by David Brenneman
"Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all. But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore it says, “When He ascended on high, He led captive a host of captives, And He gave gifts to men.” (Now this expression, “He ascended,” what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things.) And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love. So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. But you did not learn Christ in this way, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth." Ephesians 4:1-24.
This morning's reading might be long, but remember, when those in Ephesus received it, they listened to the whole letter, probably all in one afternoon or evening.
We don't know, and perhaps there's not many left in this world, who truly knows what it means to "expect" a handwritten letter from someone as your only form of communication. These people in this Church, eagerly gathered to hear from their beloved Apostle Paul. They would hang on every word spoken aloud. We, on the other hand, skim through the letter only stopping here and there for what seems to 'speak' to us.
My Dear Reader absorb what you read in your Bible. No you may not remember everything or anything you just read but that's ok. Take it in. It is no failure to be persistent in reading your Bible in the face of such an obstacle. The promise of God in this is that His Word never returns void. It always accomplishes what it was sent to do.
We often don't take really good care in watching what we have allowed into our hearts and minds. We perceive no dangers and thus never ask the Spirit if there are any dangers. We consider ourselves able to discern some things on our own and thereby trip into thinks best left alone.
Paul wrote of guarding our hearts. The breastplate of righteousness covers that whole area below the neck to the groin and from arm to arm. It's noteworthy that any attack of the enemy of God will try in any way to be an interference to you receiving information from God on His Will for you for JUST TODAY.
Today. Jesus said with regards to asking, seeking and knocking to not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow has enough trouble of its own. So focus on today in your walk with Jesus.
Protect yourself is perhaps a better description than guard your hearts. You can't go to a gun fight with a knife as I think the quote from a movie is talking about.
We show up to a Spiritual battle with sticks when the enemy is ready to hit us with whatever he has been permitted to use. Let that sink in.
Let it sink in really really well.
Satan's in Heaven right this very moment seeking permission to go after the likes of you and I. He is also accusing us of the things we did yesterday.
I saw a movie clip this morning of a law professor speaking to students. They were ill prepared to act like responsible, respected, lawyers. Whining about how his teaching methods weren't how they learn and not how to teach them. A real lawyer was sitting in on the class and ripped those students for not taking their profession seriously.
We need to take our responsibility and Ambassadorship seriously in Christ Jesus.
We need to do more to remove things that we know aren't God honoring from our lives and replace them with time alone with Jesus.
Do we even know what it's like to go to our room and pray in secrecy to our Father in Heaven?
Do we even know what it means to block out the world and actually put forth the effort and energy to study God's Word?
Do we even know how to pray a prayer that isn't mindless repetition? A prayer from the heart to His heart?
Do we even know what it means to be still before Jesus, sitting at His feet to learn from Him?
These are the things that matter in walking in a manner worthy of the calling we have in Christ Jesus.
How often do we only go for whatever feels good rather than what's going to challenge us because we really needed that challenge to grow in Christ?
Fair weather living ill prepares us for the storms of life that Satan's schemes are designed to throw at us.
He comes prepared to do everything and anything he's been permitted by God to do to any Believer. Read Job.
Are you now reconsidering your life's choices? Good. Are you taking stock in what's in your life that probably shouldn't be there? Good. Is your mind now considering new ways to walk worthy of your calling in Christ Jesus? Fantastic. This is what it means to be doers of the word and not just hearers only. This is where you develop your RELATIONSHIP with Jesus. Where you get to know Him and He gets to know you. Where you begin to grow in Christ's character.
My Dear Reader I am speaking as much to myself as I am to all of you. We live in a culture of things. Accumulated things that are a waste of time, energy and effort in our attempts at growing in Christ. We sabotage our own walk. We lie to ourselves as to what an idol is and whether or not they're in our lives. We lie to ourselves as to not having sufficient time to spend with Jesus. Jesus said to take up our own cross and follow Him. Drop what you're considering more important than what's important to Jesus.
Start walking in a manner worthy of your calling.
All NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission.
New American Standard Bible
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