God's Word For Every Day

“You have learned the truth that is in Jesus” (Ephesians 4:21). The truth that is in Jesus – this is what changes everything. Jesus changes us. He changes our way of thinking. He changes our way of living. At the heart of this change, there is love. His love reaches us – and changes us: “Be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you” (Ephesians 4:32). “Make me a channel of Your peace. Where there is hatred, let me bring Your love …” (Francis of Assisi). Here’s  a link to the hymn, “Make me a channel of Your peace – sung by a school choir.

Ephesians 2:1-10  What we were without Christ (Ephesians 2:1-3); What God has done for us in Christ (Ephesians 2:4-10) Ephesians 2:8-10 - saved by grace, saved through faith, saved for good works By grace - but not without faith and good works Faith and good works - the fruit of grace Faith and good works - Grace has done this. The grace has come from God. The glory goes to God.

I just know. This is what I think. This is how I feel. These are the kind of things some people say when they speak about having faith.  Often, their idea of faith is very vague - and says more about themselves than it says about God. We read these statements, I just know. this is what I think,  this is how I feel, we see a lot of I  in them, and we wonder, what about God, where is he in all of this? When our faith is real - firmly grounded in the Lord, we do not think so much about ourselves - what we believe and how we feel. We think more about the Lord and what he has done for us. Rather than giving out our own thoughts and feelings, we concern ourselves with something much more important and much more valuable - sharing the Word of the Lord. Our thoughts and feelings come and go. Sometimes, we have positive thoughts and optimistic feelings. At other times, our thoughts are more negative and pessimistic. The Word of the Lord is very different: "the Word ...

Ephesians 5:15-6:24 'Be very careful how you live' (5:16). This is for all of us - in every situation of life. How are we to live? * We are to ‘be filled with the Spirit’. * We are to have ‘reverence for Christ’. * We are to live ‘as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart.’ * We are to ‘be strong in the Lord’. We are to ‘pray at all times in the Spirit’. * We are to ‘to love our Lord Jesus Christ with love undying’ (5:18, 21;6:6, 10, 18, 24). Careful living emerges from true spirituality. It is not a matter of rules and regulations. It is a matter of love for Jesus. We’re not to be like the Pharisees: ‘On the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy’, ‘These people honour Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me’ ( Matthew 23:28 ; Mark 7:6 ). Take care - because you love Jesus!

Don't blame me! It's not my fault!  These words take us back a long way - back to the Garden of Eden, back to the beginning of sin (Genesis 3). It's not just a story from a long, long time ago. It's our story. It's the story of every one of us. We don't confess our sin. We make excuses for ourselves. What does God say about this? He says, 'Really? - Do you really think it's not your fault? Do you really think you're not to blame?' Let's go back to Genesis 3. What do we find there? We find sin - and, before that, we find temptation. What's the connection between temptation and sin? Temptation gives us a choice to make. Temptation came from "the serpent" (in Revelation 12:9, we learn that "the ancient serpent" is, also, known by the names, "the devil" and "Satan.) When did temptation become sin? It became sin when Adam and Eve chose to do what the serpent suggested they should do. The temptation came fr...

" Follow God’s example,  therefore, as dearly loved children   2  and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us  and gave himself up for us  as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God" (Ephesians 5:1-2). God's love for us always comes before our love for Him. His love is eternal. It has no beginning. It has no end. It comes to us from the very beginning. It takes us on to the very end. Let us receive His love. May our lives be shaped by His love.Where do we see His love for us? We look at Jesus. We see how much Jesus loves us - and we are changed by His love. May we become more loving people, as we learn to appreciate how much we have been loved by God.

Ephesians 1:1-2:10 ‘ By grace you have been saved through faith … for good works ’ (2:8-10). God calls us to live a ‘holy’ life. We cannot make ourselves holy. We are spiritually ‘dead’. We need to be ‘made alive’ - by God. Holiness does not come from ourselves. It comes from the Lord. Long before we ever thought of loving Him - He loved us. Our love for Him is so changeable. His love for us is unchanged, unchanging and unchangeable. It is eternal. He loved us ‘before the foundation of the world’. He will love us ‘in the world to come’. This is the love of God, the love which inspires us and enables us to live a ‘holy’ life (2:1; 1:4; 2:7). When we realize the truth concerning ourselves - ‘nothing good dwells within me’ ( Romans 7:18 ) - and God - He is ‘rich in mercy’ (2:4) - , we will ‘praise His glorious grace’ (1:6).

In the Old Testament, we read of Israel being brought close to the Lord -  "... Israel, the people close to his heart" (Psalm 148:14). In the New Testament, we read of both Jews and Gentiles being brought close to the Lord -  "He came and preached peace  to you who were far away and peace to those who were near.   18  For through him we both have access  to the Father  by one Spirit" (Ephesians 2:17-18) .  We give thanks to God for what he has done for Israel - but we  do not think only of what he has done for Israel. We look beyond what he has done for Israel - and we give thanks for what he has done for all nations. His love is not only for Israel. It's for people of every nation. As I was thinking about this - God has done great things for Israel, and he has done great things for us, I remembered the words of a song that I haven't heard for years -  " It is no secret what God can do, w hat he's done for others, h e'll do for...

"So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal" (2 Corinthians 4:18). In these words, Paul is encouraging us to draw back the curtain and catch a glimpse of a bigger and better world than this world,  which is passing away. Draw back the curtain - and catch a glimpse of glory - the glory of God. Paul's  encouraging us to see our life with the eyes of faith, hope and love. He speaks about two different kinds of seeing - " For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face" (1 Corinthians 13:12). When we're  learning to look at life with the eyes of faith, hope and love, we're catching a glimpse of what lies beyond the curtain - " And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love" (1 Corinthians 13:13). Faith, hope and love - these are the things that remain. May God help us to keep these eternal thing...

"Every spiritual blessing in Christ" (Ephesians 1:3) Through Christ, God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing (Ephesians 1:3). Every spiritual blessing – in Christ: Come to Him and receive His blessing.

Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians and Philemon - These letters are known, collectively, as the prison letters. They were written by Paul during his time of imprisonment in Rome. In Philippians, we see God's kingdom as a kingdom joy: "Rejoice in the Lord always, and, again, I say, rejoice" (Philippians 4:4). When the Lord reigns as king in our  lives, he gives us his joy. This joy doesn't depend on our circumstances. It comes to us from the Lord. In Philemon, we see the kingdom of God as the kingdom of fellowship: "that you might have him back for ever, no longer as a slave, but as a beloved brother" (15-16). In Colossians 1:13-14, we have a marvellous statement of what God has done for us in Christ: "He has delivered us from the dominion of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." Through Christ's redemption, we are     now in the  kingdom of God...

"By grace you have been saved through faith ... " (Ephesians 2:8). Grace is God's initiative. Faith is our response. The Lord takes the first step. In love, he comes to us. Responding to his love and rejoicing in his love, we come to him. "He drew me, and I followed on ... " (from the hymn, "O happy day!"). Here's a link to a song which will help you to sing praise to the God of grace. Forever Grateful With Lyrics Video Design; Lyn Alejandrino Hopkins - YouTube

"But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ" (Ephesians 2:13). We were "far off." Now, we have been "brought near." " This is the  Lord's  doing; and it is  marvelous in our eyes" (Psalm 118:23). Each and every one of us were like the prodigal son - "far" from our loving Father (Luke  15:13). Jesus Christ has come to us. He has closed the distance between sinners and the God of perfect holiness. In Jesus Christ, the grace of God reaches out to us. In Him, we see the perfect love of our Heavenly Father. From the Cross, our Saviour is calling out to us. It is the call of His love. He says to us, 'This is what I have done for you.' His love draws us to Him:  "Love so amazing, so divine" - We are "loved with everlasting love", and we are "led by grace that love to know." --- Here are links to the two hymns I've quoted. Listen to thes...

"Or  do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit  who is  in you, whom you have from God,  and you are not your own?  20  For  you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s" (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) These verses speak to us of our great privilege and our great responsibility. We have been called by grace - and we have been called to holiness. What a great privilege is ours - the Holy Spirit has been given to us. He lives in our hearts. What a great responsibility is ours! We are to "be filled with the Spirit" (Ephesians 5:18), and we are to "walk in the Spirit" (Galatians 5:16) - and may we never forget this: "you were bought at a price" - we have been "redeemed ... with the precious blood of Christ" (1 Peter 1:18-19). --- Here's a link to a song that reminds us of how much our Lord Jesus Christ has done for us -  Nothing but the Blood of Jesus ( moder...

Ephesians 1:1-2:10 Lord, You call us to live a holy life. We cannot do this in our own strength. True holiness does not come from ourselves. It comes from You. It comes from Your love. Your love reaches us. Your love changes us. Your love is stronger than our sin. May Your love inspire us to live a holy life. May Your love enable us to live a holy life – a life that brings glory to You, the God of our salvation. Ephesians 2:11-4:6 When You, Lord, are at work in us, everything changes. You save us. You sanctify us. You strengthen us. Help us to serve You. Ephesians 4:7-5:14 Lord, You want us to “grow up in every way into Christ” (Ephesians 4:15). You want us to “walk in love” (Ephesians 5:2). You want us to live a life that is “pleasing to You” (Ephesians 5:10). Why do we settle for something less than Your very best? Help us, Lord, not to “grieve Your Holy Spirit” (Ephesians 5:14). When we hear Your wake-up call – “Awake, O sleeper … ” (Ephesians 5:14), help us to...

Sinners become singers. We never cease to be sinners. We are not superior to those who do not sing the song of the Lord. We have been saved by His grace. All the glory belongs to Him. May our whole life be a song of praise to Him (Ephesians 2:8-10). In our battle against Satan, we must never forget that our victory is grounded in His salvation: “At the Name of Jesus, Satan’s legions flee; on then, Christian soldiers, on to victory.” “The  Church  of  God ” is called to move forward as “a mighty army.”  The Lord has loved us so much. He has saved us. May we always give to others a friendly invitation and a warm welcome: “Onward then, you people, join our happy throng, blend with ours your voices in the triumph song.” Sinners will become singers – when we, who have begun to sing the Lord’s song, always remember that we are never any more than this: sinners who have been saved by God’s grace.

Ephesians 2:11-4:6 By the grace of God we are called to salvation - ‘saved through faith’ - , sanctification - ‘for good works’ - , and service - ‘according to the gift of God’s grace… by the working of His power’, we are enabled ‘to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ’ (2:8-10; 3:7-8). When we consider all of this, we say in our hearts, ‘ To God be the glory ’! (3:21). We are ‘strengthened with power through His Spirit in our inner being’ so that we might live as those who are saved, sanctified and serving. Even when we are deeply conscious of our own great weakness, we draw encouragement from this: God is ‘able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us’ (3:16,20). We grow in grace as we share in fellowship - ‘eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit’ (4:3).

Ephesians 6:10-20 In the strength of the Lord: We need His strength because the devil is stronger than we are - but he's not stronger than the Lord. The armour provided by the Lord (Ephesians 6:13-17): All of it is defensive except "the sword of the Spirit" (God's Word). In Ephesians 6:18, there's a call to prayer. It's general - "every prayer ... at all times with all perseverance for all the saints." In Ephesians 6:19-20, there's a call for specific prayer for those who are called to preach the Gospel. Paul is asking for prayer for himself. The Holy Spirit brings to us these words from the past. He brings them to us with power - so that we may know that God has given us everything that we need for living to his praise and glory.

"I will send them prophets and apostles. They will murder some of those prophets and apostles and persecute others ... When Jesus left, the experts in Moses’ Teachings and the Pharisees held a terrible grudge against Him. They questioned Him about many things  and watched Him closely to trap Him in something He might say" (Luke 11:49, 53). We read about "prophets and apostles." Some were murdered. Others were persecuted. We read about our Saviour. He was crucified. Murder, persecution, crucifixion - Is this all that we read about the prophets and the apostles? Is this all that we read about our Saviour?  No! Here's something else - "You are built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets. Christ Jesus himself is the cornerstone" (Ephesians 2:20) . Where would we be without the prophets and apostles? Where would we be without Jesus Christ, our Saviour? No foundation, no cornerstone - that's where we'd be! Thank God - We're not l...

Many lives have been ruined by drugs and alcohol. God's Word speaks to us about being under another influence, a better influence - the influence of the Holy Spirit: " Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit" (Ephesians 5:18). We are all influenced by something of someone. What or who is influencing us? Each of us must choose.