Mutual Submission

Ephesians 5:21 “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” 

In today’s world, everyone seems to be very concerned with their individual rights.  More than any other season in my lifetime, people are easily offended and willing to sever relationships over minor disagreements.  In Ephesians 5 and 6, Paul writes about how we can grow through submitting to each other.

Tags:  Submission, Ephesians

Made for More: More Victory

Ephesians 6:12 “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”

Have you ever seen a kid in public wearing a superhero outfit?  I always love it when I see a little Spiderman or Wonder Woman out keeping us safe!  When kids put on superhero outfits, they feel strong, like the heroes they pretend to be. 

Tags:  Made For More, Ephesians, Victory

Made for More: Mature

Ephesians 4:14-15 “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.  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.”

Tags:  Made For More, Ephesians, Mature

Made for More: More Love

Ephesians 3:17-19 “Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.  And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and deep his love is.  May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully.” 

Tags:  Made For More, Ephesians, Love

Made for More: Masterpieces

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.”

Have you ever created a “masterpiece?”  I can’t say that I have ever made something so wonderful that I could call it a “masterpiece,” but I have felt the satisfaction of doing “good work.”  In Ephesians 2, Scripture tells us that we are God’s masterpiece!  The psalmist in Psalm 139 writes that we are knit together in our mother’s wombs with intent! You are God’s finest work. 

Tags:  Made For More, Ephesians, Masterpiece

Made for More

Ephesians 1:4-5 “Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.”

Tags:  Made For More, Ephesians

You Were Made For More

You Were Made For More

Hebrews 12:1-2 “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.”

Tags:  You Were Made For More, Made For More, Ephesians, Hebrews

Sharing Faith in Christ in my Sphere of Influence

2 Corinthians 5:20 - “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us. We plead on Christ’s behalf, ‘Be reconciled to God.’”

I have a friend that serves as an ambassador in a foreign country.  One day we were talking about his work and he shared how he had a “house” in another country but his “home” was in America. His work was to connect with foreign leaders and groups who could become hostile to the US Government. He developed relationships with these leaders in an attempt keep peace.

Tags:  Sharing Faith in Christ in my Sphere of Influence, Sharing Faith, Sphere of Influence, 2 Corinthians, Ambassador, Ambassadors for Christ, Matthew, Ephesians