Leather Trading Co

Have you ever heard a speaker whose words were so convincing they inspired you to act? Aristotle taught that there are three parts of a strong persuasive argument: Logos (argument), Ethos (credibility), and Pathos (passion). Pathos refers to the speaker’s ability to evoke emotions in the hearer, knowing that our emotions affect the judgments we make.

Paul was an accomplished speaker and writer who used logos, ethos, and pathos to communicate God’s truth. In his letter to the Galatians, Paul finds himself involved in an indirect “debate” with the false teachers who have infiltrated the Galatian church. In Galatians 4:17–20, he focuses his argument directly on those opponents, challenging their credibility (ethos).

But first, Paul acknowledges the zeal (pathos) of his enemies. “Zeal” here means to be intensely interested in someone, wanting to win them over to your side. These zealous false teachers were trying to pull the Galatian believers away from Paul and the true gospel. Paul takes this as a personal affront. He warned the Galatians that the goal of these false teachers was not just to win them over (v. 17) but also to drive a wedge between the Galatian believers and Paul. On the role of the Law in the believer’s life, these infiltrators and Paul held opposing views. The Galatian Christians could not hold to both views. They had to choose.

As Paul was physically absent from them, he found himself at a painful disadvantage. He heart- breakingly calls the Galatian believers his “dear children,” and he likens his pain to childbirth. He is so invested in their spiritual maturity, “until Christ is formed in you” (v. 19), that he longs to be with them. But he cannot.


Go Deeper
If you’ve watched a loved one be lured away from the faith or swayed by false teaching, you resonate with Paul’s pain. Whom do you know that is particularly vulnerable to such an influence? Pray for them today.


Pray with Us
We can relate to Paul’s pain and disappointment when some Galatian believers, his “dear children,” turned away from faith. Let’s pray for our friends, relatives, or loved ones who are wandering. Lord, bring the prodigals back!

When presented with an opportunity to serve God, how do you respond? Do you say yes, even if you’re unsure? Or do you put it off because your schedule is too busy or you don’t feel qualified? You’ve probably never thought of a refusal to serve God as a type of idolatry, but oftentimes that’s what it is—choosing your own wishes instead of submitting to Him.

The Lord desires that His children be willing to seek His specific plan for their life and take on anything He calls them to do. He uniquely gifts us to serve according to His will. But if we’ve already decided that we can’t or won’t, whatever the reason, then we’re acting by our own will instead of the Lord’s.

You may serve God as a loving parent, as an employee who shares the gospel with coworkers, or as a friend who listens to the hurting. No restriction exists on what God can do through your life. The strength of His Spirit overcomes human limitations. Don’t have enough courage? Don’t have the right skills? God can fix that.

Lay down what’s holding you back. Trust that the Lord will empower you to do whatever He calls you to do (Phil. 4:13). We can be certain He will properly equip and train His children for the work.

Martin Luther King Jr is one of our great men of history. He stood up for equal rights for the African-American people in the mid 1950s and 60s.

His speeches are still quoted today and many songs have been written about him – including a verse in U2’s Pride (In The Name of Love). Although he received a Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 he was assassinated in 1968 as he organized a nonviolent protest rally for African-Americans who were not being paid equally to their white counterparts.

Our world is a different place today because of Martin Luther King Jr. And he is just one of many great people who have stood up for those in the minority and suffered a great price because of it.

Free at last, they took your life, They could not take your pride.

We may not be confronted with the same level of persecution as Martin Luther King Jr, but we all deal with negative opinions and people who try to pull us down. Oppression can come in all different kinds of forms – physical attack, passive-aggressive behaviour, bullying, negative words and constant put downs.

When negativity comes our way we can choose how we deal with it. We can allow it to get us down and change our lives or we can stand firm and not allow it to ‘gain victory over us’. As Psalm 129 shows us, the people of Israel had experienced great oppression for an extended period of time, and yet, they trusted in the Lord and gained their meaning from Him.

It can be a real challenge to stop negative opinions from infiltrating into our thinking, but we must only hold dear to the thoughts and opinions of God. He does not wish negativity to have victory over us, only His love, grace and justice to prevail.

Prayer: Lord, thank You for great examples of people who stood up to injustice – Martin Luther King Jr, King David, Mother Teresa, Ghandi and, of course, Your Son, Jesus. May we learn from these incredible people and strive to allow Your words to have victory in our lives. Amen.

Hard times are inevitable. Loved ones die. Friends face sickness. Our spouse loses his or her job. The range of human pain is broad, but God “comforts us in all our affliction” (2 Cor. 1:4).

Today’s passage speaks of great calamities, some from natural causes and others brought about by men (vv. 2, 6). Such trials often bewilder us, but verse 10 tells us where to turn. God’s followers should be still and remember He’s the sovereign Lord of the universe. The key to dealing with difficulty lies in trusting the One who controls all things.

Instead of trying to manage the situation ourselves, we should actively wait for God to move and trust that He will work on our behalf (Isa. 64:4). This involves taking time to be alone with our Father—crying out to Him, meditating on His Word, and listening to Him.

Human instinct urges us to take control ourselves; in contrast, God wants us to patiently and expectantly wait on Him. He also tells us to surrender what we think is right and submit to His plan.

What’s your response when trouble arises? Whether your current circumstances are good or painful, take time to be still before the Lord, and trust that He is in control.

It was the second class of the new semester. The professor entered the classroom walking rapidly. Before getting behind his desk he shouted, “Hold up your assignment with your right hand!” One student, however, held up his assignment with his left hand.

Angrily the professor looked at the student and shouted, “Your right hand you stupid idiot!”

Calmly, the student responded, “Sir, this is the only hand I have. I lost my right hand in combat.”

The Greeks defined anger as a “brief madness.” In Scripture it has several meanings, including “strong feelings of displeasure, fury or wrath.” Whichever meaning we choose leads to the same outcome: the expression of destructive behavior. When we become angry, we are not in control of ourselves, and we do things that are displeasing to God and harmful to others.

The Psalmist always gives good advice. When speaking of anger and self-control one of them said, “Stop your anger! Turn from your wrath.”

When we become angry, we usually become frustrated, lose control of our emotions and then take it out on others. We think that we know what they should do and assume a role that is reserved for God.

Better for the Christian to turn anger into affection and frustration into forgiveness and prayer.

Prayer: Help us, Savior, to fill our hearts with Your love. May we honor others as You do, Lord, and seek to build them up rather than to tear them down in anger. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

We rarely think of Joseph when we speak of Mary and her son, Jesus. But Joseph was a very special individual as well.

In describing him, Matthew says that he was a “just” or “righteous” man. And, because of that, he was a “decent,” “fair” and “righteous” man. When he was faced with an incredibly difficult decision, an angel appeared and advised him to “go ahead with your marriage to Mary.”

Initially, Scripture informs us, “that not wanting to disgrace her, he planned to send her away.” He was well aware of the fact that stoning was the legal prescription for what people would think of Mary’s being pregnant without being married. If he took Mary to be his wife, he could be humiliated or ridiculed by those around him. But he chose to obey the command of the angel to marry her. As a “righteous” man he was also a “merciful” man, a man willing to listen to, hear from, and obey God. Joseph was a man of great character.

But there is more. Not only was he righteous, merciful, and obedient to the voice of God, but he was a man who was sensitive and discrete. Joseph was open to the voice of God and responded immediately when God spoke to him and protected the reputation and honor of Mary – thereby revealing he was a man of integrity.

Prayer: Lord, we pray for fathers everywhere who will strive to be like the earthly father of Your Son. We ask that You raise up men of integrity to honor You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.