Category: Galatians (Page 3 of 11)

Grace is a Calling

June 3, 2025 / Allan / 0 Comments

“God chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he adopted us as his children through Jesus Christ, to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves… the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us.” ~Ephesians 1:4-8

God’s amazing grace gives us an immeasurable amount of everything we need most: forgiveness, restoration, reconciliation, peace, joy, hope, salvation–all of that and a million blessings more. But that’s not our primary focus. A lot of the church songs we sing and, frankly, a lot of the church sermons we hear are centered on those blessings. But that can’t be the center of it for us because the grace of God is a calling. It can’t be just my salvation or my peace of mind or my eternal hope or my blessed assurance. Grace is a calling.

Paul says he was called by God’s grace so that he–in order that he–might preach Christ to the Gentiles (Galatians 1:15). We are changed by Gospel power and called by God’s grace for a mission, the mission of our Lord.

And I know it’s not the same for everybody. Not everyone called by God has a blinding Damascus Road experience. Some do. Some people are converted and called–BOOM!–immediately. I’m ready to minister! I’m ready to serve! With some people it takes several years and lots of different experiences. Some people can’t really point to where and when it started. But you are called by God’s grace to minister.

“It is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” ~Ephesians 2:8-10

This helps, too, when those weird, random, bad things happen to you. I posted about this yesterday. When something goes wrong in your life, you don’t face it with a determined self-reliance: “I can overcome this! I can fix this!” And it’s not fatalistic doom and gloom, either: “I’m never going to get through this. My life is over.”

No, you are called and grabbed by Christ Jesus to be his minister in that mess, to be his witness. And you have his power and grace to do it. Your primary calling is not to be a successful salesperson or a successful surgeon or a successful oil man. You are called first to be a Christian. A Christian witness. So you can relax and rest in that. You are free to love and proclaim, you’re empowered to witness and serve.

You have received the grace of Almighty God. You have received his calling.

Peace,

Allan

Before You Were Born

June 2, 2025 / Allan / 0 Comments

An update on our daughter Valerie, now entering her 34th week of carrying our two new grandsons: she’s ready to be done with this stage of parenting. She told me during our last phone conversation that in the moment between waking up and getting out of bed, she fantasizes about using a walker. The boys weigh a little over three pounds each now, and they’re getting a little more kicky. So, while she’s increasingly uncomfortable, all of Val’s numbers and readings are good and she’s hanging in there really well. I mean, just look at her! She looks so beautiful in this picture. We’ve got to be just three or four weeks away now. (!!!!!!!)

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A theme that you’ll find in Scripture is that God has been with you since before you were born. The prophets write of being called by God before they were born. The psalmist sings of being brought out of his mother’s womb by God. The apostle Paul tells the Galatians God set him apart from birth and called him by his grace.

What that means is: Your life has meaning and purpose.

And I know it doesn’t always feel that way. Things happen in your life that seem random. Things that happen don’t always make sense. Your sister never smoked a day in her life, but now she’s diagnosed with lung cancer. You wind up at a college you didn’t pick. Somebody else gets the promotion you deserve. Somebody breaks into your car. Terrible parents you know have wonderful children, but your kids have gone off the rails. You’ve been divorced. Or devastated in some other terrible way.

Those things can seem so random. But our God is ultimately turning that thing–whatever it is for you–toward a salvation goal. So, on a higher level, that awful thing does make sense. That’s faith. That’s what we believe.

And I’m not trying to give some easy surface explanation for human tragedy and pain. I’m not trying to cheaply cheer somebody up who’s suffering. Sometimes our Christian comfort and counsel can sound very casual and detached. Cheap. That’s not what I’m saying.

I’m saying the God who grabs you, the God who owns you, is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who is BOTH crucified and risen! So, whatever you’re dealing with or suffering through is not meaningless. God is moving all of it and you toward his eternal salvation goal for your life.

You are a part of something. It’s going somewhere. You have a role to play. God is involved. He’s got it. And he is at work in it and in you for your ultimate good.

Even as you endure whatever it is, God is changing you and calling you. And you can trust him. He’s been paying attention to you and loving you and protecting you since before you were born.

Peace,

Allan

What Counts

May 29, 2025 / Allan / 0 Comments

My feelings would be in another universe if the Stars and Oilers were tied 2-2 heading into tonight’s Game Five. My sports heart would be in such a positive place: “We just need to win two out of three, and two of them are at home!” Instead, trailing 3-1, my head knows that Dallas has to win three in a row, and one of them is in Edmonton. That’s a whole different deal. In all of NHL history, the teams that go up 3-1 eventually win the series 92-percent of the time. My heart wants to believe that Dallas can win at home tonight, and that will put pressure on Edmonton. It will force the Oilers to have to win Saturday in Canada to avoid a deciding Game Seven back in Texas. And maybe that pressure will get to the Oilers and benefit Dallas. And then, anything can happen in a Game Seven! Especially at the AAC! But my head knows the Stars are going to become the first team in NHL history to appear in three straight conference finals without winning a Stanley Cup. It may not happen tonight–I expect Dallas to win at home this evening and force a Game Six in Alberta. But it’s already over.

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“Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” ~Galatians 1:3-5

Yes, we are still living in the present evil age. And it’s hard for people living in the U.S. in 2025 to see it. Because the current age doesn’t seem so bad.

I’ve got both hot and cold running water inside my house and central air-conditioning and heat and streaming digital TV in four rooms with unparalleled clarity in picture and sound. I’ve got a job, two cars, and a nice backyard. I’ve got a leather couch, a couple of recliners, and some nights I’ve got pizza rolls in the oven. Most of the time, for me, the present age seems pretty sweet. What’s so evil about it?

Well, we know the world is evil. Just pull back a little bit. We know how broken the world is. It’s evil. There is vulgarity and violence, racism and sexism, lying and lust. There’s poverty and disease and death and wars and threats of more wars. You and I–all of us–are negatively impacted by that.

On a more personal level, you and I know that something in this world is going to take you down. Something is going to wreck your life. It might be a tornado or a fire, heart disease or cancer or Alzheimer’s. It might be adultery, divorce, or the death of someone you can’t imagine living without.

There’s no fixing what’s wrong with this present age. The world is broken and we know it. We’re broken. And all the ways we try to fix ourselves and the world are also broken. We can argue about the things we see that aught to be changed and we can fuss about whose party and whose leader needs to be in charge of the change; we can spend our whole lives rearranging the furniture on the Titanic; and maybe we’ll have some success in making life a little more tolerable for our fellow passengers; but we know we can’t stop this ship from going down.

We all need rescue.

There is only one solution for this evil age; there’s only one thing that can fix what’s wrong with creation.

“Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation.” ~Galatians 6:15

The only answer to what’s wrong with this world is a whole new world. Not better leaders or stricter laws, not bigger churches or tighter rules, not better science or more technology. The only solution is new creation, a brand new physical and spiritual reality in which the only law is the one Paul states in Galatians 5: one command, one single command, he writes–love your neighbor as yourself.

Only Jesus gives us new creation. And it’s the one thing that counts.

Peace,

Allan

Proclaiming in Community

December 15, 2022 / Allan / 0 Comments

The New Testament shows us the Holy Spirit of God creating a brand new community of people – all people, all languages, all nations – brought to perfect unity under the lordship of the risen Jesus. On the Day of Pentecost, those filled with the Holy Spirit quote from the prophet Joel to explain what’s happening: “I will pour out my Spirit on all people and everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

“Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off – for all whom the Lord our God will call.” ~Acts 2:38-39

The Holy Spirit breaks down barriers between people, he destroys the walls between all people, and brings us together in Christ. In Ephesians 2, it’s mainly about the hard feelings and the differences that keep Jews and Gentiles separate and divided. But those hard feelings and differences have all been demolished by God in Christ.

“In Christ Jesus, you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. He himself is our peace… [He] has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility… His purpose was to create peace… to reconcile all of us to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we all have access to the Father by one Spirit.” ~Ephesians 2:13-18

The Berlin Wall was erected by the Soviets to separate East and West Berlin. In Bethlehem, there’s a 27-foot high wall that divides the Palestinians from the Israelis. There’s a wall on the Texas border intended to keep Mexicans and Central Americans out of the United States. We know all about walls. Not all of them are physical. There are social walls and racial walls. There are gender barriers and economic barriers. We’re divided by politics and language, we’re segregated by ethnicity and education. But the blood of Jesus brings all of us together and the Spirit of God holds us together so that our unity in all the diversity becomes an undeniable proclamation of the power of the Prince of Peace.

“You are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor 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 3:26-28

We have to practice this tearing down of walls, we must be dedicated to demolishing the things that separate us. We must do the very, very hard work of reconciliation because it’s such a vital component of the Church’s proclamation. 2 Corinthians 5 says God has given us the ministry of reconciliation. Peter slipped up one time in Antioch, remember? He was under some social pressures there and he stopped eating with the Gentile Christians. He wouldn’t associate with Gentiles in public. And Paul called him on it. He told him he wasn’t acting “in line with the truth of the Gospel.” He wasn’t living the Story.

If the biggest and most imposing barriers in history have all been eliminated by Jesus – national / ethnic, social / class, gender – then what other barriers can be justified? If all the walls have been abolished at the cross, who are we to erect new ones? Or to maintain the ones others have erected? If all people are created in the image of God, if God’s purpose is reconciliation and unity, if we are to love even our enemies, if Jesus took all the world’s hostility into himself to destroy it, on what grounds can we justify any walls at all?

Peace,

Allan

Deciding to Die

April 20, 2022 / Allan / 0 Comments

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.” ~Galatians 2:20

We all want to be raised with Christ. We want to claim God’s will for our lives that we be raised with our Lord to walk in newness of life. We want to experience the divine promise that we will be raised with Christ and seated with him in the heavenly realms.

But, first, you have to die.

The apostle Paul goes beyond saying Jesus was crucified in his place. Paul says he’s been crucified with Christ. He died with Jesus.

Of course, resurrection life and power is available to you. It’s available to you right now. But you have to die first. You can’t be raised until you first die – that’s just common sense.

Look at our Lord. Jesus did not resurrect himself. The Father raised him. What part did Jesus play in his raising? He died. He submitted to the will of God and he died.

Resurrection life and resurrection power is what God does in you when you decide to die to yourself and die to the world and die to your sins; when you die with Christ, when you’re buried with Christ, when you die, then God resurrects. It’s your call.

And it’s not really about your feelings. It’s about your will. It’s about what you decide to do.

When a guy gets married, the preacher doesn’t ask him to take out the ring and then talk about how he feels. Before you take this woman, tell us how you feel. “Man, I feel like I’m about to throw up. My hands are shaking, my knees are weak, and I’m sweating like a cow. I feel terrible.”

No, we don’t ask that. The question is: Will you take this woman? “Will I? Yes. I will do this. I will make the decision now to take this woman and commit to her as my wife.”

It’s a choice. It’s a decision of the will.

If you’ve never been baptized…

…will you? Will you die with Christ this Sunday in the waters of baptism in order to share in the resurrection?

I don’t care if you’re twelve-years-old or in your 30s or 50s. I don’t care if you were born and raised in the Church and, for whatever reason, you’ve never been baptized. I don’t care if you’ve never been inside a church building before.

Will you be buried with Jesus and be raised to walk in the life and power of his resurrection? Will you make the choice? Will you decide to die with Christ?

Peace,

Allan

Prayer of Our Lord

July 1, 2020 / Allan / 0 Comments

It’s striking to me that in the very last recorded conversation between Jesus and his Father in the Gospel of John, just hours before his hands and feet would be nailed to the tree, Jesus is talking about our unity as his followers. These are some of the very last words of our Lord. And they carry so much weight.

“I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. All the ones I have are yours, and all the ones you have are mine. And glory has come to me through them… Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name — the name you gave me — so that they may be one as we are one… My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world… I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe… May they be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me.” ~John 17:9-23

This prayer of Jesus is very familiar to us. Maybe a bit too familiar, like maybe we’ve heard it so often and read it so much and NOT made it the priority that Christ does, we’ve NOT pursued it and practiced it or been willing to die for it like Christ is. Maybe it’s lost its punch. Verse ten has really jumped out at me the past couple of weeks. Maybe the message of verse ten can revive the punch in our Lord’s prayer.

“All the ones I have are yours and all the ones you have are mine.”

All those who belong to God belong to Christ and all those who belong to Christ belong to God, which means all those who confess Jesus as Lord — “all who will believe in me” — all belong to each other. We’re not promoting Christian unity here, we’re practicing it. Christian unity is not something we chase or pursue, it’s not something we must generate or create; it’s already the reality! Christian unity is the gift we’ve all been given by God in Christ.

Scripture tells us we all form one body, that this is the way it is in Christ.

“For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body — whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free — and we were all given the one Spirit to drink… In fact, God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be… Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.” ~1 Corinthians 12:13, 18, 27

We don’t try hard to be a part of the body. We don’t do our best to share in the blessings of belonging to God’s one universal and united people. No! Listen to the Bible! You. It’s plural, actually, so, you all. Y’all ARE the body of Christ. So act like it.

Because of our fallen, sinful nature as humans and because of the broken systems and structures of the fallen, sinful world, we don’t see each other enough. We don’t listen enough to each other’s stories. We don’t know each other well enough to practice and live this unity that’s already there if we’ll just pay attention to it. If we’ll just look each other in the eye. If we’ll really listen to each other well. If we’ll commit to loving all believers in Jesus as the brothers and sisters in Christ they are.

“In Christ, we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” ~Romans 12:5

What does it mean for all Christians to belong to each other? It means we love each other. We forgive each other. We help carry each other’s burdens. We look out for each other and take care of each other. It means offering grace to people we’d rather punch in the throat. It means standing alongside those whose politics we might detest.

This is what Jesus prayed. This is who Jesus is. The way Jesus lived his life, the things he taught and the stories he told — he erase all the labels we attach to others. He obliterated the ways we draw lines and build walls between us and others. He lived and taught the complete unity of all God’s people.

When you see the hungry and thirsty — listen to the words of Jesus — when you see the alien, the naked and the sick, when you see the prisoner, you’re looking at me.

The Samaritan? Yeah, he’s your neighbor. That’s right, the guy who doesn’t look like you, his skin’s a different color than yours, he lives in a different part of the city, he doesn’t smell like you, he doesn’t vote like you, he believes and practices his Christianity a little differently than you — he’s yours. You are responsible for each other.

Jesus completely turned upside down the whole economy of the way the world operates. The first are last! The poor are blessed! The oppressed are kings! We love our enemies and pray for those who treat us wrong! Why would we ever stand by and ignore or go along with the world’s status quo when our Lord Jesus prayed that it would all be changed?

Each member belongs to all the others. All the ones I have are yours and all the ones you have are mine. Taking care of each other. Uniting as one. That’s the prayer of our Lord. It’s what he asked for the night before he died.

Peace,

Allan

Category: Galatians (Page 3 of 11)

Grace is a Calling

Before You Were Born

What Counts

Proclaiming in Community

Deciding to Die

Prayer of Our Lord

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