Category: Ephesians

Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise… (Ephesians 5:15).

If you follow Christ, the world will not understand you.  More than that, the world cannot understand you.  John 1:5 says, “The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.” That light is Jesus, and if he lives in you…well… you’re pretty much a mystery to the world around you.

So, Beloved, riddle me this: Why do you keep trying to do things the world’s way?  Why do you constantly fail to grasp that the way of Christ is infinitely superior to the way of the world? Why do you follow the world’s advice, or try to impress the world? It’s never going to work, so you might as well dump that idea and move on.

Oh, and by the way: by you I mean we.

Paul says that we must be very careful to live in wisdom. It doesn’t come by default. If we are not on our guard, we will naturally fall into the unwise patterns of the world.  We must stand fast in the wisdom he has given us, the wisdom the world cannot understand, the wisdom that looks like foolishness to those without him.

Embrace your inner enigma, Beloved.

Happy Wednesday

But everything exposed to the light becomes visible, for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said, “Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”  (Ephesians 5:13-14).

“Everything exposed to the light becomes visible.”

How does that make you feel?

This is one of those “thermometer” verses. Reading it is like taking your spiritual temperature. For example, if you read that verse and think, “Yes, Lord–shine your light and show everything within me!” then you are probably in a pretty good space. If you read it and mentally burn your Bible and run away into the night, you might be in some trouble.

If you physically burn your Bible and run away into the night, you have deeper issues than I am equipped to engage in a daily devotion.

This is powerful stuff, Beloved. It’s a reminder that we stand naked before God, every action and word and thought exposed before him. It should cause you to pause, to reflect, to repent, to rejoice.  If you can read it and have no reaction, I suggest that you stop everything and pray.

Hard

Wake up, Beloved. Christ is shining on you.

Happy Tuesday

For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret (Ephesians 5:12).

I scroll through my news feed and see the darkness masquerading as light, and I wonder…

if this is what we shout to the world, what do we hide?

And I shudder.

Beloved, do not flirt with the dark.

Just don’t go there.

Be in the world

but not of it.

Love the sinner,

while hating the sin.

Shine the light you have been given, and trust God with the shadows.

For some things really are none of your business.

Happy Monday, Beloved.

Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them  (Eph. 5:11).

Good things generally need light in order to grow.  Sure, you can grow some things in darkness—mold, mildew, assorted fungal yuck—but not the good stuff.  Apples, raspberries, peaches, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control—these need light.  What “Fruitless deeds of darkness” are you having something to do with? Hey, you don’t have to tell me—I’m not running a tabloid here. But ask yourself—what do you have in your life that is fruitless?  What fungal yuck are you growing in the temple of the Holy Spirit? It doesn’t have to be raging evil. I’m assuming that you’ve never stolen a baby or sold your mother on eBay. But if God isn’t part of what you’re doing, if the Light of the World is not invited along, then it is darkness.  It is fruitless. Pull it out by the roots—or better yet, ask God to do it. He won’t “accidentally” miss anything. Expose it to the Light, and let it wither away.

Let today be trash day.

Happy Friday, Beloved.

…find out what pleases the Lord.(Ephesians 5:10)

There’s a big difference between desire and love.  Desire is about you—your wants, your needs, and how the object of your desire can fulfill them.  Even the term, “Object of your desire,” sounds like a thing, not a person.

Love, on the other hand, is not about you; it is about the beloved.  Your wants and needs are subordinated to theirs.  When you love someone, you want to know everything about them.  So you spend hours with them, hanging on their every word. You study them, looking for the things they like to do, to eat, to wear.  Kind of like stalking, only not so creepy. You pay attention; you get to know them. Then you show your love by doing things that you know they’ll appreciate. It can be hard work, but it feels like pure joy.

When was the last time you dove into Scripture with the sole purpose of knowing God better, of finding out what makes him happy?  Better question: When will be the next time?

Happy Thursday, Beloved

For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light… (Ephesians 5:8)

Our culture has a thing for darkness. It’s in our entertainment, our conversation, our politics–what was once whispered about in secret is now celebrated from the rooftops.

This should not be.

As children of God, we are called to be different.  We are light. Notice that the verse doesn’t say that we have light, but that we are light.  Light has nothing to do with darkness.  I’m not saying that it shouldn’t, but that it can’t.  Go into a dark room and flick on the light switch. What happens to the darkness?

Gone.

Just as darkness can’t exist in the presence of light, sin can’t exist in the presence of God.  Don’t kid yourself into thinking you can play the games that the world plays. If you dabble in darkness, you can’t live as light.

Hey, I don’t want to step on any toes.  I’ll let God do it.

Do not be yoked together with unbelievers.  For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common?  Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?  (2 Corinthians 6:14)

Where there is no light, there is darkness.

Where light is, darkness cannot be.

Go, Beloved of God, and live as a child of light today.

Happy Wednesday

For of this you can be sure: no immoral, impure, or greedy person–such a man is an idolater–has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. Therefore do not be partners with them (Ephesians 5:5-7).

We have to take God seriously.

Seriously

Grace is essential.  Grace is enormous.

But grace isn’t everything.

There is also wrath.

I know we don’t like to think about it, much less talk about it, but there it is. Wrath is as much a part of God’s character as grace is. Without it, there would be no need for grace. Wrath is a byproduct of his holiness, the natural response to our violation of God’s righteousness. Those who live for this world and its pleasures have not placed themselves under God’s authority, so they are not protected by his grace. They face his wrath.

And it is a consuming fire.

I’m not trying to freak you out, Beloved. If you belong to Jesus, then you are under his grace, and you are already forgiven. Praise be to God for his endless mercy!

Just don’t take that mercy lightly. It cost a lot.

Don’t play with fire today.

Or arsonists.

Happy Tuesday, Beloved.

But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk, or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving (Ephesians 5:3-4).

You are a child of the King of Kings, Beloved of Christ, chosen to bear witness of his glorious light to a dark and dying world. You are a walking, breathing testimony to his grace, his mercy, his life-changing love.

Act like it.

Happy Monday, Beloved.

Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children, and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.  (Ephesians 5:2)

This verse goes along with yesterday’s.  One of the most powerful features of God’s character is his unending, unstoppable love.  If we imitate him, as Ephesians 5:1 tells us to, we will live a life that mirrors that love.

And what an example we have to follow.  Jesus loved us, and he told us in a way that goes far beyond words.

“Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.  (John 15:13)

So how do we do that?  I mean, laying down your life is all well and good if you’re rushing into a burning building to rescue people, or if you dive into traffic to save a toddler.  But that opportunity doesn’t arise very often, and frankly, you can only do that trick once.

There is another way to lay down your life—but you probably don’t want to hear about it.  This is the daily act of dying to yourself, of putting other people first. It’s the little things—taking out the trash even though it isn’t your turn, letting someone else have the last doughnut even though you’ve been salivating over it all morning, letting the other car in front of you at the onramp even though it means you have to slow down and why should you have to slow down why can’t they just wait their turn like everybody else and it would serve them right if you just stayed the course and forced them off the side of the road—

Yeah, it’s that kind of stuff.  Not terribly dramatic; nothing to get you a mention in the paper, but loving nonetheless.  That’s your challenge.

So, Beloved, what will your fragrant offering be today?

Happy Friday.

Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children… (Ephesians 5:1).

Have you ever watched a son watch his father? The boy studies the man, soaking up the Dadness of it all.  Words, clothing, even mannerisms—the child models what he observes. Often, the child does not even realize what is going on.  He is simply watching, and becoming what he sees. This can be dangerous, because not all of Dad’s ways are worthy of imitation.  Thus the origin of the phrase, “Do as I say, not as I do.”

We have a Father who says, “Do as I say; do as I do; do as I am.”  All his ways are perfectly worthy of imitation. Study him closely today.  Look for him in his Word, in his world, and in his people. Then, do your best to be what you see.

Go ahead—be a copycat.

Happy Thursday, Beloved.