A few ago I bought a book because I liked what it said on the cover, “God wants you wise, free, and full of power – seizing life beyond belief.” The introduction shared that it was fresh look at Paul’s letter to the Galatians.
It shows us:
“The futility of sin – and how to overcome the old sin nature.
The wonder of true freedom in Christ.
The awesome potential of walking in the Spirit.
The revolutionary power of God’s kingdom.
The centrality of love to the Christian faith.
The abundant ministry available to you through the fruit of the Spirit.”
It said that today we are caught up in the same traps that the Galatians were in because of their foolish thinking. The message is liberating for the faithful, and a reminder to stop our foolish thinking!
I wondered why a fairly recent book was selling at the dollar store, but thought it might help me in s series I was preparing. I learned that the author was the founding and Senior Pastor of an 11,000 member church and president of a 22 million member evangelistic group. The named sounded familiar, then I remembered. He was one of those national Christian leaders who fell from prominence because of a sex scandal. Subsequently he lost his job and fell from public grace.
Our first reaction would probably be to toss the book. I came to this conclusion, just because the author fell to sin does not change the message Paul gave. It just wasn’t applied to his life. Before we get too “self-righteous” I think we need to confess that we don’t always apply God’s Word to our lives all the time either. An Amen or Oh-Me is in order here!
David, in the Bible, illustrates this “non-application” in his life as well. He knew how to obey and please God, but failed. We all fall down, just like television preachers, and people every day do. The goal in all of our situations should be to “Get Up” with God’s help. Amen?
