September 14

NT -- Galatians 1:1-24
Well, none of the usual pleasantries in this letter, now are there?
Paul sweeps in with brutal force.
Don't forget, we are only listening to one side of the story. The other side, the nasty little letters to him from congregants are lost to history.
And while the accusations may be true, we don't have their side of the story.

Galatians is a refutation of the Judiazers. These were a group of Jewish converts to Christianity who taught that pagans must convert to Judaism first -- and follow the Mosaic law -- before they could be Christians. And the big stumbling block was circumcision. So prepare yourself for the onslaught.
Paul's position never wavers in this letter. It is faith in Jesus that is all that is required, not adherence to Mosaic law.

Proverbs 23:12
Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge.

What are the ways to apply things to your heart? I know, I know. Jewish thought at the time of Solomon was that intelligence resided in you heart. Your brain, psssh! Nothing. It was your heart, a muscle, that held your intellect.
So, knowing that the heart is a muscle, how do you apply instruction?
For me, it is always about babysteps.
I get asked all the time, how do I have time for this, that, or the other, especially Bible study. At first, I did section off time, right after dinner, while my sweet precious husband did the dishes and Matthew and Cole finished up their nightly chores. And I praised the heck out of myself every time I finished a blog post. I got a snowman sticker on my calendar! Don't laugh. I work like crazy for stickers.
By the time January rolled off the calendar, I didn't need the stickers. The Bible study was something that other things fitted around.
Maybe that is the way of it with other types of instructions, too. If exercise is your bugaboo (it's mine.....), establish a time, praise yourself greatly, and give it a month to be habitual.
I think that is how you apply instruction to your heart. By making it a priority, and doing it consistently.

But this proverb has a second part. It is 'your ears to words of knowledge'.
And that, my friends, is where the group thing is. If you don't have a group to test out your ideas of knowledge, you can easily go astray. Another great reason to be in church.

Many blessings to each of you, with your own set of stickers guiding you to achieve your dreams.