Take 2-3 minutes to quiet yourself and ask God to speak to you today through your devotional time.
Reading: Galatians 5:1-21
Be sure to highlight or note anything that stands out to you while you read.
After reading the passage, take the next 5-10 minutes and spend time reflecting on what you read. You can write these things down in a journal or record them in your phone. Be attentive to both what you highlighted in the passage and what is going on in your life.
Paul opens this passage with a bold declaration: Christ set us free, so don't get tangled up again in a yoke of slavery by trying to earn what grace already gave you. If we're saved by grace, does behavior still matter? Paul's answer is yes, but not by going back to rule-keeping; the whole law is fulfilled in one command, to love your neighbor as yourself (Gal. 5:13), and that kind of love is only possible by walking in the Spirit.
Freedom in Christ was never meant to be an excuse to indulge the flesh; it's what makes it possible to starve it instead. Paul lists those flesh patterns as evident and warns that people who make a practice of them will not inherit the kingdom, not to frighten you but to show you exactly what you've been set free from.
Where have you been using your freedom in Christ as an excuse to feed the flesh, instead of as fuel to walk by the Spirit and love others well?
Now, take 10 minutes to seek God in prayer…
- Begin your time in prayer by taking 1-3 minutes to sit in silence (You can take longer if you sense the Spirit already beginning to speak to you).
- Pray through the things you sensed God speaking to you through the Scriptures or pray the following prayer: Jesus, thank You for setting me free. Forgive me for the times I've used that freedom carelessly instead of walking in step with Your Spirit. Teach me to love others well and to starve the patterns that keep pulling me backward. Amen.
- Close by taking 5 minutes to sit in silence, asking God if there is anything else He wants to speak to you today.
Faith Step:
Choose one specific, practical way to serve someone else through love today.