Reading Through The Bible - GALATIANS

Some Books of the bible are very short and some are very long but this one is one of the shortest.

GALATIANS  -  NEW TESTAMENT  -  EPISTLES

9th book of the NT 

48th book of the Bible

It starts with a blessing and reminder of salvation through Jesus in chapter 1 verses 3-5

I love the blessings pronounced in God's Word and we can see in the Epistles that they form lovely greetings.

What is it?

The Book of Galatians is one of the Epistles in the New Testament which means it is a Letter.

How Long is it?

It has 6 chapters.

When was it Written?

It is generally thought to have been written between 49 & 50 AD.

Who Wrote it?

The Apostle Paul

The first 2 verses tells us who it was from 

"1 Paul, an apostle (not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised Him from the dead)," 

2 and all the brethren who are with me,"

Who was it Written to?

Verse 2 tells us who it was written to 

2 and all the brethren who are with me, To the churches of Galatia "

Why was it Written? 

It was written because Paul wanted to clarify certain things for the Galatian Christians. 

 

The Overview Bible  tells us the following

"Paul hears that the Galatian churches have been led to think that salvation comes from the law of Moses, and writes a (rather heated) letter telling them where the false teachers have it wrong.."

Teach Sunday School  tells us the following

"The Galatians were starting to say Gentiles must follow the Jewish laws in order to be saved. It was confusing the people and putting a burden on them that was unnecessary. Paul wanted to straighten that out."

What did Paul want to explain about himself?

He wanted to talk about himself as an Apostle along with the other Apostles.

About what Christ's crucifixion meant to him personally and where his faith was found as we see in chapter 2 v 20

What did Paul want the Galatians to know about Christianity?

He wanted them to know exactly where their faith had to be focused - not on law and instructions but in Christ as we partly see in  chapter 3 v 26

What is the Book of Galatians most well-known for? 

It contains the passage about the Fruit of the Spirit in chapter 5 verses 22 - 23

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 

23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

How does it end?

With an instruction to continue to do good deeds

 in chapter 6 v 9

 

and

bringing their attention back again to the cross

 in chapter 6 v 9

OUTLINE of GALATIANS

The Overview Bible  gives us the following

1. The gospel under attack in Galatia (Ga 1:1–10)
2. History of the Law vs. grace debate (Ga 1:11–2:21)
3. Salvation via faith vs. salvation via works (Ga 3)
4. Slavery vs. sons and heirs of God (Ga 4)
5. The sinful flesh vs. the Holy Spirit (Ga 5)
6. How to do good in Christian community (Ga 6)

OTHER BOOKS OF THE BIBLE ARE ADDED REGULARLY AND AN UPDATED LIST CAN BE FOUND AT OUR READING THE BIBLE PAGE 

10 Bible Verses of Encouragement for Fathers

We all need encouragement and the best place to go is to the Bible.

In this blog Post I have tried to gather some Bible passages or Bible verses which will encourage Fathers.

I do believe that we should not just grab a verse and read it on its own but we should always lift our bibles and read a passage of scripture to make sure that we know the real meaning and context of each of the verses we are putting our trust in. 

I pray that you will do the same and only use this list to guide you as to where you may find help.

So here are 10 Bible verses or short passages for us to turn to

 in times when we need encouragement for

 Fathers. 

1.   Proverbs 3 v 11-12

Discipline your children because of Love

     

and be blessed by the rewards.

 

2.   Ephesians 6 v 4

Train them to do what is right & do it in the right way

And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.

by obeying God's Word.

3.   Colossians 3 v 21

Do not discourage your children; train them whilst encouraging them.

 

Teach them to be obedient to God and show it in your life as the good example.

4.   Proverbs 3 v 1 

Teach them to be obedient to God 

 

and show willing obedience to God in your life as their good example.

5.   Proverbs 3 v 5-6

Show them how to trust God and give Him respect by doing that yourself.  

And see His Godly direction 

6.   Proverbs 3 v 7

Teach them that earthly wisdom is of no benefit 

but to reverence God and follow Him is.

7.   Proverbs 3 v 9

Show God your thanks for his provision and use it wisely.

Honour the Lord with your possessions,
And with the first fruits of all your increase;

Then they will learn to do likewise.

8.   Deuteronomy 11 v 18 - 21

Install God's Word in your heart and mind and teach your children to do the same.

18 Therefore you shall lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 

19 You shall teach them to your children, speaking of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. 

20 And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, 

21 that your days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land of which the Lord swore to your fathers to give them, like the days of the heavens above the earth.

Even teach them to memorize God's Word.

You will find some encouragement for memorizing Scripture in our

Memorising Section on the Blog

The Free Printables from all our Verses of Encouragement Posts will also help.

9.   Genesis 22 v 8

Have faith in God that leads your children to have faith in Him also.

And Abraham said, 

“My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.”

Just as Abraham set Isaac a great example of trusting in God.

10.   Proverbs 23 v 24

A righteous father is blessed by seeing the delight of his heart in the life of his children.

 

Isn't this a great one to put a smile on your face to end this post!

Reading Through the Bible - LAMENTATIONS

Some Books of the bible are very short and some are very long but this one is one of the shortest.

It is also one of the most "not read" books which may be attributed to its title.

LAMENTATIONS  -  OLD TESTAMENT  -   PROPHECY

25th book of the OT 

25th book of the Bible

What is it?

The Book of LAMENTATIONS is counted as one of the books of  Prophecy in the Old Testament.

Teach Sunday School  tells us the following

"Lamentations is not so much prophecy as it is a lament over what had become of Jerusalem after the invasion and how it all could have been avoided"

The Overview Bible  tells us the following

"A collection of dirges lamenting the fall of Jerusalem after the Babylonian attacks."

How Long is it?

It has 5 chapters but some of them are quite long by Word Count.

When was it Written?

It is thought to have been written in 585 BC. due to the fact that the invasion and exile was in 586 BC.

Who Wrote it?

The Prophet Jeremiah

How does it start?

It starts with despair and sadness in Chapter 1 v 1

"How lonely sits the city

That was full of people!

How like a widow is she,

Who was great among the nations!

The princess among the provinces

Has become a slave!"

but it does not dwell here and chapter 3 shines through with some of the great qualities of God 

with God's love and mercy in verses 22-23

  

and God's goodness in verses 25-26

and God's comfort in verses 25-26

but also with good advice from Jeremiah in verses 40 - 41

Who was it Written to?

This is a hard question to answer as it is Jeremiah lamenting as he walked through the streets after the invasion and exile so we cannot say it was spoken or written directly to specific people but more as a warning in general for everyone about disobeying God. 

Why was it Written? 

It was written because Jeremiah was so disappointed  that the people had not walked as God wanted and this had led to the invasion and exile to Babylon.

The Overview Bible  tells us the following

"The people had rejected their God and His prophets. Before they ever entered the promised land, Israel was given a choice: remain loyal to God and enjoy His blessings and prosperity, or worship other gods and be exiled from their land (that’s from Deuteronomy). Israel followed other gods, showed injustice to the poor, and ignored God’s laws."

Teach Sunday School  tells us the following

"While not considered a story the book is a very visual and spiritual look at the horror that had become of Judah just after the Babylonian invasion and exile."

What is unusual about Lamentations compared to other books of Prophecy?

Teach Sunday School  tells us the following

"It is the only book of prophecy that looks more backwards than forwards."

How does it end?

It ends with a prayer to God in chapter 5 which ends with some hope in verses 19 - 22

"Why do You forget us forever,

And forsake us for so long a time?

Turn us back to You, O Lord, and we will be [b]restored;
Renew our days as of old,

Unless You have utterly rejected us,
And are very angry with us!"

Quick outline of Lamentations

The Overview Bible  tells us the following

1. Jerusalem: punished and in pain (1)
2. The Lord’s anger on Jerusalem (2)
3. The individual’s distress turns to hope (3)
4. The siege of Jerusalem (4)
5. A plea for God’s mercy (5)

OTHER BOOKS OF THE BIBLE ARE ADDED REGULARLY AND AN UPDATED LIST CAN BE FOUND AT OUR READING THE BIBLE PAGE