Posts Tagged ‘Ephesians’

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children…and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord… Look carefully then how you walk… understand what the will of the Lord is… be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.  (Ephesians 5:1, 10, 15a, 17b, 18b-21 ESV)

Reason 1: It helps you meditate on Scripture.

As I have been working and memorizing the first part of Ephesians, I spent a significant amount of time with verse one. Not because it is difficult to memorize, rather it is because when memorizing you spend more time in what you are memorizing.  Therefore, when memorizing Scripture we are better enabled to meditate on the word of God, which helps us to understand a word, verse, passage, chapter, book and the Bible. Meditation is required to memorize. You must spend time thinking about, repeating and perhaps writing the words you are memorizing. To memorize we are forced to slow down and this allows us to see things we generally pass over.

Perhaps you may be encouraged to hear my experience with verse one and seek for similar experiences. This one verse is profound. When you slow down you may be impacted the way I am. Read and think about the first part of the verse.

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God… Eph 1:1

Paul was an apostle because of the will of God, no other reason; and certainly not because of Paul. Now, put yourself there. Ray a Pastor of Christ Jesus, by the will of God. _________ a disciple of Christ Jesus by the will of God. Contemplate your testimony, trails, pains, struggles, and your circumstances. Now praise the Lord for who you are, where you are and what you are, because you are what you are by the grace of God. 1 Corinthians 15:10

Praying for you all,

Pastor Ray

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. … Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another, No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.        1 John 4:7-8, 11-12 (ESV)

Love is the evidence of whether or not God is abiding in us and we are abiding in Him. In 1 John we are encouraged to love (let us love one another), we are exhorted to love (we also ought to love one another), and we are informed of the source of that love (if we love, God abides in us). Later, in verse 19, John reminds us that “We love because He first loved us.” Paul exhorts us to “speak the truth in love” in Ephesians. We cannot speak the truth without the Truth dwelling in us; we cannot do anything in love without the God Who is Love abiding in us. Beloved, don’t hide your abiding love but let your light shine and demonstrate the true evidence of life in Christ as His love is perfected in us.

“He chose us … to be holy and blameless in his sight. He predestined us to be adopted as His sons … in accordance with His pleasure and will – to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ. … to the praise of His glory.”

 Ephesians 1:4,5,10,11,14 (NIV)

Pastor Steve completed his sermon today with a plea for all of us to do two things: be available to do God’s work, and come back next week to hear part two of the lesson from Acts 9. The LORD has ways of informing His people regarding the tasks He has prepared for them. If you have received the gift of salvation, He has a plan prepared for you.

 “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10 (NIV)

 Can we pray, “Sovereign LORD, we are available; available to do your will; available to participate in the good works which you have prepared for us.” Listen to the leading of the LORD today, this week, and always.

 “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” 1 Peter 2:9 (NIV)