...We too must be deeply rooted in church communities. We have to avoid picking what we need here and there without ever becoming grafted into a cohesive community of other believers.


God does not promise to bless Christians by removing suffering, but to bless Christians through suffering.


Christians think that we are saved by the gospel, but then we grow by applying biblical principles to every are of life. But we are not just saved by the gospel, we grow by applying the gospel to every are of life. (Dick Kaufmann) 
-The Spirit works as Christians don't rely on their own works, but rather consciously and continuously rest in Christ alone for their acceptability and completeness. 
-The Spirit works as you apply and use the gospel. 
-The Spirit does not work apart from the gospel. The gospel is the channel and form of the Spirit's power.


Galatians 3:27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 
The idea of being clothed in Christ is a daring and comprehensive metaphor for a whole new life. It means to think of Christ constantly, to have His Spirit and His character infuse and permeate everything you think, say and do.
-To say that Christ is our clothing is to say that our ultimate identity is found in Christ.
-To say that Christ is our clothing is to call us to moment-by-moment dependence and existential awareness of Christ. We are spiritually to "practice His presence." To practice the presence of Christ entails that we continually think and act as if we were directly before His face.
-To say that Christ is our clothing is to say that in God's sight, we are loved because of Jesus' work and salvation. When God looks at us, He sees us as His sons because He sees His Son. The Lord Jesus has given us His righteousness, His perfection, to wear.


We are to live today knowing we are, and always will be an absolute beauty in the eyes of God. (Isn't this incredible?!)