Category: Ephesians

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Work in Progress

Have you ever been in an area where new commercial buildings are being constructed? It’s interesting how they print the signage that shows you what’s coming complete with sidewalks, flowers, trees and fountains. These images are called renderings.

I remember when our children were little and there was some construction going on in downtown Scottsdale. We had been driving past this one building for months. On this particular day the kids were so excited. “Look Momma, it’s finished!” The equipment was gone, and it looked like businesses could start moving in. Construction was done but the building wasn’t finished.

Since I was a home-schooling mom we were able to stop long enough to look at the image on the sign and I was able to ask the kids to point out the differences between the building and the image. It didn’t take them long for them to tell me there were no trees, no flowers, no grass, the fountain had no water. No, it wasn’t “finished”.

That was the day these verses came alive to me.

“Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.” Hebrews 12:2-3

“We must keep our eyes on Jesus, who leads us and makes our faith complete. He endured the shame of being nailed to a cross, because he knew that later on he would be glad he did. Now he is seated at the right sideof God’s throne! 3 So keep your mind on Jesus, who put up with many insults from sinners. Then you won’t get discouraged and give up.” Hebrews 12:2-3 CEV

I came to see Jesus as the architect of my faith. He is the one who designed faith, he put that design down on paper (the Bible) and it is He who is overseeing the project of faith through to completion. Faith is trusting in and relying on what God’s word says.

My life is the building that is under construction. Each day the process continues; some days I can become discouraged by the lack of visible progress but if I keep my eyes on Jesus and how he is working in my life, if I see how he endured the ridicule and hardships then I can keep going until the construction is complete.

Here on earth we have some contractors that skimp on the design, run out of money before the project is complete or abandon the project entirely. God isn’t like that. He’s well-financed and has the patience to see us through to completion.

“My brothers and sisters, you will have many kinds of trouble. But this gives you a reason to be very happy. 3 You know that when your faith is tested, you learn to be patient in suffering. 4 If you let that patience work in you, the end result will be good. You will be mature and complete. You will be all that God wants you to be.” James 1:2-4 ERV

Now there are some words we don’t like to hear: trouble, patience, suffering. But that’s exactly why we look to Jesus. He put up with trouble – the religious leaders set out to trip him up and destroy his ministry on a daily basis. He suffered ridicule from his own family and was even betrayed by those closest to him. But his patience (persistence) brought Him through to victory. When we follow His example our end result will be good – we’ll be mature and we’ll look like what God designed us to be!

Are we complete yet? No! Some of us are further along in the construction process than others. That should be an encouragement! Keep looking at Jesus; he’ll make sure that we look like the rendering, we are his workmanship.

“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” Ephesians 2:10 CEV

It won’t be long now and we’ll be finished!

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Chosen Special

Over the past months I have learned a lot about diamonds. The process of taking a stone from “diamond rough” to brilliant cut requires pain-staking precision and is only done by a Master. Diamonds value is determined by color, carat, clarity and facets. Choosing the right one requires a well trained eye.

God, the Father, has chosen us. He sees value and beauty in us, we are precious in His sight.

“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. 6 And this brings praise to God because of his wonderful grace. God gave that grace to us freely. He gave us that grace in Christ, the one he loves.”  Ephesians 1:3-6 ERV

From before the world was made, God saw through time and picked us out to be His own. A few days back we covered the verses that show that God doesn’t have favorites. He chose us all. He’s not willing for anyone to miss out on life with Him.

“The Lord is not being slow in doing what he promised—the way some people understand slowness. But God is being patient with you. He doesn’t want anyone to be lost. He wants everyone to change their ways and stop sinning.” II Peter 3:9 ERV

He has seen everyone of us and is patiently waiting for us to turn to Him and find the wonderful relationship that He has for each of us. God, the Father, sees us as His inheritance. One thing I’ve learned about a will is that only things that the person making the will sees as valuable are listed.

I’m going to close our teaching on in Christ and in Him with these verses written by the Apostle Paul. I read these verses every morning, for years, and each day I grew to understand them more and more.

I encourage you to make them part of your daily Bible reading. Let each phrase sink in, go back and reread each segment. I pray that forty years from now, if Jesus hasn’t come back, you will still be gaining insight into how valuable you are to God.

“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

When we are in Christ, He fills us with Himself! We are complete in Him! We are His chosen!

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The Unknown God

Did you know that there is an altar in the Palatine Museum in Rome that is dedicated to the “unknown god”? It was discovered during excavation of Palatine Hill, which is the center most of the seven hills of Rome, in 1820.

It’s true!

This is not the altar to the unknown god that the Apostle Paul spoke of when he was preaching in Athens but it’s interesting that these early Romans and Greeks recognized that there was a god who they didn’t know anything about.

Paul spoke to the men of Athens when they asked him to expound on a new teaching.  The Athenians loved “new” teachings and they were very religious people.

“Then Paul stood up before the meeting of the Areopagus council and said, “Men of Athens, everything I see here tells me you are very religious. 23 I was going through your city and I saw the things you worship. I found an altar that had these words written on it: ‘ to an unknown god.’ You worship a god that you don’t know. This is the God I want to tell you about.

24 “He is the God who made the whole world and everything in it. He is the Lord of the land and the sky. He does not live in temples built by human hands. 25 He is the one who gives people life, breath, and everything else they need. He does not need any help from them. He has everything he needs. 26 God began by making one man, and from him he made all the different people who live everywhere in the world. He decided exactly when and where they would live.

27 “God wanted people to look for him, and perhaps in searching all around for him, they would find him. But he is not far from any of us. 28 It is through him that we are able to live, to do what we do, and to be who we are. As your own poets have said, ‘We all come from him.’

29 “That’s right. We all come from God. So you must not think that he is like something people imagine or make. He is not made of gold, silver, or stone. 30 In the past people did not understand God, and he overlooked this. But now he is telling everyone in the world to change and turn to him. 31 He has decided on a day when he will judge all the people in the world in a way that is fair. To do this he will use a man he chose long ago. And he has proved to everyone that this is the man to do it. He proved it by raising him from death!”

32 When the people heard about Jesus being raised from death, some of them laughed. But others said, “We will hear more about this from you later.”Acts 17:22-32

Paul stayed in Athens and taught those who wanted to learn more about Jesus. The Bible tells us that some people laughed at the idea of the resurrection but there were some who believed. There is no other God like our God! He has designed from the beginning of time a way for us to be in relationship with Him. He sent His Son to die for our sins. No other religious leader and/or god has ever died and been raised from the dead. Only Jesus.

“Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.”  John 14:6 NLT

Our study over the past few days has been on our relationship “in Him” or “in Christ”.  Without that relationship we are without Christ and without hope in this world.

“Yes, at one time you were far away from God, but now in Christ Jesus, you are brought near to him. You are brought near to God through the blood sacrifice of Christ.” Ephesians 2:13 ERV

I am very glad to say like Paul that in Christ I have life, breath and everything I need.

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The Real You!

In 1980 my life with Christ dramatically changed. I had accepted Christ as my Savior when I was a young girl but things were stagnant. Now that I was a young wife and mother my heart cried out for more.

The best example I can give you is the life of Peter. For most of his time as Jesus’ disciple he was impetuous, ruled by his emotions ; it was apparent he struggled to maintain. And then…on the day of Pentecost, Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit and his life demonstrated a power he had never known before.

Instead of denying he knew Christ when questioned by a little servant girl, he boldly proclaim Jesus Christ and His resurrection from the grave when he was being threatened with imprisonment and beatings. He went from being tossed about by his emotions to being the man Christ referred to as “the rock”.

The difference was the power of the Holy Spirit in his life. Peter’s boldness came from knowing who he was in Christ and the power that was given to him by Jesus.

We wanted to be like Peter, the rock so Dave and I began to devour God’s word in search of what the Father has given us to live a victorious life while we are on this earth.

Over the next several days I am going to share with you some of the Scriptures the Lord made real in my life during those days. These verses are life-changing. To start this study I need you to answer this question.

Do you know who you are? 

A  child, a parent, a spouse, a grandparent, a niece or nephew, a dear & trusted friend, a co-worker, an opponent – this list can be as long as the list of people we know and are related to. But really, who are you?  This question can be answered in greatest depth and meaning when we allow the Scripture to define who we are.

Paul says if any man, person, be “in Christ” he is a new creature; old things have passed away and all things have become new.  A new creature – so who or what is this new creature. What do we look like – how do we act?

One of the greatest things that can happen in our Christian walk is to realize that WE – myself included – are new creatures.  All the old with its past is dead and I’ve been given a brand new life – a new start. I have become a whole new species of being “in Christ”!  The Apostle Paul spent a great deal of his writings dealing with this new person we have become. This morning let’s look at one Scripture in particular.

“In the past you were spiritually dead because of your sins and the things you did against God. 2 Yes, in the past your lives were full of those sins. You lived the way the world lives, following the ruler of the evil powers that are above the earth. That same spirit is now working in those who refuse to obey God. 3 In the past all of us lived like that, trying to please our sinful selves. We did all the things our bodies and minds wanted. Like everyone else in the world, we deserved to suffer God’s anger just because of the way we were.

4 But God is rich in mercy, and he loved us very much. 5 We were spiritually dead because of all we had done against him. But he gave us new life together with Christ. (You have been saved by God’s grace.) 6 Yes, it is because we are a part of Christ Jesus that God raised us from death and seated us together with him in the heavenly places. 7 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. 10 God has made us what we are. In Christ Jesus, God made us new people so that we would spend our lives doing the good things he had already planned for us to do.” Ephesians 2:1-10 ERV

Over the next several mornings I will be developing a study on “Who We are in Christ Jesus”. It is my hope to give you enough Scripture and direction that you develop a hunger to learn more about your relationship “in Christ”.

Welcome to the good life – the life in Christ Jesus!

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Facts Lead To Wisdom

Life is a progression of accumulated information. Hopefully, this brings us to a place of wisdom.

Take, for example, the fact that the stove is hot. We were taught by our parents not touch the hot stove. For most of us just the statement of fact was not enough. We had to test the fact by experience. At one point we did touch it and felt the warmth, sometimes getting a small blister as a result of the experience.

From that experience we gained knowledge. Knowledge is the process of putting the facts into practice. Knowledge becomes wisdom when we take the fact of the stove being hot, the experience of touching it and use that knowledge to cook something without burning it and then teach others to cook on that stove as well.

We can apply these steps to everything in life; walking, riding a bike, driving a car, using the internet and dealing with people. We go through the process – facts, experience, knowledge and wisdom.

The same applies to our walk with Christ. When we first become a follower of Christ it is generally based on one fact. God loves me and wants to have a relationship with me. Just the facts.

As we learn more about our heavenly Father and His love we begin to experience the faithfulness, mercy, forgiveness and grace that are an outward expression of His love. Our experiences with God’s love give us the knowledge that He will never leave us or abandon us and that His love will never fail.

“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 3:18-19 ERV

The final step in this process is wisdom regarding God’s love. Wisdom is knowing although we can do anything and God will still love us that we want to do only those things that please Him because He does love us unconditionally. Wisdom also has us sharing our experience with others so they can have a greater knowledge and understanding of God’s love.

“There is no fear in love. Perfect love puts fear out of our hearts. People have fear when they are afraid of being punished. The man who is afraid does not have perfect love. 19 We love Him because He loved us first.” I John 4:18-19 NLV

Our knowledge of God’s love takes the fear of being rejected and punished for our wrong doings out of our thinking. We experience forgiveness and restoration because of God’s great and amazing love. We love Him because He loves us first – that’s wisdom.

The lyrics of an old song go something like this: “Could we with ink the ocean fill
And were the skies of parchment made, Were every stalk on earth a quill And every man a scribe by trade, To write the love of God above Would drain the ocean dry, Nor could the scroll contain the whole Though stretched from sky to sky.” (The Love of God by Fredrick Lehman, 1917)

There will never be enough time, words or talent to pen the greatness of the unconditional love of God.

Each one of us may be at a different place. Some are gathering facts, others are beginning to have daily experience with God’s love and still others have gained years of knowledge and are some are wisely sharing the knowledge they have gained. Whichever one you are, it all starts with one fact.

GOD LOVES YOU!

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Each Day’s A Gift

I try to look at each day as a gift from the Lord. When I get up in the morning I write two or three words in my journal – things like strength, wisdom, joy, family, inspiration, health, etc. These are the gifts that I realize I received the day before. Sometimes it’s the same gift several days in a row – there are times that peace, health, freedom from pain and inspiration are directing my life during that season and I never want to take them for granted.

To say my life is blessed is not clique nor is it a self-righteous proclamation. It is a statement that comes from a humbled and grateful heart. I never want to take the goodness of the Lord for granted. His blessings fill me with awe!

How could the Almighty God who made heaven and earth be so loving, so personal that He would care about the smallest details that effect my life? I can only explain it one way – His love! He loves me unconditionally, in spite of my failures and shortcomings, even when my heart is rebellious and I sin willfully He loves me! That’s who He is and what He does.

“Christ died for us at a time when we were helpless and sinful. 7 No one is really willing to die for an honest person, though someone might be willing to die for a truly good person. 8 But God showed how much he loved us by having Christ die for us, even though we were sinful. 9 But there is more! Now that God has accepted us because Christ sacrificed his life’s blood, we will also be kept safe from God’s anger. 10 Even when we were God’s enemies, he made peace with us, because his Son died for us. Yet something even greater than friendship is ours. Now that we are at peace with God, we will be saved by his Son’s life.” Romans 5:6-10 CEV

I could fill the pages of my journal and every subsequent one with “God loves me” and still truly never completely comprehend the depth of that statement. A part of His expression of love to us is friendship, deep abiding commitment and loyalty.

The gift of friendship with God! Amazing!

The Apostle Paul takes it one step further. Unconditional love, friendship and then peace with God. He says that peace with God is greater than friendship with Him. How can that be?

Everyone of us know that when we love someone or are friends with someone there isn’t always peace in the relationship. We don’t always see eye to eye and conflicts come. How sweet it is when the relationship is restored and peace rules.

The Apostle Paul also wrote these words: “And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. 19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.” Ephesians 3:18-19 NLT

We have before us a table piled high with gifts. Life, itself is a gift. I pray that you open the gifts of God’s love, friendship and peace today. They’ve been custom-crafted just for you.

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A Living Example

I think it’s every loving father’s desire to see his children grow up to act and look like him. He teaches them things when they are young and spends time with them as they grow and develop. It’s great when his kids like the things he likes and mirror him in their life decisions. No, he doesn’t want puppets – he wants kids that make good quality decisions and that mature into respectable young people and adults.

You know, our heavenly Father wants the same. So many times we read in the Bible that we are to follow our Father’s example and be like him. This is what Jesus was saying at the Sermon on the Mount.

“You have heard people say, “Love your neighbors and hate your enemies.” 44 But I tell you to love your enemies and pray for anyone who mistreats you. 45 Then you will be acting like your Father in heaven. He makes the sun rise on both good and bad people. And he sends rain for the ones who do right and for the ones who do wrong. 46 If you love only those people who love you, will God reward you for that? Even tax collectors love their friends. 47 If you greet only your friends, what’s so great about that? Don’t even unbelievers do that? 48 But you must always act like your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:43-48 CEV

God, the Father, brings good to all – rain and sunshine. He has freely offered new life to everyone. He desires a deep relationship with all of us.

“Therefore, imitate God like dearly loved children. 2 Live your life with love, following the example of Christ, who loved us and gave himself for us. He was a sacrificial offering that smelled sweet to God.” Ephesians 5:1-2 CEB

Let’s model His character today and reach out to all, even those who aren’t as nice to us as we would like. In doing so we are letting the love of the Father shine through us.

There’s no better example to follow than His!

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Small Beginnings

Last night Dave and I were sitting on the back patio and talking about how things looked when we first moved in here. We love our yard and we have put a lot of sweat equity in the last six years to make it “home”.

One thing that is most amazing is the growth of a mesquite tree out there. In this morning’s picture you can see how big it is now. The little inset shows you how tiny it was when we moved in. The trunk of the tree was no bigger than the diameter of my little finger. It was Dave who said we should leave it and one day it would be a nice shade tree. I, quite frankly, had my doubts.

“Here is another illustration Jesus used: ‘The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed planted in a field. 32 It is the smallest of all seeds, but it becomes the largest of garden plants; it grows into a tree, and birds come and make nests in its branches.’” Matthew 13:31-32 NLT

What these verses and our backyard tree tell me is that we should never under estimate something just because it is small and seems insignificant. Not trees and not people. God has a purpose and design for each one of us.

In God’s kingdom, we will all make an impact on those around us as we allow Him to work in us and through us. God’s Word waters us and that watering causes us to grow and mature. Our lives can provide shade and shelter for those around us. We are all called to do good things for God’s glory.

“God has made us what we are. In Christ Jesus, God made us new people so that we would spend our lives doing the good things he had already planned for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10 ERV

God has a plan of good things for us, we should never despise small beginnings!

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Made Right – Ready for Use

I know everyone has bought an item at one time or another and found one of those “inspected by” tags. Do you ever wonder who “inspected by No. 46” is? And if you find a flaw in the product, were they having a bad day and just didn’t do their job right? I know it’s silly but I wonder about those things.

However, I have never wondered if God was having a bad day when He told the Holy Spirit to put His seal of approval on us – we are made right and ready for use.

“It’s in Christ that you, once you heard the truth and believed it (this Message of your salvation), found yourselves home free—signed, sealed, and delivered by the Holy Spirit. This signet from God is the first installment on what’s coming, a reminder that we’ll get everything God has planned for us, a praising and glorious life.” Ephesians 1:13-14 MSG

This signet that Paul is talking about was the seal which was placed on every document that came directly from the king or ruler. Hot wax was pour on the parchment and the king’s ring was pressed in to it, leaving an impression to authenticate His approval.

We have been sealed by the Holy Spirit; this marking says we have been made right and are ready for use.

“So that one sin of Adam brought the punishment of death to all people. But in the same way, Christ did something so good that it makes all people right with God. And that brings them true life. 19 One man disobeyed God and many became sinners. But in the same way, one man obeyed God and many will be made right.” Romans 5:18-19 ERV

Made right! When God the Father sees us, He sees that we have been made right! No junk or second rate product here. We are completely new in our life with Him.

“When anyone is in Christ, it is a whole new world. The old things are gone; suddenly, everything is new!” II Corinthians 5:17 ERV

We’re not good enough to do this on our own. No, we have to accept what Jesus has done. There was a time when we were so strapped financially that we couldn’t pay the electric bill. There wasn’t enough money and we didn’t know what we were going to do. A dear friend offered to pay it for us. We could have refused His offer but we didn’t and the bill was marked “paid in full”. Jesus paid the price for our sin and God has marked the account “paid in full”.

“For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.” II Corinthians 5:21 NLT

Because of Jesus we have been “made right” and are ready for use!

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Step by Step

The other morning Dave and I were out on our walk and another couple we see quite frequently were also walking. We stopped long enough to say our “good mornings” and she asked if we keep track of how far we have walked. I told her I knew each days’ walking but I wasn’t sure about so far this year.

This morning I decided to find out. I went to the fit bit app and checked it out. I was surprised by what I found; so far this year we have walked 236 miles. Now, if you’re a runner or a workout enthusiast this is far from extraordinary but to this 67 year old great grandmother it is a goodly distance.

But how did it happen? I never could have accomplished this in a week or even a month but over time it adds up. One step at a time; step by step.

And that’s how it is with our Christian walk. It’s step by step. We don’t start out spending hours each day reading the Bible or praying. We don’t conquer fear in one single situation or learn to control our temper with one confrontation. No, it’s step by step.

“Let the wonderful kindness and the understanding that come from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ help you to keep on growing. Praise Jesus now and forever! Amen.” II Peter 3:18 CEV

We grow in our understanding of God’s grace and love on a daily basis. When we take time to think about just those two amazing characteristics of our heavenly Father it’s mind boggling. Questions arise: How could He love and forgive me the way He does? Does He never get tired of me and the amount of times I fail? Will I ever exhaust His grace?

Our heavenly Father is the Father of all fathers. Does an earthly parent get tired of helping their child learn to walk? Do they ever just throw up their hands and say “forget it, they’ll never learn”? No! They are there to help, to steady, to encourage until walking is mastered and then it’s on to the next skill that needs to be learned.

“And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. 7 Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.” Colossians 2:6-7 NLT

Follow Him! Step by Step – walk with Jesus through the pages of the Bible. Watch Jesus relate to a dishonest tax collector, a prostitute, a man eaten up with leprosy and the easily distracted disciples. It’s here we gain understanding of the love that Jesus freely gives to all of us and it’s here we grow in grace, receiving blessings from the Lord that we don’t deserve and can’t earn.

“Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. 18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. 19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.” Ephesians 3:17-19 NLT

Yes, our Christian walk is a growing process. We grow in our understanding of God’s love, His grace and so our faith grows too. Day by day and step by step.

Enjoy the journey!

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