February Family Devotional
Open in prayer
Listen to or sing: In Christ Alone
Read devotional out loud:
When I was a kid, New Orleans held an annual Bayou Classics where top marching bands competed for bragging rights. It was a thrilling sight to see. Hundreds of men and women moved in unison to the music, playing their instruments, and performing orchestrated motions on cue with precision. The drum majors gave commands and the band moved as one as they started, turned, and stopped in formation. Each movement was perfectly timed. It was a work of artistry; an entire group responding and moving in accordance with their leader’s command. It was a spectacular performance.
As followers of Christ, we also have someone that gives us commands we are to follow. Paul writes to the church in Galatia saying, “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit” (Gal 5:25). Paul is writing about no longer being under the Old Testament law but being free in Christ. Oftentimes, it does not feel like freedom to obey commands and do as you are told. Paul taught that law was given so that we might know what God expects of us. The problem is that no one could ever keep it. No one can reach God’s standard! We can try as hard as we can but we get nowhere. The good news is that no one under the law was ever found to live it out perfectly except Jesus, who obeyed every single command and fulfilled God’s standard for us.
God changed our hopelessness of striving by giving us His Spirit to live by and to “keep in step with.” Galatians 5:18 says, “But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.” That means if we walk in step with our Savior, we no longer have to try harder to please Him. As followers of Jesus, following His commands is not restrictive and exhausting, but freeing and empowering.
To Dwell On: When we trust Jesus, walking in step with the Spirit leads to freedom.
To Discuss:
Do you like being told what to do? Why or Why not?
Describe a time when walking in step with God’s commands felt freeing.
To Memorize:
If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. - Galatians 5:25
Close in prayer.