Today’s Verse – Isaiah 43:2-3
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior… —Isaiah 43:2-3 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… We must be careful. These verses are NOT promises to an individual, but to Israel, the people of God (Isaiah 43:1). God is reminding Israel that they are precious to him. He formed them and redeemed them. He is not about to abandon them. No matter what challenges or difficulties they face, he will be with them to deliver them and bring them to safety and victory. As followers of Jesus, whom God brought into his people by grace (1 Peter 2:9-10; Galatians 6:14-16), we can accept these promises as God’s people today, as Jesus’ church. As believers in Jesus and part of God’s people, we can see how God has preserved his people and redeemed them time and time again. We can celebrate how God delivered his people from impossible situations and brought them to the Messiah, Jesus. God will not forget us! We know it by promise. We know it from history. We know it because of our faith! God will bring us victoriously to himself with great joy (Romans 8:37-39; Jude 1:24-25). My Prayer… Thank you, Almighty God, for always being near us. We confess that there are times when we are not aware of your nearness and your miraculous intervention in history for us. Nevertheless, we do believe, dear Father, that you are ever-near even when we feel alone. In those times, dear God, please give us confidence and perseverance to stand through the times of trial so that we can also share in your triumphs through us. We believe, O God, that you are with us! In Jesus’ name, pray and confess our faith in you. Amen. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.
Unacceptable!
Note from Jesus Dear Follower, I hate racism! Bigotry and racial prejudice are unacceptable. It comes in all sorts of forms, some overt and some cloaked in apparently acceptable language. On the other hand, racial inclusion nearly always requires that people must be tolerant, kind, and patient if social, racial, and cultural differences are going to be accepted among My people. The evil one loves to use racial bias and bigotry to fuel suspicion and divide peoples into warring groups. My first followers couldn’t see their bigotry and prejudice because it was so close to them and so much a part of them. Unfortunately, this can still be true in your day. During their first several decades as a movement, my people had to deal with deep-seated racial issues. Some of these prejudices were social and were related to the handling of food and table fellowship. Others were seated in hatred and suspicion of people of different races. Some used the Scriptures as their basis for exclusion. In other words, there were social, ethnic, and religious prejudices that My early followers had to overcome all while often being a persecuted and oppressed people. As you have seen in your readings from Acts about the early Christian movement, My disciples were slow in taking My good news to those outside of Judaism. Then suddenly, “outsiders” (non-Jews) came pouring into My family of faith. The question that My early church faced was very simple to state, but very difficult to navigate: What is the requirement for non-Jews to become Christians and live in fellowship with Jewish Christians? Paul and Barnabas had experienced My hand of grace enabling them to reach “outsiders” in Antioch, in Galatia, and in places in between. The church in Antioch became a shining light of Jewish people and non-Jewish people coming together as My people (Acts 11:19-24). They then were called by the Holy Spirit to send Barnabas and Paul (then known as Saul) to reach even more “outsiders” (Acts 13:1-3). Led and empowered by the Holy Spirit, these two great missionaries joined with other believers in sharing My saving grace with those who were lost, including those in Galatia. (The last two Scriptures below are from the letter Paul later wrote to the Galatian Christians.) Barnabas and Paul shared My gospel regardless of people’s race, ethnicity, or culture. Many “outsiders” believed and followed Me. At some point, there were more non-Jewish Christians than Jewish ones. The church at Antioch, along with the churches in regions outside of Judea and Galilee, were overjoyed at what God was doing among the “outsiders” (Acts 14:26-28; Acts 15:1-4). But, as Luke puts it in the verses below from Acts, “Their peace was disturbed…” Paul wouldn’t back down, as you’ve already seen in the book of Galatians. There was also a group that became known as Judaizing teachers. They were just as adamant as Paul but said it was “not acceptable” for non-Jews to join into Christian fellowship without requiring circumcision and the keeping of the Mosaic Law. Paul knew his position would not be popular with the Pharisees and Judaizing teachers, but Paul and Barnabas weren’t concerned about popularity; they were defending grace. In their minds, this disagreement still all boiled down to an issue of the flesh — racial hatred tinged with racial pride — and to an issue of fear — not wanting to be ostracized by fellow Jews. Led by the elders, apostles, My half-brother James, along with Barnabas and Paul, the church met in Jerusalem to decide this issue. For Me, however, the issue was clear. The Father sent Me to save the world (John 3:16-17), not one race of people. The Father sent me into the world so the people of the world could know that I love them (1 John 4:8-10). I died to bring all people to Me (John 12:32-33). When I commissioned My disciples shortly before ascending back to the Father, I told them to go and make disciples of all nations. The word I chose for nations literally means “outsiders” (Matthew 28:18-20). I shared My vision of the future for My people with John in the book of Revelation. There will be “a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language” (Revelation 7:9 NLT). Anyone who believes in Me and trusts in My death, burial, and resurrection can be baptized and added to My people regardless of race, culture, social standing, ethnicity, or accomplishment. I do not want prejudice existing in My people. I do not want anything added to My simple gospel of saving grace. Prejudice is unacceptable for anyone who claims to follow Me! (1 John 4:20) Verses to Live The issues you find in the different readings that follow took a while to be resolved appropriately in the early church. You know how We — Father, Son, and Spirit — feel. We want all people included in Our family. We want no racial or prejudicial barriers to be placed in the way of anyone coming to Us and receiving salvation. If the early church could overcome these huge barriers, you have to know that you can, too! They [Paul and Barnabas] then passed through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia. They preached their message in Perga and then went to the port of Attalia. There they set sail for Antioch, where they were first entrusted to the grace of God for the mission they had now completed. They called the church together when they arrived and reported all God had done with and through them, how God had welcomed outsiders through the doorway of faith. They stayed with the disciples in Antioch for quite a while. Their [the Antioch church’s] peace was disturbed, however, when certain Judeans came with this teaching: “Unless you are circumcised according to Mosaic custom, you cannot be saved.” Paul and Barnabas argued against this teaching and debated with the Judeans vehemently, so the church selected several people
Today’s Verse – John 17:26
“I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.” —John 17:26 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… Jesus reveals God to us. That’s John’s Gospel in a nutshell, and his clear message in John 1:1-18. Jesus even promised that as we love each other and obey him, he is present with us, reveals himself to us, and he and the Father make their home in us (John 14:21, 23). One of the reasons Jesus does this is so that we can know who God is and what is important to our Father. The most significant thing on Jesus’ heart in this prayer is that we share his love for one another. In this way, Jesus comes to life in us, is real to us, and makes his presence known through us. Video Commentary… ToGather Worship Guide | More ToGather Videos My Prayer… Almighty God and loving Father, please fill me with your love for my brothers and sisters in Christ. I want to honor you in the way I treat them and share the love of Christ in the way I interact with them and serve them. So, please bless me as I seek to be a more gracious child of your love. I pray this in Jesus’ name, so that I may become more like him in his love for your children. Amen. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.
God’s New Creation Counts for Everything
Note from Jesus Dear Faithful Friend, I told My disciples in the last few hours before My crucifixion, “I don’t call you servants any longer; servants don’t know what the master is doing, but I have told you everything the Father has said to Me. I call you friends” (John 15:15). To some of My friends, I revealed deeper things in special revelation to give them the authority to teach the good news about Me in all of its simple truth. The apostle Paul was one of these special people. The Father revealed Me to Paul so that he could proclaim My story, share My grace, and bring My salvation to “outsider nations.” Paul didn’t learn this message from any mortal (Galatians 1:11-17; Galatians 2:1-10). He didn’t get the details of the gospel from the apostles or any other witnesses. In his letter to the Galatians, Paul was battling to preserve this authoritative message about the Father’s grace. The Galatians were trying to add Jewish practices to the gospel — practices established in the law given to Moses and other practices added by tradition. Paul was right in adamantly declaring that any gospel that added requirements to the gospel of grace received through faith is really no gospel at all (Galatians 1:6-9). Finding new life in Me and becoming a “new creation” come only from being “in” Me. Paul told the Corinthians: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. (2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV) Paul made it clear to the Galatians that this “new creation” happened through faith and was experienced in baptism. This new life could not come through any form of law-keeping or doings works of the law of Moses: So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. (Galatians 3:26-29 NIV) During our continuing journey through the New Testament over the next few months, you will see time and again that people will try to add some additional requirement to My simple gospel. Thankfully, Paul never abandoned what the Father had revealed in him (Galatians 1:15-16): I AM the good news the world needs. I AM “the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me” (John 14:6 NLT). So Paul reminded his Galatian brothers and sisters at both the beginning and the end of his letter that there is only one gospel, the one delivered to him from God about Me. Paul also reminded the Galatians that there is only one thing that ultimately matters: “God’s new creation is what counts, and it counts for everything.” Verses to Live As you read these seemingly unconnected passages from the beginning and the end of Galatians, remember what I said about one, simple, and transformational message. There is only one. That message finds its focus in Me. When I come into a person’s life, I make everything new. This change is what matters! Surely you are familiar with my personal history, with my dedication to the teachings and traditions of Judaism. I persecuted the church of God — in fact, I meant to destroy it. I excelled in the teachings of Judaism far above other Jewish leaders, and I was zealous to practice the ways of our ancestors. But God — Who set me apart even before birth and called me by His grace — chose, to His great delight, to reveal His Son in me so I could tell His story among the outsider nations. I didn’t confer with anyone right away, nor did I go to those who were already emissaries in Jerusalem. I went straight to Arabia and later returned to Damascus. After living this adventurous mission for three years, I made my way to Jerusalem and spent 15 days with Cephas, whom you know as Peter. But I didn’t see any emissary other than James, our Lord’s brother. (You can be certain that what I am offering you is an authentic account. Before God, it’s the whole truth — I wouldn’t lie.) Later I journeyed to Syria and Cilicia; and since I had spent so little time in Judea among the churches of the Anointed One, no one there could pick me out of a crowd. But stories of my call and mission preceded me: “The very man who wanted to kill us all is now preaching the faith he once labored to destroy.” And so they praised God for the miracle He did in my life. (Galatians 1:13-24) The troublemakers who are putting pressure on you to be circumcised are trying to impress the flesh. They want to avoid the persecution that comes from preaching the cross of the Anointed One, the Liberating King. But even those who receive circumcision can’t keep the law — although they think they can — and they hope to influence which way you go with your own skin so they can have bragging rights over your flesh. May I never put anything above the cross of our Lord Jesus the Anointed. Through Him, the world has been crucified to me and I to this world. Let me be clear: circumcision won’t save you — uncircumcision won’t either for that matter — for both amount to nothing. God’s new creation is what counts, and it counts for everything. May peace and mercy come to all of you who live by this rule and to the Israel of God. (Galatians 6:12-16) Response in Prayer Father, forgive me for the times I’ve added requirements to the simple, pure, and powerful gospel about Jesus. Thank You that Your gospel is so simple, clear,
Today’s Verse – Hebrews 13:2
Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it. —Hebrews 13:2 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… What do you do to welcome new neighbors into your neighborhood or apartment complex? How warmly do you personally welcome visitors at your church gatherings or in your Bible study group? When was the last time you invited someone new from your congregation over for dinner or included them in a gathering of your Christian friends? While some have the gift of hospitality, all of us need to be warm and open to folks we don’t know who have joined us for Christian worship, ministry, fellowship, or moved into our neighborhood and need new friends. Why not make a commitment to meet and welcome one new person each week? In a cold, impersonal world, we can make a huge difference in the lives of those seeking the shelter and grace of Jesus and his people. Our worship without hospitality is not authentic worship (Hebrews 12:28-29, 13:15-16). My Prayer… Father, please help me, and please help the fellowship of believers with whom I share my life so that we will all be more open and welcoming to others in our congregation and our daily lives. Help us love, include, and bless new people, those visiting, and those inquiring about Jesus and faith. Please use us to share your grace and provide them a Christian home and friendship. In Jesus’ name and for others to know his grace, I pray this. Amen. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.
Focusing on Prayer
Note from Jesus Dear Beloved, Prayer is one of the most precious gifts you have received as the Father’s child! One of the reasons I sent the Holy Spirit to you was so that you would have His help in your prayer life (Romans 8:26-27). James began and ended his tract on living for the Father with straightforward teaching on prayer. I want you to notice several things about this teaching that are highlighted in bold for you in the verses below. However, the first truth about prayer you must know is this: prayer is rooted in the grace of your Father in heaven. I taught you to address your heavenly Father with the simple words, “Our Father” (Matthew 6:9). Your Father longs to give you good gifts. He longs to “grant all that you need” and “He gives lavishly and never scolds you for asking”! Your Father longs to lift you “up from the floor of despair” and bring you lasting life! (See the underlined emphasis in the verses below.) In other words, prayer is first and foremost about your Father. Recognize that prayer is a gift of grace from your Father in heaven. Your prayers need to come from a heart fully yielded to Him. James also gives several other key truths that are connected to prayer, and that grow out of the following principles: Ask the Father — remember He longs to be gracious. Your request should come from an undivided heart; it should “be anchored by your single-minded commitment to God.” You should enlist righteous people, like your elders, to help you pray for your deepest needs. Your prayers should be offered in faith — remember, don’t doubt the Father longs to hear you. Your prayers should be rooted in the righteousness of your life. Prayers don’t need to be uttered with a lot of words or fancy language, but your heart needs to be intensely riveted on the Father as you pray. The focus of your intensity, when you pray, should be the Father, not the perfect choice of your words. Prayer is a great gift. Use this gift. Seek the Father. Come to Him out of a life lived for Him. He longs to be gracious to you. Verses to Live When I was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane on the night I was betrayed, the soldiers and the crowd sent by the religious leaders knew where to find Me because going there was My regular practice (Luke 22:39-40; Luke 21:37). My request of the Father was specific and heartfelt — “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done” (Luke 22:42 NIV). My surrender to His will was not new. I had prayed this prayer many times. I hope My example for you, along with the following words from James for you, will give you the direction and encouragement you need to pray with confidence to the Father Who loves you and longs to bless you. My desire is that you will seek godly people to join you in a confident prayer offered with intensity out of lives lived to honor the Father. (The bold highlights words about how you should pray and the underlining highlights the Father’s response to your prayers.) If you don’t have all the wisdom needed for this journey, then all you have to do is ask God for it; and God will grant all that you need. He gives lavishly and never scolds you for asking. The key is that your request be anchored by your single-minded commitment to God. Those who depend only on their own judgment are like those lost on the seas, carried away by any wave or picked up by any wind. Those adrift on their own wisdom shouldn’t assume the Lord will rescue them or bring them anything. The splinter of divided loyalty shatters your compass and leaves you dizzy and confused. (James 1:5-8) Are any in your community suffering? They should pray. Are any celebrating? They should sing praises to God. Are any sick? They should call the elders of your church and ask them to pray. They will gather around and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. Prayers offered in faith will restore them from sickness and bring them to health. The Lord will lift them up from the floor of despair; and if the sickness is due to sin, then God will forgive their sins. So own up to your sins to one another and pray for one another. In the end, you may be healed. Your prayers are powerful when they are rooted in a righteous life. Remember Elijah? He was a man, no different from us. He prayed with great intensity asking God to withhold the rain; God answered his prayers and did not allow a single drop of rain to fall for three and a half years. It did not rain until Elijah prayed again for God to open the skies, when the rain came down and the earth produced a great crop. (James 5:13-18) Response in Prayer O Father, my Abba Father, thank You for the grace of prayer. Thank You for listening to both my words and my heart. I know that You long to hear my heart when I pray. I know that You have given me the blessed Holy Spirit to make my deepest longings, sighs, and groanings known to You. Forgive me when I pray without my focus on You. Forgive me for the times that I have prayed without the intensity of my heart longing to communicate with You. I especially ask that You hear my heart as I pray for several of my friends by name, friends who need Your grace, healing, and strength… In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen. ‘A Year with Jesus’ is written by Phil Ware. © 1998-2025, Heartlight, Inc. ‘A Year with Jesus‘ is part of the Heartlight Network.All scripture quotations,
Today’s Verse – John 17:24
Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. —John 17:24 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… Wow, what an unbelievable collection of high-powered phrases of truth, promise, and prayer! We are a gift from the Father to Jesus. Jesus wants us to be with him in the glorious presence of God forever. Jesus wants us to see his glory and experience that glory. The Father has loved Jesus from before there was time, before the creation of the world. Think about these things. Ask God to show you how powerfully they reveal our importance to him as Jesus’ disciples. Dream of the day you will see him as he is in all of his glory, and he transforms us to become like him (1 John 3:1-3; Colossians 3:1-4). Now, let’s go live in our world based on the view God has of us. My Prayer… Almighty God and Abba Father, O, forgive me for my often mundane and earthbound view that I have of myself and your other children. Stir me through your Spirit to have a deeper appreciation of all of Jesus’ disciples and how much each one means to you. Please empower me to be more patient, tolerant, forgiving, and respectful of my Christian brothers and sisters’ imperfections, because you accept them just as you accept me with my imperfections. I acknowledge those imperfections and long for the day when we are united in perfection before your holy throne of grace as we praise you and bring you glory. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.
The Urgency of Living Patiently
Note from Jesus Dear Precious One, In the verses I want to share with you today, James teaches you about the urgency of living patiently. Let Me explain what he means and what I want you to do to live this “urgency with patience” lifestyle. First, notice that the rich who are corrupt are going to fall under judgment. I know some of My disciples have had their lives ruined by those who abused their wealth and power: mistreating “their” workers, hoarding “their” wealth while neglecting the human need all around them, abusing the legal system for “their” advantage, underpaying those who work for “them,” and exploiting both people and animals to the point of exhaustion and even death sometimes. Be patient, My precious ones, and be faithful. I will relieve your suffering. Be patient: help is on the way. We — the Almighty Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — command heaven’s armies. We will enforce justice upon all, including on those who think they are above justice. Hang on; I AM coming with justice! Second, remember the farmer and his crops. There is a time to plant, and there is a time to reap. The harvest is not far off for you. Please wait like a good farmer who trusts that the harvest will come. Strengthen your resolve. I will come when it is harvest time. Your waiting will be worth all the pain and difficulty you have endured! Third, while you are waiting, treat each other with grace and compassion. Complaining about others and judging their motives never accomplishes My work. These wearisome behaviors tear down those that you need at your side as you await My coming. To help you know how to wait with grace and compassion for My coming, remember the great people and prophets of old like Job. Rely upon the Spirit I have given to you to strengthen, comfort, and encourage you as you wait. Finally, don’t feel that you have to be overly dramatic when giving your word. Just say “yes” and “no.” You don’t need to use an oath. Keep your word. There will be times when you find that this is difficult, but remember that I AM coming, and I will hold you to your word. I AM coming. I will judge those who mistreat you and abuse you. However, I will also hold you to the standard of character and compassion that reflects My own character and compassion. Time is short. These matters are urgent. You must live with holy and passionate patience. Verses to Live The following verses are James’ words of exhortation. Trust them. Live them. They come with My authority and approval. Be ready for Me. Be patient waiting for My justice and My coming. Know I have heard your cries and have seen your struggles, and I AM coming down to avenge you. Until I return, seek the Spirit’s strength and guidance as you face difficulties in your life. It is urgently important that you live patiently trusting James’ words and trusting that My promises are true! Hey, you rich folk, misery is on its way; so cry and moan because you will watch your riches rot before your eyes as the moths devour your fine clothes. Your stockpile of silver and gold is tarnished and corroded, and this rust will stand up in the final judgment and testify against you. It will eat your flesh like fire and become a permanent and painful reminder that you have hoarded your wealth through these last days. Listen. You held back a just wage from the laborers who mowed your fields, and that money is crying out against you, demanding that justice be done. The cries of the people who harvested your crops and made you a profit have fallen upon the ears of the supreme Lord of heavenly armies. Your life on the earth has been one of luxury, pleasure, and endless consumption; you have feasted to your hearts’ content on animals you slaughtered, but now the day of slaughter comes for you. You have condemned and murdered the righteous man, and he did not defend himself. For this reason, my brothers and sisters, be patient as you wait for the return of the Lord. Look! The farmer knows how to wait patiently for the land to produce vegetables and fruits. He cannot harvest a freshly planted seed. Instead, he waits for the early and the late showers to nourish the soil. You need this same kind of patience, so in the meantime, strengthen your resolve because the Lord will be coming soon. Brothers and sisters, don’t waste your breath complaining about one another. If you judge others, you will be judged yourself. Be very careful! You will face the one true Judge Who is right outside the door. The prophets who declared the word of the Lord are your role models, my brothers and sisters, for what it means to live patiently in the face of suffering. Look, we bless and honor the memory of those who persevered under hardship. Remember how Job endured and how the Lord orchestrated the triumph of his final circumstances as a grand display of His mercy and compassion. It is even more important, my brothers and sisters, that you remember not to make a vow by the heavens or the earth or by anything. When you say “yes,” it should always mean “yes,” and “no” should always mean “no.” If you can keep your word, you will avoid judgment. (James 5:1-12) Response in Prayer Father, please give me patience. I want to be Your person of character in the world where You have placed me. I trust that Jesus will return for me. Even so, dear Father, I do need patience while I wait. I don’t want to be unprepared for Jesus’ coming because I lose patience and begin to live like those who have no hope in You. I ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen. ‘A Year
Today’s Verse – John 17:23
I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. —John 17:23 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… How will the world come to know that God sent his Son? Through our unity and love for each other! How will the world know that God truly loves us as his children? When we live together in unity! What is that unity? That’s harder to define. The basis of unity is a life of character so consistent with the will of God that he can be seen living in us! Yet for this kind of unity to be seen in the world, it has to be visible in the way we work with each other in the cause of the Gospel, the way we handle our differences, the way as a group that we consistently treat people of the world, and the way we come together in areas that clearly matter to God. Let’s pray and strive to make this unity a reality among us by all coming closer to Jesus, till his life comes to life in us! My Prayer… Father, please help us, your children, come together in ways that honor you, reveal your character, and lead others to call on Jesus as LORD. So, as we draw near to you, draw us closer together in loving unity. In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray this. Amen. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.
Who Leads in Your Dance of Life?
Note from Jesus Dear Child of the King, You may have noticed in our time together the last few days that I have had you read from Galatians and/or James in your Bible. These two letters were written to very different groups of people, with different religious backgrounds, but with similar concerns. Those concerns as stated from the viewpoint of the recipients of the letters were these: How am I supposed to live a righteous life if I don’t live by the law? Can I call myself a disciple of Jesus if I don’t do what the Father says, and I don’t display the Father’s righteous character and gracious compassion in my life? What about those who live in ways that are in rebellion to the character of the Father — don’t they need to live under the law? What about those who claim to be Christians, but don’t live righteously and appear to be hypocrites? In today’s verses, Paul emphasizes that the law cannot do what the Spirit can do to answer these questions. The Spirit comes and brings My power to transform you. Remember what I promised shortly before My death, burial, resurrection, and ascension: “I tell you the truth: whoever believes in Me will be able to do what I have done, but they will do even greater things, because I will return to be with the Father. … I will ask the Father to send you another Helper, the Spirit of truth, Who will remain constantly with you.” (John 14:12, 16) Through prayer and the empowering presence of the Spirit within you individually, as well as the Spirit working through you collectively, I AM at work in you. I AM also at work through you to do these “greater things.” The law cannot give you this power and cannot fulfill this promise. Only the presence and power of the Holy Spirit can. You began your walk with Me through the work of the Holy Spirit. I have done great things among you, within you, and through you by the power of the Spirit. Do not depend on law-keeping in an attempt to be holy and to live righteous lives. I want you to understand that life, especially a life of character and devotion to God, is like a holy dance. In this dance of life, you can lead the dance and allow the sinful desires of the flesh to control the direction of your dance. Or, you can be led by the Spirit, and the Spirit’s fruit of holy character — “unconditional love, joy, peace, patience, kindheartedness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” — will shine through in your life. How are you going to be led by the Spirit? I want you to know that the dance of life with the Spirit in the lead begins here: [S]et aside [y]our self-interests and work together to create true community instead of a culture consumed by provocation, pride, and envy. After committing yourself to Me, your first step in this dance of holy living is to consciously set aside your own desire. Give up your fleshly focus and self-interest. This submission is keeping “each step in perfect sync with God’s Spirit.” Keeping in step with the Spirit happens because you consciously and willfully ask the Spirit to take the lead in the dance of your life. As you offer yourself to Me, ask that the Father keep pouring the Spirit’s power and presence into your life (Luke 11:13; 1 Thessalonians 4:8). The Holy Spirit is like a permanent heavenly guest in your life. The Spirit will not intrude into the secret places of your self-will and self-interest unless you invite Him and yield to His leading in your dance of life. However, the more you consciously and intentionally ask your heavenly guest to take control, the more the Spirit will exert His influence. The apostle Paul pointed to the following ways to offer the Spirit the lead in your dance of life: Speak to one another in songs, hymns, and spiritual songs. Sing. Make music in your heart to God. Give thanks in all circumstances. Submit to one another as you reverence Me in your heart. Let the message about Me be your strong defense against the influence of evil in your life. Pray consciously depending upon the Spirit to be at work in your prayers. Be alert. (Ephesians 5:15-21; Ephesians 6:17-18) You began your holy dance being led by the Spirit. Continue to invite the Spirit to lead. As you do, you will notice your life becoming more and more like the life you saw Me live (2 Corinthians 3:17-18). Verses to Live Dear follower, know that I long to do greater things in you and through you and for you through the power of the Holy Spirit. So let the Spirit lead the dance of your life. When you do, you will find that you will not need a law to tell you what to do. Rather than trying to obey a law, you will find “each step in perfect sync” with the Spirit! Galatians, don’t act like fools! Has someone cast a spell over you? Did you miss the crucifixion of Jesus the Anointed that was reenacted right in front of your eyes? Tell me this: Did the Holy Spirit come upon you because you lived according to the law? Or was it because you heard His message of grace through faith? Are you so foolish? Do you think you can perfect something God’s Spirit started with any human effort? Have you suffered so greatly for nothing — if it was indeed for nothing? You have experienced the Spirit He gave you in powerful ways. Miracle after miracle has occurred right before your eyes in this community, so tell me: did all this happen because you have kept certain provisions of God’s law, or was it because you heard the gospel and accepted it by faith? (Galatians 3:1-5) Here’s my instruction: walk in the