Category: Ephesians

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus: (Ephesians 1:1)

That’s you.

Paul’s talking to you.

OK, so not specifically you.  He’s writing to people on the other side of the world who lived a couple of thousand years ago.

Still…

It’s you.

If you belong to Jesus, you are counted among the saints. You are one of God’s chosen. So don’t let anyone–even you–belittle you, and never no never in all the days of your life think that you are somehow unimportant or unworthy.

You are the child of the King.

You are His Beloved.

Happy Tuesday

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God…(Ephesians 1:1)

That’s not intimidating at all.

I mean, imagine getting a letter from someone claiming to be a direct representative of Jesus…because that’s what an apostle was. There were the 12, then there was Matthias, who replaced Judas Iscariot, and then there was Paul.

Strictly speaking, Paul did not even meet the criteria for apostleship. In Acts 1:21-22, we are told that an apostle had to have been with Jesus for his entire earthly ministry, right up to his ascension to heaven. 

Paul doesn’t fit.

Then why does Paul call himself an apostle, and why do we go along with it? 

Paul did not meet all the criteria for apostleship, but he met the most important one: he was chosen by Jesus. 

You’ve read of how Jesus appeared to Paul on the road to Damascus–if you haven’t, go do that now! The Lord then appeared to a disciple named Ananias in a vision, calling Paul, “My chosen instrument to carry my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel.”

So I feel pretty confident in calling Paul an apostle.

And yes, I find the whole thing pretty intimidating.

And exciting

Happy Monday, Beloved.

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 several moons ago, 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, as you’ll look rather 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.

And, you know…every day.

Happy Monday

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

Speak up.

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 faithful.

Happy Thursday, Beloved.

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… (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,

which would be most every day

I am reminded that no one is…not even the legendary Paul.

Only 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 yesterday’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. You have it written on your heart.

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 Monday

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 Friday, 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 Thursday