Print off this week's "More to Explore" sheet and use it all week!
Today’s story comes from the book of Galatians. The book of Galatians is in the New Testament and is called an epistle. 21 of the 27 books in the New Testament are epistles. An epistle is a letter that was written to a person or group of people.
Choosing the approval of people instead of God was not a new thing in the New Testament. People struggled with this in the Old Testament too. Look up Deuteronomy 8:11-20 to read a warning that Moses gave to the Israelite people.
What did Moses warn the people to not forget?
What were the people warned against doing in verse 19?
Your life will bear the fruit of what is going on in your heart. Galatians 5:19-25 lists some of the things that will come out when you seek the world, versus the fruit that will be seen if your heart is seeking to please God. In Luke 6:45 Jesus says our mouths will speak whatever is in our hearts.
Everyone wants to be liked! That in itself isn’t a bad thing. But if you are consumed by the likes you get on social media or your day is ruined because someone chose to unfollow you, you may want to pray and think about whose approval you are seeking. We need to live our lives caring more about what God thinks about us than what other people think.
Read Romans 12:1-2. How is the world around you telling you what you should do or what you should look like? What would be different in your life if you sought to please God instead of trying to make other people happy?
Take some time to read Galatians 1:6-17. As you read, notice what Paul was focused on doing in verses 13 and 14. Verses 16 and 17 tell us that after he met Jesus, he spent time learning from God. How did his focus change?
