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Ephesians 6:1 is a great example of the way God designed our world to flow. Obeying authority: children obey their parents (some parents give that authority over to teachers, police and so on), the wife is under the authority of the husband, the husband is under the authority of God. Although this is not a popular train of thought in today’s society, it is how God intended us to live.


What changes God’s design is sin. Adam and Eve sinned, they thought they could go against God’s instructions. And through the ages, as we read Scripture, we see people committing the same sin, thinking they know better than God. And so, it is the same today. Sin which was once hidden is now in the open, being flaunted as if there are no consequences.


Verse 1 calls the child to action whereas verse 2 has us checking our attitude, what is the motive behind our behavior? Obeying your father and mother is a principle from Scripture and should be followed to this day. (see Pro 1:8; 3:1; 4:1-4; 7:1-3; 10:1; 17:21; 19:13-26; and 28:24)


As long as we are on this earth, we will battle temptation regularly but God has given us exactly what we need to win this battle. We put it on, just like a coat, as in verses 10 through 17. We receive instructions to “be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.” As we read this passage on a regular basis, we obey His Word as it becomes a part of us. God has given us the full armor of God so that we may stand firm against the evil that goes on around us. We will wrestle not against the person, but it is a spiritual battle and with that we must know the Word and fall on our knees in prayer.


“Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” (v. 13) It is only through obedience to God that we desire to do His will. Here He tells us to “take up the whole armor of God” and we are further directed to “put it on”. Why? Because since Adam’s sin, every day has been a temptation of doing evil—until the Lord’s return. We stand against the evil that is all around us.


At every turn, satan tries to take us down but we are told to stand, a firm position, in our spiritual battle against evil. In James 4:7 we are told “therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” How can we resist evil unless we take a stand? We literally must remember that there are only two stances to take, we are either for the Lord or for satan. Plain and simple.


We have Divine support which allows us to stand firm. God is our strength which gives us peace that can only come from Him! The first verse I ever memorized as a new believer was Psalm 27: 1, “The LORD is my light and salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid?” That is powerful!


We must have continual trust in God’s Word. It strengthens our faith. Such truth is the foundation for strong faith, which then helps us to obey. Our strength is in Christ Alone. The shield of faith, in verse 16, is our weapon of choice.


“The helmet of salvation” protects our head. One of the key ways satan attacks us is through our thoughts. We can start to question God, we can doubt the Word of God, we can become so discouraged that we turn away or worse yet, we want to end our lives. All of this is part of the evil one’s plan to destroy as many as he can.


And finally, we are to be “praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit,” (v 18). Another reason to read the Bible daily, continually year in and year out is so our prayers will be supported by God’s Word. We start praying them from our heart.

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Heavenly Father, may this study of Ephesians help us to grow ever more obedient to Your Word. May we be able to help others, bringing comfort to the hurting and strength to those who are weak. Oh Lord God, use each of us mightily as we read your Word daily and put it into practice. Thank you Lord, that you are rich in mercy and that You reveal in Your Word exactly what you expect from each of us. You are mighty O Lord, Maker of heaven and earth! Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen


Ephesians is an exciting book! I hope you have been blessed as much as I have these past few weeks and that you are drawn to reading the Word daily. I look forward to your comments as we look to a new year.


Many of you know that I have read through the Bible, from front to back, for many years. This year, 2020, I tried something a bit different. I read one chapter a day from the New Testament and wrote what God was impressing upon my heart to learn in a journal. And I listened to the Old Testament each morning as I prepared breakfast for everyone. As 2021 opens in less than two weeks, I will read one chapter in the Old Testament and journal and listen to the New Testament. Just changing things up a bit helps me to see a new perspective and I can apply that to another area of my life. I praise God for each of you who have stuck with my blog and sent encouraging notes.


The days might become more difficult soon but praise God that He deemed us worthy to withstand each day for His glory! It is only through His strength that we can carry on. Merry Christmas my friends!

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Eph 4:25-5:33


And we continue…


From verses 25 to 32, we find what we should be doing, what we should be striving for. Yet, each of these directives is impossible to achieve unless we go back to verse 22 and 23.


“that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind,”


Where do we go to renew our mind? To the Word of God, the Bible. Can you see why it is so important that you read your Bible each day? It is God speaking directly to you through His Word, giving direction on how to live, what to watch out for and finding His promises to each of us. Our understanding is in our mind and that understanding and the beliefs we develop are shown in our behavior (see Col 3:1-2; 10)


We can say we are a Christian but if we continue to live in the world, doing as the people of the world do, our behavior speaks loud and clear that we are not truly walking with Christ in the renewing of our mind.


Oh, I can hear some of you right now making an argument that living as a Christian is no fun. Well, let’s continue on with the passages we are looking at today. We can start seeing that living with a renewed mind can be challenging but it is also exciting. Our fun becomes focused on something different…not alcohol, or drugs, or immorality or the emptiness of life but of the fullness of Christ and our longing comes in doing what He has called us to.


When we continue on to verse 29, “Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.” (NKJV) When we look to the New American Standard and the New International Version, they use the words, “unwholesome talk”. Whether using corrupt or unwholesome, the meaning is the same. It means foul and stinking in every way and should not be said by a person who takes on the label of Christian. For as you read the Word, you will see that such talk it totally out of character as we walk this new life in Christ Jesus.


Verse 29 also tells us that a Christian’s speech should be filled with goodness that is encouraging and helpful to those who are listening.


Verses 20-32 are continually reminding us how we are to live in our new life in Christ. I read it often and pray for obedience to Christ in not only my words but also my behavior.


Finally, we have made it to the end of Chapter 4 and press on to Chapter 5 for further instruction on how to live our lives in this new walk with Christ. The first verse, “be imitators of God as dear children”, is a good start. How can we live a different life from our former ways unless we imitate the One who Chose us?


If we “walk in love as Christ…”, it changes our perspective on how to care for and love those around us. Christ gave His life for those He loves, are we ready to do the same?


“Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.” (Ephesians 5:6 NKJV) John MacArthur points out in his commentary in “The MacArthur Study Bible” that “no Christian will be sinless in this present life, but it is dangerously deceptive for Christians to offer assurance of salvation to a professing believer whose life is characterized by persistent sin and who shows no shame for that sin or hunger for the holy and pure things of God. They are headed for wrath (2:2) and believers must not partner in any of their wickedness (v 7). (p 1811)


Chapters 4 and 5 are full of directions on how to live a Godly life. These are not suggestions they are guidelines on what God expects from each person who says they have had a changed life, a life with new goals. We cannot use the excuse that we don’t know what God wants but we have to put the effort into learning what He expects.


I have often heard people say, “I don’t know what God wants of me.” And the reason so many don’t know what God expects of them is because they sit back and wait. For what? Some say that God will just let them know. Others wait out of laziness. But truly, we must do our part in learning what He requires as we move forward in our Christian walk.


Why not make it your goal to read through the Bible in 2021? “Faithful Promises of God” is available from Amazon and will help walk you through the Word, with guidance for how to apply the Word to your life. If you struggle along the way, ask someone from your church or Bible Study to walk with you. Or, please know that I am here to encourage you as well. My email address is on the home page of this website, you can always contact me for help.


One more week of Ephesians and then we move on to the birth of our Savior and Lord. See you next week.

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Now we are getting to some exciting parts of Ephesians. Anyone who has read my books or even my writings, knows that there are parts of these passages that just thrill my soul. Why, you may ask? Because it speaks so deeply as to the person I was before I came to know Christ. And I only know Him intimately because I read the Bible daily and there, He guides me, He shows me how much He loves me and that, in itself, keeps me going towards the final goal.


Christ Jesus has given each one of us grace, something we don’t deserve but get anyway, and has given each of us a gift. That is why He also created us with a special purpose in mind. We aren’t here to take from others as much as we are here to give to ourselves, to give that gift given to us away.


MacArthur points out that “Christ possessed the authority and sovereignty to assign the spiritual gifts to those He has called into service in His church.” (p1808)


With those gifts, we have a new understanding as we read the Word.


Once we make that decision to turn from our sin, being pulled by the Holy Spirit to change our walk, we start on a new road. But never forget what we have been through as worldly people. Ephesians 4:17-19 are a constant reminder of what the world is like and what we been saved from.

“So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more.” (NIV)


When we look at verse 17, we see that unbelievers are “intellectually unproductive. As far as spiritual and moral issues are concerned, their rational processes are distorted and inadequate, inevitably failing to produce godly understanding or moral living. Their life is empty, vain, and without meaning.” (MacArthur, p 1810)


Do you recognize it? That’s the way we once were! But as we go on to verse 18, which reminds me so much of Exodus 5 through 11, where Pharaoh hardens his heart towards God, we see that it’s still happening today!! It is an “ignorance” in them “Due to the hardening of their hearts.”


I guess we aren’t so more intelligent, or more modern and further advanced after all! An unbeliever is separated from God, living in the darkness of this world being blinded morally. It started with Adam and Eve and it continues.


As we move on to verse 19, we can better understand how they have “lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity…”. Unbelievers are depraved in their behavior (see Romans 1:28) and they willingly gravitate towards immorality. It’s almost like they can’t help themselves and they can’t without Christ’s direction.


And finally, the ending of verse 19, “with a continual lust for more.” The NKJV says, “To work all uncleanness with greediness.” MacArthur points out, “Impurity is inseparable from greediness, which is a form of idolatry (Eph 5:5; Col 3:5).” Lust, uncleanness with greediness, equal idolatry. When you have an idol, you can’t live without it, you must have it.


Without these next verses, it would seem there is no hope but indeed, there is hope! As we continue to read verse 20, “You, however, did not come to know Christ that way.” Although many may not reach this height of depravity, we are only where we are by the grace of God. Our former ways of life were not good, no matter how bad or good we think we are, “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”


Our hope is in Christ alone! God calls us to a new life in Christ. I pray that each of us will not look to these verses and be prideful but rather, to be humble in spirit and know that the only way we are walking this new path is because God has called us and through His Word, is teaching us a new path of righteousness each day.

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