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Daily Bible Reading “Paul’s Concern for the Galatians” (Galatians 1:1-6)

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Paul’s Concern for the Galatians

Today’s Daily Bible Reading is from Galatians 1:1-6. This is the study of the book of Galatians which is an epistle or letter written by Paul. Have you ever studied the book of Galatians?  Paul introduces himself as an apostle of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ and of God our Heavenly Father.

He is writing this letter to the churches of Galatia. The epistle is thought to have been written around 50 A.D. Notice the Scripture says churches. This letter wasn’t written to one specific church, as many of Paul’s writings were, but it was written to all the churches in the region of Galatia. Do you know who the people of Galatia were?

The region of Galatia was a Roman Province in Asia Minor. It was thought to be inhabited by Celtic people who were called Gauls. The name Galatia means land of the Galli or Gauls. There were two regions of Galatia a northern region, which was small agricultural cities, and the southern region, which was more commercial.

Paul starts with a greeting saying, “Grace and peace to you from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ. Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father: To whom is glory for ever and ever. Amen.” If Paul considered the world to be evil at that time, what do you think he would think of our world today?

Paul made sure the churches of Galatia knew who he was representing when he wrote this letter. He had some things to discuss with them and he wanted them to know where he got his authority from so they would respect his writings. Paul was not called by man to be an apostle. His call to be an apostle was directly from God.

Paul’s concern for the people of the churches of Galatia was that they had turned away from God and from the grace of Christ to another gospel so soon. When Paul started this chapter with the words grace and peace he knew that they couldn’t have peace without the grace of God in their lives. They were called by God through Jesus to be His followers, but yet they turned away from Him. You can’t turn to something else without first turning away from God.

Even though the people of Galatia lived long ago the messages Paul gives in the book of Galatians are messages and warnings for all of us. We need to be careful not to turn away from God, but to stay true to Him and His Word. In the next lesson we will look further into this matter and see how the churches of Galatia turned away from God and from the gospel of Jesus Christ. We will also see how Paul leads them back to God.

 

Daily Bible Reading:

Galatians 1:1-6

1 Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead:)

2 And all the brethren which are with me, unto the churches of Galatia:

3 Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ,

4 Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father:

5 To whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

6 I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:

 

Things to think about:

  • What did you learn about Paul and his dedication to the Lord in this lesson?
  • Who called Paul to serve the churches of his day?
  • What was Paul’s concern for the people of Galatia?
  • Have you ever turned your back on God? What was the circumstance? What happened?

 

Prayer of the Day:

Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank You for this Scripture in the book of Galatians where we see that Paul was an apostle, called by You. It doesn’t matter what other credentials he has. He had the highest calling and that was to be called by You to serve the churches of his day. Help us not to be worried about trying to impress men with our credentials, but to be more concerned about pleasing You. We see that Paul had a great concern for the churches of Galatia because they turned against You and against the gospel of the grace of Jesus Christ. Help us be on guard not to turn away from the gospel of Jesus Christ. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

 

Daily Bible Verse:

Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ, – Galatians 1:3

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– This is an excerpt from my book:

The Book of Galatians: Paul’s Letter to the Churches of Galatia

Click the link above to get your copy now!

 

Christian Music Video: Call It Grace – Unspoken


PS. Thank you for coming to DeborahHBateman.com to study the Bible with us. Come back again tomorrow. Please invite your friends and family to join us for Bible Study.

 

Featured Book:

The Book of Galatians: Paul’s Letter to the Churches of Galatia

By Deborah H. Bateman

The Book of Galatians: Paul’s Letter to the Churches of Galatia is a Daily Bible Reading Study of the book of Galatians. The book of Galatians is in the New Testament and is one of Paul’s letters. He wrote this letter to the churches of Galatia.

Paul is concerned that the people of Galatia are being taught something different than the true gospel, which he taught them earlier. Paul goes to great lengths to make sure they understand the difference between living under the law and living under the grace of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The Book of Galatians: Paul’s Letter to the Churches of Galatia contains sixteen Daily Bible Reading lessons. Each lesson consists of a brief commentary, the Daily Bible Reading Scripture, a few questions for contemplation called, “Things to think about,” and a prayer for the day. This book is great to use for both personal Bible study and group Bible studies.

For those of you interested in Bible journaling, may I suggest you pick your favorite Bible verse from each lesson and journal about it. This will be a great reminder of the lessons you learn as you read and study this book.

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Have a blessed day,

Deborah

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Daily Bible Reading “Love One Another Sincerely” (Romans 12:9-21)

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Love One Another Sincerely

Today’s Daily Bible Reading is from Romans 12:9-21. In this Scripture, Paul reminds us to let love be sincere; to hate evil, and to cling to things that are good. Be kind and caring to each other in brotherly love, and to honor one another.

Romans 12:11 tells us not to be lazy in our work, but to have passion for what is good and serving the Lord. We are to be joyful in the hope of the Lord, patient during trials, praying continually. The Scripture says we should help each other when there is a need and be hospitable by inviting each other into our homes.

We are to bless those who persecute us, rejoice with those that rejoice and cry with those who cry. In other words, we are to share life together, when there is an occasion to be happy or sad, we are to share those experiences.

We are not to think ourselves better than others, but to treat everyone equally. Paul tells us to be honest and to live at peace with one another. We are not to try to get revenge for evil that is done to us. Paul reminds us that vengeance belongs to the Lord. The Lord will repay people for their evil doings. It is not our place to try to get revenge. He encourages us to repay evil with good and, by doing so, those who mistreated us will be ashamed of the way they acted.


Daily Bible Reading:

Romans 12:9-21

9 Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.
10 Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;
11 Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;
12 Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;
13 Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality.
14 Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.
15 Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.
16 Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.
17 Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.
18 If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.
19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
20 Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.
21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

 

Things to think about:

  • What does the Scripture mean when it says to abhor evil?
  • Why should we not try to repay evil for evil?
  • How can we overcome evil by doing good?

 

Prayer of the Day:

Dear God,

Thank You for this Scripture in which Paul tells us how we should treat one another.  Help us to follow this example. Help us to share life with one another by celebrating the good things and mourning the bad things. Help us to live at peace with one another. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

 

Daily Bible Verse:

Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another; – Romans 12:10

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–Excerpt from God Is Love ~ Deborah H. Bateman

 

Christian Music Video: Others – Israel Houghton

PS. Thank you for coming to DeborahHBateman.com to study the Bible with us. Please come back again tomorrow and invite your friends and family to join us for Bible Study.

 

Featured Book:

godislove25

God Is Love

by Deborah H. Bateman

About the book:

God is Love is a Daily Bible Reading Study by Deborah H. Bateman. It contains 19 daily devotionals on Scriptures about love from the Bible: including God’s love for us, the love relationship between a husband and wife, love and honoring our parents, and much more.

This devotional would be great for either a personal daily devotions or group Bible studies, including small groups, and Sunday school classes. Each devotional contains a brief commentary by the author, the daily Bible Scripture, a prayer of the day, and several questions for personal reflection or group discussion.

In God is Love, Deborah strives to show you not only what love is, but that love comes from God, as well as the love of God surpasses all imagination. Her goal for you as you read this book is that you would realize how much God loves you.

Benefits of reading God is Love
• You will learn what love is
• You will learn about different kinds of love
• You will learn how much God loves you
• You will learn of the sacrifice made by God because of His love for you

Available on Amazon

Get your copy now!

 

Have a blessed day,

Deborah

Recipe for Life

Like Deborah H. Bateman on Facebook

Daily Bible Reading “Love Your Enemies” (Luke 6:27-38)

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Love Your Enemies

Today’s Daily Bible Reading is from Luke 6:27-38. In this Scripture, Jesus is talking to His disciples, and is telling them to love their enemies. It is much easier to love the people who love you, such as your family and your friends. It is another thing to love the people who curse you, spitefully use you, hit you, or steal from you. But Jesus says, as Christians, we should love those people as well. How are we supposed to love our enemies?

Loving our enemies isn’t something we can do on our own. It is only something we can do with the Lord’s help and with the Holy Spirit living in us. Jesus tells us to pray for our enemies. He says everybody loves the people who love them, but He expects us to go beyond that, and show a Christ-like love to everybody. He even wants us to love those who don’t love us or mistreat us.

In Luke 6:35, Jesus says, “But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.” Jesus says to be merciful, as their Father is merciful. He is talking about their Heavenly Father, not their earthly father.

Jesus tells them not to judge or condemn, but to forgive and they shall be forgiven.  Then in verse thirty-eight He says to, “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.” If we are generous and giving with people, they will be generous and giving with us. If we are stingy and selfish with people then they will most likely treat us the same way.

This is a lesson we can all take today. Because it is easy to love the people who love us and do good to the people who do good to us. But, with God’s help, we can learn to love the people who don’t love us. We can learn to do good to the people who don’t do good to us. We can learn to be loving and generous by giving to those who never can repay us.

 

Daily Bible Reading:

Luke 6:27-38

27 But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you,

28 Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.

29 And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloke forbid not to take thy coat also.

30 Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again.

31 And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.

32 For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them.

33 And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same.

34 And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again.

35 But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.

36 Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.

37 Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:

38 Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.

 

Things to think about:

  • How can we love our enemies?
  • How can we do good to those who don’t do good to us?
  • Do you give to those who can never repay you?
  • Do you pray for those who spitefully use you?

 

Prayer of the Day:

Dear God,

Please help us to do what Jesus talked about in this Scripture. Help us to love our enemies, and do good to those who don’t do good to us. Help us to be generous and give to those who can never repay us. Help us not to judge or condemn others. God, this is a big task for us, and if we tried to do it in our own power, we would fail. The only way we can do these things is with Your help. We acknowledge that we need Your help. Help us, Lord. In Jesus’ name, we pray. We love You, LORD. Amen.

 

Daily Bible Verse:

But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and …

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your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.

– Luke 6:35

–Excerpt from God Is Love ~ Deborah H. Bateman

 

Christian Music Video: Love Your Enemies

PS. Thank you for coming to DeborahHBateman.com to study the Bible with us. Please come back again tomorrow and invite your friends and family to join us for Bible Study.

 

Featured Book:

godislove25

God Is Love

by Deborah H. Bateman

About the book:

God is Love is a Daily Bible Reading Study by Deborah H. Bateman. It contains 19 daily devotionals on Scriptures about love from the Bible: including God’s love for us, the love relationship between a husband and wife, love and honoring our parents, and much more.

This devotional would be great for either a personal daily devotions or group Bible studies, including small groups, and Sunday school classes. Each devotional contains a brief commentary by the author, the daily Bible Scripture, a prayer of the day, and several questions for personal reflection or group discussion.

In God is Love, Deborah strives to show you not only what love is, but that love comes from God, as well as the love of God surpasses all imagination. Her goal for you as you read this book is that you would realize how much God loves you.

Benefits of reading God is Love
• You will learn what love is
• You will learn about different kinds of love
• You will learn how much God loves you
• You will learn of the sacrifice made by God because of His love for you

Available on Amazon

Get your copy now!

 

Have a blessed day,

Deborah

Recipe for Life

Like Deborah H. Bateman on Facebook

Daily Bible Reading “Love Your Neighbor as Yourself” (Mark 12:29-33)

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Love Your Neighbor as Yourself

Today’s Daily Bible Reading is from Mark 12:29-33. The Scriptures we are looking at in this lesson concern loving your neighbor as yourself. Who is your neighbor?

According to Christ, a neighbor is any other person regardless of nationality or religion, with whom we live, or meet by chance. It is not only the person who lives next door to us. Basically, our neighbors are everybody with whom we have contact.

In Mark 12 Jesus says the first commandment is to love the Lord thy God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. The second commandment is to love your neighbor as yourself. Then He says there is no other commandment greater than these two.


Daily Bible Reading:

Mark 12:29-33

29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:

30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.

31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

32 And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he:

33 And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.

Let’s take a look at some more Scriptures and see what they say about how we should treat our neighbor.

Leviticus 19:18 tells us not to bear a grudge against our neighbor. “Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.”

Zechariah 8:17 tells us not to not to have evil or untrue thoughts in our hearts against our neighbor. In this Scripture, the Lord says he hates these things. “And let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbour; and love no false oath: for all these are things that I hate, saith the LORD.”

Romans 13:10 tells us love causes no wrong to his neighbor. “Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.”

James 2:8 tells us that if we fulfill this law to love our neighbor as we love our self, we do well. “If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well:”

Even though we no longer live under the Old Testament Law, because Jesus died for our sins on the cross, we still can’t do as we please.

God expects us to treat one another with respect and to be good to one another. As we look at these Scriptures in the Bible reminding us to love our neighbor as we love our self, think about how you love yourself, take care of yourself, and cause no harm to yourself.

 

Things to think about:

  • Who is your neighbor?
  • How can we love others as we love ourselves?
  • What are some things we can do to show love to others?
  • Let’s pray and ask God to help us be more loving toward other people.

 

Prayer of the Day:

Dear God,

As we read these Scriptures telling us to love our neighbors as ourselves, we have to stop and think about how You would have us to treat other people. Help us not to do any evil against anyone else. Help us treat other people as we would want to be treated. Help us to treat each other with love and respect. Help us not to mistreat anyone because of their differences in race or because they have different beliefs than we do. In Jesus’ name, we pray. We love You, LORD. Amen.

 

Daily Bible Verse:

And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as …

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thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

– Mark 12:31

–Excerpt from God Is Love ~ Deborah H. Bateman

 

Christian Music Video: Love God, Love Your Neighbor

PS. Thank you for coming to DeborahHBateman.com to study the Bible with us. Please come back again tomorrow and invite your friends and family to join us for Bible Study.

 

Featured Book:

godislove25

God Is Love

by Deborah H. Bateman

About the book:

God is Love is a Daily Bible Reading Study by Deborah H. Bateman. It contains 19 daily devotionals on Scriptures about love from the Bible: including God’s love for us, the love relationship between a husband and wife, love and honoring our parents, and much more.

This devotional would be great for either a personal daily devotions or group Bible studies, including small groups, and Sunday school classes. Each devotional contains a brief commentary by the author, the daily Bible Scripture, a prayer of the day, and several questions for personal reflection or group discussion.

In God is Love, Deborah strives to show you not only what love is, but that love comes from God, as well as the love of God surpasses all imagination. Her goal for you as you read this book is that you would realize how much God loves you.

Benefits of reading God is Love
• You will learn what love is
• You will learn about different kinds of love
• You will learn how much God loves you
• You will learn of the sacrifice made by God because of His love for you

Available on Amazon

Get your copy now!

 

Have a blessed day,

Deborah

Recipe for Life

Like Deborah H. Bateman on Facebook

Daily Bible Reading “Who Can Separate Us from the Love of Christ” (Romans 8:32-39)

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Who Can Separate Us from the Love of Christ

Today’s Daily Bible Reading is from Romans 8:32-39. Paul asks the question if God didn’t spare His own Son, “How shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” If God loved us enough to sacrifice His only Son for our sins, why wouldn’t He be willing to do anything else for us if we asked Him?

Who or what in life can separate us from the love of Christ? Is there anything in this life that could separate us from the love of Christ? Is there anything in this life that means more to us than God and His love for us?

When we put other things and other people in place of God in our lives we can build barriers between us and God. We need to make sure we keep things in the proper perspective and put God first in our lives. We don’t want anything or anybody to come between us and God. He loves us supremely and we should love Him in the same way.

Paul was persecuted for the cause of Christ, but was still able to declare “we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us.” I love Romans 8:38-39, where Paul proclaims that nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

Daily Bible Reading:

Romans 8:32-39

32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?

33 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth.

34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.

35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.

37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,

39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

Things to think about:

  • Why did God sacrifice His Son?
  • Since God was willing to sacrifice His Son, should we be afraid to ask Him for anything else we need?
  • Who is it that vindicates the believer?
  • Who makes intercession for us as believers?
  • Have you accepted the love of God through Jesus Christ?

 

Prayer of the Day:

Dear God,

We thank You for this Scripture which tells us we are more than conquerors through You. We are also reminded of Your precious gift of salvation through Your Son, Jesus Christ. We thank You for Paul’s proclamation that, in Christ, nothing can separate us from Your love. Help us to stand on these promises. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

 

Daily Bible Verse:

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, …

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or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

– Romans 8:35

–Excerpt from God Is Love ~ Deborah H. Bateman

 

Christian Music Video:

 

Featured Book:

godislove25

God Is Love

by Deborah H. Bateman

About the book:

God is Love is a Daily Bible Reading Study by Deborah H. Bateman. It contains 19 daily devotionals on Scriptures about love from the Bible: including God’s love for us, the love relationship between a husband and wife, love and honoring our parents, and much more.

This devotional would be great for either a personal daily devotions or group Bible studies, including small groups, and Sunday school classes. Each devotional contains a brief commentary by the author, the daily Bible Scripture, a prayer of the day, and several questions for personal reflection or group discussion.

In God is Love, Deborah strives to show you not only what love is, but that love comes from God, as well as the love of God surpasses all imagination. Her goal for you as you read this book is that you would realize how much God loves you.

Benefits of reading God is Love
• You will learn what love is
• You will learn about different kinds of love
• You will learn how much God loves you
• You will learn of the sacrifice made by God because of His love for you

Available on Amazon

Get your copy now!

 

Have a blessed day,

Deborah

Recipe for Life

Like Deborah H. Bateman on Facebook