Category: Ephesians

Finis One-a-Day Monday  6/2/25

Tychicus, the dear brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will tell you everything, so that you will also know how I am and what I am doing. I am sending him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage you.

Peace to the brothers, and love with faith from God the Father the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love (Ephesians 6:23-24).

Aaaaaaaand it’s over.

We come to the end of Paul’s letter to the Church in Ephesus. We started this little jaunt back in August, Beloved. If you’ve been with me the whole time, give yourself a high-five.

Just don’t do it where anyone can see you–you’ll look silly.

Paul began this letter by praying grace and peace over his readers. He finishes in essentially the same way.

Peace within the chaos

Love for the unlovable 

Faith to believe the unbelievable

and

Grace, without which none of the rest is possible.

And I pray the same for you today, Beloved.

Happy Friday

Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should  (Ephesians 6:20).

Well, that’s interesting.

Paul, Super Preacher Man, was sometimes afraid when it came to sharing the gospel. I mean, he must have been–otherwise, why would he specifically ask for prayer about it? This makes me feel a tad better about my own anxiety.

Still, I gotta wonder: why would any of us be nervous about sharing the good news of Christ? It’s far and away the most important news anyone anywhere will ever hear. It has the power to take someone from eternal death to eternal life. How could any of us possibly be nervous about sharing such amazing info?

You know the answer as well as I do.

Some people–most, actually–will reject the gospel.

And when they do, it’s like they’re rejecting us.

And we don’t want to be rejected.

Paul had reason to be afraid. He took a lot of physical abuse on behalf of Jesus, and any time he shared he was opening the door for more. You and I are a lot less likely to have to deal with that kind of attack. The worst we face is having someone laugh in our face, or behind our back. Or perhaps the dreaded awkwardness that proceeds, “Um, yeah…thanks” as someone squeezes past us and out the door.

Most of us would joyfully take a bullet or a blade for our Lord–at least, we hope we would.   But mocking is a lot more likely, and therefore, a lot more scary.

As you enter your Friday, I pray that you would declare the gospel fearlessly, as you should.

Would you pray the same for me?

Thanks, Beloved.

Happy Friday

Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains  (Ephesians 6:20).

Ambassadors are special. They represent a king, or a president, or a potentate of some sort. Ambassadors get fancy cars, fine food, armed guards to protect them wherever they go. People listen carefully to every word an ambassador utters.

And then there is Paul. An ambassador…in chains.

Savor the irony. The ambassador of the most powerful King in all the universe, treated as a criminal, adorned in chains.

And he was honored by the privilege.

Beloved, we are also ambassadors. We also represent the Kingdom of Heaven wherever we go. And while we may not be in chains–yet–we do not enjoy the prestige and glory that generally go with ambassadorship.

Yet

As you go into your world today, you represent your King.

Be a faithful and trustworthy ambassador.

Happy Thursday, Beloved.

Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given to me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel… (Ephesians 6:19)

I like this so very much.

I like that Paul has the humility to ask for prayer from those who are his spiritual juniors.

I like that Paul has the discernment to realize that the words that transform lives are not his own, but a gift from God.

I like that Paul has the honesty to show that he is sometimes fearful in proclaiming the gospel.

I like that Paul has the wisdom to acknowledge that the gospel is a mystery, beyond our ability to fully grasp without the help of the Holy Spirit.

On a day when I feel like I’m not enough, I am reminded that no one is…not even the legendary Paul.

Only Jesus

Only, ever, always,

Jesus

Happy Wednesday, Beloved

With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints (Ephesians 6:18).

Have you noticed how much there is to pray for?

Compulsive Prayer Warriors–see Friday’s post, and don’t stress about this.

But for the rest of us…have you noticed?

Have you seen?

Every heart that passes you today is a heart that needs prayer.

Even the heart that cut you off in traffic.

All over your world

your nation

your neighborhood

your office

your home

there are saints–people of God–who need someone to pray for them.

Hey, look–you’re someone!

Keep your eyes open.

Keep your head on a swivel.

Look for ways ro dive into the battle today.

After all, you’re wearing all that armor for a reason. ya?

Happy Tuesday, Beloved

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions, with all kinds of prayers and requests (Ephesians 6:18).

Have you ever known a compulsive prayer warrior? I am blessed to have one in my life. These are glorious people to whom God had given the need to pray, pretty literally, without ceasing. They pray for every person, near or far, every situation, large or small. If they see a bus on the road, they will want to pray for every person on it, and their extended family, and their pets if they have them but you don’t know if they have pets so you’d better pray just to be sure. It’s kind of an exhausting gift, really. If you are one of these CPW’s, you can kinda gloss over this verse.

For the rest of us…

If God cares about it, then it’s worth praying about.

And God cares about a lot of things, so…

Pray, Beloved.

Happy Friday

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions… (Ephesians 6:18).

Good days 

and 

bad days

and 

in between days

Every day

and 

All the time

because you need it

and 

he wants it

so 

that settles it.

Happy Thursday, Beloved

And pray in the Spirit… (Ephesians 6:18).

Hey, Michael–what does it mean to pray “in the Spirit?”

Look at you, going straight to the tough question. That’s why I like you.

Beloved, I’ve wondered about this quite a little bit, and I’m still not sure what it means. My current thinking goes like this: Praying in the Spirit involves being in tune with the Holy Spirit, trying to pray about the things that are on God’s mind. That’s a tall order. It means you have to listen, not just speak. You have to get through your list of requests and find the place of quiet where you can detect that still, small voice we’ve heard about. Then you have to make sure that the still, small voice is speaking Biblical truth. Because you know, sometimes what I think is God is really just my own emotion, and who needs more of that? 

My old choir choir director used to tell us, “Listen louder than you sing.” It’s like that. 

Only with God

Listen loud, Beloved.

Happy Wednesday

…and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. (Ephesians 6:17b)

You know the power of words.  You’ve felt it.  Words can bruise, they can cut, they can crush, they can soothe, they can comfort, they can heal.

And those are just human words.

The word of God is infinitely more powerful.  It goes far beyond emotional impact; it reaches deep into the spiritual realms. So it shouldn’t be surprising that the Word is our primary weapon against the enemy.  After all, what did Jesus use to defend himself from Satan’s temptations?  Did he blast Satan to powder?  No.

But that would have been cool.

Jesus used Scripture to defeat his enemy.  Why?  Perhaps because that is a weapon we can use as well.  You probably can’t command the powers of Heaven and Earth the way the Son of God can—in fact, I’m pretty sure of it—but you can use Scripture.  Maybe you don’t have the advantage of having written it, but you can still read it, and learn it, and memorize it, and use it to back your enemy off when he attacks.

How good is your sword arm?  How much drill have you put in this week?

Maybe it’s time to practice.

The battle awaits, Beloved.

Happy Tuesday

Take the helmet of salvation…(Ephesians 6:17a)

When I was a kid, you didn’t have to wear a helmet.  Bicycle, motorcycle, pogo stick—you were free to ride with the wind in your hair and the bugs in your teeth.  It was wild and free and deadly.

To ride without a helmet is to ask for dain bramage.

Paul speaks of the helmet of salvation.  He’s talking about the knowledge of who you are in Christ, and the price that has been paid for you.  That knowledge can protect you in the heat of battle.  You see, that enemy of yours likes to mess with your head.  He likes to get into your thought life and plant false ideas about who you are and what your value is.  He’ll tell you that you’re not good enough, not strong enough, not worthy of a life in Christ.

All of which is true.

The helmet doesn’t block those ideas, but it filters them through the knowledge of your salvation.  You can answer, “You aren’t worthy,” with, “Of course not…but Jesus is.”  You can answer, “Look at all you owe,” with, “Look at what He paid.”

To walk this world without the helmet is to ask for soul damage.

Strap it on, cinch it tight, and go face your Monday, Beloved.

He’s got you.