My Fellow Sippers,
As with Philippians, I've read Ephesians a few times but not to the depth that I've read it this time. I wanted to be a little more creative with dissecting this book; however, my creative instinct has taken a vacation this time around. Therefore, I will list my favorite scripture from each chapter instead of dissecting the entire chapter.
Here it goes..........
Ephesians is a letter written by Paul to the Church in Ephesus. Again we find Paul praying for his brothers and sisters in Christ. I love the fact that nearly every Book written by him opens with a prayer for his fellow believers. How often can we say that we lift our fellow believers up? We pray for our family members and our friends, but how often do we pray for our Christian family? I know that it rarely crosses my mind to pray for my siblings in Christ; however if I learn nothing else from this challenge, I've learned to pray for fellow believer as Paul has done.
Ephesians 1
7 He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. 8 He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.
I like these two verses because I have recently began studying and truly understanding grace. Grace is unmerited or undeserved favor. When I mess up over and over again, I know that I am forgiven because His grace is showered upon me. Grace saves us. God is RICH in kindness and grace that He purchased our freedom when He sent His Son to die on the cross for OUR sins to be forgiven. Christ's shed blood was FOR ME?! The person who occasionally loses her temper and flips out on people. Me?! The person who sometimes fails to be a reflection of Christ. As the song says, I'll never know how much it cost to see my sins upon that cross.
Ephesians 2
8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.
As I read these two verses, reality hit!!! We aren't saved by grace because we're perfect and without sin. We're saved because He knows that we need Him to rescue us from our sinful nature. Sin = death. We're saved in order to live. We live when we do good for the Kingdom of God.
Ephesians 3
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.
Have you ever had someone who seems to love you no matter how ugly your attitude is, or how flawed you are? Have you ever questioned why this person loves you so much? They can't explain it... they just know that they love you for you. That's Christ's love for us. It's indescribable. It's unexplainable. He loves us more than we will ever experience in our physical bodies. We can't compare His love for us to ANYTHING. It's bigger than the oceans combined. His love is higher than the sky above. You know something that's even more crazier to imagine? He loves us even when He knows that we have impurities in our hearts. He sees our hearts, knows our thoughts, but yet He still loves us the same. His love is unconditional.
I don't know about you, but I want to be able to love like Christ. I want to love despite the many flaws. As a matter of fact, I want to love because of your flaws. I am AMAZED by His love for us.
Ephesians 4
26 And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.”[d] Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 for anger gives a foothold to the devil.
I STRUGGLE with my anger. This is not to brag, but more than anything brings recognition to my faults. I am the one who will shut down and not speak to you for days if possible because I am angry. However, Paul reiterates that we should not allow our anger to control us. Saved for another post, I'll say that we allow anger far too much control in our lives. I am good for getting angry over something petty and not even worth my anger. I just want to be transformed in general. I definitely want the Lord to help me to gain control of my emotions. I need Him to help me divert my anger and rage.
Ephesians 5
22 For wives, this means submit to your husbands as to the Lord. 23 For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of his body, the church. 24 As the church submits to Christ, so you wives should submit to your husbands in everything.
In our Godly Wives group, we have discussed the topic of submission quite a few times. We can all attest to struggling with submission. I think for myself, as a woman, I have this idea of being independent (in the sense of depending on NO ONE). Combine that with my STRONG personality and there you have a mess. I don't think that this verse means that women should be treated like slaves (I know people that believe submission to be bondage), but I think that the emphasis, especially when relating to today's society, is that we have to respect our husbands. We have to acknowledge him as the head of our homes, and the head of our families. Not to say that he is equivalent to Christ, but we are to respect our husbands the same way we respect Christ. We should be more willing to serve him, the same way that we serve Christ.
Ephesians 6
11 Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. 12 For we[c]
are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil
rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in
this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.
These two verses are self explanatory; however, I don't think people understand the depth of evil that is among us. We should ALWAYS be clothed in the armor of God. There is evil everywhere we go. Sometimes there is even evil within the church; however, when we're clothed in the armor of God, we are equipped with the strength to be firm in our faith.
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Overall, I once again enjoyed reading Ephesians. I look forward to you spilling the tea on Ephesians with me. Leave your response below. Don't forget that this week we will be focusing on Galatians.
February 11 - Galatians 1
February 12 - Galatians 2
February 13 - Galatians 3
February 14 - Galatians 4
February 15 - Galatians 5
February 16 - Galatians 6
February 17 - D-Day (Discussion Day)
February 18 - 1 John 1
February 19 - 1 John 2
February 20 - 1 John 3
February 21 - 1 John 4
February 22 - 1 John 5
February 23 - 2 John 1 & 3 John 1
February 24 - D-Day (Discussion Day)
February 25 - 1 Peter 1
February 26 - 1 Peter 2
February 27 - 1 Peter 3
February 28 - 1 Peter 4 & 5
March 1 - No Reading
March 2 - No Reading
March 3 - D-Day (Discussion Day)
-The King's Daughter
I just want to be an imitator of Christ! For me, trying to be an imitator of Christ is a daily struggle. I always fall short. It never happens intentionally, but when I go back and reminisce on my day, I always realize that I could have approached a situation in a better way or I could have said something different. I pray that I can one day walk worthy of the calling that I was called to do. We are to walk in love, in light, and in wisdom (Ephesians 5:3-21). This is my goal.
ReplyDeleteSubmission! Such a controversial topic. The world has given submission such a negative connotation. I know my husband would never make me do anything that makes me uncomfortable. I also do not have a problem with my husband being the head of the household. We discuss things, but he makes the final decisions and I am fine with that.
I have noticed some differences in the way I act and how I carry myself, but I want more. Ephesians 4:25-27 (NKJV) says, "Therefore put away lying,"Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor, for we are members of one another. Be angry, and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil." It is so easy to lose sight of what is good when you are angry. As soon as I get angry, I forget everything and sometimes I cannot even control myself. I immediately blow up. But Ephesians 4:32 tells me that I should be kind to others, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. This was a tough one for me, but because I was forgiven, I made it a mission to forgive others. I want to bean imitator of Christ, so it had to be done. Regardless of who hurt me and why they did it, I just had to forgive. When you truly forgive someone who has hurt you, it feels like a huge weight has been lifted off of your shoulders. It's like a sigh of relief. It feels amazing.
Ephesians 6:11 put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. In order for me to be an imitator of Christ, I must put on the whole armor of God! I will definitely be making this happen!!
Ephesians 1:17-19 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit[f] of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.
ReplyDeleteThis is such a BEAUTIFUL prayer and one I wish to pray for all of my brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus as well as for my family and myself. My God...what an amazing prayer and what a heart to have to pray that. As soon as I read it, my spirit leaped because I know the power of prayer and what a powerful prayer that will be for my Christian family.
Ephesians 2:3-5 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh[a] and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.
Again, I want to thank God for His grace...for saving me through His grace by faith. Thank you that I am now alive in Christ Jesus. I am in the household of God, a citizen of His Kingdom. If we are alive in Christ, then we are dead to ourselves. This is a constant prayer of mine...to die to myself and my selfish desires and to fully embrace my life in Christ Jesus to the praise, honor, and glory of God.
I can go on and on and on because this book has opened my eyes yet again but in short, God's amazing Grace and His mercy bestowed upon me is really beyond my full comprehension but I fully believe and trust in Him and His Word. I thank Him that CHANGE is coming and that my life will be a reflection of His glory!!!