TODAY IN THE WORD

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Genesis 19:23-29; Revelation 14:10; 21:
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TODAY IN THE WORD
The fire that devastated the city of Chicago in October, 1871, is still one of the most famous catastrophes in American history. A strong wind pushed the fire north, destroying more than 17ꯠ buildings, claiming at least 300 lives, and leaving more than 90ꯠ people homeless--all in a period of about 24 hours.

Chicago was rebuilt after its great fire, literally rising out of the ashes. But there was no rebuilding of Sodom after God rained down ""burning sulfur"" on a city that became a biblical byword for God's consuming judgment.

The burning sulfur of Genesis 19:24 is better known to many Bible readers as ""brimstone"" (KJV). This substance, often linked with fire in Scripture, became a description of God's fierce wrath--in particular, of the burning fires of hell.

The prophet Isaiah used sulfur to describe God's judgment, picturing His breath as ""a stream of burning sulfur"" (Is. 30:33). Again in Isaiah 34:9, the prophet says that Edom's dust will be turned into ""burning sulfur.""

In Luke 17:29, Jesus used the fire and sulfur that rained down on Sodom as a symbol of the coming day of God's judgment. Not surprisingly, fire and sulfur are prominent in the book of Revelation.

Of special interest for our study is Revelation 14:10, where those who choose to worship the Antichrist will be ""tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb."" Clearly, this is a reference to the punishment of hell.

We have already studied Revelation 19:20 and 20:10, two more references to the fiery lake of sulfur that constitutes hell. And finally, as depicted in Revelation 21:8, the risen Christ says that all those who are unfit for heaven will have their place in the burning lake of sulfur.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Holy Week begins tomorrow with Palm Sunday, leading up to Easter Sunday on March 30.

For many busy people, sacred occasions such as Easter can sneak up on us before we know it, then come and go without anything having happened in our hearts.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Mark 9:42-50; Revelation 20:10
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TODAY IN THE WORD
Robert Ingersoll, a famous atheist of D.L. Moody's day, used to draw large crowds with his lectures on atheism. He loved to shock his audiences by pulling out a pocket watch and announcing, ""I give God--if there is one--five minutes to strike me dead."" Hearing of Ingersoll's taunt, British evangelist Joseph Parker said, ""And did the gentleman presume to exhaust the patience of the eternal God in five minutes?""

Ingersoll's taunt revealed his deep ignorance of the heart of God. Peter revealed the patience of God that is born of His love. The triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, which we remember on this Palm Sunday, and His atoning death on the cross are the ultimate expression of God's desire to save sinners rather than see them perish.

However, the day is coming when God's patience with sin will reach its limit. The cup of evil will be filled up on that day, and God will say ""enough."" The verse that follows today's begins with this ominous warning: ""But the day of the Lord will come like a thief.""

When that day unfolds, God's judgment will fall and time will collapse into eternity. On several different occasions we have approached the inescapable fact that hell is eternal, just as heaven is eternal. Today's texts seal this truth which we must face and believe as part of God's infallible Word.

Many have tried to caricature God as a mean-spirited, vengeful deity who throws hapless human beings into a burning lake for no other reason than revenge. But the death of Jesus Christ shows this to be the lie it is.

The love that God showed at Calvary was so lavish, so costly, and so completely gracious, that rejecting the redemption of Jesus Christ has to be the grossest of sins. God's vengeful nature did not make hell necessary; instead, it was mankind's sinful, rebellious nature that did so.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
The awful reality of our sin becomes clearer as we see the Lord Jesus entering Jerusalem, knowing that He would soon bear the sins of the world.

If your family receives palm branches at church today, try to save one to place on your kitchen table as a reminder of the special week the church is observing. Or perhaps you could bring a piece of greenery from the yard for your table.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Hebrews 9:27-28; 10:26-27
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TODAY IN THE WORD
The library in Port Hueneme, California, has a long overdue book back, thanks to a conscientious patron of a yard sale in Oklahoma. The man came across the book at the sale and found the library card in the back, stamped with a due date of December 20, 1944. He looked up the community in an atlas and dropped the book in the mail. Just for fun, librarians calculated the fines that had accrued over fifty-two years. The total was $3깠!

Everybody likes to hear about a book, a person or anything else that seems lost but gets a second chance. Such stories seem to confirm what many people fervently believe: it is never too late to make things right.

From the perspective of earth, this is true. As long as we are alive, we have an opportunity to repent of our sins and find peace with God through faith in Christ. We may not always be able to set right every wrong or undo every hurt we may have caused, but God's grace is more than sufficient to cleanse us from our sins.

The danger comes when people begin applying their ""second-chance theology"" to God's Word. The Bible is clear that death is followed by judgment for those who have rejected Christ.

As much as some people may want to believe that God somehow makes allowances for our humanness after death, there is no support in Scripture for this view. Hebrews 9:27 is impossible to misunderstand. And a chapter later, we read that deliberate, willful sin exposes a person to the ""fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire"" (10:27).
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
On this side of eternity, God is the God of second chances (Jonah 3:1)! He is still calling sinners to Himself.

This should encourage us to keep praying for those who are lost, even the so-called ""hard cases."" Do you have a person like that on your prayer list? Keep praying, because no one is beyond the reach of God's grace.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Matthew 6:19-21; Luke 18:18-30
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TODAY IN THE WORD
Tony Evans describes the irony of the person who spends his or her life striving to achieve success in this world: ""You always wanted to look your best, you got it. The undertaker will make you look sharp. You always wanted to ride in a big limousine, you got it. You always wanted to stop traffic, to make people sit up and take notice of you. You got it. You'll be the center of the parade on the way to the graveyard. People will step aside for you. People will take their hats off to you and say nice things about you.""

That pretty well sums up the tragedy of a life that disregards heaven. Today we are returning to the first half of this month's theme. We will spend this final week of March focusing on what we have in heaven and on what Jesus accomplished in heaven through His death and resurrection.

Verses 19-21 of Matthew 6 are so familiar that we can easily miss their radical impact. Jesus is saying that if heaven is going to be our eternal home, we had better spend our time on earth preparing for it. Someone has said that when it comes to your money, you can't take it with you, but you can send it on ahead by investing it in the things of God.

The story of the rich young ruler shows us this truth in action. From an accounting standpoint, Jesus' advice to him does not compute very well: ""Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me"" (Luke 18:22).

This man's problem wasn't that he had money. His problem was that his money had him. So he traded the eternal treasure of heaven for the rusty, moth-eaten trinkets of earth; and Jesus watched him walk away.

Earlier this month we considered some of the wonders of heaven. One of the most wondrous things must be this: that Jesus would die not only to save us and prepare us a home with Him, but also to reward us for the smallest act we do for heaven's glory and benefit.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
We may read the story of the rich young ruler and say to ourselves, ""I would never do that.""

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Philippians 3:20-21
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TODAY IN THE WORD
Dr. Thomas Lambie was a medical missionary in Ethiopia who wanted to buy a piece of property for a mission station. When he discovered that Ethiopian law prohibited the sale of land to foreigners, Dr. Lambie relinquished his American citizenship and became a citizen of Ethiopia so he could buy the land. Later, the American government restored Dr. Lambie's citizenship to honor him for his work in Ethiopia.

Dr. Lambie acted not out of disdain for his native country but out of love for God and for the people of Ethiopia. He knew that as valuable a right as citizenship is, a believer's true citizenship is in heaven. Because our salvation has secured our heavenly citizenship for us, we are called to live our lives in light of this fact.

Citizenship always carries with it privileges and responsibilities. During this month, we've talked a lot about the privileges of heaven. What about our responsibilities to our heavenly Sovereign?

Good citizens support their government. As citizens in the kingdom of heaven, we are responsible to support heaven's agenda with our time, energy, finances and other resources. This results in a tremendous privilege and blessing, which we talked about yesterday: the gaining of heavenly treasure.

Good citizens also obey authority. This can be a problem when earthly leaders forbid us to preach the gospel or to worship Christ. Then we say with the apostles, ""We must obey God rather than men!"" (Acts 5:29). But we will never be led astray by obeying the orders of heaven.

Christians don't normally need to renounce their earthly citizenship and become ""people without a country."" We are actually people with two countries. The Bible calls us to obey our human leaders (Rom. 13:1-7), but we need to realize that we owe our ultimate allegiance to a higher Authority.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Someone who is ""just passing through"" can't afford to get too comfortable along the way.

That's one of our problems as earth-bound believers. We forget that life here is just a stop on the way to heaven, and we tend to settle in and get comfortable. One symptom of this problem is that the things which are exciting about heaven no longer excite us very much.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: 1 Peter 1:3-6
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TODAY IN THE WORD
There are plenty of ways to lose money, but not many ways to replace it. However, the government will replace currency that has been waterlogged, burned, torn, or otherwise marred, provided certain criteria are met. The Treasury will replace damaged bills if more than half of the bill is identifiable. If less than half remains, Treasury officials will replace the money if they are satisfied it was destroyed. Bills that are so damaged that their value is unrecognizable must be redeemed by the Bureau of Engraving.

We can thank the Lord that no such restoration or reclamation project will be necessary for our ""heavenly currency,"" the inheritance God has reserved for us in heaven. Peter says that this inheritance will not ""perish, spoil or fade"" (v. 4).

This is Peter's version of Jesus' threefold promise that the treasure we lay up in heaven will not be susceptible to moths, rust or thieves (Matt. 6:20, see Tuesday's study). It's important to notice what secured this treasure for us: the resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:3), which demonstrated that God accepted His payment for our sins on the cross.

In other words, our heavenly inheritance--which includes our salvation--was purchased at a great price. God the Father is not about to let such a costly gift be corrupted or spoiled. As a matter of fact, it is impossible for that to happen.

But the fact that heaven holds a treasure for us is not the whole story. If even one believer were to lose his or her salvation and fail to reach heaven, a part of God's inheritance would go unclaimed.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Whenever the biblical writers talk about believers and their hope of heaven, they are very sure that all of those who know Christ will reach their eternal home.

These writers have good reason for such certainty. Jesus Himself said that He had not lost one of those whom the Father had given Him, except Judas in fulfillment of prophecy (John 17:12). Our Savior also said that no one could snatch His sheep out of His hand or out of His Father's hand (John 10:28-30).

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Luke 23:26-43
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TODAY IN THE WORD
What the thief on the cross least expected to receive along with his death sentence was a place in paradise. But that is what Jesus promised this dying criminal even as the Savior Himself suffered all the agonies of sin and hell on His own cross.

Today is Good Friday, so called because of the great benefits that flow to us from Jesus' sacrifice on Calvary. How fitting that the first beneficiary of Jesus' atoning death was a thief--a man who by his own admission was dying justly for his crimes (v. 41).

All of humanity is guilty before God (Rom. 3:19). Our only hope is the blood of Christ. Like this thief, we have no plea but to throw ourselves on the mercy of God in Christ.

That's what makes Jesus' answer to this dying man so wonderful. Jesus preceded it with His familiar formula, ""I tell you the truth"" (Lk. 23:43; ""Verily,"" KJV). What followed was a solemn pronouncement of divine truth.

Jesus promised the dying thief that he would be in ""paradise"" with Him before that day of suffering was over. This word, which means ""garden"" or ""park,"" is a beautiful synonym for heaven. The image immediately suggests the original easrthly paradise, the Garden of Eden. Because paradise was spoiled by sin, mankind was denied access to the tree of life. But in Revelation 22:2 we find the tree of life restored in heaven, God's eternal paradise.

What did it take to restore God's paradise and mankind's access to the tree of life? It took the death and resurrection of Christ, the glorious events of Easter which we are observing this weekend.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
For centuries, the beauty of heaven has been a favorite theme of poets and artists. But we cannot begin to imagine the reality of what God has prepared for us (1 Cor. 2:9).

It seems incongruous that Jesus would invoke the image of paradise in the midst of all the blood, pain and suffering of Calvary. Today we do well to step aside from our regular activities to meditate on the terrible price Jesus paid to save us from hell and to secure our future in heaven.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Hebrews 8:1-6; 9:23-26
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TODAY IN THE WORD
Allergy sufferers have long known that being outdoors during pollen season can be hazardous to their breathing. Now we know that just staying indoors doesn't necessarily help either. One of the scourges of many allergy sufferers is the dust mite, a creature not much bigger than a speck of dust. These tiny carriers of misery that can congregate in bedding, carpeting and furniture are tough to get rid of once they make your home their home.

What a picture of the pervasiveness of sin! It's in every fiber of earth; and no amount of our own spiritual scrubbing, vacuuming or washing can get rid of it for good. Sin is outside of us and inside of us; there is no place on earth where we can hide from it.

That's why the cure for sin had to come from heaven. Jesus Christ, God's holy, sinless Son, paid the cost of our sin on the cross. He died as our Substitute, in our place. Praise God for the blessings of Easter!

In the book of Hebrews we learn several truths about Christ's sacrifice and present ministry in heaven that we would not have known otherwise. First, we discover that there is a sanctuary or tabernacle in heaven that served as the pattern for the earthly tabernacle in Israel (8:5).

Israel's tabernacle had an inner room called the ""holy of holies,"" into which the high priest entered once every year with a blood sacrifice for the sins of the people. This sacrifice had to be repeated because the high priest had only the blood of sacrificial animals to offer. But as our great, eternal High Priest, Christ entered the holy of holies in the heavenly sanctuary with His own blood, to make a once-for-all offering for sins.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Today's texts should make us joyful, because apart from Christ none of us could stand in the presence of a holy God.

Hebrews 8:1 says Jesus sat down at God's right hand when His sacrifice was finished--a picture of complete rest. Nothing more needs to be done to atone for sin.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Matthew 28:1-10
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TODAY IN THE WORD
One evening during the Easter season of 1874, pastor, author and composer Robert Lowry was having his devotions when the familiar words of the angel's announcement at Jesus' tomb struck him in a fresh, new way. As Lowry pondered these verses, a creative response stirred within him. He went to the pump organ in the parlor of his home, and soon both the words and music of a new hymn were on paper. The hymn was published the next year--and today, Lowry's beloved Easter anthem ""Christ Arose"" is still stirring the hearts of God's people.

Whenever heaven has an announcement to make concerning Jesus, we know that we are in for an incredible blessing and benefit. For instance, the angel's announcement at Jesus' birth revealed perhaps the best news of all: our need for a Savior had been met (Luke 2:11).

Then at Jesus' baptism, a voice from heaven announced that God the Father was pleased with His Son. That is important because it also meant the Father would be pleased with the Son's death for sinners on Calvary.

When Jesus hung on the cross, heaven made another very crucial announcement, this one without words. As Jesus yielded His spirit to the Father and died, the sky grew dark and the heavy veil in the Jerusalem temple was torn in two from top to bottom (Luke 23:44-45). The message was that the way to God is now open!

Then we come to the angel's announcement on Easter Sunday morning. Jesus' resurrection proved that God is perfectly satisfied with His Son's death (Rom. 4:25). The result is salvation for us!

As we join believers in many nations today in remembering our Lord's death and resurrection, we have yet one more heavenly announcement to look forward to--the Second Coming!
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Jesus' last words on the cross are the heart of the gospel's good news: ""It is finished"" (John 19:30). That is, the debt of sin has been fully paid.

Could it be that you are still carrying the debt of your sin on your own shoulders today? If so, Easter can be the day of your salvation! Simply come to God and admit your sin (Rom 3:23). Ask Him to forgive you and to exchange your sins for the righteousness of Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 5:21).

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Revelation 22:12-17
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TODAY IN THE WORD
Along a narrow lane just outside the quiet village of Downe, England, sits a white, three-story house that was once home to naturalist Charles Darwin, his wife Emma, and their seven children. After Darwin's death in 1882, his wife lived in the house until her death in 1896. The house has fallen into ruin in the years since, and now a fundraising effort is underway to save it and its 36 acres of garden and park land. Once work is completed, the foundation overseeing the project hopes to reopen Darwin's house and welcome thousands of visitors each year.

Aren't you glad that, as we pointed out at the beginning of the month, no renovation project is needed to prepare our heavenly home for us? All is in order. The Father's house has been readied for us. The paradise of God is in full bloom. The tree of life (v. 14) and the water of life (v. 17) are waiting to satisfy those who hunger and thirst after righteousness (Matt. 5:6; Rev. 21:6).

From the standpoint of John's vision as recorded in Revelation 22, we are part of the heavenly throng issuing the invitation (v. 17). The ""bride of Christ"" is described in Revelation 21 as the ""new Jerusalem,"" the holy city of God (vv. 9-10). This city will be inhabited by the saints who reign with Christ in His millennial kingdom. That's us, the church of Jesus Christ, His bride whom He loves and for whom He gave Himself (Eph. 5:25-27).

It's appropriate that we end this month's study on heaven and hell where the Bible ends its message concerning eternity. Revelation 22:15 contains the sobering note that there are those who will miss heaven because they persisted in their sin. They are ""outside,"" a word that signals the darkness and isolation of hell (see March 19).
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
What a great invitation we have been commissioned to offer to a lost world!

But even the best invitation does no good until it is sent out. This week, why not send out an invitation to heaven by inviting an unsaved friend to breakfast or lunch.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Galatians 1:1-5
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TODAY IN THE WORD
Contemporary Americans pride themselves on personal freedom. They have much to say about the Constitution's guarantees of freedom of religion, speech, press and assembly. They want ""free love"" and freedom from all moral standards.

For a nation that puts so much stress on personal freedom, the book of Galatians has a contemporary relevance. Its message is liberty--freedom from the law. This appeals to our ""freedom-seeking"" society. We welcome the chance to be free from any personal or moral restraints. But Galatians doesn't encourage that kind of liberty. As we will discover in our study of this key book, the world's idea of freedom is very different from true freedom in Christ.

From the first verse of Galatians, it is clear that this epistle is different in tone from Paul's other writings. There is nothing unusual about the name Paul. The apostle used his Gentile name in connection with his Gentile work. Nor is there anything unusual about the fact that he calls himself an apostle. But in the Galatian churches, some were challenging Paul's right to the title of apostle--his right to speak authoritatively. In this letter, Paul takes the offensive. He declares that his apostolic authority comes not from man but from Jesus Christ.

As was customary, Paul begins with a greeting, or salutation. The common Greek greeting was ""charein,"" which meant ""joy to you."" Here in verse 1, it is changed to ""charis,"" meaning ""grace to you."" ""Peace"" is the Hebrew greeting. One would expect the apostle to the Gentiles to use a Greek greeting. But he links the Greek with the Hebrew greeting, symbolizing the union between Jews and Greeks in the body of Christ.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
As we begin our study of Galatians, we suggest that you read the entire book straight through in one sitting sometime in the next few days.

Why do this? In spending thirty days on six chapters of Scripture, it's easy to become stuck on the details and lose sight of the ""big picture."" But by reading the whole epistle, you will get an overall sense of the author, his audience, and his general themes and arguments--a compass to help you navigate through the book with a clear sense of direction.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Galatians 1:6-9
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TODAY IN THE WORD
A second-century Christian heresy was ""rediscovered"" in 1945.

That year, archaeologists recovered a number of documents from an Egyptian monastery, among them a book called ""The Gospel of Truth"" by a theologian named Valentinus (or one of his followers). Once a candidate for bishop of Rome, Valentinus was excommunicated when he emerged as leader of a gnostic heresy. Gnosticism denies that the spiritual has anything to do with the physical, a heresy with which other ages of the church have also wrestled.

Valentinus interpreted the Bible in a strange, allegorical way. His teachings blurred the line between Christianity, mysticism, philosophy and Judaism. He rejected the incarnation, crucifixion and bodily resurrection of Jesus. Church leaders attacked Valentinus' heretical ideas and defended biblical truth.

Heresies and cults have always threatened the church. When falsehoods are exposed, the church must do all it can to defend the truth. In his epistle to the Galatians, Paul is defending the truth of Christianity against false theology. He criticizes the Galatians for neglecting Christian liberty and for focusing instead on the error of legalism.

The Galatians may have been startled when the apostle accused them of turning from God (v. 6). No doubt they thought they were pleasing the Father by keeping the law, as did the Jews and Paul before his conversion. But God had extended to the Galatians grace through Jesus Christ, the instrument by which He brings us to salvation. The Galatians had set aside that important truth, and distorted the simple truths of the gospel (vv. 6-7).

Verse 8 states that it is not possible for another gospel to be proclaimed. Paul and his companions would not do it; God had not ordained that angels should. Therefore, if anyone at all should preach a gospel other than that which Paul has preached, ""Let him be eternally condemned.""
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
As we can clearly see in these introductory verses of Galatians, the personal context of Paul's letter is important. He was not writing a systematic theology text, but a pastoral letter to a church he had planted. He wanted the Galatian believers to grow and mature in their Christian faith and love.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Galatians 1:10-17
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TODAY IN THE WORD
One of the great leaders of the Protestant movement in late nineteenth and early twentieth century Russia was Ivan Prokhanov. His career in ministry was not unlike that of the apostle Paul.

Ivan consciously followed Paul's ""tentmaking"" example, earning a living as an engineer but using all of his remaining time to evangelize and teach. Like Paul, Ivan suffered persecution for his faith under both Czarist and Communist governments. And like Paul, Ivan's achievements were enormous, in areas including publishing, education, and even hymn-writing!

As Paul reviews his career in ministry for the Galatians, he moves into a defense of his right to preach the gospel of grace and Christian liberty. He must clearly vindicate his apostleship before he can vindicate his message.

He has already made it clear that salvation is by grace alone and that one can enjoy true Christian liberty by the power of Christ alone. As was to be very clear from Paul's experience, preaching of that sort would not please men (v. 10) and would not lead to an easy life.

Paul insists that his presentation of the gospel is not ""something that man made up"" (v. 11), nor does man give the gospel its authority. Furthermore, Paul did not receive his message from man--that is, he had not learned it from human teaching as his converts had. He obtained his message by direct revelation from Jesus Christ (v. 12).
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
The dramatic story of Paul's conversion is found in Acts 9:1-19. Take a few minutes to review that story today. If you're new to Paul's testimony, realize its importance as the background for today's Scripture reading--the start of his apostleship and call to ministry. If you're already familiar with the narrative, try to read it with fresh eyes, looking for a new insight or two.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Galatians 1:18-24
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TODAY IN THE WORD
""Staking a claim"" in the Old West was serious business.

Doing so gave a person the rights over a mine or a piece of land. If a prospector found gold or silver on his claim, others would rush to stake claims nearby in hopes of striking it rich. It was not uncommon for fights to break out over who had staked a claim first or over where one claim stopped and another started. Men were known to lie, cheat, gamble, steal and even kill to get and keep their claims.

""Staking a claim"" is exactly what Paul is doing in today's reading: a claim to apostleship and apostolic authority. Not to elevate himself, but for the sake of the gospel, he proclaims his God-given authority. The Galatians must not take his words lightly!

To underscore his apostleship and his independence of the Jerusalem church, Paul observes that three full years had elapsed between his conversion and any significant contact with them (v. 18). When he finally went up to see Peter, it was not for the purpose of learning the gospel. This visit of Paul is commonly taken to be the one recorded in Acts 9:26-30. Suddenly driven from his ministry in Damascus, Paul was apparently pondering where to go next. He may have sought the advice of Peter concerning a future course of action.

At the end of Paul's fifteen-day visit to Jerusalem, some antagonistic Jews concocted a plot against him. When the believers found out about it, they took him to the seaport of Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus, his home city. Afterwards, the apostle went to Syria and Cilicia, where he preached the faith (Gal. 1:21).
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
How much do you know of Paul's biography? Many of us have heard the story of his vision on the road to Damascus, but what came next? Did you know, for instance, that he went to Arabia (Gal. 1:17)?

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: Galatians 2:1-5
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TODAY IN THE WORD
Despite only three months of formal schooling and increasing deafness throughout his life, inventor Thomas Edison earned his place in history by creating numerous practical applications for electricity.

Known as the ""Wizard of Menlo Park,"" Edison built such inventions as the microphone, record player and light bulb. He also improved the dynamo and designed the world's first central electric power station in New York City.

Just as electricity was at the center of Edison's career and achievements, the gospel was at the center of Paul's identity and ministry. This is made abundantly clear in his opposition to legalism and in the incident described in today's reading.

Paul's contacts with the apostles after his conversion had been few and brief. Finally, ""fourteen years later"" (v. 1), probably meaning since his conversion, he has some sort of official confrontation with church leaders in Jerusalem.

Titus is mentioned in verse 1 because of a controversial issue which he represented. He was an uncircumcised Gentile Christian. People were asking: Should Titus be forced to submit to circumcision as part of the legal obligation for all Christian men?

Paul and Barnabas spoke to the mother church in a general way in public addresses. They also discussed the issue with church leaders privately and in greater detail explained the gospel Paul had been preaching among the Gentiles (v. 2). He was trying to convince the church leaders of the validity of his position: that Gentiles were not under law. If he failed to do so, his past work, as well as present and future work, would be hindered.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Paul was above all committed to the truth of the gospel. In fact, he was so zealous for evangelism that he said: ""I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel"" (1 Cor. 9:22-23).