Galatians 5: 1 It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.
God has given us victory over the chains that can so easily hold us back. Getting to that victory was a tough and arduous road traveled by Jesus. The many lessons Jesus shared with his close followers are lessons we live by today in the Christian faith. Pure truth and real life with a guidebook called the Bible to answer the questions of life. In the next few days I am going to analyze some of these life lessons Jesus shared with His close followers and get more understanding about how to live my life on my Road to Victory
When Jesus defeated sin, death, and the grave His resurrection power established A Road to Victory for all who would call out to Him for salvation. In this salvation, we see also the wisdom to live our lives according to a perfect plan that is available in the Word of God. The plan began with the teachings of Jesus, and it was further explained and shared by those followers to us in the Bible. The above scripture is from the Apostle Paul to the church at Galatia. This church had many in their fellowship who were being influenced by Jews who were trying to convince them to give up their faith in Christ and fall back into believing in Judaism, circumcision being the main issue. They were trying to make a very spiritual faith turn into a very fleshly faith, which would be a very weak and lifeless faith. Paul continued on in verses 5-6 by saying 5 For we, through the Spirit, by faith, are waiting for the hope of righteousness.6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love.
A faith that is built on what we think or tries to do is no faith at all. We as believers follow the GREATER FAiTH. Jesus spoke of the greater faith in John 20:29 where He says 29 Jesus *said to him, “Because you have seen Me, have you now believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.” The converts in Galatia had believed in the message from Paul and when Paul left they allowed other teachings and influences to pull them into a very man-induced faith, which is the weaker faith. These new converts had never "seen" Jesus, but they had experienced Him through faith, and that faith was in the message of the cross. Their Road to Victory was a "faith" road and Jesus was the one who paved it with His blood.
The growth we have through studying God's Word causes that message of hope and victory to "grow" as we draw closer to God in His Word. That is why it is vitally important for new believers to establish reliance on God's Word for growth. We realize the importance of Paul's letter to these people to keep them growing in their faith. That is why the Word of God never ceases to lead those of the faith into a stronger, closer walk with God. These people didn't have the Bible to use as a resource for their growth in their walk, but they had Paul, and his instructions and the church relied on those letters to help them grow in their faith.
Our faith walk is a walk of victory when we rely on the Word of God and find out "firsthand" just how much God loves us and wants to draw us closer to Him. Our Bible study takes on a new look when we sell out to the fact that without the Word of God as our path guide we are going backwards in our walk. How can we continue on this Road to Victory without the Word of God? Think about it "The Word of Almighty God!" Spend time in God's word on your Faith Journey and see what great truths God shows you on Your Road to Victory. Read the Word while we have it and live in the victory of God's truth!!
A man in Kansas City was severely injured in an explosion. Evangelist Robert L. Sumner tells about him in his book The Wonders of the Word of God. The victim's face was badly disfigured, and he lost his eyesight as well as both hands. He was just a new Christian, and one of his greatest disappointments was that he could no longer read the Bible. Then he heard about a lady in England who read braille with her lips. Hoping to do the same, he sent for some books of the Bible in braille. Much to his dismay, however, he discovered that the nerve endings in his lips had been destroyed by the explosion. One day, as he brought one of the braille pages to his lips, his tongue happened to touch a few of the raised characters and he could feel them. In a flash he thought, I can read the Bible using my tongue. At the time Robert Sumner wrote his book, the man had "read" through the entire Bible four times.
Remember to study the Bible and not just read it. God has eternal truths and answers to the mysteries of life in His Word and we can access it in many ways. Don't miss a great truth for today by ignoring the important truths from God's Word.
The Pilgrimage Continues....
David Warren
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