Deeply Rooted (When I Read Your Word)

R EAD THIS:  Galatians 3:1-5 1 You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. 2 I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard? 3 Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh? 4 Have you experienced so much in vain—if it really was in vain? 5 So again I ask, does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard?   WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? Man... Paul is an honest dude, huh? The truth here is that Paul gives us a great example here of what love looks like sometimes! Love isn't always going to look like being supportive of someone and their actions. Love, the kind of love that Christ teaches, means pushing each other toward Jesus, even if it looks like harsh truth! But what truth is Paul trying t...

R EAD THIS:  Galatians 2:20-21 20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”     WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? This is the end of the long quote that Paul said to Peter and his posse who were hating on the Gentiles and trying to make them practice Jewish law, and it spits FLAMES.  Paul made it clear yesterday that we aren't saved by our actions, and when we are saved, we live differently. And today, he makes it clear that when we are living differently (not rebuilding the same tower we just destroyed), it's because of the Holy Spirit living in us! But, when we slip into believing that there's something that WE need to do in order to be right with God, then we're basically saying that Jesus didn't need to die. ...

R EAD THIS:  Galatians 2:15-19 15 “We who are Jews by birth and not sinful Gentiles 16 know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.  17 “But if, in seeking to be justified in Christ, we Jews find ourselves also among the sinners, doesn’t that mean that Christ promotes sin? Absolutely not! 18 If I rebuild what I destroyed, then I really would be a lawbreaker.  19 “For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God.   WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? If you remember yesterday, we talked about how Paul called out Peter for trying to force the Gentile Christians to take up Jewish practices. This next section covers Paul continuing his argument against Peter's actions, and it mentions 2 big points: being justified by faith and rebuil...

R EAD THIS:  Galatians 2:11-14 11 When Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. 12 For before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. 13 The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray.   14 When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in front of them all, “You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?   WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? Quick review: Cephas=Peter, James=brother of Jesus, Gentiles=nonJews, Circumcised=Jews, Barnabas=Paul's close friend, Paul=the one who wrote what we read above.  So this is what just went down: Peter came over to where Paul was and he was having...

R EAD THIS:  Galatians 2:9-10 9 James, Cephas and John, those esteemed as pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcised. 10 All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I had been eager to do all along.   WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? After Jesus went back up to heaven, there were 3 people seen as the biggest leaders, or "pillars," of the early church: James, John, and Cephas (who we know a lot better as Peter). James was the younger brother of Jesus, while John and Peter were two of the closest people in Jesus's life. The earliest groups of believers looked up to those three as leaders of the future church, and many people looked to them to make decisions toward how the believers of Jesus should be living. That is A LOT of power! But James, John, and Peter were different from most people with power. Instead o...

R EAD THIS:  Galatians 2:6-8 6 As for those who were held in high esteem—whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not show favoritism—they added nothing to my message. 7 On the contrary, they recognized that I had been entrusted with the task of preaching the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been to the circumcised. 8 For God, who was at work in Peter as an apostle to the circumcised, was also at work in me as an apostle to the Gentiles.    WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? Imagine you wake up today, and bam, you are friends with famous Christians, like Chris Renzema, Phil Wickham, nobigdyl., Shane & Shane, Louie Giglio, Timothy Keller, all the people. Would your understanding of the gospel change just because you went from hanging out with nonfamous people to hanging out with super famous Christian people? It shouldn't...the gospel is the same whether we are professional singers, paid pastors, homeless artists, atheists, schoolteachers, or Musl...

R EAD THIS:  Galatians 2:1-5 1 Then after fourteen years, I went up again to Jerusalem, this time with Barnabas. I took Titus along also. 2 I went in response to a revelation and, meeting privately with those esteemed as leaders, I presented to them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. I wanted to be sure I was not running and had not been running my race in vain. 3 Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek. 4 This matter arose because some false believers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves. 5 We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you.   WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? Yesterday, we learned about how Paul went to Jerusalem and shared the incredible things Jesus did, but today, we are hearing about Paul's second time visiting Jerusalem... 14 years later. Paul talks about a bunch of things that happened ...

R EAD THIS:  Galatians 1:18-24 18 Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Cephas and stayed with him fifteen days. 19 I saw none of the other apostles—only James, the Lord’s brother. 20 I assure you before God that what I am writing you is no lie.   21 Then I went to Syria and Cilicia. 22 I was personally unknown to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. 23 They only heard the report: “The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” 24 And they praised God because of me.   WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? Verses 18-20 are pretty similar to what we learned yesterday! If that is tripping you up, flip back to yesterday's reading! The rest of the passage is saying that Paul went on to continue preaching, and, even in a place he wasn't known personally, his story helped people praise God!  To help understand verses 23-24, imagine a person who actively makes fun of Christians and rolls their eyes at t...

R EAD THIS:  Galatians 1:13-17 13 For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. 14 I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers. 15 But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by his grace, was pleased 16 to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, my immediate response was not to consult any human being. 17 I did not go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went into Arabia. Later I returned to Damascus.   WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? Paul is continuing to explain how he didn't listen to people, but instead he listened to God! It's awesome when we hear from people about Jesus, but it's even more astonishing to people when we hear about Jesus from Jesus Himself. Paul is trying to say that he wasn't won over to Jesus because of p...

R EAD THIS:  Galatians 1:10-12 10 Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.  11 I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preached is not of human origin. 12 I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.   WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? VERSE 10, Y'ALL! Can we talk about how awesome this message is?! It is easy for all of us to have moments where pleasing people seems easier or more comfortable than pleasing God. Maybe it looks like joining in on gossip or talking trash to someone because others are doing it. Maybe it looks like refusing to speak up for the right thing because we don't want someone to be upset with us. Paul knows a thing or two about that... during his years in ministry, he was beaten up, pelted with stones, put in prison, and more. If anyone know...

R EAD THIS:  Galatians 1:6-9 6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! 9 As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse!   WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? OOP. If you read this right after the first few verses, you would REALLY feel the vibe switch that just went down. Paul goes from praising Jesus and talking about forgiveness of sins and all that to full on saying "I cannot believe  you guys. We JUST spoke about Jesus and what He did, but you're ALREADY believing stuff that isn't even CLOSE to what we talked...

R EAD THIS:  Galatians 1:1-5 1 Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by a man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— 2 and all the brothers and sisters with me,  To the churches in Galatia:   3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave Himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.   WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? WELCOME TO GALATIANS! We are so excited to start this new book together! This is the introduction to Paul's letter to the Christian churches in Galatia, and Paul makes it very clear who he is and who Jesus is in just a couple of sentences. Who does Paul say he is? He's an apostle, which is another word for someone who learned from Jesus, witnessed Jesus rise from the dead, and went out and told others about it. Paul says he was sent directly by Jesus, not by anyone else, to share the g...

   R EAD THIS:  James 5:19-20 19 My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, 20 let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.   WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? Sometimes people know Jesus but then kind of don't follow Him. They hear about Him, give their lives to Him, and then a month later, they are believing a whole bunch of other stuff. There's hope for that person (and hope for us if we ARE that person) because Jesus always welcomes us back. No matter how often or how far we stray, or wander away, we can still be saved from our sins and death if we come back to Jesus! That phrase "brings back" is kind of like coming home. A kid who runs away from home might run really far and stay away for a really long time, but it'd be hard to find a loving parent who wouldn't joyfully welcome his/her kid home when a neighbor brings the kid home and ...

R EAD THIS:  James 5:17-18 17 Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. 18 Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.   WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? Um... who's this new guy? Uh-lie-juh? Today, we are going to learn about a story from the book of 1 Kings, featuring Elijah, a prophet! Prophets were people who were God's messengers, especially during the time before Jesus. They would proclaim messages and warnings from God to His people. In 1 Kings 17-18, Elijah boldly tells King Ahab (a not very good dude) that there will be zero rain in his land for years because God said so. Sure enough, years went by without rain, and King Ahab was NOT happy about it. Years later, after some crazy stories (look them up!), Elijah boldly comes before the King and tells him rain will return. Elijah then climbs on top of a mountain, lays his head on the grou...

  R EAD THIS:  James 5:13-16 13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.   WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? We just spoke about how we shouldn't have to say "No, but I swear it's true!" because whenever we speak, we should speak the truth. A great way to start being honest is by being honest when we're talking to God! Are you having a hard time? You can tell God! Are you having the best day ever? You can tell God! Then, from there, we can also be honest with people around us! Ar...

R EAD THIS:  James 5:12 12 Above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear—not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. All you need to say is a simple “Yes” or “No.” Otherwise you will be condemned.   WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? Ever heard of the boy who cried wolf? Short story: This dude lived in a town and would run around every day screaming that a wolf was chasing after his sheep, but there was no wolf. So, the people stopped believing him. But then one day, a wolf really was coming for his flock, and he shouted out to all the town, "WOLF!" But everyone thought he was just playing around... so... he got killed. The End. I said "short story," not "happy story." My bad. Jokes and stories aside, the Bible makes this point very clear. We need to make sure that we are trustworthy, so that when we say "yes" or "no," people know we are saying the truth. People who need to say, "No, I mean it! I swear!" are usually the people t...

  R EAD THIS:  James 5:10-11 10 Brothers and sisters, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.   WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? So, say we're still struggling with the whole "be patient" idea...something that could help is thinking about prophets who had to be patient. A prophet is someone who hears from God and speaks about it, like Moses and Jonah in the Bible. Both of them had to wait awhile to see what God was doing, whether it was for 40 years in a desert or for a few days by a terrible town called Ninevah. But, because they waited, they got to see something amazing! Like a new land or a group of people repenting!  It takes some perseverance to keep on waiting for Jesus, but God will come through. In the story of...

R EAD THIS:  James 5:7-9 7 Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. 8 You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near. 9 Don’t grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!   WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? I don't know about you, but patience is certainly not my greatest spiritual gift, and I am especially not great at waiting for something I know is coming soon! Today, we read that we have the best thing in the world coming soon... Jesus! He's coming back to bring judgement for all along with peace and life forever to anyone who believes in Him. How awesome is that?! Only one problem: we don't know when. Oof. So what on earth are we supposed to do til then?! 3 things: Be patient, stand firm, and quit grumbling. Be patient: Trust in God's timing, eve...

  R EAD THIS:  James 5:4-6 4 Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. 5 You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter.  6 You have condemned and murdered the innocent one, who was not opposing you.   WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? Sometimes we don't realize that when we are selfish that actually affects people around us. The first few verses of this chapter showed that it can be easy to get caught up caring only about ourselves and what we have. Looking at just verses 1-3, we can think, "Oh shoot, that guy who only cares about money is messing himself up, but, hey, at least he isn't hurting other people." But, when we only care about money, or popularity, or clothes, or sports, we end up not caring so much about others, leading to what we see in verses 4-5. That's why those verses...

R EAD THIS:  James 5:1-3 1 Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you. 2 Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. 3 Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days.   WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? What is the m ost v aluable p ossession you own or have? Your phone? A nice pair of shoes? Your home? Your car? A signed picture of you and Harry Styles? We all have things we value very highly. Maybe they have sentimental value, or maybe we just spent a lot of money on them... but what value will these things have in "the last days?" The Bible warns us a lot about the dangers of being rich, and this passage is doing the same thing. When our lives are done, or when Jesus returns to bring us home with Him forever, these passages are trying to remind us that all those things we value SO much now actually won't matter that m...

R EAD THIS:  James 4:17 If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn't do it, it is sin for them.   WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? The last verses just spoke about bragging...so starting the next sentence "If anyone, then, knows.." you think he would say something about bragging, but instead he says "the good" and says that if we know what the good action is and we don't do it, then we're sinning. What's that have to do with anything we just spoke about yesterday? If you think about ALL of James that we just read, you'll see that this whole time James has been laying out what is good for us to do and what is bad for us to do. It's good to think about trials with joy, but bad to think God is tempting us. It is good to listen to God's word, but bad if nothing changes about our lives because of it. The good/bad talk covers how we show our faith, how we use our words, what type of wisdom we're going to listen to, and whether we g...

READ THIS:  James 4:13-16 13  Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.”  14  Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.  15  Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”  16  As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil.    WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? The NIV Bible calls this section that we read today “boasting about tomorrow.” Boasting is just another word that means bragging or talking about your own achievements. “Wait… so planning my future is bragging?” If we aren’t careful, it can be! James says that when we plan the days ahead of us, we should first recognize that every day we have here on earth isn’t guaranteed… it’s a blessing! If we don’t, we can brag and act like we are the on...

  READ THIS:  James 4:8b-10 11 Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. 12 There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?   WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? Let's remember from forever ago about the "royal law" (love others as you love yourself). When we go around and say negative things about other people, especially when they're untrue, we are breaking the royal law. We wouldn't go around and spread a bunch of horrible stuff about ourselves. It is unloving to do that to someone else, and it shows that we think we have the right to judge other people and say that what THEY are doing is wrong, even though WE are doing something wrong, too, by gossiping, lying, and speaking unkindly.  God gave us the laws, inclu...

READ THIS:  James 4:8b-10 8b Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.   WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? Well, that got heavy pretty fast... Sinners? Double-minded? Grieve? Mourn? Gloom? Remember what we learned yesterday about how God wants us to be in an exclusive relationship with Him and only Him? Well, these verses that seem harsh actually show us how we can get closer to God and have that relationship! If we want to be closer to God, it starts with us leaving sin in the past and being clean, but we can't leave sin behind us until we do a few things first: Grieve, mourn and wail: We need to recognize that sin hurts us, and that we should actually feel sorry for the mistake(s) we made! Laughter to mourning, joy to gloom: We can't treat sin like it's a joke or something light that isn't a big dea...

  READ THIS:  James 4:4-8a 4 You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us? 6 But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:  “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” 7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8a Come near to God and he will come near to you.   WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? So, yesterday, James called us out for the times we're selfish, and, now, he's full on calling us adulterous people. Pretty bold.  An adulterer is someone who, despite being married, decides to have incredibly intimate relations with someone else. It's possible that not too many people reading this feel called out by that. Personally, I don't, at least when I take it literall...

READ THIS:  James 4:1-3 1 What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? 2 You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. 3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.   WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? We are experts when it comes to fighting and arguing with each other. Before we can even learn how to talk, we cry and complain that someone else is playing with the toy we like most. Just a few years later, we fight over who gets to be the pitcher in kickball. A few years after that, we argue with our parents because they never let us do anything fun. A few years later, we argue with our spouse because we don’t see eye to eye about an issue that probably isn’t as important as we're making it. But why do we argue? Why do we fight? And why on eart...

  READ THIS:  James 3:17-18 17 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. 18 Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.   WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? So we just spoke about earthly wisdom (based on bitterness, envy, and selfish ambition), and now we get to talk more on wisdom that comes from God!  What James is saying above is that when we act with God's wisdom, our actions are pure--there aren't ulterior motives or extra  reasons for doing something apart from it being the right thing to do. A big part of having pure actions is through being a peacemaker. God's wisdom tells us that when we make a decision, we think about God, then we think about others, and then we think about ourselves. To be someone who makes peace happen around us, we need to be able to see what God wants out of a situation and what would be helpful for others....

READ THIS:  James 3:13-16 13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. 14 But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. 15 Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.   WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY? What is wisdom? I like to say that it is knowledge (what we learn and know) put into action. It’s taking all the lessons you learn into account so you know what decisions to make. It’s figuring out the right decision and the wrong decision in a situation. But what happens if we know  a decision is wrong, but we choose to do it anyway? I think that’s pretty similar to what James calls earthly wisdom! In verse 14, there are 3 things that stand out most to me: bitterness (lacking sweetness or kin...