The Everyday Prayer

Re:Verse passage – Ephesians 4:17-24 (day four)

The phrase “ignorance is bliss” hadn’t been coined yet, but Paul is already proving how untrue it is. The Gentiles were living in ignorance, hardening their hearts towards God and searching for satisfaction through lusts of the flesh. Their lives were anything but blissful. Anyone who has ventured down that spiral of sin would say they felt shameful, not satisfied.

Paul is telling us, ignorance isn’t bliss, it’s death. But we, the redeemed of the Lord, aren’t living in ignorance – we have seen Christ and we have heard his teaching. God’s plans for heaven and earth have been revealed to us and we’ve been given all truth through Christ. Therefore, we can no longer claim ignorance. We have seen the light and we can’t unsee it. We have seen the better way.

When our flesh inevitably tries to lure us back into that spiral of sin, when we’re tempted to put the old self back on, we must stand firm knowing that we have seen the fullness of light and witnessed the fullness of love.  After seeing the truth revealed in Jesus, we can’t go back to how we used to be, no matter how hard gravity pulls in that direction. We are accountable to what we know, so stand firm in the new self – it is through life in the Spirit that we find bliss.

Re:Verse passage – Ephesians 4:17-24 (day three)

“They, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness.”

When nerve sensation ceases in any part of the body, one of the dangers is that wounds will go unnoticed and untreated; what you can’t feel you won’t address. This is true of the human body, and it’s true of one’s emotional and spiritual experience too. When one develops an inner callousness, panic can set in when the realization dawns that the ability to feel love, joy, sadness, hope – even pain – has faded or ceased altogether. In that panic, a person will reach for more and more extreme behaviors, greedy to feel something – anything. The mounting damage to one’s soul from such activity goes unnoticed because, again, the person cannot feel. Jesus Christ can restore feeling to the heart, halting the spiritual gangrene.

Re:Verse passage – Ephesians 4:17-24 (day two) 

Paul’s encouragement to ‘renew the spirit of your mind’ gives us the sense of movement and growth. Earlier in the passage he speaks about how we were formerly, and how we are to put those ways of thinking and acting behind us. There seems, however, to be more required. If we are to renew, we shouldn’t be static. There is no indication this was a once and done scenario as in; you were made new and that’s that. No, this seems to indicate a continuous process. It is the spiritual concept of sanctification. We should not be who we were before Christ, but even more than that, we shouldn’t be who we were yesterday. This should be our desire. If we are aren’t growing in our faith, what are we doing? If care isn’t given we fall into complacency when we should be seeking renewal.

Re:Verse passage – Ephesians 4:11-16 (day seven)

It is not even November and I am already annoyed with all the political adds. You can’t even watch a football game or the news without being inundated with advertisements endorsing a candidate. To make it worse, it seems like both sides are spewing propaganda in a last ditch effort to sway the voters who may be on the fence. Yet, this scripture reminds us that we have been given something so much better than politics can ever deliver:

The unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God… the fullness of Christ.

The Church has been given as a gift to us from Jesus Himself. He has given us a place where those whom He has called and equipped will build one another up (unity) in Him (knowledge), so that we will not be tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men. 

This wording of being tossed is the same wording used to describe the stormy Sea of Galilee in Luke 8. Just like that one, Jesus will calm the storms around us. Whether it be a politcal season or bad doctrine, He has given us the tools to keep ourselves grounded so that we will continue to follow Him in the midst of chaos.

Re:Verse passage – Ephesians 4:11-16 (day six)

¹³ This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. Ephesians 4:13

What if Paul is NOT addressing each individual but the body? What if by “full and complete standard of Christ” he is referring to the maturity of a united community of believers? In their unique giftedness, mutual strengthening, and pursuit of unity, they present to the world the “complete standard of Christ?” (Is this what Jesus means in John 17:21-23?)

We in the Western world automatically assume (always) that Paul is addressing the individual, but what if he is not? If this is true, then this places a superior value on the maturity of the body (the individual parts all connected and growing together) over the maturity of the individual believer.

If this is true and we take it seriously, it will change how we do church. Think about it.

 

Re:Verse passage – Ephesians 4:11-16 (day five)  

“… speaking the truth in love”  Ever thought how extremely difficult and complex that is?  Let’s think larger… What about speaking anything and everything (not just truth) in love?  Two quotes from books I’ve recently read come to mind. They challenge, convict, and influence me all the time.

“We are to speak with patience. Rash speech can quickly threaten godly endurance.”  Sam Allberry (James for You)

“Being right is actually a very hard burden to be able to carry gracefully and humbly. That’s why nobody likes to sit next to the kid in class who’s right all the time. One of the hardest things in the world is to be right and not hurt other people with it.”  Dallas Willard (Soul Keeping by John Ortberg)

May all our words/our speaking- (including truths, opinions, conversations, critiques, and questions) be seasoned with the unmistakeable love of Christ.

Re:Verse passage – Ephesians 4:11-16 (day four)

“…to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.” v 13

We are meant to become like Christ. That isn’t just an inspirational saying, it’s our calling. Paul means this so much he says it again in verse 15, “we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ..” Regardless of your vocational calling, our highest calling in life is to be transformed more and more into Christ’s likeness.

As soon as I’m reminded of this calling, I think about my shortcomings, limits, and sins. I still struggle with things that seem like they should have been conquered long ago. This transformation into Christ’s likeness can feel like it’s two steps forward, one step back. When I attempt to gain spiritual growth on my own, I end up just walking in circles.

But the Apostle Peter tells us that we have been given everything we need for life and godliness. What have we been given? The very Spirit of God. We can’t attain Christ’s likeness on our own, but the Spirit will always move us towards Christ. What are you struggling with? With whom in your life do you struggle to represent Christ? Bringing that to the Lord in prayer is the first step in becoming more like Christ.

Re:Verse passage – Ephesians 4:11-16 (day three)

“…speaking the truth in love…”

The old movie quote, “You can’t handle the truth!” has particular resonance with this passage. It’s not necessarily that people to whom you are speaking cannot handle the truth. The question is how you yourself will handle that which is true. Can you be trusted to steward the truth well? Will you employ truth as a means to power? Will you speak what is technically true in order to prove a point? Will you say something just because it is true to avoid the difficulty of maintaining silence? Truth tempts one to all kinds of bullying behavior, or passive-aggressive ploys, or sanctimonious posturing. When love generates one’s speech and behavior, though, truth will serve love, and it will focus all interactions heavenward. People will reject truth, but you will never reject people when love flows from you.

Re:Verse passage – Ephesians 4:11-16 (day two) 

for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; v. 12

As I consider worship planning each week, this verse serves as a guiding principle. Worship leaders have a responsibility to the gathered body of believers they are called to shepherd. One of the great tasks in worship is to edify the saints. To build you up for the coming task you are being sent to accomplish through the work of the Spirit. Each prayer, scripture, song, and text is designed to focus the collective to one purpose. After glorifying God, building up the saints is next on the list.

This may seem surprising to some, but I believe this is what we are called to do in gathered worship. Don’t get me wrong, I feel strongly about evangelism, but I also feel that if the gathered body of believers honor the Lord with their worship, and are edified through the service it serves as a clarion call to the lost to be a part of this sweet aroma of praise. My constant prayer for you is that you leave each service equipped to go and tell.