NEW TO THIS STUDY? START HERE.
Hello again. This week, I’m so excited to share how God blessed me as I started studying Galatians 5!
Last Week’s Work
MY PRAYER
Thank You, Father, for this chance to dig into Galatians 5 a second time! I am so grateful Your Word never changes. Yet every time I approach it, Your Holy Spirit teaches me something new. Open my eyes, ears, and heart right now to see what You have for me today, to hear the Spirit’s guidance, and to follow where You lead in this study, no matter how challenging. I ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen!
HUH? and WOW! MOMENTS
This week I experienced something I have to share! For the first time since I began using Huh? and Wow! moments to direct my personal studies, I knew without further prayer exactly which verse would be my study focus over the next seven weeks: A little leaven leavens the whole lump (Galatians 5:9 ESV). That’s because just two days ago this same metaphor appeared in another passage (1 Corinthians 5:6-8) I discovered in the Advent Bible reading list from Precept Ministries I’m following this year. And I was moved to write about it in my personal journal that day! Once again, the God who orders all things has aligned otherwise unconnected references in my environment. Like the star the magi followed to Jesus, I believe this is clear direction for my path in this study. What an awesome Christmas present from my heavenly Father! How can I not be excited about what’s in store in this study?!
Dig-In Challenges
If you’re studying along with me, listen to the Spirit’s guidance this week and choose your own topic from Galatians 5 (a personal treasure) to dig more deeply into. It can be anything you noticed in your survey of the text that raises a question or resonates with you, or you can work with the leaven metaphor, too. We’ll start out digging into the whole chapter and later focus on just the verse(s) that pertain to our individual treasures.
- PRAY for the Spirit to direct your focus for the remainder of this study. In your journal, record the personal treasure He identifies, along with any verse(s) relating to it from the study text.
- MINE: Read Galatians 5, focusing on three factors setting the stage in this text: note anything the Spirit emphasizes about the characters involved, any locations mentioned, and any timeframes discussed.
I’m looking forward to sharing my notes with you next week!