Daily Meditations on the Bible / We stand with Israel
Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth?
Summary: Paul’s concern for the Galatians demands that he tell them the truth. He knows there is a risk involved. Some people don’t like hearing the truth.
Continue reading “Galatians 4:16 – Gideon’s Challenge”I can testify that, if you could have done so, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me.
Summary: In this passage, Paul gives us a clue to the illness he mentions in verse fourteen.
Continue reading “Galatians 4:15b – What We Don’t Know”Where, then, is your blessing of me now?
Summary: Paul’s desire for a blessing from the Galatians is not a casual request. Paul’s words are rooted in the deeply passionate love that God has for his Creation.
Continue reading “Galatians 4:15a – A Promiscuous Woman”Instead, you welcomed me as if I were an angel of God, as if I were Christ Jesus himself.
Summary: Paul uses a turn of phrase that prompts us to think about how we would react if Jesus appeared at our doorstep.
Continue reading “Galatians 4:14b – What Changed?”… and even though my illness was a trial to you, you did not treat me with contempt or scorn.
Summary: Paul gives us some insight into his relationship with the Galatians.
Continue reading “Galatians 4:14a – Vulnerability”As you know, it was because of an illness that I first preached the gospel to you,
Summary: Why did God allow Paul to get sick? It is a question worth asking, and the answer might lead us to a deeper relationship with God.
Continue reading “Galatians 4:13 – All Things”I plead with you, brothers and sisters, become like me, for I became like you. You did me no wrong.
Summary: Paul strives to be “all things to all people” to serve the Lord by winning people over to him.
Continue reading “Galatians 4:12 – Spiritual Chameleon”I fear for you, that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you.
Summary: Paul has invested a significant portion of his life in establishing the churches in Galatia. After he left, others came in and confused the believers with false teachings. In this passage Paul expresses his fear that the damage might be irreversible.
Continue reading “Galatians 4:11 – What Does Jesus Think?”—how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable forces? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? You are observing special days and months and seasons and years!
Summary: In this passage we gain greater insight into the threat to the Galatians’ faith that had Paul so worried.
Continue reading “Galatians 4:9b-10 – The Broken Shell”But now that you know God —or rather are known by God …
Summary: Being known by God is an experience no false god can ever provide. The real God is really personal, and he knows you extremely well.
Continue reading “Galatians 4:9a – God’s Hammer”