Daily Inspirations

  Good morning. Finally, brethren (Paul’s third and final closing), whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on (ponder) these things. If we did, it would eliminate many of the bad things that people do and say. Instead of “sitting in the darkness“, we need to “light a candle” of the things he just mentioned. It is much easier to let our minds dwell on the bad things that are in the world, or the bad things that have happened to us. Evil thoughts begat more evil thoughts. They then begin to fill our words; and finally turn into actions. We then share all of these things with other people, and they “justify“ our dwelling on them. Father help us to keep our minds dwelling on all of the good things that are in You, and not on the bad things that are in the world.

  Good morning. So what happens when we’re not anxious and pray with thanksgiving to God? And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Jesus, just hours away from the cross, said “My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.“ That is why you see some people in the midst of the storm not running around frantically – they have the peace of God that everything will work out the way He wants it to. That is why you can say it surpasses all comprehension. It doesn’t make sense. In fact, we think there’s something wrong with that person. And that peace will guard your hearts and your minds. When we concentrate on the problems and not on God, our solution, it greatly affects our hearts and our minds with the stress. My Bible says that the word “guard” is a military concept depicting a sentry standing guard. In the midst of the storm, we are confiden...

  Good morning. An admonition we all need at times: be anxious for nothing. But you don’t know my circumstances… It doesn’t matter, if we are standing firm in the Lord. When we are anxious, we’re taking all the responsibility for solving the problem upon ourselves. We think that the solution is up to us. OK smarty-pants, what should we do? In everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. Seriously, and that’s it? Notice that it says “with thanksgiving“. We are thanking God for the solution, even when we are in the midst of the dilemma. By the way, the Greek word for thanksgiving here is the one from which the word Eucharist is derived. Sadly our normal procedure is: we try to solve the problem in our own ability, and then scream “help!” to God when everything messes up. In the Old Testament, King Asa became severely diseased in his feet. “Yet even in his disease he did not seek the Lord, but the physicians.“ It’s not that we should ...

  Good morning. And because of all that Paul just said: therefore in this way stand firm (like he talked about in the book of Ephesians) in the Lord, my beloved. If we believe all that Paul talked about the last few verses, we should fear nothing and no one. Nothing should shake us. And now the verse that was made into a song decades ago: “rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice...” We get it Paul – rejoice! We rejoice, not because everything is going the way we want it to, but in the fact that no matter what happens, God is in charge. Let your gentle spirit (King James, moderation) be known to all men (sometimes it’s hard to be gentle when we are mistreated harshly). The Lord is near. Even though Paul said that 2000 years ago, the time is nearer than it was even yesterday. We should live every day as if Jesus could reappear any instant. Father help us to stand firm no matter what happens; to rejoice whether things are good or bad; letting our gentle spirit be known to ...

  Good morning. Our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who will transform the body of our humble estate into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself. There is our guarantee that this is not the end of everything. When our body dies, that is not the end. It ain’t over till it’s over. The body that we have now is subject to all types of frailties; but the one that we will receive when He returns will be eternal like His. How can He do that? We say that we believe that He has the power to subject all things to Himself. If so, would it not be a trivial matter for Him to change our decayed body into one like His glorious one? Father thank You that we have a hope that will one day be fulfilled - our bodies will be just like Jesus’!

Good morning. For many walk, of whom I often told you, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things. Paul says that these people are enemies of the cross of Christ. They don’t want the cross because it shows exactly who they are. They want to proclaim a different standard for getting into the kingdom of God than believing on Jesus’ redemption of us by the Cross. The Cross says that they cannot behave any old way that they want. They were striving to live their lives on the earth to fulfill their desires. They were so earthly minded that they were no heavenly good. We, however, should live our lives as follows: our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. We are citizens of heaven, not the earth; so we should live our lives as such. Speaking of heaven, notice that it says “from which” we wait. This reminds ...

  Good morning, and merry Christmas! We are going to digress and look at the first Christmas. This was something that had been foretold centuries before; and yet people still did not understand what was going to happen. They were thinking that the Messiah was going to come as an adult and was going to re-establish the nation of Israel above all other nations. They were not expecting Him to come as a baby, supposedly born to a carpenter and placed in a manger. Many things had to happen at precisely the right time. You had to have the right person to be His mother and the right person to be His supposed father. You had to have a reason for them to be in Bethlehem on the night He was born – the census. It had to be when shepherds would be in the field near Bethlehem watching their flocks. And just at the right time – an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before the shepherds, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. And the angel said to them, “do ...

  Good morning. Let us therefore, as many as are perfect (Paul just said he was not perfect; so I assume he was being facetious towards those who were believing that they were perfect), have this attitude; and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that also to you. If we continually keep ourselves open to God, He will let us know when we have the wrong attitude. In the meantime – let us keep living by that same standard to which we have attained. God has a very high standard. If we strive to live by that standard, we will become exactly the kind of person He wants us to be. How do we know how to behave? Join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us. We follow the examples of the leaders in the church (as long as they walk according to the Word of God - that’s why we need to know what the Word says). Father help us to have the right attitude and to live by the standard which You have taught us in Your Word.

  Good morning. Speaking of resurrection from the dead: not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. If one has become perfect, that one does not need to do anything else to improve himself or herself. The Christian life is one of continuously improving oneself - becoming more like Jesus. It’s like taking the limit as X approaches infinity. You never get there, but you get closer and closer forever. I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet (still approaching infinity, but not having reached it); but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Everyone needs a goal in life, and this is the one for the Christian. Father thank You that when we become Christians, we do not behave like we have arrived. We continue every day to become ...

  Good morning. And why does Paul count all things as loss? That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death. Paul is not saying that he wants to know about Jesus; rather he wants to know Him personally. We can read in the Bible and in books written about Him, but that does not mean that we know Jesus personally. The power of Jesus’ resurrection did not affect just Him; it also affects every believer. His resurrection brings power into our lives to live the Christian life. It also gives us the hope (hope is not just wishful thinking; it is confident assurance) of joining Him in our own resurrection one day. The part that we don’t want to participate in – the fellowship of His sufferings. And why does Paul want all of this? In order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. Paul does not mean that he is trying to earn the right to be resurrected from the dead. As the next verse indicates - it’s just t...

  Good morning. Paul then says that he himself might have confidence even in the flesh - he then proceeds to expound upon his “religious” heritage. But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. If we do things in our own abilities, they are worthless to God. I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ. Paul was on top of the world and a zealot for Judaism. Who knows where he would have wound up had he not gotten knocked off his donkey? And  may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own, derived from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith. Paul was trying to obtain righteousness through his persecution of the church, until he was on the road to Damascus. As the song says, “I couldn’t earn it, ...

  Good morning. Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. Paul, I’m glad you finally got around to saying what you meant – rejoice 😊 . To write the same things again (for the umpteenth time) is no trouble to me, and it is a safeguard for you. That is a true statement. I know that students need to hear the same things more than once for them to sink in. Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the false circumcision; but we are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh. Calling people dogs is pretty harsh; but it does give a true picture of certain people. Dogs were not as highly regarded as today. You get the picture of a pack of dogs yelping at you and nipping at your heels. That was what Paul faced from some people. The “false” circumcision was forced upon Gentiles converts to try to get them to conform to Judaism. They wanted them to worship according to the laws of Moses. The true circ...

  Good morning. But even if I am being poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with you all. You too, I urge you, rejoice in the same way and share your joy with me. Look how many times the words joy or rejoice are used in these two verses. A drink offering was one of the types of sacrifices to the Lord. In the book of Numbers, it was an offering of a strong drink that was poured out. However, once when he was being pursued by King Saul, David was thirsty for the water from the well in Bethlehem (where he was born and raised). One of his men risked his life to go get some for David. David was very touched by that effort; however, he felt that he could not drink it, but rather poured it out as a drink offering to the Lord. He “sacrificed“ something he greatly desired. Even in the midst of his struggles for the Philippians, Paul still rejoiced. Paul says that he sent Epaphroditus to them. Paul tells them to receive him i...

  Good morning.. Do all things without grumbling or disputing. Ouch! Mind your own business Paul. And why should we – so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I will have reason to glory because I did not run in vain nor toil in vain. When we are working for His good pleasure, we should not be complaining about what we do. We should not be doing things that bring reproach upon the name of God. You may think that it is not fair, but it is true nonetheless - people judge us harshly when we name the name of Jesus. We are “the lights of the world“ when we hold up the word of God like the torch on the Statue of Liberty. Paul did not want all of his hard work among the Philippians to be in vain. He wanted them to be shining examples of what it means to be Christians. Father help u...

  Good morning. So then (in this case, it is like therefore - since Jesus humbled Himself to the point of death on the cross), my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling. Now it does not say work “for” (that is, to obtain) your salvation. When you get saved, you’re not supposed to just sit back and do nothing. We are to do what God wants in order to bring about His Kingdom on the earth. For it is God who is at work in you both to will and to work for His good pleasure. It is not you who does the work – it is God. That is why we cannot brag. We didn’t work to get our salvation, and we don’t work to keep it. He does it all. He even gives us the will to do it. Father help us to work out our salvation, bringing about Your kingdom on earth.

  Good morning. Because Jesus was obedient to the point of death on the cross: God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. It is the Name above all other names. In the Bible, names meant something, and Jesus’ name (Jehovah saves) meant everything. That was His reward for being obedient to death on the cross. None of us would have been willing or able to go through everything that Jesus went through, even if we knew that this would be our reward. Sadly, billions of people will one day regret that they never accepted Jesus as Lord. Father thank You that every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord and You will be glorified.

  Good morning. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on the cross. One of the theological errors about Jesus is that He was not man. This says that He was. It was no good, if He were just God. Of course, God could live a sinless life like Jesus did - but a man...? He had to be more than a man; otherwise, the sacrifice would not be sufficient to pay for “our” sins. In the garden, Jesus was conflicted. The human part of Him did not want to die on the cross. It was not only going to be horribly painful physically, but also His Father was going to turn His back on Jesus. He asked that the cup might be removed from Him, but since there was no other way, He obeyed His Father. Father thank You that Jesus was obedient to the point of death on the cross. Help us to emulate His behavior in our lives. Help us to keep that prominently in our minds during this special season of the year.

  Good morning. Where do we always find our best example (in this case of looking out for the interests of others)? Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself taking the form of a bondservant, and being made in the likeness of men. Remember from John: Jesus, the Word, was in the beginning with God, and was God. The Jews wanted to stone Jesus because “You being a man, make Yourself out to be God”, since He called God His Father. Because He was looking out for our interests, He gave up all of that and came to earth as a man to die on the cross for our sins. Remember the song: “I owed a debt I could not pay; He paid a debt He did not owe“. Father thank You that Jesus did not look out merely for His own interests, but also for ours.

  Good morning. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves. Paul, mind your own business! (My Bible comments that this is the only way to maintain that unity that Paul just talked about.) If we are “others” centered instead of self-centered, we will be looking out for the best interest of the church, and ultimately of ourselves. A little clarity Paul: do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interest of others. That’s better. He doesn’t mean that we do not look out for ourselves at all – but that that is not the primary goal in order to maintain unity in the church. It is also the only way to maintain unity in the family. If we put ourselves first, instead of the others in the family, we will eventually have a divided family. Father help us to not just look out for ourselves, but also for the others in the church and in our family.

  Good morning. Therefore (why it is there … It has been granted not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake) if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion (which there is in the Holy Spirit), make my joy (again) complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Despite all of this suffering and conflict against the church, we should still be one; in fact that is how we will be victorious. In some countries, the church is stronger because of all of the hate and destruction that the people of the world inflict upon it. In the United States, many times the church folds like a lawn-chair when opposition comes against it. Father help the church in every location in the world to remain united in You. Continue to bless the reader and his/her family.

  Good morning. Conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ ... in no way alarmed by your opponents (remember that Paul and Silas were thrown into prison when they first came to Philippi) which is a sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you, and that too, from God (He did come through for them). We should not change our “proper“ behavior simply because people of the world object to it, sometimes even violently. For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake (wow, thanks), experiencing the same conflict which you saw in me, and now hear to be in me. It’s like Tevyev says in Fiddler on the Roof, “I know we are Your chosen people; but once in a while, couldn’t You choose someone else?” Father thank You that no matter what opposition we encounter from people of the world, we can still behave in a manner that will glorify You.

  Good morning. Convinced of this (to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake), I know that I will remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy (that word again) in the faith (and yet it does not sound like Paul is upset because he’s not going on to be with the Lord), so that your proud confidence in me may abound in Christ Jesus through my coming to you again. (because of this) Conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent (your conduct should not matter whether I come or not - you shouldn’t behave properly simply because I might come and catch you doing something wrong), I will hear of you that you are standing firm (we just read in Ephesians about standing firm) in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel. Notice the “oneness“ at the end of this verse. It is through this unity and the love of God that the church will conquer. Father help us to behave p...

  Good morning. But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose. It makes it seem like Paul had a choice of whether to live or to die. Would any one of us choose to die? They probably would if things were going horribly wrong in their lives, but not if things were going along fine. But it wasn’t because he was in prison, that Paul was considering which to choose. He had been there before and had been beaten many times. Of course in the natural, one would get to the point where he or she could not keep on keeping on. But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ (he said something similar in second Corinthians chapter 5), for that is very much better; yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake. We would say, “who cares?; I am out for what’s best for me”. Father while we are in the flesh, help us to live our lives so that others may come to know You. Continue t...

  Good morning. Paul repeats his statement: yes, and I will rejoice (a very common word in Philippians), for I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayers (that puts the onus on us 😊 to pray for those in desperation) and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ (we have nothing without the Spirit), according to my earnest expectation and hope, that I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. Can we say that? And now another one of those oft repeated verses: for to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. People say that all the time, but do they really mean it? We are all so caught up in the things of this world that others do not see Christ in us; and if we’re honest, we do not see dying as gain. Paul will explain next time what he meant by this statement. Father help us to live our lives so that others see Christ in us and not ourselves.

  Good morning. Continuing with the thought that the brethren had courage to speak the word of God without fear because of Paul’s imprisonment: some, to be sure, are preaching Christ even from envy and strife, but some also from good will. That’s hard to believe, that anyone would be preaching Christ from envy and strife. We have, though, seen in other of Paul’s letters that “preachers” were envious of Paul. The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel; the former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition rather than from pure motives, thinking to cause me distress in my imprisonment. It’s hard to think of someone preaching the gospel out of selfish ambition, but remember in previous letters there were those who were trying to make financial gain out of preaching the gospel. Paul’s response: what then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice. Father continue to meet all of the read...

  Good morning. We are to be sincere and blameless, having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. We don’t think of righteousness as being a fruit. Most of us, if we were in prison, would be moaning and groaning about our situation. What Paul says: my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel, so that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well-known throughout the whole praetorian guard and to everyone else, and that most of the brethren, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment (if Paul can trust God in his situation, then we can trust Him in ours), have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear. We never look at our circumstances that way. We only look at how they affect us, not as how God could use them to bring glory to His Name. Father help us to trust You in every situation, that it may bring glory to Your Name.

  Good morning. And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ. There is knowledge, and then there is “real“ knowledge. The world is big on knowledge. They feel like the more you know, the better you are. As Paul says elsewhere, “ever learning and never coming to the knowledge of the truth“. People who have studied long and hard about “ religion ”, think that we are ignorant and don’t know the truth. And why are we to grow in real knowledge and all discernment? So that we can approve the things that are excellent. You cannot know which things are excellent and which are not without real knowledge and discernment. The end result of all of this is so that we can be sincere and blameless. It’s not so that we can be puffed up with all of our knowledge. And this is not just for a short time but – until the day of Chris...

  Good morning. Today we begin the book of Philippians. One thing that is different about the beginning of the book of Philippians: in most of his other letters, Paul begins by noting that he is an apostle called by Christ. He does not do that here; but he does say that it is from him and Timothy. I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always offering prayer with joy (a very common theme in the book of Philippians) in my every prayer for you all, in view of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now. For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. Salvation isn’t just a one time thing; it is also an ongoing process our entire lives. It won’t be “perfect“ until the day Jesus returns. Father thank You that You are continuing Your work in us until Jesus returns. Help us to allow You to continue changing us into His likeness

  Good morning. What do we do when we take up the sword of the Spirit? With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak. Once we are “worded up“, we can pray in the Spirit. Just like Jesus did, Paul tells us to be alert. Sometimes we can pray once, and we’re done. But there are many times that we have to persevere – that the breakthrough does not happen immediately. Paul also asked them to pray for him, but not that he become rich, rather that he may be bold to speak the gospel wherever he goes. We, like Paul, are ambassadors for Christ - though not in chains, like he was. We finally come to the end of Ephesians. Father help us to pray at...

  Good morning. The final piece of armor: and take the helmet of salvation. We have to protect the head because that is where the battle is in your Christian life. The devil uses deception, tricking us into thinking that things are different from reality. We have to be convinced of our salvation and what that means. Too many Christians do not know who they are and what their destiny is in Christ. The final thing that Paul talks about is not just defensive, but also offensive  - the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. You don’t have to wonder or debate about what the sword of the Spirit is - Paul tells you that it is the word of God. The Spirit has to have something to work with. He uses the word of God to defend the Christian and to attack the enemy. Even if you had your Bible with you 24/7, it would take time to look up the appropriate scripture. You have to “hide His word in your heart“. Now that we are all armored up, what do we do? We will see that next time. Fa...

  Good morning. Since we have done everything – stand firm therefore, (The following is why you can stand firm) having girded your loins with truth and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace. I am sure that you have heard or read many good explanations of these pieces of armor; so I am not going to try to add to them. A couple of things should be obvious to us all: You must have every piece on your body or the enemy will find a way to attack you, and you cannot ever take them off. There are two more defensive pieces which sadly many Christians do take off frequently. The first: in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Depending on the time in history, the body armor was made of thick leather, not metal. If struck with an arrow, it might prevent the arrow from penetrating to the body, but if it were on fire, it coul...

  Good morning. Paul has said a lot in the book of Ephesians, but now he comes to his third and final closing. Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. No matter how good we are or how strong we are, we are helpless and hopeless without God. So how can we do this? Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. Sometimes Christians only put on part of the armor of God, and that leaves openings for the devil to attack. You may have seen movies set in days past, in which a group of defenders are waiting for the attack of the enemy. They think that they will be able to withstand the attack of the enemy, but when it comes, they soon panic and flee. They have no confidence in their ability nor in their armor. Remember that it is because we have on the full armor of God that we are able to stand against the attack of the enemy. Father help the reader to put on Your full armor every day and to stand firm agains...

  Good morning. Why did Christ give Himself up for the church? So that He might sanctify her (set her apart as holy unto Himself), having cleansed by the washing of the water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot (no one wants to wear clothes with spots in them, unless it is to work in the yard) or wrinkle (and no one wants to wear clothes that are perfectly clean, but have wrinkles all in them) or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless (in 1:4, He chose us to be holy and blameless). He didn’t want us to just have our fire insurance. He wanted a perfect bride for Himself. Similarly: so husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself. Jesus laid aside any desires that would be for Himself in order that the church might be made perfect. Even so, husbands should lay aside their selfish desires for the good of their wives. Father thank You that Jesus did all ...

  Good morning. Why did Christ give Himself up for the church? So that He might sanctify her (set her apart as holy unto Himself), having cleansed by the washing of the water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot (no one wants to wear clothes with spots in them, unless it is to work in the yard) or wrinkle (and no one wants to wear clothes that are perfectly clean, but have wrinkles all in them) or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless (in 1:4, He chose us to be holy and blameless). He didn’t want us to just have our fire insurance. He wanted a perfect bride for Himself. Similarly: so husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself. Jesus laid aside any desires that would be for Himself in order that the church might be made perfect. Even so, husbands should lay aside their selfish desires for the good of their wives. Father thank You that Jesus did all ...

  Good morning. We are filled with the Spirit, giving thanks for all things and… be(ing) subject to one another in the fear of Christ. My Bible says that the grammar indicates that this mutual submission is associated with the filling of the Spirit. We are not going to be subject to one another without that. That does not mean that the others are dictators over us. We willingly decide to allow the group to determine what is best in the Lord for the group. Cover your ears and hide your eyes: wives, be subject   (it is in italics which means that it is not in the Greek – it is added by the translators for clarity) to your own husbands, as to the Lord. Just like being subject to one another does not mean that they are dictators over us, so it is with wives and husbands. Note that it does not say that wives are to obey their husbands – only children are told to obey, and that their parents. Husbands are not to lord it over their wives, just like pastors are not supposed to lord it...

Good morning. So what are the things that we “say“, being filled with the Spirit? Speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs (you don’t think of those as speaking. If we did this, there would only be edifying words coming from our mouths), singing and making melody with your heart (remember that what is in your heart, comes out of your mouth) to the Lord, always giving thanks for all things (do we give thanks that they happened, or in spite of them happening? Remember: God makes all things work together for our good… There are things that happened to us that seemed bad, but later we realized that if they had not happened, we would not have been in the good place we were in later.), in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father. Father help us to always have a melody in our hearts, and to share those melodies with those around us.  

  Good morning. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is - that you not say and do those evil things. And (The word translated “and“ can sometimes also be translated as “even“ or “namely, which would mean that the following is the will of the Lord) do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit. My Bible says that the Greek present tense is used to indicate that the filling of the Spirit is not a once for all experience. This is not the same thing as being baptized in the Holy Spirit, though it is included when you are the baptized in the Holy Spirit. Remember that I have said before that whenever you see someone being filled with the Holy Spirit, they generally say something immediately afterwards. What follows is a list of things which involve vocal expressions. When people are drunk, they commonly say and do things that they would not normally do when they are not drunk. They may be comical, or they may be downrig...

  Good morning. Paul reiterates: do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret. And then a warning to those who think they can do things in the dark and get away with it. But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light. You may get away with it for a while, but in the end it will be revealed. And since it will be revealed: therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. Most Christians act like they have all the time in the world to make changes to their lives. You’ve heard the saying, “practice makes perfect“; but in reality, practice does not make perfect – it makes permanent. Remember that when you do something X number of times (my mathematical background is showing), it becomes a habit. The same thing happens with you’re...

  Good morning Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. What things? All of those evil speaking words and immorality things that Paul just spoke about. Why does he say let no one deceive you with empty words? Apparently someone was telling them that it was OK to say and do the things that they were doing. That’s because they themselves were wanting to say and do those evil things. Therefore do not be partakers with them: for you were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of the Light. Remember that the Bible talks about Jesus being the Light of the world. The fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth; and so we should be trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. Remember that - when the Light shines, the darkness flees. Father help us to let Your Light shine in this dark world.

  Good morning. So we are to imitate God: and walk in love, just as Christ also loved us and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma. Giving Himself up for us was a result of Him loving us. Walking in love also requires us to sacrifice our will to help fellow believers in need. But immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as a proper among saints. It’s not just that you can’t do these things; you can’t even talk about them. God knows that if you talk about them enough, you just might want to try them. Watch your mouth - there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. For some people, that would mean not saying much at all. Sadly, there are too many Christians whose way of talking is no different from the people of the world. Ask yourself – would you say those exact words if the pastor/Jesus were standing right next to you? Just like when someone see...

  Good morning. Continuing with not grieving the Holy Spirit: let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you along with all malice. Among Christians? That would definitely grieve the Holy Spirit. Instead – be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you. That’s kind of like “forgive those who trespass against you, just as your trespasses have been forgiven you”. So whatever someone has done that made you angry, forgive them. “Yeah but I won’t forget“. If that is your attitude, did you really forgive them? Therefore (since God has forgiven you) be imitators of God, as beloved children. At least when they’re young, children imitate their parents; and so we are to imitate our heavenly Father. Father help us to put away all of the bad feelings and reactions we have towards others, and to act just like You do towards us.

  Good morning. No unwholesome word should proceed from our mouth - so what kind should be leaving our mouth? Only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear. That’s a toughie. I guess that means I won’t be saying much then :) Remember what Thumper’s daddy always said, “if you can’t say something nice, don’t say nothing at all“. He must’ve been reading the book of the Ephesians. We are to build up fellow believers, not tear them down. Another no-no: do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed (we talked about this word in chapter 1) for the day of redemption. How does one grieve the Holy Spirit? By doing the no-no’s just mentioned and the ones that follow. All of these tear down the body of Christ, instead of building it up. My Bible says that the verb “grieved“ demonstrates that the Holy Spirit is a person, not just an influence (as once was/is believed), for only a person can be grieve...

  Good morning. We left off with do not let the sun go down on your anger: neither give the devil an opportunity. When anger festers, whether during the night or not, it allows the devil to create havoc among families and in the body of Christ. You are probably well aware of what happens. All kinds of thoughts of revenge and ways to do it pop into your head. Sometimes the revenge causes more trouble than the original offense. Paul now gives the Ephesians a list of no-no’s. He who steals must steal no longer - in the body of Christ? He must labor… so that he will have something to share with one who has need. It’s not just to take care of yourself, but to help those who are not able to help themselves. And now a no-no that too many of us too many times do: let (elicits the idea that you could stop it from happening) no unwholesome (rotten) word proceed from your mouth. Remember that what is in your heart comes out of your mouth. We will see next time what we should do instead. Fathe...

Good morning. Then what do we do? Therefore (what is it there for? Since we have laid aside the old man; been renewed in the spirit of our mind; and put on the new man is what it is there for), laying aside falsehood (which is what the old man did constantly), speak truth each one of you with his neighbor, for we are members of one another. Another hard thing to do: be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger. It seems like it is hardest to not get angry with members of your family; and yet that is what the body of believers is. We expect them to treat us the way we think they should; and when they don’t, we get mad. Of course we also get mad at outsiders, but it seems worse when family does it. Even Jesus got angry, but it was usually with religious leaders not with the disciples. He did get upset with them; but it was usually because of their lack of faith in Him. A key concept which we frequently do not observe: do not let the sun go down on your anger. To...

  Good morning. So what’s next after laying aside the old man - that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind. Remember that Paul just said a few verses before that the Gentiles walked in the futility of their mind. In Romans it said to be transformed by the renewing of your mind. We have to get rid of our stinking thinking. When a caterpillar is transformed into a butterfly, it doesn’t crawl around thinking like a caterpillar does. The third step is to put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth. The new self is nothing like the old one – it is like Christ Jesus Himself. It’s kind of like clothes. You put off your old set of clothes, and put on a new set. If you take the rags off of a beggar, and dress the person in an expensive set of clothes, they may look different for a while, but eventually the brand new set of clothes will become rags too. You have to change their way of thinking and acting also. Father help ...

  Good morning. But you did not learn Christ in this way (giving yourself over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness), if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him (I thought these were Christians and certainly would have heard Him and been taught in Him), just as truth is in Jesus, that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit. That is step number one, and is probably the hardest thing to do. You have been doing and thinking the same way all of your life. It is like driving to some place that you frequent. You don’t even have to think about which way to turn – it is automatic. That is the way it was before Christ. We didn’t have to think about what to say or do – it was automatic. It takes time to not automatically respond the way we have all of our lives before Christ. We will see next time what the next steps are. Father help us to lay as...

  Good morning. So what is the result of us being all together as one? That you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart. Today “elevation in thought“ is of prime importance in the world. They believe that they can come up with some logical explanation that will refute Christianity. The greater the contradiction to true Christianity that they can come up with, that will receive the greater acclaim from all of their peers. And they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. How do you get a callous? By something constantly rubbing a particular spot on your body over and over again until it becomes hardened to protect itself from whatever is rubbing against it. That is what has happened to the people of the world. The t...

  Good morning. So, we are to not be carried about by every wind of doctrine, but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ. Some people speak truth, but not in love. Their goal is not to help the person they’re speaking to, but to verbally destroy them. We are speaking the truth to help others to grow up into Christ. From whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love. The phrase “being fitted and held together“ to me brings up the image of a dovetail joint. Everything is fitted together perfectly for strength and endurance. It says that the proper working of each individual part is what causes the growth of the body – that it builds up itself in love. Of course without God none of this would happen. Father thank You that we are working together to build up Your body ...

  Good morning. Surely the time has passed for all of these ministry gifts, such as apostles and prophets, right? No, it was until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Absolutely not! A few verses before, we were to preserve the unity of the Spirit; now it is attaining to the unity of the faith. Without the unity of the Spirit, there would be no unity of the faith. As a result we are no longer to be children (we no longer partake only of the milk of the Word as mentioned in Hebrews), tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming. The word translated “trickery“ actually means cube, as in dice, alluding to cheating at the game. Father help us to attain to that unity of the faith and of the knowledge of Your Son; to become mature to...

  Good morning. He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things. Now here comes what are known as the ministry gifts – and the gifts are people. He gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ. When we looked at this in First Corinthians, Paul stated it as: God has appointed in the church, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, etc. Because each of these offices in Ephesians has the word “some” in front of it except for the word teachers, some people believe that the office of pastor and teacher are one and the same, not two separate offices. What are they for, the glory of the persons holding the offices? No, they for the equipping of all of the believers, so that they can do the work of the service, and to build up the body of Christ. We will continue this next ti...

  Good morning. From yesterday we saw that there was one of everything. But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Paul will explain more about that in a few verses, but first he digresses. Therefore it says (from Psalm 68), when He ascended on high He led captive a host of captives, and He gave gifts to men. We will see in a little while that the gifts He gave were actually men themselves. Now this expression, He ascended, what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth? Some say that this meant He descended into hell; but that is not necessarily so. Remember the rich man and the beggar Lazarus. Perhaps He went to Abraham’s bosom to speak the gospel to those righteous people who had died previously. In Luke 23:43, Jesus said to the thief on the cross, “truly I say to you, this day you shall be with Me in Paradise“. He would have then led captive a host of captives. But all of this is speculation. We will f...

  Good morning. In Paul’s day, he had to contend with some groups saying “there is a church of Jews that have been converted and still obey Jewish laws, and there’s another church of Gentiles (and by the way, they should also observe Jewish laws). Today we have groups of many different denominations, and some that are not a part of any denomination. But Paul says: there is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling. Christ’s body has not been divided, and God’s Spirit has not been divided either. One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all. There is only One, and only one way to Him. Man, not God, has divided Christianity into many different groups. There is more than one way of expressing our Christianity. In the beginning, it was the gospel, along with Jewish laws. If the church had remained rigid, it would be the same way today. When there is one way of thinking/doing things, that i...

   Good morning. Yes we are to be self-confident, but… with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Too many times when people have something greater than other people that they had nothing to do with obtaining, like inherited money, looks, etc., they look down on others, even though they were born that way and did not do anything to earn it. We did not do anything to “earn“ all of this greatness within us. Therefore we should not look down on others because they don’t have the greatness of God within them. We should be tolerant towards other believers and should be so with an attitude of love. That does not mean, however, that we put up with sinful actions by other believers. Notice it says to preserve the unity of the Spirit. It is not up to us to create the unity of the Spirit – that’s God‘s job – it is our job to make sure that as far as it has to do with...

   Good morning. If you could have your druthers, ask anything you could dream of, what would you ask of God? Well, it pales in comparison with what He can do. Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us. This power that He uses is the same power that works within us. To Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Therefore (there’s that word again - because of what Paul just said about us) I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called. We have all of this great stuff working inside of us. We should act like it. You’ve seen the way that people that are full of self-confidence walk – we should walk the same way. Just like self-confidence can turn into arrogance, so it can also be with those having self-confidence spiritually. We have to remember that our self-confidence is in Jesus, and...

   Good morning. Why are we strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man – so that Christ may dwell (that has the idea of being at home, not just visiting) in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded (expresses the idea of being immovable) in love, may be able to comprehend (more than just knowing a bunch of facts; it has the idea of understanding them) with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God. We are to not just know about the love of God, but also to experience it. We will see in Colossians that in Jesus all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form. We however, are not Deity. Father thank You that we can know the love of Christ, and be filled up with You through Him.

   Good morning. Remember that I said the other day that Paul was going to go on for a dozen or so verses before completing his thought - for this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles... therefore (I’m sure you’ve heard the saying “when you see the word therefore, find out what it is there for”) I ask you not to lose heart at my tribulations on your behalf (which he just talked about for a dozen verses), for they are your glory. Paul was saying that it was no sweat all the things he went through for their (the Gentiles’) sake. For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man. The way that we derive true strength is through His Spirit; and this strength is not in our physical body, but in our spiritual one. Father thank You for strengthening us throug...

Good morning. Continuing with “bringing to light what is the administration of the mystery… “ So that the manifold (variegated or multifaceted like a diamond reflects and enhances its beauty) wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places. There was no way that anyone looking through the old testament could have foreseen the church. There was only the temple and the laws of Moses to guide the people. There was no collective body throughout the world that would take forth the good news of salvation to the world. If the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places had foreseen the church, they would’ve done even more to prevent it’s coming into existence. They were concerned about Jesus, not the ragtag crew that followed Him. This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and confidence access through faith in Him. We don’t come groveling into the t...

  Good morning. Continuing with the mystery of Christ: to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. This is what Paul and Barnabas talked about when the two of them went up to Jerusalem and spoke to James, Peter, and all the other elders. Of which I was made a minister, according to the gift of God’s grace which was given to me according to the working of His power. Instead of going around bragging about all this Paul said, “to me, the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ”. Even if God uses us greatly, we need to keep the same attitude in ourselves. And to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things. It was there from the beginning, but it was hidden in plain sight. It was revealed, as always, at just the right time. Father tha...

  Good morning. We are growing into a holy temple of the Lord – in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit. This idea of the church being a temple for God is also in the book of Revelation. Not only as individuals, but also as a collective body, we have God dwelling in us. For this reason (what he just mentioned in the previous verses) I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles - Paul then takes about a dozen verses to explain his personal situation before he completes his thought. First he talks about: the stewardship of God’s grace which was given to me for you; that by revelation there was made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before in brief. As I said before in Acts, second Corinthians, and Galatians, I believe he received this revelation after he was stoned and left for dead, when he went up to the third heaven. By referring to this, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which in ...

  Good morning. What is the result of all of this? So then you are no longer strangers and aliens but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord. As Gentiles, we were strangers to God and His promises; but as Christians, we are part of the family of God. Later when we see the list of God’s ministry gifts to men, apostles are listed first and prophets second. That is because they lay a foundation upon which all the other ministries build. Now in this building, Jesus is the “chief“ cornerstone. Isaiah says about this costly corner stone for the foundation, that the one who believes in it (Him) will not be disappointed. The building depends upon the foundation, as mentioned in Matthew, and the foundation depends on the corner stone. We, the building, are bein...

  Good morning. We were separate from Christ: but now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. Some groups downplay the crucifixion as being too graphic. But it is only through the blood of Christ that we can come near to God. For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups (Jews and Gentiles) into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the law of Commandments, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace… for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father. Spiritually we were enemies. It took the cross of Christ to bring us together into one in God. Father thank You for the cross of Christ. Help us to realize that we are no longer separated from You because of it.

  Good morning. OK so we are His workmanship, and we were created for good works and should walk in them. Therefore remember (sometimes we do forget the following, and sometimes we can’t get it out of our heads - thinking how bad we used to be) that formerly you (the Gentiles) were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the Commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. That is a pretty sad state to be in; but is the state in which most in this country are. A lot of people around the world go on to various websites to find out about their ancestry. Their ancestry is pretty bad before God. We were separated from Christ, and had no covenants of promise between God and our ancestors – we had no hope. But even those who are Jewish and have the covenants of promise, in actuality have nothing without Christ. Father thank You that even though You had no obligation to save us, You did!

  Good morning.  Continuing where we left off last time. Now the phrase “have been saved“ is in the perfect tense in Greek. That means an action that has been completed in the past (I.e. the saving is not still going on), and has an effect on the present (our saving affects who we are and what we do). The aorist tense just simply means that an action happened without commenting on its effect. The author, Paul in this case, chooses which tense to use to convey his/her meaning. Paul seldom uses the perfect tense, while John uses it profusely. Therefore, to Paul it was important to convey the meaning with the perfect tense. So why did God do all of this for us? For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. The word translated “workmanship“ comes from a Greek word from which we get the English word poem. We are God’s poem, just like the creation is, as noted in Romans chapter 1. While we did not do ...

  Good morning. You may have thought that yesterday’s quoting of the verse that said “by grace you have been saved” was the one we all think about, but it wasn’t. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as the result of works so that no one may boast. First let’s look at the fact that it took grace for our salvation. God chose to save us; there was nothing that we did to earn it. That is emphasized by the phrase “not as a result of works“. But it wasn’t just God’s grace without anything on our part. Otherwise God could just point His finger at anyone and say “saved, saved, saved”. It was through faith on our part. Back before there were hard drives in computers, the computer had just enough of a program, called a bootstrap program, to look to the floppy disk for the operating system, which was on the disk. That’s kind of like we are before we come to God. We have just enough faith to connect with the Word of God to beli...

  Good morning. Last time we left off with us formerly living in the lust of our flesh. Then two of the most powerful words in the Bible – but God: being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions (He didn’t wait for us to get cleaned up first), made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him (we are no longer dead) and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. We should see ourselves that way, not as poor, struggling, miserable nobodies. Since we are seated with Him in heavenly places, that is where our thoughts should be, not on the things happening on earth. Why did He do this – so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace and kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. Father thank You that we are seated in Christ in the heavenly places. Help us to keep that as our attitude.

  Good morning. So we were doing OK in our lives before Jesus came, right? And you were dead in your trespasses and sins. Whoa! We weren’t just having a bad hair day, we were stone cold dead. We couldn’t hear from God – and we didn’t want to. Our sins, in which we formally walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. We weren’t just minding our own business – we were doing the desires of the devil. Sadly, it is still at work today in the people of the world that do not know Jesus. Among them we too all formally lived in the lust (remember that can mean strong desire for anything, not just sexual desire) of the flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. This is a vivid description of the people of the world today. They don’t care about right or wrong; they just care about satisfying some desire of the...

 Good morning. He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. The putting of all things under His feet reminds us of Psalm 110, to which the Gospels refer several times: “The Lord says to my Lord: sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet”. He was also given as head over all things to the church. In other words He is in charge. If we think of it like our own body, our head directs every movement of the rest of the body. The rest of our body “normally” does not argue with what we direct it to do. However, as you know, there are times when it doesn’t act like it. Since the church is His body, it should not be arguing with and disobeying Him. We, the church, are the fullness of Him. When the world sees us, the church, they should be seeing Him. All of those things we’ve talked about for the past few days are in chapter 1 of Ephesians. I told ...

 Good morning. What about this great power towards us: in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places. That took a lot of power! And to think that that power is toward us. More about the heavenly places: far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. There is nothing that Christ is not above. There is no name greater than His. We will see later in Philippians that that name is above every name, and that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Father thank You that all that power is at work in us and for us.

 Good morning. What else did Paul pray for them? That the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. Wow, that is a lot! Sadly a lot of Christians do not know all of this. They feel/act like they are helpless and hopeless. It’s like being the heir of a fortune, but not knowing about it. His calling does have a hope for us. It is not just for the here and now but for all eternity. Notice that the riches of the glory are in us, His inheritance. Think you are weak and helpless? That surpassing greatness of His power is towards us! He did not give all of this to us for no good reason. We are to use it in our every day lives to bring about the kingdom of God. Father thank You that all of this is ours! Help us to act like it every day.

  Good morning. In Him (again, everything is in Him), you also, after listening to the message of truth (too many people listen to a lie), the gospel (it IS good news) of your salvation – having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God‘s own possession, to the praise of His glory. We have talked before about God putting His seal on us, declaring that we are His possession. The Holy Spirit inside of us was one of those mysteries we were talking about. And yet Jesus had told the disciples that “He is with you and will be in you.“ As we said before, the word translated “pledge” in Greek today means engagement ring (talk about apropos). Because He did give us the Holy Spirit, we can be confident that He will redeem us at the proper time. Father thank You for the engagement ring of the Holy Spirit. We eagerly anticipate the coming of the wedding feast!

  Good morning. For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you (how would you like that to be said of you - that your faith had been heard of by someone like Paul?) and your love for all the saints, do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers. Sometimes when we see/hear of someone doing great in the Lord, we don’t even pray for them. We think they’ve got it all together and don’t need our prayers. It could be that they need it more than anyone - that there may be some great challenge to their faith that that they are going through or is about to come upon them. And what did Paul pray for them - that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him. Everyone needs that. Next time we will see what else Paul prayed for them. Father help us to live our lives in faith to the point where other people here of it.

  Good morning. What else do we have in Christ? In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined (there it is again) according to His purpose who works all things after the council of His will (desire). It would be more than enough to get our sins paid for and just slip in the back door of heaven - we also have an inheritance. Notice that it says that we have obtained, not that we will obtain. This, like everything else, is in Christ. God has a desire for something to happen, and He does it! And why all of this? To the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory. Remember that we are to be holy and blameless before Him. As an interesting side-note, my interlinear New Testament translates, “we have obtained an inheritance“ as “we were chosen as His inheritance”. Father thank You that we have/are (actually both are true) an inheritance. Use us to bring others to that same realization

  Good morning. He made known to us the mystery of His will. It was a mystery, even though they had the completed Old Testament for hundreds of years. It was there all along, but scholars couldn’t see it; or if they did, they rejected it as being impossible. He did it – according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times (there is that idea again of everything happening at just the right time after everything is in place), that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth. My Bible says that that last phrase not only has the idea of leadership but also was often used of adding up a column of figures; in other words, when things don’t seem to add up, they do in Christ. One thing we need to remember – if God’s mystery of salvation was in the Old Testament, then His mystery of what is to happen now and in the future is in the New Testament. Father thank You that at ...

  Good morning. He predestined us to adopt as sons – to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. It is His grace, not our works, that brings about our adoption as sons. In Him (everything is in Christ) we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us. Slaves were freed by the payment of a ransom. We were in bondage to sin, and needed someone to pay a ransom for us. The ransom needed for us was unthinkable – the blood of God‘s only Son, Jesus Christ. It didn’t take just a dab of grace – he had to lavish it upon us (it took the whole jar). It reminds us of the song – “I owed a debt I could not pay. He paid a debt He did not owe.“ Father thank You that You redeemed us through the blood of Your Son. Help us to leave our old life behind and to walk in the newness of Your Spirit.

  Good morning. OK so we are to be holy and blameless before Him – in love (which is how) He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself. As you are probably aware, there is a debate about free will versus predestination. Some believe that we have no choice in the matter – we are pre-destined to become Christians or to go to the bad place. That completely contradicts the idea of free will. However you can’t dismiss predestination or ignore it; it is in the Bible. This is what someone has called the “tension“ of the Word. It “seems like“ that there are two contradictory concepts. For example “once saved always saved“ versus you can lose your salvation. It seems like they are both in the Bible. So you have to try and explain it away. Those that believe in free will say that God knew that you were going to choose Him, and thus He made sure that you would accept Him. How did He predestine us? It was according to the kind intention of His will (desire is implied i...

  Good morning. He blessed us in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. He not only blessed us in Christ, He also chose us in Him. Isn’t that awesome? God chose us! And it wasn’t because we did something special that He chose us, because He did it even before the foundation of the world. Now He did not choose us so that we could do just any old thing that we wanted. He chose us that we would be holy and blameless before Him. It’s much easier to be “holy and blameless” before men; it is quite a lot more to be holy and blameless before God. Note that it is a “being“, and not a “doing“ that makes us holy and blameless before God. Father thank You that You chose us - not because we did anything to warrant it, but because You loved us.

  Good morning. Today we begin the book of Ephesians. It seems like every part of a sentence has some doctrinal nuance in it. As usual, Paul starts out by proclaiming that he is an apostle of Christ Jesus, and that it is by the will of God. He is writing to the saints at Ephesus who are faithful (not those who are just trying to sneak in the back door of heaven) in Christ Jesus. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. We can’t even imagine us blessing God. My Bible says that the Jewish people used the word “blessed“ to express both God‘s kindness to us and our thanks or praise to Him. Notice that God blessed us with every spiritual blessing -  there aren’t any that He did not bless us with. Now it does say spiritual blessing; it does not say every physical blessing. Our blessing is in the heavenly places in Christ – but we are in Christ, even while we are here on earth. Father th...

 Good morning. Yesterday we talked about these people getting others to become circumcised that they may boast.  May it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. Here Paul is boasting about what Jesus did, not what he did. For neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. Following or not following the law will get you nowhere; only being completely changed within and without will. And those who will walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God. The Greek word translated “and” can sometimes be translated as “even” or “namely”. The word “and“ means the joining of two different things. The words “even“ and “namely“ mean something more explicit about the same thing. So Paul is probably not talking about two different things, Christians and Jews, but rather calling Christians the Israel of God. From now on let no one caus...

 Good morning. So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith. So it’s not just to Christians that we are to do good, but to everyone. Referring back to where we were previously: those who desire to make a good showing in the flesh try to compel you to be circumcised, simply so that they will not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. It was bad enough to preach Christ, the Messiah, crucified on the cross; it was even worse to not circumcise the new believers. But those who are  circumcised do not even keep the law themselves, but they desire to have you circumcised so that they may boast in your flesh. Even today, people who do wrong things like to get other people to do the same wrong things. They then go around bragging that they were able to get them to do it. Father help us to not yield to pressure from others to do things that we know are not right.

  Good morning. The one who is taught the word is to share all good things with the one who teaches him. Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. Of course evangelists use this passage to say, “if you send me money, God will send you more money“. But he’s talking about much more than money. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. If you do things to please your flesh, it will “spoil“. But if you do things for the kingdom of God, you will reap eternal rewards. Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. Too many times we are way too quick to give up. We give and give and give (and not just money), and it seems like we never see any results coming back to us. And so we become disheartened and quit giving. It seems like it takes forever to start receiving results from our giving (and ...

 Good morning. If we are exhibiting the fruit of the Spirit, then we should: Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ. If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. When people are fulfilling some set of rules and regulations, they tend to think that they are better than everyone else. The only ones that they are fooling are themselves. Everyone else can see through them. Each one must examine his own work, and then he will have reason for boasting in regard to himself alone, and not in regard to another. It’s kind of like bettering your own record in some type of exercise. You can boast (to yourself) that you did better than your previous record; you shouldn’t boast that you did better than someone else. For each one will bear his own load (it is a different word than “burdens” used earlier). Christianity is a DIY (with the help of the Holy Spirit) experience. Father help us to continuously do better each day than we did the day...

  Good morning. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. It sure doesn’t act like it’s crucified (seems like we are back to Romans seven again). If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk (different word from yesterday - it means to walk in line with) by the Spirit. Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another. People who are legalistic tend to look down on those that are not as legalistic as they are. And if someone seems to be more legalistic than they are, they tend to be envious of those people. Even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in the spirit of gentleness, each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted. If someone who is legalistic sees another person doing something that they believe is wrong, instead of helping that person to do the right thing, they condemn them, usually publicly. The word translated restore is also used to mea...

  Good morning. If you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. The Spirit won’t lead us to do anything that we should not, but will lead us to do the things that we should - we don’t need the Law to guide us. Now the deeds (plural) of the flesh are evident, which are… and things like these. Those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. People that do the things that he listed generally really don’t care about inheriting the kingdom of God – they only care about pleasing their flesh. But the fruit (singular) of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law (if you are operating in the fruit of the Spirit, you won’t be breaking the Law). Those people who do the deeds of the flesh might only do one or two but not all of them. Those who exhibit the fruit of the Spirit will exhibit all that Paul listed, not just one or two. If you feel like one of those listed in t...

 Good morning. And now a verse that we all need to follow diligently: walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. The ones who wanted them to follow the law had all of these rules and regulations that people were to follow in order to live “righteously“ before God. By contrast God has only one - walk by the Spirit. If you do that, you don’t have to worry about “Have I followed every commandment and regulation?“. Simply listen to the directions of the Holy Spirit. He will keep you from doing the wrong things and will help you to do the right ones. The word “walk“ is in the present tense, which in Greek means to do it continuously not just one time. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you (your flesh) wish. This reminds us of the internal conflict of Romans chapter 7 where Paul said, “I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin“. F...

 Good morning. Apparently some people thought, and may even have been saying that, Paul was preaching that converts should be circumcised. If I still preach circumcision, why am I still persecuted? Then the stumbling block of the cross (how could the Messiah be crucified? He was supposed to be the king of kings.) has been abolished (from the same word as severed, which we saw yesterday). I wish that those who are troubling you would even mutilate themselves (cut themselves off). For you were called to freedom, only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. We are free in regards to the law, but that does not mean that we can do just any old thing that we want. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word “you shall love your neighbor as yourself“. Then you will not have to do every little nitpicky thing in the law, if you simply do what is best for your neighbor. Father help us to use our freedom for Your glory.