Love never fails.
Summary: If Valentine’s Day is about being with someone who loves you, there is no one better to be mindful of than our Father in heaven.
Continue reading “1 Corinthians 13:8a – Happy Valentine’s Day”Galatians 2:15 – The Godly Goal
“We who are Jews by birth and not sinful Gentiles …”
Summary: Paul is striving to explain to the Galatians why it is dangerous to pretend that we can win God’s favor by something as simple as circumcision.
Continue reading “Galatians 2:15 – The Godly Goal”Galatians 2:14c – The Wrong Club
“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?”
Summary: Deciphering what Paul is saying to Peter and his companions requires an understanding of past covenants made by God for man.
Continue reading “Galatians 2:14c – The Wrong Club”Galatians 2:14b – Awkward Situation
I said to Cephas [aka Peter] in front of them all,
Summary: Conflict resolution can be a challenging topic. In this passage Paul illustrates a technique for dealing with a large group.
Continue reading “Galatians 2:14b – Awkward Situation”Galatians 2:14a – The Inspector’s Dog
When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel …
Summary: If you are building a road, you need a plan. If the plans are not followed, the road might not work.
Continue reading “Galatians 2:14a – The Inspector’s Dog”Galatians 2:13 – A Big Deal
The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray.
Summary: Looking at the background to the story, we find that we have many details that don’t seem obvious at first.
Continue reading “Galatians 2:13 – A Big Deal”Galatians 2:12b – Group Think
… because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group.
Summary: There is a thing called “group think” that occurs when people stop thinking for themselves and just go along to get along with the group. This isn’t a problem unless the group is thinking wrongly.
Continue reading “Galatians 2:12b – Group Think”Galatians 2:12a – Flashback
For before certain men came from James, he [Peter] used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles …
Summary: In this passage, Paul tells the story about a time when Peter came to visit his ministry in Antioch.
Continue reading “Galatians 2:12a – Flashback”Galatians 2:11b – Standing Firm
… because he stood condemned.
Summary: Today’s passage uses the word “condemned.” Because the word can mean that we have passed judgment on someone, we look at other possible meanings for the original Greek text.
Continue reading “Galatians 2:11b – Standing Firm”Galatians 2:11a – Clash of the Titans
When Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face,
Summary: Sadly, conflict is an unavoidable part of life this side of heaven.
Continue reading “Galatians 2:11a – Clash of the Titans”