Thursday, April 30, 2020 – Ephesians 2:8-9

Saved By Grace

Scripture: 

“⁸ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹ not by works, so that no one can boast.” – Ephesians 2:8-9 (New International Version)

Prayer:

God, thank you for your grace. We don’t deserve it, but you still want to give it. Please allow the fact that you have saved us from our sins to change the way we live our lives so that we can share what you have done for us with others, eventually changing their lives.

In Jesus’ name I pray, amen!

Wednesday, April 29, 2020 – Ephesians 2:6-7

The Already But Not Yet

Scripture: 

As was discussed in yesterday’s devotion, prior to coming to faith in Christ, we were headed down a path of destruction, BUT now we have hope. Because of Jesus, we have life. Yes, sin kills and destroys, BUT Jesus heals us, bringing new life and transformation. In verse 6, Paul states that we have been raised from the dead along with Christ, and united with Him.  

There’s a theological paradigm known as “the already but not yet.” This paradigm states that followers of Jesus are actively taking part in the kingdom of God, although the kingdom will not reach its full expression until sometime in the future. That is to say that – as followers of Jesus – we are “already” in the kingdom, but we do “not yet” see it in its full glory. The kingdom of God is described in Scripture as both a realm presently entered and as one entered in the future.

So, verse six is talking about us being resurrected from our old way of living – the already – and is also referring to the future when we will be resurrected into God’s heavenly kingdom – the not yet. It’s both a hope now, and a hope for the future.

In verse seven, we see that God will point back to our lives – which have been transformed and redeemed by Him – and use our transformation as evidence of His abounding and overflowing riches toward His children.

Prayer:

Father, in light of these verses that portray what it means when we believe in your Son and turn our lives over to you, I cannot help but to stand in awe and silence of the inexhaustible and unsearchable riches of your grace toward us. Thank you for the already but not yet that allows us to experience you here on this earth, and then in paradise when our days on this earth have come to an end.

Tuesday, April 28, 2020 – Ephesians 2:4-5

But…God!

Scripture: 

In verses one through three, Paul painted a bleak picture of how lost and hopeless we were before coming to faith in Christ. We were dead because of our sins, but God. We were rebels against Him, but God. We were enslaved by the devil and our sinful natures, but God. “But…God” may be the two most welcome words in all of Scripture. They show that even though what came before them was negative, what comes after – because of God showing up – will be positive. God could have left us spiritually dead, in rebellion against Him, and in bondage to our sins, but He didn’t. He did not save us because of – but rather in spite of – what He saw in us. 

In verses four through five, we see where hope came into the picture. Here, Paul is saying that we do not need to live any longer under sin’s power. The penalty of sin, which is death (Romans 6:23), and its power over us were miraculously destroyed by Jesus on the cross. Through faith in Christ, we now stand acquitted – not guilty – before God (Romans 3:21-22).

Prayer:

God, I thank you for showing up. I thank you that when I look back at my past sins and mistakes, I can confidently say “but…God” and remember that I am no longer there. I can say, “but…God” and know that I am different, changed, redeemed, and on a new path towards becoming more like Jesus. I pray that you would continue giving all of us these “but…God” moments so we can continue to be in awe of you and the way you work in our lives.

In Jesus’ name I pray, amen!

A Devotional Journey through the Book of Ephesians 

Never Forget

Scripture: Ephesians 2:1-3

“As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, ² in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath.” – Ephesians 2:1-3 (New International Version)

In these verses, Paul describes the old, sinful nature of followers of Jesus. He describes them prior to coming to faith in Christ as dead – not as unfulfilled or incomplete – but dead. Their spirits were dead because they had broken relationships with God, the source of life.

Prayer:

Father, I thank you for saving me from my past, present, and future sins. I know that without you, I would be hopeless and lost, meandering down a dark path to nowhere good. But you, Lord, are good. You lit up my path, showed me the error in my ways and that I was empty without you in my life, and you filled that void. Help me to remember my past, but to not repeat it. And Lord, I also thank you that you don’t remember it – that the moment I asked for forgiveness, you threw my sins so far away and chose to only see the new me – the me that you have forgiven and redeemed.

In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.

Saturday, April 25, 2020 – Ephesians 1:22-23

We Are the Church

Scripture: Ephesians 1:22-23

Jesus does not walk the earth as He once did. You cannot see, hear, or touch Him. Sometimes I think about what it must have been like to be one of His earliest followers who could walk, talk, eat, and laugh with Jesus. What would it have been like to share a meal with Jesus? What would it have been like to stare deeply into His eyes as He explained the purpose of His coming to this earth and the depth of His love for us? What would it have been like to hug Jesus?

I want us to think about these questions and sense the wonder in them. The truth is that Jesus is no longer walking this earth in bodily form the way He once was; however, He is walking it in a new way. Jesus walks – and works in – this earth through His church. The church is not the building that is currently closed due to the Covid-19 epidemic. The church is the Body of Christ. The church is us. 1 Corinthians 12:27 states, “All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.” We are the church. We are Jesus’ body in this world, and, therefore, “the fullness of him who fulfills everything in every way.” Just as a head needs a full body in order to function, Jesus – being the head – needs us – His body – to continue the furthering of His kingdom and fulfilling of His mission.

Prayer:

Father, thank you for creating us to be your body and for giving us a part to play in the spreading of your gospel. This is the same gospel that changes us from the inside out, so we ask that you would use us to help others to learn about and come into relationship with you so that they can be changed from the inside out as well.

Friday, April 24, 2020 – Ephesians 1:18-21

Open the Eyes of Our Hearts, Lord

Scripture: Ephesians 1:18-21

“Open the eyes of my heart, Lord. Open the eyes of my heart. I want to see you!” If your religious upbringing was anything like mine, then reading the above-quoted words brings back memories of youth group, retreats, summer camps, and mission trips where you sang Michael W. Smith’s “Open the Eyes of My Heart,” which was written – along with 120 other popular worship songs – by Paul Baloche. About the writing process of “Open the Eyes of My Heart,” Baloche stated, “In Psalm 95, it says, ‘Come let’s sing for joy. Let’s shout out loud. Let’s kneel in worship. Let’s clap our hands.’ That’s all neat, but I began to realize you can teach externals, but unless something is happening from the inside out, it’s just really a form. It’s like a cloud without rain.”

Prayer:

Lord, I’ll keep this short and simple. Open the eyes of our hearts. We want to see you!

Thursday, April 23, 2020 – Ephesians 1:15-17

A Shift in Understanding

Scripture: Ephesians 1:15-17

In these verses, Paul is not praying for the Ephesian Church to gain knowledge about God, or to learn about Him and start to put their faith in Him. He’s not praying in this way because these Ephesian believers were already committed followers of Christ. What Paul is praying for here is a shift of their complete understanding of who God is and for them to understand God’s very character.

Prayer:

God, make it so we want nothing more than to be in your presence and to know you on a deeper, more intimate level. Lord, let our words be few, and let us become even more in awe of you.

In Jesus’ awe-inspiring name I pray, amen.

Wednesday, April 22, 2020 – Ephesians 1:13-14

We Have God’s Mark Upon Us

Scripture: Ephesians 1:13-14

“¹³ And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, ¹⁴ who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession – to the praise of his glory.” – Ephesians 1:13-14 (New International Version)

Jesus didn’t just give His life for us; He gave His life to us. Wait a minute…Didn’t we read earlier (verses 5 & 11) that God predestined us and chose us before the foundation of the world? But it says here that we are also to believe the gospel. How can we be both predestined and have a part to play?

God has given us His Spirit. In fact, in other translations, it says that the Spirit is given as a down payment. The idea is that you put a down payment on something you want to eventually own (e.g., a house, an RV, a car). What you’re saying is, “I’m putting money down to say that one day I will pay enough money to own this.” And God is saying, “When I gave you my Spirit – when you believed in the gospel, when you trusted in Jesus – I gave a down payment and I have you, but one day I will totally have you.” And this is a promise to us that one day God is going to totally and completely have us with Him for all of eternity.

Prayer:

Abba, Father…I thank you that you didn’t only give your life for me, but you gave it to me. I thank you for sending your Holy Spirit to be my helper and my guide. I thank you for where you have guided me thus far, and I pray that you would continue to guide me closer and closer to you. Lord, when I am truly spending time with you and soaking in your presence, I can get a glimpse of what heaven will be like. Thank you for the price you paid for me so that I can experience heaven both here on earth, and in eternity when my time on this earth comes to an end.

Tuesday, April 21, 2020 – Ephesians 1:7-12

Blinded and Redeemed

Scripture: Ephesians 1:7-12

“⁷ In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace ⁸ that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, ⁹ he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, ¹⁰ to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ. ¹¹ In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, ¹² in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.” – Ephesians 1:7-12 (New International Version)

There’s a lot of flowery language in this passage, but we need to understand that the Apostle Paul is talking about the culminating event of the Bible – Jesus dying in our place for our sins, rising again, and triumphing over sin and death. This is talking about what God had to do to bring us into the reality of His sending His Son as a sacrifice to save us from our sins. God had to redeem us. Redemption means “to buy back.” It was an old slavery word where you would literally buy back a slave from the auction block. They would literally be bought back, taken out of slavery, and given freedom and a better life.

This is what God did for us, and it’s what God did for the Apostle Paul before he became the Apostle Paul. His name was Saul and he was a religious nut job who thought that it was a good idea to kill Christians. In fact, in Acts 9:1, we see that Saul was breathing out murderous threats against Christians. One day, as he was en route to elevate the threats into action by killing more Christians, God got a hold of him in a powerful way, knocking him off of his donkey and blinding him for three days. In this process, God revealed Himself to Saul and he became the Apostle Paul, a man with a new mission in life – a mission that was the complete opposite of his prior mission.

Prayer:

Thank you, God, for saving me from the slippery slope that was my life of sin. Lord, you know that I was headed down a path that kept getting darker and darker, but you showed up, lit up my life, and changed my direction. Now, Lord, my journey only leads toward you. Please help me to always keep my eyes on you and help me to not stray from your path. I love you, Lord. Thank you for changing my life!

In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.

A Devotional Journey through the Book of Ephesians

Monday, April 20, 2020 – Ephesians 1:1-6 – God Chose You!

As we dive into the book of Ephesians, it’s good to have a little background. So here it is…

Book: Ephesians

Genre: Epistle (letter)

Author: The Apostle Paul

Scripture: Ephesians 1:1-6, emphasis on verses 4-6

Did you catch that? God – the Creator of the entire universe, including the 7.8 billion people who currently live on this earth, and the 100.2 billion who once walked this earth – chose to love you. God chose you! And not only did He want to choose you, but it brought Him immense pleasure to do so. Let that sink in for a moment.

Prayer:

Lord, I can’t wrap my mind around the fact that you chose me, that you want a relationship with me, and that you love me. I know me, and I know the things I do that separate me from you. And yet, you know them, too, and you still chose me. I am honored, Lord. Thank you for your relentless, never changing, unconditional love. Help me to always live my life in a manner worthy of receiving that love.