Not an Apostle of Agency of Man

[S] Galatians 1:1 --
1 Paul, an apostle (not sent from men nor through the agency of man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead),
[O] Paul's clear standing in God's ministry encourages very much as well as humbling me tremendously.  If there was anyone, Paul, with his powerful ministry could have put forth his own experiences and achievements all for Jesus' sake, but he starts off this letter to Galatians by saying that he is sent only through Jesus Christ and God the Father, as He raised Jesus from the dead, had sent him also from the death of his previous lifestyle.

[A] As we're going through Lent now, the power of God's raising Jesus from the dead hits home stronger and stronger and I am convicted more and more about how I must submit and slip into that power of resurrection because I seem to be surrounded by the smell of death as I am drowning in the stress and overload of everything going on in my life.

[P] Dear Father, may Your victorious power of resurrection be more evident in my life which resembles nothing but the smell of death in this world.  Please give me the strength to springboard out of that into Your refreshing smell of life everlasting in Jesus' resurrection as I pray in His name.  Amen.

Not Nullifying the Grace

[S] Galatians 2:21 --
 ²¹"I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly."

[O] As we approach the Easter my mind's been wondering along the paths of Jesus' journey to Calvary, bearing His Cross for us through all the humiliation and deep suffering no human cannot withstand.  The vivid pictures from the Passion of Christ movie flashes back and forth but there is more to it than the external visualization of His suffering because the suffering of His detachment from God through loneliness probably was far greater pain.  This wasn't some good humane effort for some portion of the human population on earth but the God of the universe abandoning His throne to come down as a sacrifice for our inadequacies to satisfy God's righteousness. This one man who is also a full God has paved the path as He carried that Cross down that path to Calvary.

[A] Meditate more on the deeper and personal meaning of the Cross for my life.  How should it reflect in my life?  Or is it reflecting in my life at all now?  I need to be broken more inside as I sense more areas in my life that are calloused hard over the years of living a Christian life without applying the word specifically into my life.

[P] Thank You, Jesus, for taking the Cross to Your own crucifixion through all the pain and suffering because of that I can be freed from my own limitation here on earth to enter into the Heavenly Kingdom to unite again with You.  May I live my life here on earth to reflect this joy and hope with the backdrop of Your Cross to not nullify the grace which You poured out for me.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

End of Religion, Beginning of Christianity

[S] Acts 25:19 --
 ¹⁹but they simply had some points of disagreement with him about their own religion and about a dead man, Jesus, whom Paul asserted to be alive.

[O] Just this morning, a pilot crashed a small plane into an IRS office building in Austin, Texas intentionally after leaving a suicide note.  I was quite saddened to hear this news in the first place and wanted to find out more about the cause.  Glancing through this note online it was clear his bitterness toward this society and government mounted up over many years leading him to take this path as the only way out to voice his mind to the world.  I felt very sad as I was reading his note because in this person's mind there was no other hope.  The resurrected power of Jesus to alleviate us from this type of hopelessness in this world was too distant from him just like how Fetus commented about this "dead man, Jesus."  In light of this backdrop, Paul was doing all he can to tell others about this particular power and hope Jesus provides and it appears not much has changed in 2,000 years -- there are still too many people who think Jesus was just a dead man from 2,000 years ago.  I need to be more like Paul where I can let others know that there is HOPE in this world regardless of how depressing we can get in the midst of turmoils of our lives.  The religious part of our faith ended with the death of Jesus because by His resurrection, He's provided the love relationship with Him to establish the Christianity.

[A] Find ways to apply the fact that Jesus is not left in death but has risen from the dead to give me the newness of life in His power.  Here and there I get overwhelmed about pushing through with the small group ministry.  I am encouraged by today's passage to move onward by tapping into the power of the risen Lord, not on my own efforts.

[P] Dear God, I am asking You to let Your power of the resurrection carry me forward in our small group ministry at our church.  Please let it be the sole power to carry this ministry onward and not of any one of our own efforts.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.