by Susan Barnes | 5 Jun 2022 | Short Devotion
“The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.” Galatians 5:6 Our faith will cause us to be more loving. It won’t cause us to undertake a regime of self-improvement activities or berate others who don’t measure up to our standards. The test of...
by Susan Barnes | 29 May 2022 | Short Devotion
“But now that you know God—or rather are known by God—how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable forces? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again?” Galatians 4:9 If we’re hoping to gain spiritual merit through our good deeds we will only...
by Susan Barnes | 22 May 2022 | Short Devotion
“You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you?” Galatians 3:1 Living by faith in God’s grace is difficult. Our human nature likes to be religious and measure our ability to obey laws and keep religious observances. It loves to calculate how much of the Bible we read,...
by Susan Barnes | 15 May 2022 | Short Devotion
“For before certain men came from James, he (Peter) used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group.” Galatians 2:12 Peter still...
by Susan Barnes | 8 May 2022 | Short Devotion
“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—which is really no gospel at all.” Galatians 1:6-7 False teachers were trying to convince the Galatian believers they had to...
by Susan Barnes | 23 May 2021 | Short Devotion
Read more of my short devotions on this blog or on Pinterest. “As Peter entered the house … He said to them: ‘You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with or visit a Gentile. But God has shown me that I should not call...
by Susan Barnes | 13 May 2021 | Book Reviews
Grace, faith & glory : freedom in Christ is a short book, compiled from the talks the author, Dominic Smart, gave at Keswick Conventions some years ago. The topic remains relevant as many in our churches still toil under legalistic teaching, not only from...
by Susan Barnes | 4 Mar 2021 | Book Reviews
I found, The Sin of Certainty by Peter Enns a very beneficial book. I like Enns’ understanding of the role of the Bible in the Christian life and why it’s difficult to go to the Bible for definitive answers on questions of ethics (slavery for example). The Bible isn’t...
