The Everyday Prayer

Re:Verse passage – Ephesians 5:18-19 (day six)

This is no surprise, the Holy Spirit’s end game is our transformation into the likeness of Jesus, but often that is not what we think of when reading Paul’s words, “be filled by the Holy Spirit.”

Instead of transformation, we tend to think possession; an intermittent movement of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer. While He may do that, and often does, I don’t believe that is what Paul means at all. Paul is alluding to a way of life, the steady drinking from the fountain of God’s revelation through the Holy Spirit that a rewires our way of life.

Being filled with the Holy Spirit is hearing and following the Word of God.

Re:Verse passage – Ephesians 5:18-19 (day five)

“Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit,”

What does being filled with wine (drunkenness) cause?  A loss of self-control. What does being filled with the Holy Spirit cause? Self-Control. Self-control is easily evidenced in our relationship with God and our relationships with others.  Debauchery is self indulgence/glorification at the expense of others- I will do what I want so I can feel good at any cost to others.

Self-control provided by the Spirit will guide the believer to glorify God (in our text this week thru singing) and building others up by our speaking (remember last weeks text). A spirit filled person desires to praise God and build others up in speaking and singing with a thankful heart. That is the focus every believer needs- which comes only by the constant filling of the Holy Spirit.

Re:Verse passage – Ephesians 5:18-19 (day four)

In Proverbs 1:7, we learn that, “the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.” In our Re-verse passage in Ephesians 5, Paul says in verse 15 & 16, “Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk – not as unwise people but as wise – making the most of the time, because the days are evil.” We understand that so well today and the more we become saturated and intoxicated with the Spirit of God, the more we are sober-minded and able to tread carefully in this reckless and careless world. There is nothing wise about getting drunk. Those who do so will lose control and wreck their lives and the lives of others. When we are drunk on the Spirit of God, then He is in control. The result is a heart that sings, worships, encourages others towards good works, and gives thanks for all things. Then you will be a Christian who dwells with others in humility and with the fear of Christ. Let’s practice the fear of our Lord Jesus every day. Jesus is coming again soon. Don’t you want to be found faithful when He comes? Pray that the Spirit of Christ will dwell in you until overflowing and give you the power to walk in wisdom.

Minister of Community Missions and Evangelism
First Baptist Church of San Antonio
Byron Pitts

Re:Verse passage – Ephesians 5:18-19 (day three)

“Do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation.”

Paul said drunkenness will do it. Luke said hard labor will do it. Jesus said even a church service will do it. What were they talking about? They each warned against distraction – distraction from the difficult, yet vital inner work of reflection, discovery, and transformation. In this passage, Paul points to the use of substances as a means of diverting the mind’s attention from God’s activity. Elsewhere, Luke highlights the way Martha used arduous domestic duties as an alternative focus to Jesus’s teaching. And in Matthew’s gospel, the Lord himself noted in that not even the formal worship of God substitutes for the inner work necessary for reconciliation with a sister or brother. Enlisting the Sprit’s help for soul-work isn’t easy. Diversions are ready to help you forget.

Re:Verse passage – Ephesians 5:18-19 (day two) 

And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord;

I am a doctor. My grandmother would hasten to add, “just not the kind that can help people.” However, today, I think I can help. If I could give one prescription to just about everyone I know, it would be: SING MORE. Feeling down, not a problem: SING. Feeling great, excellent: SING. Everything in between, I’ve got you covered: SING.

I don’t want to be flippant, but I take scripture to be completely true, and this isn’t a suggestion. God has designed a release valve for us, and it is wise that we avail ourselves of it. It is cathartic and healthy. it builds community, and it follows the example of Jesus (Matthew 26:30). Every age, every stage, this is for you. This is one of the signs that we are a Holy Spirit-filled people. Our singing should overflow from our heart’s condition. Stop believing the lie that you can’t, or that you shouldn’t, or it is for others. Scripture does not affirm that. Sing More. Sing at home, sing at the office, sing at the gym, and by all means sing at church.

Re:Verse passage – Ephesians 4:25-32 (day seven)

“Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth…” vs 29a.

Have you ever mistakenly took a bite out of an apple that has gone bad? You go in for a big bite of what you expect to be a crisp, juicy apple, but you are left with a mushy, bland mouthful of something you just want to spit out. Jesus uses this analogy on multiple occasions to describe our lifestyles.

“A good tree cannot produce bad fruit…” Matthew 7:18.

The interesting thing is that the same word that Jesus uses to describe bad fruit, is the same word that Paul uses in our passage to describe bad talk (unwholesome). This isn’t just cursing. Bad talk is gossip, slander, crude joking, roasting (making fun of others). Words can go bad quicker than fruit. After they have gone out, we immediately want to retract them, but it is often too late. We are left with a mushy mouthful of bad fruit.

If a good tree cannot produce bad fruit, what do the words we use tell us about the state of our tree?

Re:Verse passage – Ephesians 4:25-32 (day six)

And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit...Ephesians 4:30

We don’t often think of the Holy Spirit in personal terms, like having sorrow or grief, and yet clearly he does. In fact, according to this verse we can be responsible for His sorrow when we neglect our new heritage as children of God.

The Holy Spirit is not a force, or a particular feeling; He’s not goosebumps, or overwhelming emotion. He is a person. If you want to hear his voice, read the Bible. If you want to follow his leadership and bear His fruit, obey what He has written.

Don’t neglect what the Holy Spirit has clearly revealed to us in pursuit of a mystical experience that may be more of your own making than His.

I promise, He will take it personally.

Re:Verse passage – Ephesians 4:25-32 (day five) 

“Therefore, laying aside falsehood, SPEAK TRUTH EACH ONE of you WITH HIS NEIGHBOR, for we are members of one another.” 

God never intended us to be isolated in our faith. There is a relational component to the Christian Faith. With Him and with other believers. He promises to be with us till the end of the age (Matthew 28) as well as designing our Christian lives to be in community with other believers. The Greek word translated one another is used 100 times in the New Testament. 59 times its used to teach us how (and how not) to relate to one another. Even if we don’t believe it, the scriptures describe the influence every believer has “in the body”- negative and positive. Let’s look for opportunities to influence one another.

“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children;” Ephesian‬ ‭5:1.

Re:Verse passage – Ephesians 4:25-32 (day three)

“He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with [b]one who has need.”

Often times, when I think of repentance, I think about doing the opposite of what I was doing. Sometimes, that action is simply stopping whatever it is that I need to repent of. Repentance is often described as “going the other way” in regards to your actions. However, as Paul writes here, there is a “starting” action and a “stopping” action with repentance. One who steals must stop stealing and start doing honest, productive work. One who engages in corrupt talk must stop tearing people down and start building others up instead.

Paul reminds us that in our repentance, there is sin that we must stop and an opposite action that we must start instead. These opposite actions to our sin draw us ever closer to the heart of God and free us all the more from the weight that sin bears down upon us. In your quiet times or time of repentance this week, what action is the Holy Spirit leading you to start in response to repentance?

Jimmy Gunn
Associate Pastor,
Preschool & Elementary