Galatians 6:11-18.  Paul mentions large letters as proof that he is personally writing this letter (or at least this end part of it).  In Galatians 4:13-15 Paul mentions that he originally came to their region because he was ill and also mentions something about his eyes.  It appears that he had some illness that affected and was still affecting his vision.  That is why the letters are big in at least this part of the letter.  Paul may have dictated part of the letter to a friend who wrote it down for him.  This was quite common in the ancient world and even today people will have secretaries type up letters for them.  Scholars call these secretaries “amanuensis”.  In Romans 16:22 Paul’s “secretary” for that letter even identifies himself.  Paul probably wrote this part of the letter personally to make a bigger impact on the Galatians, this is personal.  In this conclusion to the letter he points out the motive of the Judaizers.  They want to avoid trouble from those around them for being a part of this group of Jesus’ follower that is full of uncircumcised Gentiles.  The sad thing is that they don’t even keep the whole Law themselves.  They just want to force the Gentile Christians into keeping some of the Law so they can boast about it and stay out of trouble with their friends.  Paul says he wants his only boast to be in Jesus.  He says he is dead to the world, the opinions of those around him don’t matter to him.  What really matter is having a new relationship with God not following Jewish customs (or keeping them for that matter).  Paul then wishes for peace in the lives of those who live by the Spirit, whether Gentile believers or Jewish believers (the Israel of God).  To him they are brothers.  God thank you that being part of your forever family is not based on being part of some earthly family or following some rules.  Thank you for this undeserved gift (grace).  Help me walk by your Spirit and share your love with others.  Amen (let it be).

Galatians 5:16-6:10.  Sorry this didn’t get posted yesterday.  I was at church when I did the reading and kind of crashed when I got home.  It was kind of cool how the sermon tied in with the reading.  First there is a tension here like a battle.  Our internal desires verses what God wants.  The Holy Spirit is in our lives trying to direct us the way God wants us to go but our desires (the flesh) are pushing us the other way.  It’s a tug of war but we are not just a peice of rope we have a part in what happens.  We need to “walk” by the Spirit and be “led” by the Spirit.  The choice is also obvious in the end of verse 17.  Bible scholars are not sure whether Paul is talking about desires of the flesh or encouragement from the Holy Spirit when he mentions what “pleases” them, what they “want”.  If they want to follow their own internal desires (the flesh) then Paul is saying to them that should not do what they want.  If what “pleases” them is to follow God then Paul is pointing out how hard it is to not follow their natural desires.  I like verses 18 where he says that if they are following the Holy Spirit that they are not under the Law.  They are free from the condemnation that comes from the Old Testament Law (See the “Old Testament Connection” for more about what the Old Testament Law is all about).  Paul then describes deeds or works of our natural desires and contrasts them with the “fruit” that the Holy Spirit produces in our lives.  After listing the kind of character that the Holy Spirit produces he mentions the Law again in verse 23.  He says that there is no law against the kind of character that the Holy Spirit produces.  So a person who has put their faith in Jesus no longer lives under the legal system of the Old Testament they are free and have the Holy Spirit to lead them but they are not breaking the Law either.  In the “Old Testament Connection” I talked about what death is, separation.  In Galatians 5:24 Paul says that if we belong to Jesus that we have “crucified the flesh with it’s desires and passions”.  to anyone living in Roman times crucifixion was a symbol of death, no one survived that brutal execution.  If we are in Jesus we have separated ourselves from our natural desires.  Sure they still haunt us but they are not tied to us and we do not have to follow them.  In Galatians 4:29 Paul links putting your faith in Jesus with the Holy Spirit.  In Galatians  5:25 when he talks about living by the Spirit I think he means the same thing. Since you relationship with God was started by the Holy Spirit  you need to continue that way.  Galatians 5:26 echos the words In verse 15, stop trying to control each other’s relationship with God.  Then chapter 6 begins by echoing what Paul said in Galatians 5:14 and what Jesus said in Matthew 22:34-40 (Mark 12:28-31). Instead of judging each other we need to encourage each other in our relationship with God.  Paul also says we need to spend more time using these ideas to check out our own lives.  Kind of like when Jesus said to take the log out of our own eye before we take the little speck of wood out of someone else’s.  The part of the reading in chapter 6 seems to be all about serving.  We need to be servants and help other in what ever way we can.  Lord help us listen to Your Spirit.  Our own desires keep haunting us.  God let me be more in touch with You through Your word.  And then let me live it.  Let me not be discouraged by my failures or the failures of the world around me.  Help me walk by the Spirit today and forever.