Aug 2017, A Collection of Recent Quiet Times

Passage	Key Verses(s) [Optional]	Basic Thing(s) Taught	Personal Insight(s) & Application(s)
Gal 2:15-21 (key:16)	Galatians 2:17-18,21 (ESV) — 17 But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too were found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not! 18 For if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor. … 21 I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.	What is it that Paul tore down? It is the idea that a man can be saved by works of the law. If I support that idea, I am a sinner, in two senses. One, I do not believe Jesus died for my sin, hence my sin is not paid for, and two, I am hurting (sinning against) others by suggesting the way to righteousness is through the law.	Even worse, by suggesting the law as a means to please God, I nullify the grace of God. What is the purpose of Christ' death if it is not to make us righteous in God's eyes. I cannot earn any more of his favor. I can honor by obedience. I can show my love to him by my obedience. But I cannot increase my favor in his sight or the love that he has for me as a son. Those are established by Jesus' death not by my works.
Rom 3:9-31 (key: 20)	Romans 3:20–21 (ESV) — 20 For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. 21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—	No human being can be justified by works of the law. No one can do it. There is no justification in good works or being better than another or in kindness or self-sacrifice or a martyr's death. There is NONE. The LAW does a few things, but the one major thing it does, is that it shows us that we are sinners--we all fail to keep the law. The righteousness of God is made known APART from the law. It has nothing to do with the law.	I think as believers we have a difficult accepting the fact that the ten commandments or other biblical laws do not gain us something. It is hard to let go of that very human being-type thought. We feel we ought to do something. Few things are actually free, except those given in love. Why is it so hard to believe in God's love and in the free gift he offers to those he loves? We may not all be God's children, but all people are loved by God.
Matt 27:1-14 (should have been to 26, and the next 27-44)	Matthew 27:6–10 (ESV) — 6 But the chief priests, taking the pieces of silver, said, “It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, since it is blood money.” 7 So they took counsel and bought with them the potter’s field as a burial place for strangers. 8 Therefore that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day. 9 Then was fulfilled what had been spoken by the prophet Jeremiah, saying, “And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him on whom a price had been set by some of the sons of Israel, 10 and they gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord directed me.”	The Priests knew it was wrong. They were right in not taking money for the betrayal in an innocent man. So, on one hand, they obey the legal requirements of the law, and on the other hand, they disobey the spirit of the law by being party to the death of an innocent man.	This passage is an example of compromise, and yet somehow feeling that you are "right" before God. We can never be right before God on our own. We will always fail. We will always be tempted to compromise. And we will always feel like a failure. But Jesus' death for us has secured God's favor and his love. He will always see Jesus when he looks at us.
Matt 27:15-44	Matthew 27:24–25 (ESV) — 24 So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood; see to it yourselves.” 25 And all the people answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!”	Pilate washed his hands but he had the authority, but no knowledge. Israel accepted the blood, but they had no authority and the knowledge. It is not so easy to wash away sin. You cannot just walk away. You cannot use a basin to get clean. Jesus' blood which was being bandied about was the only blood which could truly cleanse a person. And Jesus died for those with knowledge and those without knowledge of his purpose. And ultimately, it was God's plan to put Jesus to death for our sin.	The only real authority was God's. But it was Jesus, the son of God, who chose to die for us. Jesus died because he loved us. Pilate washed his hands to avoid a riot on his career. The Jews accepted the consequences because they did not want to change. Everybody thought they were doing something, but only one person was doing something good. Jesus, out of love, died in our place for our sin.
Matt 27:45-56	Matthew 27:62–64 (ESV) — 62 The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate 63 and said, “Sir, we remember how that impostor said, while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will rise.’ 64 Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last fraud will be worse than the first.”	Plotting and scheming. Scheming and plotting. Sometimes, it seems that is all we do. For all their plotting, they weren't very effective. Because you scheme against God. You can scheme and plot against a great many people, but it makes no sense to scheme or plot against God. And if you do, you will just find yourself a part of his plan. The Pharisees only added more proof of the resurrection by their scheming.	Do I scheme and plot in life? Or do I wait upon God for him to do his will? The more effective strategy is not to scheme, but it is to pray. If it is God's will, prayer will be certainly more effective than any effort I take on my own effort and will.