Thursday, June 17, 2010

The Road Through Ephesus... Shine Ephesians 1:18

Today has been a long day. I got sent home early from work because I wasn't feeling well and now I have a doctor's appointment in the morning. Seriously not how I wanted to spend my day. But now on to some good news.

Ephesians 1:18

"I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called-- his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance."

I love this word picture. Paul says that he is praying that the Ephesians hearts will be flooded with light. I think I love this most because of this: John 8:12 "Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, 'I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won't have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life." Paul was praying that the Ephesians would be filled with Jesus. And I know a thing or two about floods... we've had several in the last few years in our house. It's a lot of water. To even think that Paul is praying for Jesus to fill the Ephesians that much is mind boggling. I love it!!

And Paul is praying this so that they might understand the hope that Jesus brings. The only true hope there is. He wants the Ephesian church to fully comprehend the hope, power, and love that Jesus offers. The hope that Jesus gives each one of us when we come to him. It's a beautiful picture isn't it??

Check out the last part of that verse: "-- his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance." I know we've talked about his before, but just in case you didn't get it the first time: God thinks you're valuable. You are his rich and glorious inheritance. Remember that. Live it. And share it. Let others know their value to God. Let others see the Light that has flooded your heart. Let the Light that is within you shine.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

The Road Through Ephesus... Praying Ephesians 1:16b-17

So the gloominess has broken for now and the sun is shining brightly with beautiful white clouds drifting in the sky. In other words, it's gorgeous outside. Though the breeze is a bit strong, I am always thankful for one :-) So let's jump right in, shall we?

Ephesians 1:16b-17

"I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you may grow in your knowledge of God."

Prayer. It's so powerful. Yet, as humans, I don't think we can ever fully understand it. Maybe that's why I love that we find so many examples of what to pray for and how to pray in the Scriptures. So let's take a look at how Paul prays for the Ephesian church and how we should pray for the people in our lives.

Look at the first phrase: "I pray for you constantly..." Do you see the word "constantly"? Check out some of these definitions for the word constantly: not changing or varying, unceasing, faithful, continual, persistent, unswerving, steadfast (from dictionary.com). Does that describe your prayer life for the people in your life? Do they know that they can depend on you for persistent, faithful, continual prayers on their behalf? Do you know people that you can trust to pray that way for you? How amazing would it be if every Christian prayed this way? If we were unceasing in our prayers? Wow.

The next part of the verse shows that Paul knows exactly who he is praying to. He asks "God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ..." He knows exactly who he is approaching with his requests. He believed God was who he said he was. Do we approach God believing that he will answer our prayers or do we approach with an attitude of indifference?

I love what Paul prays for the Ephesian church. He prays for spiritual wisdom and insight for them. Isn't that what we really all need? Wisdom in the ways of God and insight for living them out? Perhaps what I love even more than what he prays for the Ephesian church is why he prays those things for the Ephesian church: "so that you may grow in your knowledge of God." I think I like it even better the way the NIV says it though, "so that you may know him better." In case you didn't realize it, the him spoken of here is God. Paul is praying for the Ephesian church to know God better. Honestly, this is how I want all of my friends to pray for me now. I want them to pray for spiritual wisdom and insight so that I might know God better.

Let's pray that way for each other, shall we?

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

The Road Through Ephesus...Loving People Ephesians 1:15-16a

I am so thankful for the many people in my life who challenge me to grow in my faith and become more like Jesus. I am sure most of them don't even know who they are, but I am so thankful for them! That's kind of what today's verse is about. Today we're looking at Ephesians 1:15 and 16a and tomorrow we'll look at 16b and 17. Those three verses make up a total of 2 sentences, so I'm breaking them apart according to sentence breaks rather than verse breaks because it's easier on me :-)

So here's today's verse and a half :-)

Ephesians 1:15-16a

"Ever since I first heard about your strong faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for God's people everywhere, 16 I have not stopped thanking God for you."

I love that Paul had only heard about the Ephesians strong faith and love for God's people! Isn't that amazing?!?! That's how I want to be known. I want people to be talking about me because of me strong faith and love for God's people. I think that's an incredible reputation to have. And it's one I desire because it means I look like Jesus. We've already looked at what an amazing reputation the Ephesians had in the world at the time of Paul's writing. It's something he mentions in the very first verse of the letter. Yet, here he adds something else that the Ephesian church was known for: their love for God's people.

If you would have told me three years ago, that I would fall in love with people and how God is working in them and through them, I would have thought you were out of your mind. I was not a people person. I would have much rather spent an evening alone with a good book every night of the week than go somewhere to spend quality time with people. Then God started changing my heart. I began to have a heart for people. I love them. I still love a good book and an evening to myself, but I also love hearing people's stories, seeing how God is working in their lives, and watching them grow in their faith. Can people say that about you? Do you honestly have a God given passion for people? Do people who meet you come away from that encounter thinking that you really love people? That's what I want. Because Jesus loved people. People are messy. Relationships are not easy. But Jesus loves people and he loves you and me, so we should love people too.

I love the last part of this verse too. Paul was "always" thanking God for the people the Ephesian church had become. Do other people "always" thank God for the man or woman of Christ you are becoming? Do you thank God for the people around you and the men and women of God they are becoming? Let's thank God for the work he is accomplishing in you and me and the people around us.

Monday, June 14, 2010

The Road Through Ephesus... Guaranteed Ephesians 1:14

It's gloomy outside. It hasn't really rained much, but it sure looks like it's going to downpour anytime now. It's also really humid outside. Everything feels sticky and gross. I can't wait until the humidity lessens! But that's enough of the bad news. How about some Good News??

Ephesians 1:14

"The Spirit is God's guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him."

I really like things in life that are for sure. Unfortunately, most of life is uncertain. There aren't too many guarantees in life. Perhaps that is why I like this verse. Because, with God, there are certainties, there are guarantees. The Holy Spirit that lives in you once you have accepted Christ is God's guarantee that we really do belong to him and that the inheritance that he has promised us (eternity with him) really will happen.

I'm glad he did this. You see, when we accept Christ, we receive the Holy Spirit to live in us. God has given us the Holy Spirit to be our helper, to be Christ within us. Every Christian has the Holy Spirit in them. This means that every Christian has the guarantee from God that they have been purchased and that they will receive their inheritance. So when we face doubts about our salvation or whether or not God actually heard us when we called on him, we can rest on this: that God has guaranteed, by sending the Holy Spirit, your salvation and your inheritance.

Why did he do this? The answer is rather simple. He did this so that he would be glorified and praised by us. This is why he gives us a guarantee. So that we will praise him. He loves to hear the praises of his children. So today, praise and bring glory to God for what he has done by saving you and for his promise that it will happen. No if, ands, or buts. It will happen.

Sunday, June 13, 2010

The Road Through Ephesus...Identified Ephesians 1:13

Wow. Life is insanely crazy. Yesterday I was at a wedding for two amazing people. I seriously cannot wait to see what God is going to do through their marriage. It will be beautiful! Oh, and I forgot to tell you all that our basement flooded last weekend. So we've been working on that all week trying to get it cleaned up. What a mess!

Anyways, let's move on to the important stuff.

Ephesians 1:13

"And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago."

This verse makes me so glad for prepositions and clauses. It might sound funny to you, but bear with me a moment. Without those prepositions, information is scarce. Yes, there are complete thoughts, but those thoughts are made so much richer and fleshed out by the prepositional phrases.

The first part of the verse that I want to look at isn't a prepositional phrase, but it does give more information. It gives the definition of the word truth. Too often in the world today we hear that there is no such thing as absolute truth. Well, God's word declares otherwise. So what is the truth? The truth in this verse is simply this: "the Good News that God saves you." It's truth. God saves you. What an awesome truth that is!! The truth is the Gospel (the Good News) which says that God saves you. Aren't you glad Paul added this bit of information in?!?

So the next part starts, "And when you believed...". That's great and all, but I am really glad that there's a prepositional phrase after that, because it's not just anything that you have believed. What you believed is this, you believed "in Christ". You didn't believe in just anything, you believed in the only one who can save you, the only one who can offer you forgiveness of your sins, the only one who can make you right with God. That's who you believed in.

The next part makes my heart sing. "He identified you..." Wait, what does he identify me as? He identifies me "as his own". How amazing is that?!?!? You are his! And it doesn't end there! Nope, look at how he identifies you: "by giving you the Holy Spirit..." The NIV says that he has put his seal on you and that his seal is the Holy Spirit. That's how God identifies his people. By those who have the Holy Spirit in them. He gives us this gift of the Holy Spirit (which is a pretty cool gift in my opinion) and it's not a gift that he decided to give spur of the moment. No, it's one that he promised long ago. He's been preparing to give it to you for an eternity. If you haven't accepted Jesus, he's still waiting to give it to you. The offer is there, given with open arms. Don't make him wait any longer.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

The Road Through Ephesus...Our Purpose Ephesians 1:12

Day 12. Wow, I can't believe we're at day 12 already. I know it might not seem like a lot to some of you, but I think that each day I do this is a little bit of a miracle. I get bored pretty easy, so to stick with something for very long can be a challenge and a miracle if I actually do it. So here we go!

Ephesians 1:12

"God's purpose was that we Jews who were the first to trust in Christ would bring praise and glory to God."

When people look at your life what do they see? Do they see a person who's life brings praise and glory to God? Or do they see a person who brings praise and glory to him or herself? Look at this verse. God's purpose is that those who trust in Christ bring praise and glory to him.

That's why you and I were created. God has a purpose for us in this life. We are not useless pieces of junk. We were created with a purpose in mind. Our purpose is to bring praise and honor to God. We do this by the way we live our lives. By how we treat others. By how we act when no one is watching. By how we act when everyone is watching. By how we love. By how we react. By how we spend our time.

Our lives should bring praise and glory to God. Praise and glory are acts of worship. Our lives should be worship in the way that we live. Check out this verse from the Message:

Romans 12:1

"So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life-- your sleeping, eating going-to-work, and walking-around life-- and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him."

And again:

1 Corinthians 10:31

"So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God."

Everything in your life should be done for God as an act of worship. This is our purpose in life.

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

The Road Through Ephesus... Everything Works Out Ephesians 1:11

And so it continues. We have made it to the eleventh verse in chapter one. After today there will be only 144 verses to go. Are you ready to get started?

Ephesians 1:11

"Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan."

So not only does God have a plan, but there's more. You see that word "Furthermore"? It means there's more coming, something in addition. So we are not only chosen before time began, not only bought at an immeasurable price, but we have also received an inheritance from God. You have an inheritance from the CREATOR of the Universe. You are cherished. You are not an estranged child. You are not the black sheep of the family. You are adopted and as such receive all the rights and benefits of a blood connection including receiving an inheritance. Yep, God thinks you're pretty special.

This verse repeats a lot of what we've already talked about. It's a good thing too. Many times I feel like I need a reminder of what has already been said. So easily I forget how passionate God is about me. How much he loves me. How he chose me. How he is in control of Everything. And then Paul reiterates himself and I find myself brought to my knees once again in awe of, well, pretty much EVERYTHING!

Do you see that last part of the verse? "...he makes everything work out according to his plan." God promises that everything will work out. He doesn't promise that it will work out the way that we think it should, but rather that it will work out according to his plan. And the Bible very clearly states in Isaiah 55:8 "'My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,' says the Lord. 'And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.'" Our thoughts and plans are nothing like God's thoughts and plans. God's are so far beyond our imagination that we cannot even begin to understand and comprehend them. Even when it doesn't seem like his plans are working out, remember the promise, "...he makes everything work out according to his plan."

And he does this because we are united with Christ. Because once we are in a relationship with him, we are his. The offer stands for those who believe and accept Jesus. He will work out everything according to his plan and purposes. And we already know what his plan is: his plan is to reconcile as many people to him as possible through Jesus Christ. He will do whatever it takes to make his plan happen. But know this: in the end, everything works out.

Monday, June 7, 2010

The Road Through Ephesus...More Plans Ephesians 1:10

The craziness of life ensues. My amazing cousin's graduation party was on Saturday and the celebrating spilled into Sunday as well. But I am back and ready to continue this journey with you!!

So let's jump right in!

Ephesians 1:10

"And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ-- in heaven and on earth."

I love plans. I love making them and I love having them. I enjoy structure. A little spontaneity every once in a while is nice, but I really love well thought out and organized plans. Yes, I may be slightly type A, but plans are wonderful. So needless to say, it makes me very happy that God has a plan. And he's even letting us in on the plan... how cool is that?!?!

So what's the plan? The first thing mentioned is the timing of the plan. Everyone knows that in planning timing is of the utmost importance. If you're planning a party, you can't really plan much of anything until you have a date and time. I love that it doesn't give a specific time. It just says at the right time. And it's not when you or I think the right time is, it's when God thinks it's the right time. Check out this verse:

2 Peter 3:9

"The Lord isn't really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent."

God's timing is impeccable. It was at just the right time that he stopped Abraham from sacrificing Issac. It was the perfect timing for Jesus to be born and die. God is not slow. He is being patient, waiting for people to turn to him.

And it's at that time that everything will be put under Christ's authority. Whether you submit willingly or not, you will answer to Christ, you will be under his authority. He will be in charge. This verse in Ephesians reminds me of these verses in Philippians:

Philippians 2:10-11

"that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

Every knee. Every tongue. Willing and unwilling will all bow and proclaim Jesus as Lord, as boss. However, for many it will be too late. If that is the first time you knee is bowing and your tongue confessing, you will be separated from Jesus forever. Oh, he will still be in control and will still be your boss, but you will miss the benefit of being in a relationship with him, of being a child of God.

But there is still hope. As long as you have breath on this earth, there is hope. Choose to bow your knee now, to confess now, before it's no longer your choice. Choose Jesus.

Friday, June 4, 2010

The Road Through Ephesus... The Plan Ephesians 1:9

Sorry about not posting again. I left the house yesterday at 8:45 AM and didn't get home until 11:30 PM and then I had to work again this morning. Yesterday was full of work and hanging with my best friend who is leaving me for 10 weeks this summer. Excited for her, but very sad for me!

Anyways, here is the verse for today.

Ephesians 1:9

"God has now revealed to us his mysterious plan regarding Christ, a plan to fulfill his own good pleasure."

I debated for awhile about whether to do this verse with the next one or by itself since the next verse explains what God's mysterious plan is. But I decided to blog about just the one verse today, but I'll let you in on a little secret... the plan is pretty good... actually it's downright amazing, but you'll find that out for yourself tomorrow :-)

One of my favorite parts of this verse is the first part... "God has now revealed to us his mysterious plan..." God isn't keeping his plan regarding Jesus a secret. It's for everyone. He's telling everyone what his plan is, his plan to fulfill his own good pleasure. Without giving too much away for tomorrow's post, his plan is Jesus. Plain and simple. It's not only regarding Christ, it is Christ. The best part is that the plan is available for everyone. No one is excluded.

In light of what the plan is, take a look at these verses.

Isaiah 47:10

"Only I can tell you the future before it even happens. Everything I plan will come to pass, for I do whatever I wish."

Jeremiah 29:11

"'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord. 'Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future."

Do you see that?? His plan is to give you a hope and a future. His plan is Jesus.

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

The Road Through Ephesus...Tidal Waves Ephesians 1:8

So, due to some computer difficulties yesterday and a headache, you all didn't get a post. Sorry about that. Unfortunately, I don't have control over when the computer decides to crash (yes, I am sure that it has a mind of its own. It only crashes when it knows I have something I need to do on it). But you really don't want to hear about my computer woes, so instead here is the verse for today.

Ephesians 1:8

"He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding."

I love that word "showered". I don't know about you, but I love a good shower. I hate when the water pressure is low or the water used is soft water. I love a good strong pressure that will get the shampoo out of my hair in a reasonable amount of time. It's one of the few things I don't like about going on vacation. Everywhere we go, the water has very little pressure. Do you know how long it takes me to wash my hair in instances like that? (Not that this will in any way keep me from vacation.) That's what I think about when I see the word showered in this verse. It's not a little bit of water with very little pressure. No, it's a tidal wave of God's kindness, wisdom, and understanding washing over us. It's enough to knock us off our feet. Wow.

Now look at the second part of the verse "... along with all wisdom and understanding." Do you see it? God doesn't promise us a little bit of wisdom and understanding, but all of it. James 1:5 says this:

"If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking."

God will give you the wisdom and understanding that you ask for. He is not holding out. He is offering it to you. But understand, wisdom and understanding, do not equal knowledge. God never promises you will know everything. But he does promise you wisdom. Overwhelming wisdom is yours. Just ask.