A Life Worthy

Tag: Ephesians

  • One-a-Day Friday 3/21/14

    …and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God (Ephesians 3:19).

    This love that surpasses knowledge…a love that is more than my brain can contain…frankly, that he loves us at all is mind-blowing—wouldn’t you agree?

    To be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God…to be so full of God that there’s no room for anything else.  You know what that makes me think of?  It makes me think of the scene in It’s a Wonderful Life when Jimmy Stewart is wooing Donna Reed.  He talks about lassoing the moon, and bringing it down for her. She could then swallow the moon, and the moonbeams would shoot out from her fingertips and the ends of her hair.  That’s what this verse makes me think of.  Paul wants us to be so full of God’s love that it pours out of us—shoots out of us in all directions.

    He seems to say that, if we could just grasp the giganticatiousness of God’s love, we would be filled to capacity with his…well, with him.

    Chew on that as you move through your Friday.  Pray that God would help you to know his love, that you might be filled to the brim, and pour out into the lives all around you.

    God runs a full-service station.  Fill ‘er up, Beloved.

  • One-a-Day Thursday 3/20/14

    And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ… (Ephesians 3:17b-18).

    If you only knew.

    We can’t understand God’s love.  It is totally beyond our brains.  We can use metaphors—parent and child, husband and wife—but ultimately, they fall short.  Can you imagine a trillion of something?  I’ll give you a hand.  One trillion seconds equates to about 31,000 years.  Which you also can’t imagine, since you’ve been around less than a hundred years.

    Most of you.

    The problem is, we’re so stinking finite.  How do we grasp the idea of an infinite God, and his infinite love?

    It’s a good problem.

    I think that, the more we can understand of the sheer magnitude of God’s love for us, the more our problems will shrink in comparison.

    Is God’s love big enough to cover…?

    Does God love me even though I…?

    Can God’s love handle all the…?

    If you only knew, Beloved.

  • One-a-Day Wednesday 3/19/14

    For he (God) chose us in him (Jesus) before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight (Ephesians 1:4).

    You are the chosen one.

    Well, maybe not the chosen one, but certainly a chosen one.

    Before he made the world, God had you in mind.  He knew who you would be, how you would be, your many sins, your epic, endless failures.

    And he loved you.

    And he chose you.

    Consider this: God is not bound by time, right?  Past, present, future—it’s all kind of now to him.  So, when he looks at you he sees you not only as you are, but as you will be.

    Holy.

    Blameless.

    Now, if only you could learn to see yourself as he sees you.

    Do me a favor—try, Beloved.

  • One-a-Day Tuesday 3/18/14

    Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ (Ephesians 1:3).

    Think you aren’t strong enough?

    Think you aren’t smart enough?

    Think you aren’t rich enough?

    Think you aren’t…enough?

    You have been blessed with every spiritual blessing.  Not some…not even most.

    Every.

    All.

    I can’t even imagine what all that means, but I’ll bet it means this much: everything you need to live the life God has called you to, He has already given you.

    So what are you waiting for, Beloved?

  • One-a-Day Monday 3/17/14

    Beloved, if you knew the week I just had and the one I’m about to have, you would understand why I’m “revisiting” these One-a-Days from last year.  Strangely, God’s Word has not gotten any less powerful or any less timely.  As to my commentary, well, that remains to be seen.

    Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:2).

    Have you ever considered the causative relationship between the words grace and peace? The second depends upon the first.  It is only through God’s grace that we can have peace.

    Think about it—apart from God’s grace, why should you have peace?  You are a hopeless, pathetic lump, destined for destruction—me too, for that matter.

    Ahh, but you are not apart from God’s grace.  If you belong to Him, you have his grace, sufficient to all your needs.  Your pathetic lumpiness has been forgiven, atoned for.

    Embrace his grace, beloved of the Father.  Know his peace today.

  • One-a-Day Friday, 11/15/13

    …and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. number 1(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 wouldn’t that 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.

  • One-a-Day Thursday, 11/14/13

    number 1Take 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 brain damage.

    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 Thursday.

     

     

  • One-a-Day Wednesday, 11/13/13

    number 1In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.  (Ephesians 6:16)

    I don’t want to be struck with a flaming arrow.

    No, not even one.

    So I will trust in the Lord, placing my faith completely in him. I will lean not on my own understanding, but will do as he asks to the best of my abilities—even when what he asks doesn’t make sense to my little brain.  I will soak the shield of my faith in the water of his word, and I will listen to the thunk and sizzle of the arrows that he stops for me.

    Let this be my prayer.

    Let this be your prayer.

  • One-a-Day Tuesday, 11/12/13

    …and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes number 1from the gospel of peace.  (Ephesians 6:15c).

    You know how you get when you’re on your feet all day.  Tired, sore, cranky—if you don’t have decent shoes, it’s even worse.

    Huh, this sounds more like a commercial than a devotion.

    A soldier’s gear was designed to protect him while he was on his feet.  If he fell, that soldier became vulnerable and ineffective.  On the battlefield, a sharp stone, a tangle of debris, even a random arrow could spell disaster.

    Think Achilles.

    God wants you in the battle today.  He doesn’t want the stones, the debris, the random shots of life to take you down and make you ineffective.  God’s truth—the peace in your heart bought by Christ—protects your foundation.  It is not only the firm ground upon which you stand, it is the protection you need to keep you standing.

    Lace ‘em up tight and stand firm today.

  • One-a-Day Monday 11/11/13

    …with the breastplate of righteousness in place, (Eph. 6:14b)

    The breastplate is essential protective gear.  Cops wear a Kevlar vest.  Baseball catchers wear a chest protector.  Even Batman has anatomically correct upper body armor.  Why is it so important to protect the chest?

    Because your heart is there.

    In a very literal sense, you can’t live without your heart—so eat right and get plenty of exercise.  In the metaphoric sense, the heart is the center of our being, the part of us that makes us…us.  As you go out into a sinful, broken, fallen world, how do you protect this essential part of your being?

    The righteousness of Christ.  The right relationship with God that is yours through Christ, and which gives you a right understanding of who you are and how much you are loved.  This, and this alone, will protect your heart from the blows of this twisted world.

    Remember, I’m not talking about your own righteousness…the place with God you might think you’ve earned by your good behavior.  Count on that to protect your heart, and you might as well try to stop an arrow with a wet paper towel.

    How can this mighty piece of armor fit your spindly little self?

    It’s a mystery…just go with it.