Daily Devotional for Monday 26th February
Realigning with Jesus
This week’s devotionals start with Paul being very abrupt and upfront about his thoughts on how the Galatians have been acting. “You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you?” Paul questions the Galatians in regards to how they received the Holy Spirit – here, he isn’t trying to be rude, he is trying to stress that just as the Galatians’ Christian lives started by them being filled with the Holy Spirit, it should continue to grow that way too and not by being fooled into believing it was only laws that needed to be upheld to grow as a Christian. Paul’s bluntness is probably coming from a place of frustration in reminding the Galatians to not be side-tracked by the word of others but to remember their true faith.
Have we been in situations where we witness others getting sidetracked by what others say or do and start to follow that path? Perhaps we ourselves get lured down other paths and need the reminder to remain true to Jesus.
The Galatians probably needed to be reminded how they came to find Jesus – they were being taught by Jewish leaders that the way to grow closer to God was by obeying the laws, however, this was not how they found God in the first instance. They found God through the birth and resurrection of Jesus and of the new covenant. In general, to be a “good Christian” would perhaps be seen as obeying the law and being good people, but we need to remind ourselves that to grow in our faith is to first and foremost follow God and lean into Jesus to fully flourish as Christians.
In verse 7, Paul reminds the Galatians that those who have faith are children of Abraham, regardless of being Jews or Gentiles, and that God knew all people could be saved. How reassuring it is to be reminded that Jesus sacrificed Himself for us all, regardless of who we are and the mistakes we make. He carried our sins so we could have a relationship with God, and as long as we have faith and continue to grow with it, then the Holy Spirit will continue to bless us in our lives.
Time to reflect…
1. Do we get sidetracked by external influences within our lives that diminish our focus on Jesus?
2. What can we do to focus our attention on Jesus daily?
Pause for prayer…
Heavenly Father,
As we start a new week, we pray that our focus is on You fully. We know the distractions we face can influence our ability to see You, but we pray that we are filled with the Holy Spirit and realign with You alone. As we go further into this week, we pray that You will be with us and help us to draw close to You.
In Jesus name
Amen.
