<p><span class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold">For Reading and Meditation:</span><br><span class="italic">     <span class="scriptRef" ref="1co+15:1-11">1 Corinthians 15:1-11</span></span></p><p>Is it any wonder that throughout the history of the Christian Church men and women have found the thought of grace so overwhelmingly wonderful they seemed unable to get over it? Grace was the constant theme of their prayers, their preaching, their writing - and their hymns. Take this for example: Great God of wonders, all Thy ways Display the attributes divine; But countless acts of pardoning grace Beyond Thine other wonders shine; Who is a pardoning God like Thee? Or who has grace so rich and free? Many have fought to uphold the truth of God's grace, accepting ridicule and loss of privilege as the price of their stand. Paul waged war against the legalists in the Galatian churches over the matter of "grace," and the battle to uphold this great truth has gone on ever since. Augustine fought it in the fourth and fifth centuries, and so did the Reformers in the sixteenth century. I sense that the Church once again is in danger of losing out to legalism as more and more Christians get caught up with doing rather than being. Talk to people about what they are doing and they are with you at once; talk to them about being (who they really are) and their attitude is one of deferential blankness. The Church of Jesus Christ is in a sad state when it can't say with conviction and meaning, as did the apostle Paul: "By the grace of God I am what I am."</p><p class="center-it italic bold mlr40 mtb20">"God of all grace, give me grace to feel my need of grace. And give me grace to ask for grace. Then give me grace to receive grace. And when grace is given to me, give me grace to use that grace." In Jesus' Name I pray. Amen.</p><div class="tl-lightgrey mt20 pt20 flexbox-row-wrap jc-around"><div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">AdditionalVerses</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="2co+1:1-12">2 Corinthians 1:1-12</span></li><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="2co+6:1">2 Corinthians 6:1</span></li><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="ga+2:21">Galatians 2:21</span></li></ul></div>

<div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">Questions to Consider</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li>Where was Paul's boast rooted?</li><li>What was Paul's warning to the Corinthians?</li></ul></div></div>

Let a little light into your soul every day with this wonderful devotional from English pastor Selwyn Hughes.

Every Day Light with Selwyn Hughes

"But by the grace of God I am what I am " (v. 10)

<p><span class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold">For Reading and Meditation:</span><br><span class="italic">     <span class="scriptRef" ref="ga+2:15-21">Galatians 2:15-21</span></span></p><p>We turn now to consider the second of our Lord's Beatitudes: "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted"  (<span class="scriptRef" ref="mt+5:4">Matthew 5:4</span>). It is important to note that there is a very definite order in these sayings of Christ. Every one is carefully thought out and is given a precise place in the spiritual sequence. Once we see that entrance into the kingdom of God is through the acknowledgement of one's spiritual poverty and the acceptance of Christ's riches and resources, we are then ready to consider the next: "Happy are those who know what sorrow means, for they will be given courage and comfort" (Phillips). Before pondering the meaning of this Beatitude, we pause to make clear that the Beatitudes must not be viewed simply as a code of ethics, but as a description of character. Many people view these sayings of Jesus, as well as the rest of the Sermon on the Mount, as a set of regulations which they must follow in order to become a Christian - a kind of New Testament "Ten Commandments". The simple truth is that to try to live out these principles in our own unaided strength would be about as possible as trying to move the Rock of Gibraltar with a pea-shooter. Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones said: "We are not told, 'Live like this and you will become a Christian ', but rather, 'Become a Christian and you will live like this.' " Advocates of the "social gospel" - the belief that we become Christians by attempting to live out Christ's principles - are seriously in error. We must first know Christ as a Person before we can fully live out His principles. </p><p class="center-it italic bold mlr40 mtb20">Father, how tragic that, down the centuries, so many have got Your truth the wrong way round - they have tried to follow Your principles before first knowing You in Person. Help me never to go wrong here - ever. Amen.</p><div class="tl-lightgrey mt20 pt20 flexbox-row-wrap jc-around"><div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">AdditionalVerses</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="eph+3:1-19">Ephesians 3:1-19</span></li><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="joh+14:20">John 14:20</span></li><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="col+1:27">Colossians 1:27</span></li><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="1jo+3:24">1 John 3:24</span></li></ul></div>

<div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">Questions to Consider</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li>Of what does the indwelling Christ bring a full knowledge?</li><li>What is the 'hope of glory'?</li></ul></div></div>

"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me '" (v. 20)

<p><span class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold">For Reading and Meditation:</span><br><span class="italic">     <span class="scriptRef" ref="ga+2:11-21">Galatians 2:11-21</span></span></p><p>The argument presented by pluralists that Christians must view their religion as one among many, and Jesus as only one Savior among others, must be firmly resisted. It may sound arrogant to say so but it is nevertheless a fact that Christianity is unique, absolute, definitive, ultimate, and final. Critics of the uniqueness of Christianity can be very persuasive. "The world is under great threat," they tell us, "because of environmental pollution, economic injustice, and many other problems. Nothing that divides us, including our religions, should be considered as important as the need to live together in harmony." Another emphasis is on the need to study comparative faiths. There is a sense in which understanding what other people believe is useful, but not until the claims of Christianity are seen to be definitive and final. Christianity is not a comparative religion; it reveals God's one and only way of entering into a personal relationship with Him. The text before us today in the Amplified Bible reads: "The life I now live ... I live by faith - by adherence to and reliance on and [complete] trust - in the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself up for me." Bishop Leslie Newbigin put it well: "If it is really true, as it is, that 'the Son of God loved me and gave himself up for me,' how can I agree that this amazing act of matchless grace should merely become part of a syllabus for the 'comparative study of religions'?" Christ is not first in a class; He occupies the category all by Himself. </p><p class="center-it italic bold mlr40 mtb20">My Father and my God, may the Person of Your Son become as real and as precious to me as He is to You. And teach me more about Him so that I can make clear to others why He is a Savior beyond compare. For His own dear Name's sake. Amen.</p><div class="tl-lightgrey mt20 pt20 flexbox-row-wrap jc-around"><div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">AdditionalVerses</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="ac+4:1-12">Acts 4:1-12</span></li><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="1ti+2:1-6">1 Timothy 2:1-6</span></li><li><span class="scriptRef" ref="1co+3:11">1 Corinthians 3:11</span></li></ul></div>

<div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">Questions to Consider</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li>What did Peter declare to the Sanhedrin?</li><li>What did Paul declare to Timothy?</li></ul></div></div>

"The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God ..." (v. 20) 

<blockquote><strong>For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is everyone that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them"</strong> (<a id="verse_1632877469707133" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/Galatians/3/10">Gal. 3:10</a>).</blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;">None can be born again by the law, and none can live anew under the law - neither its precepts, nor its principle. "The life I now live by faith - by adherence to and reliance on and (complete) trust - in the Son of God" (<a id="verse_1632877469400875" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/Galatians/2/20">Gal. 2:20</a>, Amp.)</p><p style="text-align: justify;">"The Gentile never was under the law; and being set in the Lord Jesus Christ, now that he believes, he stands on other ground, to which the law does not apply. Every believer is regarded by God as alive from the dead, to bring forth fruit (not works) unto God. The law only deals with a man as long as he lives, never after he is dead.˜Ye are become dead to the law by the body of Christ' (<a id="verse_1632877469829938" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/Romans/7/4">Rom. 7:4</a>).</p><p style="text-align: justify;">"And that is not at all what is said of us, after a second blessing,' or any other step of imaginary perfection. We begin with. . . alive in Christ.' I am identified with the Lord Jesus dead and risen. It is no longer the law dealing with me to try if it can get any good out of me. I have relinquished all by receiving Christ, and I take my stand in Him dead and risen again, as one alive from the dead, to yield myself as a new creation' to God and walk in newness of life.'" -W.K.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">"The teachings of grace are perfect and sufficient in themselves. They provide for the instruction of the believer in every situation which may arise. There is no need that they be supplemented, or augmented, by the addition of precepts from either the Law of Moses or the teachings of the kingdom." -L.S.C.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">"What an indignity religion puts on every Person of the Godhead alike, on the grace and truth which came by Jesus Christ, when it drags souls back to the dread distance of Judaism." -W.K.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>"I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law then Christ is dead in vain"</strong> (<a id="verse_1632877469802894" href="https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/Galatians/2/21">Gal. 2:21</a>).</p>

A 365 day devotional that will help you in your Christian growth and walk with the Lord Jesus Christ.  This devotional is a collection of quotes from some of the best authors in the realm of Christian growth that has been organized by Miles J Stanford.  This devotional study is divided into 12 sections each containing 31 daily portions.

None but the Hungry Heart

 The Fruit Of Grace 

<p><span class="bible-text "> <sup class="verse-num ">21 </sup>I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law,   Christ died for nothing!”  </span></p>

I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law,<cr>1</cr>  Christ died for nothing!”<ft>1</ft>

Galatians 2:21

 21 I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law,   Christ died for nothing!” 

From Wikipedia: 

The New International Version (NIV) is an English translation of the Bible first published in 1978 by Biblica (formerly the International Bible Society). The NIV was published to meet the need for a modern translation done by Bible scholars using the earliest, highest quality manuscripts available. Of equal importance was that the Bible be expressed in broadly understood modern English.

The NIV is published by Zondervan in the United States and Hodder & Stoughton in the UK. The NIV was updated in 1984 and 2011 and has become one of the most popular and best-selling modern translations.

OT: Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia; additional sources;
NT: UBS Greek New Testament; Novum Testamentum Graece; additional sources;

New International Version

 I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”

<p><span class="bible-text ">I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law,   Christ died for nothing!”  </span></p>

 I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law,   Christ died for nothing!” 

Bible Verse of the Day

December 25, 2020

Galatians 2:21 NIV

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