Archive for category: GAMEtime Sharing

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Ephesians 1:11-23.  Let’s go!

Ephesians 1:11 (NIV) 
11 In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will

On verse 11:  Here Paul tells us that God works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will.  Everything.  That includes the biggest mistakes, failures, hurts, disappointments, accidents, tragedies, and heartbreaks we will ever experience.  Nothing is a surprise to God.  As Pastor Rick Warren says, “God never wastes a hurt.”  He uses it all to accomplish His purpose in this world and in our lives.

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Galatians 6:11-18.  Let’s go!

Galatians 6:11-18 (NIV)
11  See what large letters I use as I write to you with my own hand!
12  Those who want to make a good impression outwardly are trying to compel you to be circumcised. The only reason they do this is to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ.
13  Not even those who are circumcised obey the law, yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast about your flesh.
14  May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
15  Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation.
16  Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule, even to the Israel of God.
17  Finally, let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.
18  The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen.

On verses 11-18:  As a final word to the churches in Galatia, Paul sums up the main message of his letter: It’s not circumcision or uncircumcision that justifies me (v13, 15).  It is not my own efforts to obey God’s laws that save me.  It’s only the cross of Jesus Christ that gives me right standing before God (v14) – “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world”.

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Galatians 5:19-26.  Let’s go!

Galatians 5:19-21 (NIV)
19  The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery;
20  idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions
21  and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

On verses 19-21:  Paul lists a number of examples of what it looks like when people live according to their sinful nature.  These examples can possibly be broadly categorized as sexual sins (“sexual immorality, impurity [referring likely to an impure thought life] and debauchery”), sins of the spirit (“idolatry and witchcraft”), sins related to poor management of our emotions and relationships (“hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions”) and other sins (“drunkenness, orgies and the like”).  When Paul says that “those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God” (v21), he doesn’t mean that if you engage in sin after being saved that such sin will automatically disqualify you from God’s kingdom.  Rather, Paul is likely saying that those who live without any regard for holiness, who treat God’s grace as an excuse to sin even more, have misunderstood the Gospel and were probably never saved in the first place.

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Galatians 5:1-12.  Let’s go!

Galatians 5:1-2 (NIV)
1  It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
2  Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all.
 
On verses 1-2:  Throughout his letter to the Galatians, Paul has been making this point to the Galatian Christians: you used to be slaves to the idea that you need to work for your righteousness, but now Jesus has set you free from that slavery, giving you a righteousness that is not earned by your works but received by faith in God’s promise.  Here in verse 1 Paul reminds the Christians in Galatia why Christ set them free in the first place: so that they could stay free (v1).  What is the point of Christ setting us free if we choose to go back to being enslaved again?  Yet by trying to add circumcision as a pre-condition to being fully accepted by God, the believers in Galatia were going back to a “works by righteousness” slavery and in so doing, treating Christ as if he is “of no value to you at all” (v2). 
 

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Galatians 4:12-20.  Let’s go!

Galatians 4:12-20 (NIV)
12  I plead with you, brothers, become like me, for I became like you. You have done me no wrong.
13  As you know, it was because of an illness that I first preached the gospel to you.
14  Even though my illness was a trial to you, you did not treat me with contempt or scorn. Instead, you welcomed me as if I were an angel of God, as if I were Christ Jesus himself.
15  What has happened to all your joy? I can testify that, if you could have done so, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me.
16  Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth?

On verses 12-20:  In Galatians 4:12-20 we see an emotional and passionate Paul writing to the churches he helped to build in Galatia.  Using very emotional language, Paul describes the roller coaster of emotions he experienced with his churches in Galatia:

– the joy and comfort Paul felt at first when, because of an illness, Paul got to preach the gospel to them and was taken care of by them (v12-15);

– the heartbreak Paul felt when these same Christians scorned him and distanced themselves from him because they became infatuated with another group who convinced them that Paul’s gospel was wrong and that their circumcision-based “gospel” was correct (v16-17);