The Everyday Prayer

Re:Verse passage – Ephesians 2:19-22 (day two) So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, vs. 19

Unworthiness may be one of the toughest hurdles to overcome when considering trusting Jesus. When we come to the place of examining our lives before the majesty of Jesus, who are we that he would consider us fellow citizens? What do we bring? How are we made worthy? Only through the cross, only through Jesus’s sacrifice is any of this possible. We must reconcile that we are not worthy, and any impostor syndrome we may experience is justified, until we understand God’s intent to make us co-heirs with Christ. It is a feeling that I wish would go away the longer I walk with the Lord, but it is a truth I must struggle with every day. I am unworthy, but he is faithful. Don’t let your sense of self-unworth determine your value in the Lord.

Re:Verse passage – Ephesians 2:8-10 (day seven)

and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. Ephesians 2:3

I have two boys under the age of 4 in the house. They do not know that they are children of wrath (nor do their mother or I believe they are bad kids), but the trail of destruction that follows them would say differently. The tendency of the flesh is to lash out when the world around us does not operate as we expected it to. This leads to kicking, screaming, hitting, etc. In the argument of nature vs nurture, this clearly an instance of nature, for I do not fall on the floor crying when I am told I can’t have a second popsicle from the freezer. I have learned how to control my natural desires.

Sin is the perversion of natural desire. God creates in us natural desires that are intended for good works (vs 10), but the flesh twists those things in such a way to cause us push back/lash out against God.  It is not just toddlers and babies that lash out, we all have this propensity to appease the flesh. But God (vs 4) gives us the ability to overcome.

Re:Verse passage – Ephesians 2:8-10 (day six).

Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. Ephesians 2:1 (NLT)

Once is a pregnant word, full of history yet firmly in the present.  It is a whole story wrapped up in one word. In the case of Ephesians 2:1-10, it is the beginning of the greatest story ever told.

The story of Ephesians 2:1-10 is the greatest story ever told because of its divine intervention. The ending is so improbable that you would never have guessed it if you didn’t already know it. The distance between ‘once’ and the end is so vast that only an act of God could have connected the two.

Once is the start of our story, too. The only reason we have a “once” in our story is because God gave us a new present with a future promise in Christ. Does that not put a smile on your face?

Be thankful for divine interventions that completely and impossibly change our trajectory!

Re:Verse passage – Ephesians 2:8-10 (day five). Ever get “cabin fever” or go “stir crazy”? (remember  snowmageddon) The natural response is restlessness and frustration. My response is often to just get out or get away and do something. It’s a natural tendency to want to immediately “do something”or “do anything”. Ever thought or said those words? Some times we relate to salvation and faith the same way, “I’ve got to do something”.  Paul says no.  Clearly. Succinctly. Not by works (there’s nothing you can do for your salvation). But then, he goes on to say we were created in Christ to do good works.  Confused?  Frustrated? The clarity comes when you examine the “good works”. Our tendency is think, “I need to do something/anything” (works). But the scriptures are teaching us to think and trust, “I need to patiently wait and discover the things God has for me to do” (good works vs. 10). Sometimes waiting/discovering what God has and desires for us to do is the work. It’s just as hard and is as much work as actually doing.

Re:Verse passage – Ephesians 2:8-10 (day four)

Many of us would say that when we think back to our moment of salvation, that initial surrender to the Lord, we knew that it was purely a gift of God’s grace and not something we could have achieved on our own. We might have even gotten to that moment of surrender because we had tried to find salvation through our own efforts, and kept coming up empty. We couldn’t have somehow earned or climbed the ladder to salvation, rather it was by God’s grace through our faith in Christ.

But as we continue in our journey of faith, we can so easily forget this. I knew at the moment of my salvation that I was receiving an unearned gift of God’s grace, but as I continue on this journey of working out my salvation, I so easily fall into the trap of thinking that I can somehow climb the ladder of sanctification on my own, or that if I just work hard enough I can look more like Jesus. It’s tempting to tell God, “Thanks, I’ll take it from here.”

While Paul makes it clear that we are meant to respond to God’s grace with good works, Scripture lovingly repeats that is only through God’s grace that we have been saved, and only through God’s grace that we continue to grow closer to him. Continually accept God’s free gift of grace, friends. It is sure and steadfast.

 

Re:Verse passage – Ephesians 2:8-10 (day three)

“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

There is nothing so disheartening as to experience rejection, with its accompanying message that you aren’t good enough, lovely enough, desirable enough, important enough, valuable enough for inclusion in a family or a friendship or a project or an assignment or an adventure. When others have somehow found the key to being a person of worth and it seems you’re relegated to the status of also-ran, that’s lonely. Christ broke through that system. No longer will people lord their significance over you and look down on your lesser status. The Lord himself — not any worldly system — has declared you treasured. Enough said.

Re:Verse passage – Ephesians 2:8-10 (day two) 

For we are His workmanship vs. 10a

I live in a household of crafters. If that sounds like the beginning of some sort of support group meeting, well so be it. As my girls have grown there is no such thing as unwanted cardboard, ribbon, boxes, or bags. All will receive a second, third, or infinite number of lives in new shapes and forms. Indeed, there is no limit to what your average Amazon delivery box can become in the hands of my daughters. When I see these “new creations” I marvel at how they can see the potential in cardboard. I have witnessed robots, record players, cars of various sizes and designs emerge from what I consider recycle bin fodder. Yet they see something that no one else can. They pour themselves into the creation, giving of themselves along the way to craft a wondrous new thing. This is their workmanship.

God does nothing less, and infinitely more with each of us. We are shaped and formed by him to be the creation that he intends. One that has purpose and hope in the Kingdom of God. We bear the marks of his workmanship, and each of us can look at who we are in Christ and recognize his design.

Those pieces of cardboard are loved and cherished by my girls, how much more are you loved by Jesus?

Re:Verse passage – Ephesians 1:15-23 (day four)

Having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus… [I] do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers. Ephesians 1:16

Who are the people in your life that you are thankful for?

Paul, as in many of his letters, expresses thanks for the believers who are living boldly for Christ. It was their faith that really stood out to Him. We do not know the specifics of what these faith moments were. He does reference their love for others,  but whatever it was, it was enough to bring Paul encouragement while he was in prison. It would have been easy for Paul to be bitter and negative in his current position, but instead, he chose to be thankful. Thankfulness is not only uplifting to the receivers, but it molds the outlook of the givers.

If you find yourself in a constant state of negativity (we all have those moments), work to find the things and people you are thankful for, and go out of your way to let them know. It will be uplifting to you both!