v.1
As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.
I've always loved this verse. Not because I fulfill the verse but it's just a good reminder for me. Am I living a life worthy of the calling I've received - am I living a life worthy of being chosen as a child of God? What are my daily decisions & choices reflective of - that God is the King of my life or that I am my own King? Who sits enthroned in every area of my life?
v.2
Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.
Ouch! I need a little extra of all of these things and nothing reminds me more of my shortcomings in this area than parenting my 3 young boys. :-) I need to be desperate for Him to be any of these things! Will I humbly come before Him and allow the Holy Spirit to give me power to do these things?
v.4-16
4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
7 But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. 8 This is why it[a] says:
“When he ascended on high, he took many captives and gave gifts to his people.” 9 (What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions[c]? 10 He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) 11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. 14 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 people in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead,
speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the
mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. 16 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.
I love this picture of the church! Of God's people! A group of God's children that are unified by Christ in us - who is over all things. A group of God's children (believers) that are giving gifts to be used for His glory and to serve and minister within the group "so that the body of Christ may be built up." A group of God's children that all have access to the power of the Holy Spirit. A group of God's children that He is molding and crafting into people that are more like Him (Philippians 1:6, 1 Thessalonians 5:24).
The church is like a building being laid brick by brick (until we all reach unity, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ, etc). You have been given specific "bricks" (gifts) that will need to be laid at certain times throughout the building process. Are you available (are you apart of the body) when your brick is needed? Otherwise the whole building is not done right. My husband and I sometimes talk about this in regards to people coming and not coming to church. Church (the body) is not just for YOU. It is not a place you go to be served! You are not just a spectator when it comes to going to church on Sunday and being a part of a group of believers. You never know when your specific gifts will encourage someone, speak to someone, or build them up in the Lord! It's imperative that we not give up meeting together as some are in the habit of doing (Hebrews 10:23-25). Are you plugged into a body of believers somewhere?? If not, pray and ask the Lord where you are to be! Are you allowing the Holy Spirit to serve others through you in that body? We need to be plugged into a small group of believers that we can serve with, grow with, challenge each other, go through life together, etc. Take a look at Acts 2:42-47 - are you apart of a church like this?
v.17-24
17 So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. 18 They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. 19 Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed. 20 That, however, is not the way of life you learned 21 when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. 22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
There should be a noticeable difference in the lives of believers and non-believers. These verses also remind me that not only should someone looking into my life be able to tell that I am different because Christ is in me BUT I am also called to be set apart and holy (John 17:15-18, 1 Peter 1:15-16, 1 John 2:15). This made me reflect on my life - choices I make for myself and my family, convictions that I do or do not hold....are they reflective of a changed life? A life that is remarkably different from a worldly life? Am I keeping myself and my family from being apart of the world? What does "the world" mean to you?
v.25-32
25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. 26 “In your anger do not sin”[d]: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold. 28 Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need. 29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Some great verses on how we are to live! Verses about how to handle conflict resolution - it needs to be dealt with! It needs to be dealt with in truth and love and it needs to be dealt with quickly! This is not EASY! I have been in these situations before and my stomach would be in knots. But the getting it over with and dealing with it was far better than the bitterness that could have taken root or the foothold that satan would have in my life because of my disobedience not to deal with it. I've been on the other end of that where I did not deal with a situation one time and satan did get a foothold and for about 2 years I was miserable because of it! Relationships were damaged & changed and it was a WHOLE lot harder to deal with it at that point than it would have been to deal with it right away.
Verse 29 is hard, isn't it!? Especially for women who are natural talkers any way! I think allowing your talk to always be wholesome has to come from an attitude of dependence on the Lord! "Lord, I can't even speak without You!!" And I think we can somewhat set ourself up for success or failure here. A lot of times, what we put into our hearts and minds is what is manifested out of our mouth (Luke 6:45), so we need to be on guard for what we put into our minds and hearts - trashy TV, music, movies, books, etc! What you are putting in, will come out and will definitely influence your mouth.
How I do not want to grieve the Holy Spirit! I don't want to put out the Spirit's fire (1 Thessalonians 5:19) within me! Verse 31 are ways that we can grieve the Holy Spirit. Do an evaluation of your life - is there evidence of those in your life right now? I do love how He reminds us that we are sealed until redemption. So while we may grieve Him, we never lose Him! Praise the Lord!
Verse 32 is a great verse to pray and ask the Lord to bring it to fruition in your life. I want to be those things...kind, compassionate, quick to forgive - yes, Lord, let it begin with me!
Hopefully you'll leave some comments and let me know your thoughts on the chapter!
We now move on to chapter 5 this week!!
Blessings
I love this picture of the church! Of God's people! A group of God's children that are unified by Christ in us - who is over all things. A group of God's children (believers) that are giving gifts to be used for His glory and to serve and minister within the group "so that the body of Christ may be built up." A group of God's children that all have access to the power of the Holy Spirit. A group of God's children that He is molding and crafting into people that are more like Him (Philippians 1:6, 1 Thessalonians 5:24).
The church is like a building being laid brick by brick (until we all reach unity, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ, etc). You have been given specific "bricks" (gifts) that will need to be laid at certain times throughout the building process. Are you available (are you apart of the body) when your brick is needed? Otherwise the whole building is not done right. My husband and I sometimes talk about this in regards to people coming and not coming to church. Church (the body) is not just for YOU. It is not a place you go to be served! You are not just a spectator when it comes to going to church on Sunday and being a part of a group of believers. You never know when your specific gifts will encourage someone, speak to someone, or build them up in the Lord! It's imperative that we not give up meeting together as some are in the habit of doing (Hebrews 10:23-25). Are you plugged into a body of believers somewhere?? If not, pray and ask the Lord where you are to be! Are you allowing the Holy Spirit to serve others through you in that body? We need to be plugged into a small group of believers that we can serve with, grow with, challenge each other, go through life together, etc. Take a look at Acts 2:42-47 - are you apart of a church like this?
v.17-24
17 So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. 18 They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. 19 Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed. 20 That, however, is not the way of life you learned 21 when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. 22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
There should be a noticeable difference in the lives of believers and non-believers. These verses also remind me that not only should someone looking into my life be able to tell that I am different because Christ is in me BUT I am also called to be set apart and holy (John 17:15-18, 1 Peter 1:15-16, 1 John 2:15). This made me reflect on my life - choices I make for myself and my family, convictions that I do or do not hold....are they reflective of a changed life? A life that is remarkably different from a worldly life? Am I keeping myself and my family from being apart of the world? What does "the world" mean to you?
v.25-32
25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. 26 “In your anger do not sin”[d]: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold. 28 Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need. 29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Some great verses on how we are to live! Verses about how to handle conflict resolution - it needs to be dealt with! It needs to be dealt with in truth and love and it needs to be dealt with quickly! This is not EASY! I have been in these situations before and my stomach would be in knots. But the getting it over with and dealing with it was far better than the bitterness that could have taken root or the foothold that satan would have in my life because of my disobedience not to deal with it. I've been on the other end of that where I did not deal with a situation one time and satan did get a foothold and for about 2 years I was miserable because of it! Relationships were damaged & changed and it was a WHOLE lot harder to deal with it at that point than it would have been to deal with it right away.
Verse 29 is hard, isn't it!? Especially for women who are natural talkers any way! I think allowing your talk to always be wholesome has to come from an attitude of dependence on the Lord! "Lord, I can't even speak without You!!" And I think we can somewhat set ourself up for success or failure here. A lot of times, what we put into our hearts and minds is what is manifested out of our mouth (Luke 6:45), so we need to be on guard for what we put into our minds and hearts - trashy TV, music, movies, books, etc! What you are putting in, will come out and will definitely influence your mouth.
How I do not want to grieve the Holy Spirit! I don't want to put out the Spirit's fire (1 Thessalonians 5:19) within me! Verse 31 are ways that we can grieve the Holy Spirit. Do an evaluation of your life - is there evidence of those in your life right now? I do love how He reminds us that we are sealed until redemption. So while we may grieve Him, we never lose Him! Praise the Lord!
Verse 32 is a great verse to pray and ask the Lord to bring it to fruition in your life. I want to be those things...kind, compassionate, quick to forgive - yes, Lord, let it begin with me!
Hopefully you'll leave some comments and let me know your thoughts on the chapter!
We now move on to chapter 5 this week!!
Blessings
Vs. 1 “lead a life worthy of your calling” - An exert from Rick Warren: And he has given you a destiny — something to do in this life, something only you can do. Before you were born, God wired you with certain ambitions, desires, and drives to play a particular role in history — one that only you can play. The Bible says in Ephesians 2:10, “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago” (NLT). Before you were born, God gave you a unique mixture of spiritual gifts, passions, abilities, personality, and experiences. There’s no one like you in the entire universe because, in part, there’s no one with your unique mix of talents. It’s why your destiny is so unique. It’s your destiny. Not your mother’s, not your father’s, not your pastor’s. It’s your destiny.
ReplyDeleteVs. 2 – work on patience with my children, remember we all make mistakes, be slow to anger and respond in the way I want them to learn to respond.
Vs. 3-4 – we are all one body in Christ, created to work together. I do not have to excel in the same areas that my friends or others do.
Vs. 7 – we each have special unique gifts that are made to work together to glorify Christ. Help to bring out the unique gifts in each of our family members and friends – together, use the qualities to exemplify God’s greatness.
Vs. 15 – “speak the truth in love” – first you have to know the truth (study, read, pray), second you have to speak with kind, loving words…not argumentative or judgmental.
Vs. 16 – “he makes the whole body fit together perfectly” – just like in our family. Each person has character qualities and personality traits that are unique and different. We do not need to be just like anyone else, we need to each use our special traits to work together as one.
Vs. 20-24 – how does my life look different from the life of those that do not believe? Can people see Christ in my actions, in my responses…not in what I say, but in all I do? We are ALL born sinners, but as believers living under Grace and filled with the spirit our lives should be changed.
Vs. 26 – “do not let the sun go down while you are still angry” as Brother David talked about in his sermon about the Rapture, we do not know the time or place and we should always be ready. How ashamed would we feel if we were called home today and left this world with an insignificant “grudge” between a family member or friend?
So convicting, so much to pray about and so many areas to grow.