Old vs New Part 2

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Ephesians 4:20-24 But you didn’t learn that sort of thing from Christ. Since you really listened to him and you were taught how the truth is in Jesus, change the former way of life that was part of the person you once were, corrupted by deceitful desires. Instead, renew the thinking in your mind by the Spirit and clothe yourself with the new person created according to God’s image in justice and true holiness. 

Since we are in the section of discussing “old” way of life versus “new” way of life, we have to ask, “how do we learn how to live in a new way?” Paul shows the answer is Jesus Christ. He is the source of life and the focal point. His example of living and his presence among us today still guides and empowers people to be who they need to be.

We often allow culture and those around us to try to shape us without asking “why?” or “how is this really going to help me live life?” We do this because we like to fit in and feel a need to be part of a crowd. But, what if, the crowd is actually leading us astray? What if the crowd we want to belong to is the loudest voice and the most influential, but it is actually a path that leads us away from true joy and peace?

Instead of following the crowd and living a life that turns people away from Christ, Paul is showing that it is Christ that we should be learning from. It is Christ who can and does renew our minds. When we allow Christ is renew and transform us, we are “clothed” in a new way. Colossians 3 says it well, “Therefore, as God’s choice, holy and loved, put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.” This is what it would look like to renew our minds. People would notice we are different from everyone else.

The “new person” we would become would also produce more fruit in life. We would be able to develop and grow fruit that is sustainable and more powerful than anything; but we need Christ to help the fruit grow. What kind of fruit are we talking about? Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, goodness, self-control. Imagine the possibilities and impact that would be made to transform the world if these were the qualities we were striving for.

Christ is our teacher. We should spend time with him daily. The Gospel message of Jesus Christ is so powerful that it changes who we are.

#TheGospelChangesUs

Old vs. New Part 1

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Ephesians 4:17-19 So I’m telling you this, and I insist on it in the Lord: you shouldn’t live your life like the Gentiles anymore. They base their lives on pointless thinking, and they are in the dark in their reasoning. They are disconnected from God’s life because of their ignorance and their closed hearts. They are people who lack all sense of right and wrong, and who have turned themselves over to doing whatever feels good and to practicing every sort of corruption along with greed. 

The rest of chapter 4, Paul is talking about attitudes and lifestyles that cause division among believers. Today, we look at the first thing that Paul wants to address: pointless thinking. How many times do we go through our day and look back only to realize we spent the majority of our time thinking about things that really did not matter or had no consequential effect to what went on throughout the day? Where does your mind go when you want to be right? Where does my mind go when I think that my way is not wrong?

We can keep this mindset; but what will happen is that we end up allowing these thoughts, these paradigms to control, not only our thinking, but our actions and attitudes about other people. Paul is addressing the difference life can make in Jesus Christ. As I read through Galatians, last month, it dawned on me that we are completely free in Jesus Christ and we do not have to let our minds and other people control how we act and what we think. We are free to be the people God calls us to be. We are free to love, free to give, free to serve, free to forgive, free to empower people, and the list goes on and on.

This is the difference between the “old way of life” and the “new way of life.” We do not need to allow pointless thinking, which actually drives us away from loving God and loving other people, to control our lives. When we keep our eyes and heart on Jesus Christ, we can see the true beauty and the redemption that God is doing today, in and through us.

Pointless thinking means that we spend so much time thinking about things that are wrong that we can forget to look at the things that are good. We do not need to live in any kind of fear or control, except through the control of love, which actually gives us even more freedom. Disconnection happens when we forget to see how God is moving in other people’s lives.

How can you, how can I, allow the Gospel of Jesus Christ is change and shape us to live a life that is “worthy” of our calling and bring people to faith in Christ because of our actions and words?

#TheGospelChangesUs

Body Builders

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Ephesians 4:11-16  He gave some apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers. His purpose was to equip God’s people for the work of serving and building up the body of Christ until we all reach the unity of faith and knowledge of God’s Son. God’s goal is for us to become mature adults—to be fully grown, measured by the standard of the fullness of Christ. As a result, we aren’t supposed to be infants any longer who can be tossed and blown around by every wind that comes from teaching with deceitful scheming and the tricks people play to deliberately mislead others. Instead, by speaking the truth with love, let’s grow in every way into Christ, who is the head. The whole body grows from him, as it is joined and held together by all the supporting ligaments. The body makes itself grow in that it builds itself up with love as each one does its part. 

I have read this passage many times and each time I have read it, for some reason, I have always thought it said that it was the pastor, prophet, evangelist, teacher’s job to build up the body of Christ. Then one day I was reading this again and I noticed that the verse really says that it is Christ’s purpose to equip God’s people to serve and build up the body of Christ. So, as I am reading this, I am reminded that it is Christ who does the filling of our spirit; and it is through the filling of our spirit that we are equipped to build the body of Christ, the church.

As we are working with Christ to build up the church, we are also working o help people develop and mature in their faith. If someone were to ask you, “how are you in your faith with Jesus Christ?”, what would you say? Would you and I be able to show growth from the past to now? How about from last year to this year? How about from yesterday to today? We should always be on a path that will help us grow in our faith and come to know Christ on a more intimate level so our relationship with God becomes more real and more central in our lives.

How can we grow in our relationship with Jesus Christ and move towards maturity in the faith? It starts with Christ, himself. We have to be willing to spend time with him in order for him to fill our spirit. This means incorporating spiritual disciplines, means of grace, in our daily lives. Now, we should not do these because we want something from God. We should start, or continue, spiritual disciplines in order to learn more about God and allow the time to change us.

This is how unity can begin because we are interested in loving God and loving people; all of the other things that seem differentiate us can actually be seen as compliments and also help us remember that each person has a part to play within the body of Jesus Christ. This kind of mindset could help us establish deeper relationships with people. As each person grows stronger in their walk with Christ, the body of Christ actually becomes stronger and healthier. Working out of love builds up the church and each person is empowered to live into the gifts they have been given and to do the part that God desires them to play.

All of this is possible because of Jesus Christ.

#TheGospelChangesUs

Christ Among Us

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Ephesians 4:7-10 God has given his grace to each one of us measured out by the gift that is given by Christ. That’s why scripture says, When he climbed up to the heights, he captured prisoners, and he gave gifts to people. What does the phrase “he climbed up” mean if it doesn’t mean that he had first gone down into the lower regions, the earth? The one who went down is the same one who climbed up above all the heavens so that he might fill everything. 

There are a couple things that stand out to me and give me even more hope in Christ. First of all, Paul reminds us that each person has been given the gift of grace because of Jesus Christ. This means that we all have been given the same amount of God’s grace. No one has more of Christ than anyone else. As we go through our life, we can remember this truth: everyone is equal in the eyes of Christ. He loves and reaches out to each person; and this is what we should do. Because God first loved us, we love other people. Because God pursued and continues to pursue us, we go out and pursue people for Christ with the Holy Spirit directing us in our steps.

The second thing Paul reminds us is that Christ ascended into heaven, a subtle reminder that Christ was resurrected and is with God. But even more than that truth, Paul is reminding the people of the other part of the gospel message: Christ came down to earth and lived as a human among us. This is the aspect of the gospel message that we can sometimes overlook. Christ’s death and resurrection is the pivotal point of the message; but Christ also lived among us so he could show people how much God really cares.

If you ever get to a place where we doubt that God is for us, we can remember that God, in human form, Jesus Christ, walked among us. As it says in the book of Hebrews, “he was tempted in every way yet was without sin.” His life was an example for us to show us what life should look like. The same person who is in heaven right now is the same person who walked among us and who walks among us today.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is so impactful to our us that if we allow it, the message will change us.

#TheGospelChangesUs

Worthy Life

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Ephesians 4:1-6 Therefore, as a prisoner for the Lord, I encourage you to live as people worthy of the call you received from God. Conduct yourselves with all humility, gentleness, and patience. Accept each other with love, and make an effort to preserve the unity of the Spirit with the peace that ties you together. You are one body and one spirit, just as God also called you in one hope. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father of all, who is over all, through all, and in all. 

“But you don’t know what this person did to me!” “How can I treat them with gentleness and patience when they are the ones clearly in the wrong?” I have heard people say many times, “I wish everyone would just follow the Golden Rule (treat others the way you want to be treated).” As I heard the person say this, I remembered how they bad mouthed another person right before that.

Living in humility, gentleness and patience in this world is not easy. This kind of life is so against how everyone else wants us to live. We walk around wanting to get revenge, or even hold back forgiveness. But, in reality, who is holding back forgiveness and plotting revenge really hurting? See we want to have justice done, but we forget how damaging attitudes like that actually are to our soul. We become calloused and do not see people as God sees them. We’ll focus on the brokenness and become blinded to any amount of goodness in another person. There is no one too far away from God to come close and know God. We can be the people to show others this incredible grace by our words, actions, and even thoughts.

Our attitudes are the most important thing that people will remember about us after we have an encounter with them. This realization struck me several years ago when I found myself not wanting to offer forgiveness to a person who hurt me. Somehow, God brought healing into my heart and I was able to forgive. This doesn’t mean I condone or tolerate what the person did; instead I released the control that negative attitude had on my life.

Though I am far from being a very humble person, I ask God daily to show me the qualities in people He desires me to see. When I look at people, I am in awe at how God is moving in their life, even when they can’t see it for themselves. We are all called to show and teach people about the Kingdom of God and God’s grace. People will be turned away if we have, even the slightest hint of, a feeling we think we’re better than them. Jesus Christ has made it so that everyone is equal in the eyes of God. “There is no slave or free, Jew or Gentile….all are one in Christ Jesus.” This is the spirit we should work with because the Spirit of God is residing in us.

God is working in all people, in some way. He has also called us to a live of serving and loving those around us, even the difficult ones (add your own phrase); but God still desires we live in humility, peace and gentleness with each other. This does not come easily to us; in fact it goes against our basic instincts. But, this means we have the chance to call on God and allow His Spirit to work through us.

God is calling, and has called, you and me to change the world with Him by proclaiming Jesus Christ in all aspects of our lives; and to make us a “city on a hill whose light cannot be hidden.”

#TheGospelChangesUs

Changed From The Inside Out

Ephesians 3:14-21 This is why I kneel before the Father. Every ethnic group in heaven or on earth is recognized by him. I ask that he will strengthen you in your inner selves from the riches of his glory through the Spirit. I ask that Christ will live in your hearts through faith. As a result of having strong roots in love, I ask that you’ll have the power to grasp love’s width and length, height and depth, together with all believers. I ask that you’ll know the love of Christ that is beyond knowledge so that you will be filled entirely with the fullness of God. Glory to God, who is able to do far beyond all that we could ask or imagine by his power at work within us; glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus for all generations, forever and always. Amen. 

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Paul is saying something really interesting in this passage. He is asking God to strengthen the people in their spirits from the riches of his glory. Why would Paul be asking this? I believe this has something to teach us today. We often look to the physical appearance of people and do not pay as much attention to the person on the inside; but God is more concerned with the heart. So, if we were strengthened from the inside out, we would be able to handle life on the outside.

So what is something we should be strengthened with on the inside? Love. When we are strengthened with love, we know Christ in our hearts, and we can begin to see just how big love is. We want to downplay love as a simple emotion; but love is so much more than that. Love has to do with actions, attitudes, thoughts. It is something that changes us from the inside out. This is what should ground us in our life.

God is love. When we know God, we can know love. As we allow Christ to live in our hearts, we will know how to see people with soft hearts and show them the love and grace of God through Jesus Christ. Paul is asking his people that they know the love of Jesus Christ; but he says that Christ’s love is too far beyond knowledge. This is something for us to think about today also. We should not want to make love as something easy to explain. Not should we make love as a check-list to fill out. The fullness of Christ lives in us, who know him, and this is what connects us together.

Every person and ethnic group is recognized by God. When we have love governing us, God gets the glory. Because the glory of God is so incredible, we cannot even fathom the incredible power he has. This is the same power that lives inside us when we accept love. The gospel of Jesus Christ is so powerful and life changing that we are changed from the inside out. Our challenge is to allow this love of God to change us.

Tomorrow we begin Ephesians 4.

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Me?

Ephesians 3:8-13 God gave his grace to me, the least of all God’s people, to preach the good news about the immeasurable riches of Christ to the Gentiles. God sent me to reveal the secret plan that had been hidden since the beginning of time by God, who created everything. God’s purpose is now to show the rulers and powers in the heavens the many different varieties of his wisdom through the church. This was consistent with the plan he had from the beginning of time that he accomplished through Christ Jesus our Lord. In Christ we have bold and confident access to God through faith in him. So then, I ask you not to become discouraged by what I’m suffering for you, which is your glory. 

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This passage reminds me of an ongoing conversation God and I have, “Why are you sending me into ministry? Don’t you know there are better people out there?” I would venture to guess that you are in a similar boat. You may not be asking why you’re in ministry as a vocation; but you may be asking why you are in a certain life situation. You may also think to yourself that you do not deserve to be able to do what you do. Whatever it is that goes through your mind, God has a plan for you.

Paul was heading on a completely different life course when he was struck down by a bright light. This was his vocational shift period that he realized what God would have him do with his life. Remember, Paul was going to arrest those who followed Jesus and all of a sudden, God made Paul change his life purpose to be an evangelist to the Gentiles (non-Jewish people). Or was it all of a sudden?

Sometimes I think the things we go through are situations that God wants us to go through so that we will be better equipped to handle the future plans He has for us. We always have to freedom to do things our way; but when we learn and follow the plans God desires, we will actually find more fulfillment. Not safety. But joy and peace and a filling of the spirit. I can look back on my life and see the different things I did, right and wrong, and see now how that experience is helping me today. Others may not ever see their life circumstances tie together, but God is somehow using our past to shape us for the future.

There has always and will always be a plan for your life and for my life. Jesus Christ is that plan. When we accept Christ, we allow him to transform us and become new creations. Our past does not define us; it only shows us where we have been. Our future does not define us. We do not know what will happen. Jesus Christ is our present who gives us new life and redeems our past so that we can live, not just in the future, but now in the present. God has a plan for your life. How do you find out this plan? Ask God and spend time with people who will lead you on the path to God through Jesus Christ.

You are valued. You have worth. You have a purpose. Trust God.

#TheGospelChangesUs

Sharing What We’ve Learned

Ephesians 3:1-7 This is why I, Paul, am a prisoner of Christ for you Gentiles. You’ve heard, of course, about the responsibility to distribute God’s grace, which God gave to me for you, right? God showed me his secret plan in a revelation, as I mentioned briefly before (when you read this, you’ll understand my insight into the secret plan about Christ). Earlier generations didn’t know this hidden plan that God has now revealed to his holy apostles and prophets through the Spirit. This plan is that the Gentiles would be coheirs and parts of the same body, and that they would share with the Jews in the promises of God in Christ Jesus through the gospel. I became a servant of the gospel because of the grace that God showed me through the exercise of his power. 

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At first when I read this, it almost seems that Paul is acting smug, “I know this…and was revealed to ME…” But I think there is something deeper to what Paul is saying. If this were this only passage we read of Paul’s writings, we miss what the entire message is. Paul is overflowing with the grace of God and is held responsible to share this grace with all people he encounters.

Think of a time when you were given knowledge. Were you the only one? Did it make you feel part of the group to know the same things they know? We all like to be “in the know” and to know things other people don’t. This can give us superiority and authority over others. If we’re not careful, we will us that knowledge for ourselves. There is always something more that we can know other people don’t. Secrets and gossip are rampant. I have fun with people when I sing to them, “I know something you don’t know.” This is a fun thing to do.

Now, what if we are given some incredible news, like anything God reveals to us, and we just try to keep it to ourselves and don’t share? Paul is reminding us that he has a responsibility to share the good news that was revealed to him. I believe God still reveals wisdom and truth to us today through His Spirit. What is something you feel God has spoken to you? Paul is saying that the plan of God is to bring ALL people to God through Jesus Christ. This is an awesome plan because that means that God is wanting you and me to come to faith and knowledge in Him. This is something we cannot keep to ourselves. If we are given some insight to what God is doing, that means we are spending time with God and we see the world through His eyes which means we share what we have learned.

This is one of the things I love about the book of Ephesians, about the whole Bible really, that God’s grace and mercy is available for all people. There are stories in the Old Testament through the New Testament that show God speaking to His people and giving them a word or insight the rest of the culture needs to hear. This is what Paul is doing. This is what we are called to do.

Because of Jesus Christ everything is different. It is the gospel of Jesus Christ that changes us and transforms us to new creations who go out and make a difference in the lives of those around us and share in the goodness of God in all aspects of our lives.

#TheGospelChangesUs

Level Playing Field

Ephesians 2:14-22 Christ is our peace. He made both Jews and Gentiles into one group. With his body, he broke down the barrier of hatred that divided us. He canceled the detailed rules of the Law so that he could create one new person out of the two groups, making peace. He reconciled them both as one body to God by the cross, which ended the hostility to God. When he came, he announced the good news of peace to you who were far away from God and to those who were near. We both have access to the Father through Christ by the one Spirit. So now you are no longer strangers and aliens. Rather, you are fellow citizens with God’s people, and you belong to God’s household. As God’s household, you are built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. The whole building is joined together in him, and it grows up into a temple that is dedicated to the Lord. Christ is building you into a place where God lives through the Spirit. 

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How do you feel about other people? What causes divisions between groups of people? Isn’t it interesting how the Gospel of Jesus Christ promotes reconciliation and repentance of sin by God’s grace, and we get it through our heads to “hate” other people because they are not like us. But we can also think, “how are this person, or this group, and I similar?” Doesn’t this change how we might think about others? Thinking we could be like them?

Now, there are people who will disagree with this, but God does not want His people to divide the world. He wants the world to be reconciled to Himself and for all people to come to faith in Him. We are the ones who want to divide. We are the ones who think because someone is different, then they are bad and shouldn’t be “in the group.”

Does this sound like anyone you might know? As I am writing this, I realize I am describing ME. My guess is that description is also you. It seems to be human nature to be around people who are just like us. This makes us more comfortable. But God, wants us to be engaged in, not influenced by, the world around us. I believe the first thing to do is to come to faith in Christ so that we can be filled with His love, His presence, His life and see the world through His eyes.

Jesus broke all kinds of cultural boundaries, but He did it because He loves. We like to ask the question “What Would Jesus Do?” This is a dangerous question to ask because we know what Jesus would do, we just don’t always want to do what He would do. Jesus leveled the playing field. Because of Jesus there is no separation from lepers and society. Samaritans and Jews. Pharisees and citizens. Jews and Gentiles. Black or white. There is no distinction in any group because Christ breaks the veil we use to separate “us” from “them.”

This reconciliation God did through Christ first restores our relationship and standing with God and then frees us to bring reconciliation and healing to those around us who are “different” from us. Having our relationship with God restored means we allow God to change our lives from the inside out and we allow Christ to lead our lives. It begins with a simple communication and belief. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is not just about our relationship with God, but also our relationship with other people. This is why Jesus summed up the Law with two phrases, “love God and love people.” The Gospel changes EVERYTHING because now we can realize we are all on the same playing field with God. Some are coaches, some are players, some are caring for the team, some are in the stage of learning, etc. We are all on the same team. The Gospel changes us.

See you tomorrow in Ephesians 3!

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We Belong

Ephesians 2:11-13 So remember that once you were Gentiles by physical descent, who were called “uncircumcised” by Jews who are physically circumcised. At that time you were without Christ. You were aliens rather than citizens of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of God’s promise. In this world you had no hope and no God. But now, thanks to Christ Jesus, you who once were so far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

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I know everyone one of us has felt like we wanted to be part of a certain group, but for some reason we felt like we did not belong. We have also felt like we do not deserve to have the people in our life that we have because we feel unworthy. This kind of attitude and mindset seems to be prevalent. There is only one problem with this kind of thinking: we devalue ourselves.

Yes, there is part of us that has made mistakes and has lived a life we did not want to live, but there is something incredible about grace. God grace is pulling us in and is giving us a new life that we never expected to have. Yes, we live lives separate from God. Yes, we do not have everything in a row. Yes, there are parts of our past that we wish we could escape from. Yes, yes, yes. This list of reasons why we do not belong goes on and on. We focus on our failures and God focuses on our future.

Our lives, without Christ, do not have the joy and peace; but when we realize Christ is already here and is calling us to know and follow Him, then we become filled with His Spirit. It is by the grace of God that we belong. We belong with groups who desire to help us live right. We desire to be loved. We desire to be with someone in life that will help us live out the life God has in mind. We desire all of this stuff and we belong.

We should just lay down our past, look to Christ and ask Him to be the central focus of our life. This makes Him Lord and Savior, and us His people. Our lives take on a whole new meaning because it is from a payment that we belong to God. This is a payment we did not give, but was paid for us. This payment was the blood of Jesus Christ who lived an incredible life that God wants us to live, died this death that is so incredibly cruel and humiliating and rose from the dead. He rose from the dead because, even though the world showed it did not want Him, He wanted to show the world that it was wanted.

What are you struggling with today that makes you feel like you do not belong? I hope you can see and hear the soft voice of God so loudly that your perspective changes and that you can see and know that God is pursuing you and even believes in you. You and I belong, we just need to believe this and trust this. Because of Jesus Christ everything is different. What once caused division and rule keeping, now invites all people to know grace. Your life will be drastically different if you find the grace that is around you.

#TheGospelChangesUs