January 26 - Galatians 2:20 Friday

January 26, 2024
Galatians 2:20

Gal 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I lived by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me.

Faith = G4102 meaning to persuade, be persuaded – divine persuasion.
Faith is always a gift from God, never something that man can produce.

The Apostle Paul considered himself dead to the Law and alive unto Christ. As such, he saw his old life on the cross with Jesus – that life of sin and the Law being crucified. He then chose to live a life of faith – the new life in Christ.

Before we can truly live a life of faith in Christ, we must choose to crucify our flesh – give up our old life of religion and sin. “Faith,” like the word “believe” or “trust” is a word often misunderstood. We can’t conger up belief, trust or faith simply by choosing with our mind. It happens when God works within the heart of man to come to faith in Him. I am not saying that God chooses who will or will not be saved - it is still man’s free will who chooses to believe or trust in God. Since we know that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God (Rom 10:17), it starts with us to first choosing to do the hearing while God works within the heart to turn it into faith. God always works with the heart and never just the mind. While the work of God may begin in the mind, it will always end with the heart.

This verse deals with the hidden life of a believer, the core of who you are. While you live in this flesh upon the earth, your hidden life is one that every day, you, as a believer in Christ, choose, by your own free will to live by faith in Christ. You live by the faith you know and understand, but you grow in it by choosing to renewing your mind to the Word of God so God can do the process of regeneration within your heart., You do the choosing and God does the work of change.

The Christian’s life is a life of surrender where you are continuously dying to self and the sins of the world. In return, you choose to live a life of faith unto God to live the kind of life He has designed for you. You do your part and God does the rest.

PRAYER:  Jesus, I surrender everything over to You. As You died on the cross for my sins, I see myself laying down all of my sins and burdens on the cross with You. I want to live a life of total faith in You and all that You have done for me.

I believe:  I choose to live a life of faith in Christ.

Rom 12:1-2 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.