“Greetings from Paul This letter is from Paul, an apostle. I was not appointed by any group of people or any human authority, but by Jesus Christ himself and by God the Father, who raised Jesus from the dead.
2 All the brothers and sisters[a] here join me in sending this letter to the churches of Galatia.
3 May God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ[b] give you grace and peace. 4 Jesus gave his life for our sins, just as God our Father planned, in order to rescue us from this evil world in which we live. 5 All glory to God forever and ever! Amen.
There Is Only One Good News 6 I am shocked that you are turning away so soon from God, who called you to himself through the loving mercy of Christ.[c] You are following a different way that pretends to be the Good News 7 but is not the Good News at all. You are being fooled by those who deliberately twist the truth concerning Christ.
8 Let God’s curse fall on anyone, including us or even an angel from heaven, who preaches a different kind of Good News than the one we preached to you. 9 I say again what we have said before: If anyone preaches any other Good News than the one you welcomed, let that person be cursed.
10 Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant.
Paul’s Message Comes from Christ 11 Dear brothers and sisters, I want you to understand that the gospel message I preach is not based on mere human reasoning. 12 I received my message from no human source, and no one taught me. Instead, I received it by direct revelation from Jesus Christ.”
ENCOURAGEMENT
Psalm 97
“The Lord is king! Let the earth rejoice! Let the farthest coastlands be glad. 2 Dark clouds surround him. Righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne. 3 Fire spreads ahead of him and burns up all his foes. 4 His lightning flashes out across the world. The earth sees and trembles. 5 The mountains melt like wax before the Lord, before the Lord of all the earth. 6 The heavens proclaim his righteousness; every nation sees his glory. 7 Those who worship idols are disgraced— all who brag about their worthless gods— for every god must bow to him. 8 Jerusalem[a] has heard and rejoiced, and all the towns of Judah are glad because of your justice, O Lord! 9 For you, O Lord, are supreme over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods.
10 You who love the Lord, hate evil! He protects the lives of his godly people and rescues them from the power of the wicked. 11 Light shines on the godly, and joy on those whose hearts are right. 12 May all who are godly rejoice in the Lord and praise his holy name!”
Psalm 98
“A psalm. Sing a new song to the Lord, for he has done wonderful deeds. His right hand has won a mighty victory; his holy arm has shown his saving power! 2 The Lord has announced his victory and has revealed his righteousness to every nation! 3 He has remembered his promise to love and be faithful to Israel. The ends of the earth have seen the victory of our God.
4 Shout to the Lord, all the earth; break out in praise and sing for joy! 5 Sing your praise to the Lord with the harp, with the harp and melodious song, 6 with trumpets and the sound of the ram’s horn. Make a joyful symphony before the Lord, the King!
7 Let the sea and everything in it shout his praise! Let the earth and all living things join in. 8 Let the rivers clap their hands in glee! Let the hills sing out their songs of joy 9 before the Lord, for he is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with justice, and the nations with fairness.”
