Monday Thought –June 29, 2015

Good Morning Friends,

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.  Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith ...” (Ephesians 6:10-18)

There is a battle raging. It’s not being fought with guns, swords and other weapons of human conflict. It’s being fought in heavenly places against spiritual enemies and the only weapons and defenses that count are spiritual in nature. It is a battle for the souls of men and women. On one side of the battle is the devil and he is scheming with every last ounce of wickedness that is in him trying to destroy men’s souls. On the other side of the battle is the Lord and He is unleashing every bit of His power and influence to bring men to Him for salvation and hope. We, and all other humans, are right in the middle of the battle. We are the prize that is being fought to control!

We have no choice about whether or not we want to be involved in the conflict. The only choice is whether or not we will face the conflict with the equipment we need to survive it. God stands ready to provide all of the equipment we need! It’s His armor and He stands ready to give it to us if we want it.

Notice the action words in Paul’s writing to the Ephesians that speak of our responsibility to take from God the armor that He is offering to us. “Put on,” “stand,” “put on,” “stand,” “stand,” “stand firm,” “take up.” Those words represent our responsibility in the battle. None of them speak of our devising the battle plan, creating the armor, or even doing the fighting. All of them represent appeals to God for His help and His provision for the battle, a standing with Him as He does the fighting and a continual reliance upon His strength through prayer.

God will give us everything we need to survive the battle – ours is to do the asking and the relying upon Him!

His, by Grace,

Steve

Friday Thought – June 26, 2015

Good Morning Friends,

“Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.” (Ephesians 6:5-8)

I can’t imagine a much more difficult kind of life than the life of a slave. A slave’s time was not his own, he was bound to be available to the master whenever the master called for him. A slave had no choice about what kind of work he was going to do, he was bound to do whatever the master asked of him, no matter how distasteful it was. Even a slave’s life was not his own, his life was in his master’s hand. Roman law allowed a slave master to kill his own slaves without penalty.

Being a slave is not a life I would ever choose. It’s not a life I can imagine having any satisfaction. My human way of thinking says that a slave should do anything and everything within his power, legal or illegal, in order to free himself from bondage. My human way of thinking says that those who are not slaves should work to free slaves no matter what would be required to do it, even Civil War!

But God didn’t instruct slaves to rebel against their masters in order to gain their freedom. God did not instruct others to rise in revolt to free those who were held in bondage. Instead, God’s instructions focused on the slave doing what was right in the midst of his bondage. It focused not on working to get free from slavery, but on being the best slave possible, serving his master and even doing it out of a willing heart!

And here was God’s promise to slaves: the Lord would reward the slave for how he served as a slave. Do what’s right in this life – even in a horribly wrong situation – and God will take note and reward us. God isn’t just interested in the spiritual things we do, God is interested in every aspect of our lives. At work, at home, at school, at play – do what is right, and God will take note.

His, by Grace,

Steve

Thursday Thought – June 25, 2015

Good Morning Friends,

“Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. … Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. … This is a profound mystery-but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.” (Ephesians 5:22-33)

God wants to see our marriage relationship healthy and beneficial to both husband and wife. The key is for each spouse to put the deepest needs of the other before his or her own needs.

For a wife, that means to focus on how she treats her husband, not on how he treats her. The core of what Paul tells wives to focus on is respect and the demonstration of that respect in a willingness to follow the husband’s leadership. Respect is the deepest need that a husband has. The place from which respect is most important is from his wife. As a general rule, men have trouble believing they can accomplish anything worthwhile. They doubt themselves and when someone else believes in them it helps to release them to be and to accomplish more of what God wants them to be and to do. A man’s wife holds the key to that release.

For a husband, meeting the deepest needs of his wife means that he focuses on loving her and demonstrating that love by a willingness to sacrifice anything for her, even his own life. Wives, too, struggle with seeing their own value. What they most deeply need is to know that someone cares about them so much that he would do anything for her good. When a wife is genuinely and sacrificially loved by her husband that frees her to become what God wants her to be.

His, by Grace,

Steve

Wednesday Thought – June 24, 2015

Good Morning Friends,

“Be very careful, then, how you live -- not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” (Ephesians 5:15-21)

Paul provides some great advice for a healthy and happy life.

Seize the day. Time flies by so quickly (anyone over 40 will testify to the truth of that). We need to take advantage of every day. Use it for the Lord, don’t waste it. When God opens a door of opportunity to share about Christ with someone else, walk confidently through that door, it may never open again.

Seek to follow God’s direction. You’ve spent enough of your life following your own plans and ideas. It’s time to acknowledge that you don’t know what’s best for you. God wants to show you His plan for your life, if you’ll let Him. So, listen to Him and watch for His directional signs.

Pay attention to the Holy Spirit. You’ve got all of the Holy Spirit that you’ll ever receive. There isn’t more of Him for you to seek. However, He doesn’t always have all of you and that hinders the work that He is able to do in your life. Every morning, surrender your life and your day to the Lord and make yourself available to Him to use as He wants.

Praise God to yourself and in the presence of others. Don’t let your fears keep you from speaking up for the Lord. Others need the encouragement you can offer. Others need to hear you praise God and as they do, many will praise God for you to hear and be encouraged, too. Keep a song in your heart all day long. It will lift your spirits and help you focus on God.

Be thankful and show it. Just think about what God has done for you and that exercise should lead you to thanksgiving. You are not a self-made man (or woman), so start being more thankful for what God has done in you, for you, and through you.

Put others first. There isn’t a relationship in your life that wouldn’t be vastly improved if you followed that advice. Don’t just think of what you want or need -- look at the wants and needs of those around you and give yourself to fulfilling them.

His, by Grace,

Steve

Tuesday Thought -- June 23, 2015

Good Morning Friends,

“Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life 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)

We all need one or more heroes who will serve as role models for us as we shape our lives.

Growing up, one of my heroes was Roy Rogers, King of the Cowboys! I could envision myself riding to the rescue of those who were in distress. He was kind and good and brave, and he always won.

Willie Mays was another one of my heroes when I was a young boy. The Say Hey Kid sure could play baseball. He was a power hitter, he was an amazing outfielder, and he could run the bases with such speed. He was one of the most well-rounded baseball players ever to play the game. I dreamed of hitting home runs to win the World Series for my team. I dreamed of running full speed toward the fence as the ball zoomed off the bat of the opposing player and of reaching out at the last second to catch the ball just before it dropped in for a double or triple.

I had other heroes, too, but Roy and Willie were two of the most important for me as a boy. As I grew older I came to realize that neither was a very realistic hero for me to imitate. There weren’t very many cowboys around anymore, and besides, I lived in a city and never did learn to ride a horse or shoot a gun! And Willie, well there was the minor problem for me of talent – I had none when it came to playing baseball. I could dream all I wanted about doing the things Willie Mays did, but I could never actually DO any of them!

I do still have heroes that I dream of imitating. My primary hero is Jesus Christ! And that’s exactly who Paul says should be the hero for every Christian. And the primary characteristics of Jesus that we should seek to imitate are love for people and service to God. Imitate those characteristics of Jesus and become more and more like Him, and we’ll be heading in the right direction with our lives.

His, by Grace,

Steve

Monday Thought – June 22, 2015

Good Morning Friends,

Paul told the Ephesians that when a person comes to Christ a radical change comes over their life. They “put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires” (Ephesians 4:22) and “put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:24).

Then he goes on to help us understand what the difference will look like in our lives.

“Put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor … ‘In your anger do not sin’. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. He who has been stealing must steal no longer. ... Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs. ... Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” (Ephesians 5:25-32)

Our relationship with Christ should change the character of our speech. Before Christ, we spoke however we wanted to speak, in whatever way would advance our own interests and our own ideas. If lying accomplished our goals, we lied. If unwholesome speech made us feel powerful, that’s how we spoke. Our relationship with Christ gives us a new outlook on how we speak. Our speech takes into consideration our love and concern for those to whom we speak. So, we don’t lie because lies hurt others and we care too much to hurt them. We no longer speak in unwholesome ways, but now all of our speech reflects our desire to help the people around us.

Our relationship with Christ should change our attitudes. Bitterness, rage, anger used to characterize our attitudes toward life and toward other people. Now, kindness, compassion, and forgiveness are the marks of our attitudes, even as they mark the character of Christ.

Our relationship with Christ should change our actions, too. Stealing and other sinful actions were common place in our lives before Christ. Those actions were focused on getting what we wanted and meeting our needs. A whole new way of looking at how we act has come over us in Christ. We’re not as concerned about our own needs, but now the concern that dominates our actions is our concern for what others need.

Of course, those are the ideals and none of us has made it to those ideals yet. We still stumble in our speech, our attitudes and our actions. But those remain the goals of our lives and the direction in which Christ is taking us.

His, by Grace,

Steve

Friday Thought – June 19, 2015

Good Morning Friends,

“Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.” (Ephesians 4:14-16)

Maturity is the goal of our relationship with God and here Paul provides several characteristics of the maturity we are to seek.

Stability. Those who are spiritually immature are easily swayed. They are easy prey for false teachers because they are not firmly established in what they believe. But spiritual maturity is so firmly rooted in your spirit that nothing will be able to disturb it. The only way that kind of firm confidence can be built into our lives is by the consistent and long-term study of God’s Word on our own and listening to good teaching.

Truthfulness. Children often lie. It’s not that they are deliberately trying to hurt someone by misleading them, rather it is a mechanism of self-preservation. Even as adults there is a temptation to shade the truth to make ourselves look better or to keep from hurting someone else. But spiritual maturity is characterized by truth-telling. The mature person has learned that shading the truth doesn’t help the situation in the long-term.

Self-sustaining growth. An infant is dependent upon others for everything that he needs for life. He can’t feed himself, change himself, clothe himself, warm himself, cool himself, or do anything else to provide for his own needs. As a child grows, she takes on greater and greater responsibility for providing for her own needs. She’s reached maturity when she is able to move out and provide completely for herself, and even be able to provide for others. The spiritual infant must be spoon-fed and carefully taken care of. Spiritual maturity is marked by being able to provide completely for herself and even to be able to provide for others.

God doesn’t want His children to remain as spiritual infants all of our lives. His goal for us is that we grow. It’s fine to be an infant in the early days of our spiritual life, but to stay there is a sad condition.

His, by Grace,

Steve