Category: Ephesians

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What’s It Worth?

I’m wanting to stay on topic from yesterday’s blog.

Did you copy the verses I gave you? Are they in your phone or on your computer so that you can read them again and again? Well, if not, here you go again.

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. In Christ, God has given us every spiritual blessing in heaven. 4 In Christ, he chose us before the world was made. He chose us in love to be his holy people—people who could stand before him without any fault. 5 And before the world was made, God decided to make us his own children through Jesus Christ. This was what God wanted, and it pleased him to do it.” Ephesians 1:3-5 ERV

Yesterday friends came to visit and in conversation they mentioned a movie they had seen, Worth. If you haven’t seen it, it deals with compensation for those families who lost loved ones on 9-11. Their biggest struggle was in determining how to compensate families fairly.

This morning, I woke thinking about my worth or value and the verses above came back to mind. My second thought was these verses from the Psalms.

“I look at the heavens you made with your hands.
    I see the moon and the stars you created.
4 And I wonder, “Why are people so important to you?
    Why do you even think about them?
Why do you care so much about humans?
    Why do you even notice them?”

5 But you made them almost like gods
    and crowned them with glory and honor.
6 You put them in charge of everything you made.
    You put everything under their control.
7 People rule over the sheep and cattle and all the wild animals.
8 They rule over the birds in the sky
    and the fish that swim in the sea.
9 Lord our Lord, your name is the most wonderful name in all the earth!” Psalm 8:3-9 ERV

God made man, us (male & female), in His image. He saw us as having value and worth. Remember the first set of verses this morning, from before the foundation of the world He decided to make us His children.

Our worth and value to God the Father is so great that He sent Jesus to die for us.

“ Yes, God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him would not be lost but have eternal life.” John 3:16 ERV

If you think I’m trying to make a point, you’re right! I want you to see yourself as God sees you. You are priceless, no expense was too great to purchase our redemption.

“Christ sacrificed his life’s blood to set us free, which means our sins are now forgiven. Christ did this because of God’s gift of undeserved grace to us. God has great wisdom and understanding,” Ephesians 1:7-8 CEV

I need us to go back to the story of the prodigal son again. Look at the son’s mindset.

“ I will go to my father and say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against God in heaven and against you. 19 I am no longer good enough to be called your son. Treat me like one of your workers.’ ” Luke 15:18-19 CEV

That phrase in other versions says, “No longer worthy”. Sin causes us to look at our unworthiness but love, the Father’s love, shows us our value.

“…when he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt sorry for him. He ran to his son and hugged and kissed him… ‘Hurry and bring the best clothes and put them on him. Give him a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. 23 Get the best calf and prepare it, so we can eat and celebrate. 24 This son of mine was dead, but has now come back to life. He was lost and has now been found.” Luke 15:20-24 CEV

God determined our value before the world began. He established our worth and determined we are priceless!

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Thanks Dad!

Mother’s Day is behind us and we will celebrate Father’s Day in a couple of weeks. As I was praying this morning I found myself saying, “Thanks Dad. I’m so glad you chose me to be your daughter. I couldn’t have anyone better to trust in and rely on than You”!

That was so humbling to me.

When I think of all the great men who have ever lived, all the mighty men, the wise men, the loving and gracious men, even my own earthly dad, no one could make the impact on my life that my loving heavenly Father has.

There’s no one I would rather have for a Father than my heavenly Father!

“ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. In Christ, God has given us every spiritual blessing in heaven. 4 In Christ, he chose us before the world was made. He chose us in love to be his holy people—people who could stand before him without any fault. 5 And before the world was made, God decided to make us his own children through Jesus Christ. This was what God wanted, and it pleased him to do it.” Ephesians 1:3-5 ERV

If you’ve ever dealt with low self-esteem you should memorize these verses or at the very least put them in the notes section of your phone and read them every hour.

Our heavenly Father chose us before He made the world. He chose us not out of obligation or merit but we were chosen because of His great love for us. He wanted to do it – He wanted to make us His own!

“The true children of God are those who let God’s Spirit lead them. 15 The Spirit that we received is not a spirit that makes us slaves again and causes us to fear. The Spirit that we have makes us God’s chosen children. And with that Spirit we cry out, “ Abba, Father.” 16 And the Spirit himself speaks to our spirits and makes us sure that we are God’s children.” Romans 8:14-16 ERV

That word Abba means daddy! Our term of endearment, a term used because of love and confidence in the One who holds our hearts.

God has always wanted a relationship with us. He never intended for us to be estranged from Him. He also gave us a free will. He didn’t want our relationship to be one of servitude or obligation. If we had no freewill we would be puppets or robots, serving Him because we were programmed to do it.

In the example that Jesus gave of the prodigal son we see the heart of the Father. His son wanted to experience a life different from what his father had planned. The father released his youngest son, even though his heart was breaking, to go do his own thing.

When life didn’t turn out the way the son expected it, he returned to his father’s home with the intent of living the life of a servant but the father’s plan was different.

“But the father said to his servants, ‘Hurry! Bring the best clothes and put them on him. Also, put a ring on his finger and good sandals on his feet. 23 And bring our best calf and kill it so that we can celebrate with plenty to eat. 24 My son was dead, but now he is alive again! He was lost, but now he is found!’ So they began to have a party.” Luke 15:22-24 ERV

We’ve all been the prodigal at one time or another. Coming home is the best.

Thank You Father for always welcoming us with loving arms!

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Don’t Be Discouraged!

I realized yesterday when I talked about hardships that some of those reading this blog may be discouraged by that thought. So, let’s continue on.

As I pointed out the Apostle Paul had many opportunities to become discouraged because his hardships were many. However, he never accepted defeat. Instead of going from battle to battle, he went from victory to victory. He had his mind set, like concrete, in the truth of God’s word.

“Do not act like the sinful people of the world. Let God change your life. First of all, let Him give you a new mind. Then you will know what God wants you to do. And the things you do will be good and pleasing and perfect.” Romans 12:2 NLV

When we come to Christ and begin to study God’s word there is a transformation that begins to take place in our minds. Instead of seeing limitations we see God’s intervention and His power.

“ It is true, we live in a body of flesh. But we do not fight like people of the world. 4 We do not use those things to fight with that the world uses. We use the things God gives to fight with and they have power. Those things God gives to fight with destroy the strong-places of the devil. 5 We break down every thought and proud thing that puts itself up against the wisdom of God. We take hold of every thought and make it obey Christ.” II Corinthians 10:3-5 NLV

The people Paul was writing to were used to seeing soldiers invading their lands; fighting men ready to conquer a weaker or diminished force. He pointed out that ours was a different kind of battle. Ours is a battle of faith – trusting and believing God to do what He has promised. Breaking down every thought that tries to diminish the power of God in our lives.

“This is the last thing I want to say: Be strong with the Lord’s strength. 11 Put on the things God gives you to fight with. Then you will not fall into the traps of the devil. 12 Our fight is not with people. It is against the leaders and the powers and the spirits of darkness in this world. It is against the demon world that works in the heavens. 13 Because of this, put on all the things God gives you to fight with. Then you will be able to stand in that sinful day. When it is all over, you will still be standing.” Ephesians 6:10-13 NLV

Still standing! Going from victory to victory.

“Every child of God can defeat the world, and our faith is what gives us this victory. 5 No one can defeat the world without having faith in Jesus as the Son of God.” I John 5:4-5 CEV

“But we thank God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!” I Corinthians 15:57 ERV

Hardships, yes. Victory? Absolutely, through Christ we always triumph!

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Smoky Glass

One of the things I have done over the past couple of days is clean the mirrors and windows. There was a light coating of construction dust on everything.

It wasn’t a priority the first couple of days, but it really began to annoy me. I could even write my name in the dust on the mirrors surface. Time for a cleaning!

This morning, I was reminded of a collection of vintage oil lamps I used to have. I loved using them; the ambiance of the flickering flame was so soothing; they gave good light but the glass chimneys had to be cleaned on a regular basis or the light they put off was diminished.

Just like life, isn’t it?

We are called to let our light shine so those around us can see the Father and His promises but sometimes our chimneys get smoke covered and our true image is distorted by the dust.

“The Lord’s instruction is right; it makes our hearts glad. His commands shine brightly, and they give us light.” Psalm 19:8 CEV

We start out excited about God’s word. It makes a powerful impact in our lives and then we get busy, we forget God’s promises, worry puts a sooty film on things and we need to be cleaned.

” No one lights a lamp and then hides it or puts it under a clay pot. A lamp is put on a lampstand, so everyone who comes into the house can see the light. 34 Your eyes are the lamp for your body. When your eyes are good, you have all the light you need. But when your eyes are bad, everything is dark. 35 So be sure your light isn’t darkness. 36 If you have light, and nothing is dark, then light will be everywhere, as when a lamp shines brightly on you.” Luke 11:33-36 CEV

God’s word is the lamp that lights our path.

“Your word is a lamp that gives light wherever I walk.” Psalm 119:105 CEV

The light doesn’t change. God’s word doesn’t change; it’s our perspective that often times get clouded by our circumstances and opinions around us.

“The Scriptures say, ‘God commanded light to shine in the dark.’ Now God is shining in our hearts to let you know that his glory is seen in Jesus Christ. 7 We are like clay jars in which this treasure is stored. The real power comes from God and not from us.” II Corinthians 4:6-7 CEV

May I encourage you to do a “white glove” test on the chimney of your life. Is it cloudy, does it have a little dust? Maybe it’s gotten covered with soot and it’s time for a cleaning.

“You used to be like people living in the dark, but now you are people of the light because you belong to the Lord. So act like people of the light 9 and make your light shine. Be good and honest and truthful” Ephesians 5:8-9 CEV

“Christ did this so He could set the church apart for Himself. He made it clean by the washing of water with the Word.” Ephesians 5:26 NLV

Let God do some good old fashioned cleaning so that our lights shine brightly in this world.

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Abiding Love

I’ve been sitting here for the better part of three hours thinking about the abiding love of God. I am at a loss for words so I will let God’s word speak.

“ I pray that Christ will live in your hearts because of your faith. I pray that your life will be strong in love and be built on love. 18 And I pray that you and all God’s holy people will have the power to understand the greatness of Christ’s love—how wide, how long, how high, and how deep that love is. 19 Christ’s love is greater than anyone can ever know, but I pray that you will be able to know that love. Then you can be filled with everything God has for you.” Ephesians 3:17-19 ERV

I read once that God’s love is like the ocean, you can see where it begins but never where it ends. There is no end to the love of God!

“But then I think about this, and I have hope: 22 We are still alive because the Lord’s faithful love never ends. 23 Every morning he shows it in new ways! You are so very true and loyal!” Lamentations 3:21-23 ERV

“ I have loved you, just as my Father has loved me. So remain faithful to my love for you.” John 15:9 CEV

The word remain in other translations is abide. Abide means to live or stay in the place of God’s love. We abide in God’s love by staying in His word. It’s through the word of God that we learn the depth of His love.

See what happens when we live or stay in God.

“Live under the protection of God Most High and stay in the shadow of God All-Powerful.
2 Then you will say to the Lord, ‘You are my fortress, my place of safety; you are my God, and I trust you.'” Psalm 91:1-2 CEV

Occasionally we lose our way. Occasionally we wander off, but God always remains faithful in His love for us.

“I am your servant, but I have wandered away like a lost sheep. Please come after me, because I have not forgotten your teachings.” Psalm 119:176 CEV

Hundreds of years after King David wrote those words Jesus said this:

“ If any of you has 100 sheep, and one of them gets lost, what will you do? Won’t you leave the 99 in the field and go look for the lost sheep until you find it? 5 And when you find it, you will be so glad that you will put it on your shoulder 6 and carry it home. Then you will call in your friends and neighbors and say, “Let’s celebrate! I’ve found my lost sheep.” Luke 15:4-6 CEV

That my friends is the depth of God’s abiding love!

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Hard to Believe

Yesterday I shared with you some of the reasons I get up each morning and praise God!

I’m sure that at least a few of you read some of those verses and said in your heart “That’s hard to believe”, because at one time, I felt just like that. I would hear sermons and read verses and go “that’s really good, I wish it worked for me like that”.

I was thinking on that very line when I picked up my Bible this morning and began to read. Here’s the first verse in my reading: “All you say can be trusted; your teachings are true and will last forever.” Psalm 119:60 CEV

Then a few verses down there was this: “You give peace of mind to all who love your Law. Nothing can make them fall. 166 You are my only hope for being saved, Lord, and I do all you command. 167 I love and obey your laws with all my heart.” Psalm 119:165-167 CEV

Now wait, “Our Lord, you keep your word  and do everything you say. 14 When someone stumbles or falls, you give a helping hand. 15 Everyone depends on you, and when the time is right, you provide them with food.” Psalm 135:13-15 CEV

The more I went on in my reading, the more I realized that God was confirming the strength and power of His word in the lives of each of us who call ourselves Christians, those of us who believe Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God; the One who saves us from our sins.

If you are in the group, and hope and pray that you are I have a couple more verses to share with you that were in my morning reading.

“I pray that Christ Jesus and the church will forever bring praise to God. His power at work in us can do far more than we dare ask or imagine. Amen.” Ephesians 3:20-21 CEV

But that wasn’t the last verse that I read, there are still a couple more.

“The demon has often tried to kill him by throwing him into a fire or into water. Please have pity and help us if you can!” 23 Jesus replied, ‘Why do you say ‘if you can’? Anything is possible for someone who has faith!” 24 At once the boy’s father shouted, “I do have faith! Please help me to have even more.” Mark 9:22-24 CEV

This man’s son was demon possessed. He came to Jesus asking for help. The father said, “help if you can”. So many times, we are like that father asking Lord, if you can. He can and He will; we need to believe that He not only has the ability but the willingness. He is God and He keeps His word.

“But without faith no one can please God. We must believe that God is real and rewards everyone who searches for him.” Hebrews 11:6 CEV

Now, just one more for good measure. “34 Mary asked the angel, “How can this happen? I am not even married!” 35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come down to you, and God’s power will come over you. So your child will be called the holy Son of God. 36 Your relative Elizabeth is also going to have a son, even though she is old. No one thought she could ever have a baby, but in three months she will have a son. 37  Nothing is impossible for God!” 38 Mary said, “I am the Lord’s servant! Let it happen as you have said.” And the angel left her.” Luke 1:35-38 CEV

I know it’s hard to believe BUT God’s word does not fail – never has, never will!

There are so many more verses that I could direct you to that point to God’s faithfulness in keeping His word. He’s given all of them to us, so it won’t be hard to believe.

Just as the sun comes up every morning, the waves come to the shore, the earth spins on its axis, God’s word is infallible and is always true. The more we draw into relationship with Him, the more convinced (faith) we become that it’s “Hard to Believe” anything other than the Word of God.

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Ready to Receive?

For the better part of a week, I’ve been re-reading one particular group of verses. That’s not uncommon, I often mull over Scriptures and meditate on their meaning. These verses have been a part of my return reading for over 40 years.

 “I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly, 17 asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God. 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.

19 I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power 20 that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms. 21 Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else—not only in this world but also in the world to come. 22 God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church. 23 And the church is his body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with himself.” Ephesians 1:16-23 NLT

Please go back and re-read those verses one more time.

Spiritual truth doesn’t have to be “deep” and hard to comprehend. But it does have to be received by faith. I’ve been practicing receiving from the Lord for years.

We are Christ’s body and we are God, the Father’s, inheritance!

I heard one teacher contrast the difference between receiving and getting. Getting implies working hard, striving, manipulating, using your effort to obtain. Receiving, on the other hand, is opening yourself to accept what someone else has done. You receive a gift with gratitude.

Receiving from the Lord is accepting what Jesus has already done – that’s faith. We don’t “work” to “get” from the Lord we walk by faith and accept His gifts of grace.

He wants us to understand and grow in our knowledge of Him. God isn’t trying to hide from us; He is eager for us to get to know Him. He wants our hearts to be flooded with hope as we learn about His power that He has made available to us.

“The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.” Romans 8:11 NLT

“I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency].” Philippians 4:13 AMPC

Are you ready to receive? Hold out your hands and thank God for the wonderful gift of His love, power and strength.

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Left Without

For most of the day yesterday I kept thinking about the void people experience who don’t know God. It hurts my heart!

So much bad news, so much turmoil and when we are left without our personal relationship with the Lord we are also left without peace, joy, and most of all hope. Hope!

“You were living without Christ then. The Jewish people who belonged to God had nothing to do with you. The promises He gave to them were not for you. You had nothing in this world to hope for. You were without God.

13 But now you belong to Christ Jesus. At one time you were far away from God. Now you have been brought close to Him. Christ did this for you when He gave His blood on the cross.” Ephesians 2:12-13 NLV

There’s a phrase I always look for in the Bible when I’m reading about people facing hardships and overwhelming odds. That is “but God”. That’s what the Apostle Paul wrote in the verses above.

We were living without Christ, we had nothing to hope for BUT Christ brought us close to God and now we have relationship with Him.

“We can come to God without fear because we have put our trust in Christ.” Ephesians 3:12 NLV

Because of our relationship with God through Christ we are now without fear and blame – we have hope, we have peace, we have help.

“ May the God of peace set you apart for Himself. May every part of you be set apart for God. May your spirit and your soul and your body be kept complete. May you be without blame when our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. 24 The One Who called you is faithful and will do what He promised.” I Thessalonians 5:23-24 NLV

I couldn’t leave you today without a song. It’s a song I remember singing when I was a teenager. It has brought me encouragement so, so, so many times throughout my life. It’s been sung by a number of artists but most recently I’ve enjoyed listening to Josh Turner sing, Without Him.

Without him, I would be dying
Without him, I’d be enslaved
Without him, life would be hopeless
But with Jesus, thank God I’m saved

“ Let us go with complete trust to the throne of God. We will receive His loving-kindness and have His loving-favor to help us whenever we need it.” Hebrews 4:16

Without Him I’d surely fail BUT thank GOD I am never left without God and His love!

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There’s A Void

…without Him

My thoughts this morning focused on one thing – I found it in the first few verses of Genesis.

“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. 3 And God said…” Genesis 1:1-3 KJV

No form – there was darkness and a void until God spoke. Those few words can describe everyone who is reading this. There’s a darkness and a void but God isn’t content to leave us that way. He desires to fill the void.

God spoke and there was light. God separated the light from the dark so we would have time to rest and time to flourish. He spoke and land separated from the waters; the earth teamed with life of every sort and the things God created He called good. When He created humanity, He called it very good.

He speaks and worlds change. He speaks and lives are transformed. It’s the power of God’s word that creates.

“For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return there, But water the earth, And make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower And bread to the eater, 11 So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;
It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please,
And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.” Isaiah 55:10-11 NKJV

John, the Apostle, called Jesus the Word. His very existence here on earth was the Word of God being accomplished. Our lives prosper because of Him.

“For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:6-8 NKJV

We were without strength but God stepped in to fill the void with His love. When God speaks things change. Power and life replace the weakness.

“Have your roots planted deep in Christ. Grow in Him. Get your strength from Him. Let Him make you strong in the faith as you have been taught. Your life should be full of thanks to Him…9 For Christ is not only God-like, He is God in human flesh. 10 When you have Christ, you are complete. He is the head over all leaders and powers.” Colossians 2:7-10 NLV

“The church is Christ’s body. It is filled with him. He makes everything complete in every way.” Ephesians 1:23 ERV

Because of Christ the void is filled, and we are complete in Him.

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What to Share?

That’s the question I was asking this morning. The answer was loud and clear:

Share the Gospel – the good news of Jesus Christ!

“My friends, I want you to remember the message I preached and that you believed and trusted. 2 You will be saved by this message, if you hold firmly to it. But if you don’t, your faith was all for nothing.

3  I told you the most important part of the message exactly as it was told to me. This part is:

Christ died for our sins,
    as the Scriptures say.
4 He was buried,
    and three days later
he was raised to life,
    as the Scriptures say.
5 Christ appeared to Peter,
    then to the twelve.
6 After this, he appeared
to more than five hundred
    other followers.
Most of them are still alive,
    but some have died.
7 He also appeared to James,
    then to all of the apostles.

8  Finally, he appeared to me, even though I am like someone who was born at the wrong time.

9  I am the least important of all the apostles. In fact, I caused so much trouble for God’s church that I don’t even deserve to be called an apostle. 10 But God treated me with undeserved grace! He made me what I am, and his grace wasn’t wasted. I worked much harder than any of the other apostles, although it was really God’s grace at work and not me. 11 But it doesn’t matter if I preached or if they preached. All of you believed the message just the same.” I Corinthians 15:1-11 CEV

The good news? Christ died for our sins, was buried and rose from the dead so that we could have new life in Him!

Salvation is nothing we earn but something we receive. It’s a gift from God, the expression of His grace.

“God did this so that his kindness to us who belong to Christ Jesus would clearly show for all time to come the amazing richness of his grace. 8 I mean that you have been saved by grace because you believed. You did not save yourselves; it was a gift from God. 9 You are not saved by the things you have done, so there is nothing to boast about.” Ephesians 2:7-9 ERV

We can’t boast or brag about our good works, intelligence, financial status or any other thing. It’s all about God and His unconditional love and forgiveness.

“I would love to tell you what I think of Jesus,
Since I found in Him a friend so strong and true;
I would tell you how He changed my life completely,
He did something that no other friend could do.

No one ever cared for me like Jesus,
There’s no other friend so kind as He;
No one else could take the sin and darkness from me,
O how much He cared for me.”

I am so thankful for my life with Christ. He is my all-in-all; my Lord, my Savior, my Friend!

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