Each one of us has been given a special gift by God, and He has called us to use them to build up one another. We will not finish doing this work until we all reach heaven. But God has called and equipped certain persons in the Church to spearhead and lead the others in the work of service, embodying Christ's compassion in tangible ways. Let's pray for God to give us faithful deacons; but at the same time, let's also participate in the service of love because we have all been loved by Christ.
Ever since the Fall, the souls of all human beings have been corrupted and ruined. But the Lord, in great mercy, has given us a whole new being by regenerating us and causing us to be born again. In His sovereign grace, He applies the resurrection-life of Jesus to every believer.
If we have been re-born by the work of the Holy Spirit, then we're a renewed soul with new life, and we are no longer slaves to sin. God has renewed our mind and affections, and we can cling to His promises of new life that He has given to us in Jesus.
Our culture loves happiness, but we also love to celebrate darkness, death, and violence. That is the way the natural human heart works. Ever since the Fall, our whole being has become corrupted. Sin twists our thinking so that our darkened minds choose to "follow our hearts" and love sin, rather than the glory of God and the light of Christ.
What do you desire, delight, and rejoice in? What do you find to be beautiful? Choose who you will be, and pray for the Lord to shine the light of Jesus into your darkened soul!
How do we deal with conflict in a Christian way? We need to learn to listen well, and we need to learn to speak with grace in a way that builds up and edifies the other person. This may be unnatural to us, but God is calling us to something different. We are all depraved, and we are all in need of forgiveness. A lot of heartwork has to happen in order to be like Christ, which is why we need to rely on the Holy Spirit. In Christ, when we come into conflict with others, we will be enabled to work through the issue by communicating effectively, not merely attacking each other like enemies.
At some point in every relationship, there is conflict. How do we handle this conflict as Christians? Do we view it as an opportunity to grow in our relationship with God and each other? We need to ensure that we are fighting fairly and watching out for communication barriers. We need to fight for unity and not victory, and we need to build each other up and imitate the example of Jesus. When we were yet sinners, He died for us and reconciled us to Himself! Why are we waiting to be reconciled with our brothers and sisters in Christ?
The Book of Ephesians both begins and ends with peace and grace, and we also find it interwoven throughout the entire Book. Here in these concluding verses, Paul gives five blessings. First, he says, be blessed by brotherly encouragement -- that is, by friendship with individuals within the congregation; and by the wonderful news of God's workings in other places, as it is presented in congregational reports from other churches.
Then Paul pronounces several more blessings upon the people of God: peace, love, faith, and grace. We have peace with God and God's children, for we have been purchased by Jesus' blood. This calls us to be forgiving of each other -- just as the Father has forgiven us. As for love, the Lord Jesus is the demonstration of God's love for us. He loves us with an everlasting love, so that we may enjoy everlasting life. And just as His love for us never ends, we are called to imitate this love by serving our brothers and sisters in the church. Faith is another blessing from God, by which we believe in Jesus Christ. When days are dark, faith in Him will give us hope. And last but not least, God blesses us with grace, even when we do not deserve it. Let's pray that the Lord would enable us to show grace to all around us, just as grace has been shown to us!
Our life's problems all lie within ourselves. Even if we became a monk or a hermit, we might be able to escape the corruption in the world around us; but we would still not be able to get away from the pollution within our hearts. This is one reason why the Apostle Paul tells us that we must have persistent and persuasive prayer-lives! He tells us to "pray without ceasing." That does not mean that we must never do anything but pray; but rather, we must pray in every kind of circumstance that we find ourselves in -- and not just in times of problems, either! Even when things are going well, we ought to pray and give thanks. Our hearts are to be overflowing with prayer. Jesus Himself is a great example of this.
Why do we need to pray? Because there is an enemy lurking around us! But sometimes it is difficult to pray. We must avoid distractions as much as possible, and make prayer a priority. And even though we have no lack of things to be thankful for, prayer is not just thanking God for our temporal blessings. The Psalms are the prayer-book of the Old Testament, and they furnish wonderful thoughts to boost our own prayer-lives.
Prayer-life requires diligence, watchfulness, and attentiveness. Jesus tells us to "watch and pray." Don't give up! Persevering through hard things is good. God is indeed listening to our prayers. So let's not hold back! Let's fall on our knees and lift up our hearts and voices in prayer! Let's intercede for our brothers and sisters in Christ. As soldiers in the great spiritual battle, our prayers are an attack on hell and the devil; and they do much good for the Body of Christ, as His people are lifted up by each other's prayers!
Paul is writing these words while he is in prison -- very likely chained to a soldier who was wearing armor. As Christians, there is a different kind of armor than that with which ancient soldiers used to protect themselves. This is the armor of God; and in it, we are to stand firm! And even though we may often feel like we can't stand, he reminds us that we are not standing in our own strength. Our eyes are not to be on ourselves; but rather, on the strength of Christ Jesus.
Since this is God's armor, it is He Who puts it on us. First, He gives us the belt of truth, so that we may not be tripped up by the lies of the devil. Then there is the breastplate of Christ's righteousness; for without that, our heart and vital organs are exposed to Satan's darts. Third, our feet wear the shoes of the Gospel of peace, with which we are enabled to always be ready to give out the good news of salvation. Moreover, we are handed the shield of faith, which keep us from being attacked by the fiery darts of the devil. Then there is the helmet of salvation, which protects our head on all sides. And last but not least, we wield the sword of the Spirit -- that is, God's Word! The devil knows the Scriptures well, and he twists them in order to deceive us; therefore, the stated goal of the Church must be to know God's Word!
We have the armor of God, but we also need to pray for one another; for without prayer, this armor is of no use. Throughout Church history, all great revivals and movements of the Gospel have been in conjunction with an increase in prayer among the people of God.
Since God thus arms us, what do we need to be afraid of? Since He is on our side, who can be against us?
After Martin Luther's famous declaration at the historical Diet of Worms, he hid in the Wartburg Castle. While in "exile" there for 11 months, he undertook the monumental task of translating the Bible for his countrymen to read; but it was still a time of great spiritual trials for him.
We, too, are in a spiritual battle; and if we rely on our own strength, we will lose. Our strength must come from the Lord. Our culture tells us to "look within," and then we will be strong; but the Apostle Paul teaches us that it is in Christ that we can do all things. If we are outside of Him, we belong to the prince of darkness; but He has purchased us to Himself, and made us alive. And He is our source of strength -- just as He has been for all His saints and martyrs in all ages.
Who is our enemy? The devil himself! In different ways and methods -- tyrannical governments, cultural pressure, advertising, trials, heresies, and even prosperity -- he is always working to attack and deceive us. We are also faced with many various temptations from inside of us, which is why we can't "follow our heart" and look for strength therein.
But these attacks do not place us in a hopeless situation! We are to wrestle with the devil, but only in the power of our Lord Jesus. Because of His victory that He has already won, we can succeed in this battle -- even though some days may be harder than others. On the cross, Christ came out on top as the Conqueror; but as we wait for Him to come and consummate the victory, we must still continue fighting -- in His strength!
