11/1 Ephesians 3:1-2
I, Paul, am a prisoner of Christ Jesus because of my preaching to you Gentiles. As you already know, God has given me this special ministry of announcing his favor to you Gentiles.
INCLUDED
We are included in the Lord’s favor. Jesus loves you and me. Jesus is focused on our salvation and growth. Today is the day of victory. Your life is important in His work and the success of your work is directly proportionate to your willingness to care for others. When you are injured forgive quickly. When you harm someone seek forgiveness at once. We are doing the Master’s work. Go.
11/2 Ephesians 3:3
As I briefly mentioned earlier in this letter, God himself revealed his secret plan to me.
PLAN
God’s plan is that you are beloved. You are important. Each one of us count and the Lord Himself has made a way for each and everyone of us to be included in His family. No one has to be left behind. Each and everyone can choose Jesus. It is tragic that so many don’t choose Jesus. It is important that you do choose Jesus. Make sure you have and then share with everyone what the Lord is doing in your life.
11/3 Ephesians 3:4
As you read what I have written, you will understand what I know about this plan regarding Christ.
KNOW
Know Him. You and I are required to individually know Jesus. Don’t depend on a friend, a family member, or someone you think is religious. Knowing Jesus requires that you bend the knee before Him and ask Him to give you the gift of life. Jesus forgive me of my sin and come into my heart and save me. It’s that simple but it has eternal consequences.
11/4 Ephesians 3:5-6
God did not reveal it to previous generations, but now he has revealed it by the Holy Spirit to his holy apostles and prophets. And this is the secret plan: The Gentiles have an equal share with the Jews in all the riches inherited by God’s children. Both groups have believed the Good News, and both are part of the same body and enjoy together the promise of blessings through Christ Jesus.
BLESSED
We are blessed in Christ. When Jesus is in your life no matter what else has happened we are blessed. Count your blessings today. Eternity with God is a part of your life. You have eternal rewards. But you also have current rewards. The Lord Jesus resides in your heart. The Holy Spirit is seeking to guide you in the way you should go. Rejoice and praise the Lord. Jesus is alive and He lives in you.
11/5 Ephesians 3:7
By God’s special favor and mighty power, I have been given the wonderful privilege of serving him by spreading this Good News.
EVANGELISM
When you love Jesus, evangelism is simply telling others what is happening in your life. A warm, growing relationship with Jesus cannot be hidden. Growing in Christ will create a glowing heart.
11/6 Ephesians 3:8
Just think! Though I did nothing to deserve it, and though I am the least deserving Christian there is, I was chosen for this special joy of telling the Gentiles about the endless treasures available to them in Christ.
JOY
For me to have joy I must be filled with Jesus. I can’t create joy nor can I purchase joy but Jesus freely gives each one of us joy. Fear destroys us. Jesus rebuilds us. Ask Christ for joy today and accept His joy when He gives it to you. Another result of living a life of joy is the forth telling about Christ to everyone we meet. We share our joy by the way we look, what we say, how we say it and give it to everyone.
11/7 Ephesians 3:9
I was chosen to explain to everyone this plan that God, the Creator of all things, had kept secret from the beginning.
PLAN
God’s plan of salvation in Jesus Christ was designed just for you. His plan is eternal and is a plan for abundant living. Jesus loves you. Accept His love and give it to everyone you meet. Abundant living, life in Christ, is the way that all of us can live if we let Jesus have control of us.
11/8 Ephesians 3:10-11
God’s purpose was to show his wisdom in all its rich variety to all the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms. They will see this when Jews and Gentiles are joined together in his church. This was his plan from all eternity, and it has now been carried out through Christ Jesus our Lord.
UNITY
People talk about unity. They seek to create unity by demanding uniformity. Our unity is in Christ. He has brought us into the family of God. We are one in Christ. He creates unity and we rejoice in it.
11/9 Ephesians 3:12
Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come fearlessly into God’s presence, assured of his glad welcome.
WELCOME
We are welcome in God’s house. His council chamber is open to us. We can approach His throne. Christ did this for us. His blood was shed for me and you and paid the price of our sin. Because we are cleansed by Jesus we can worship the Lord and experience Him as our Father. We have a relationship with God.
11/10 Ephesians 3:13
So please don’t despair because of what they are doing to me here. It is for you that I am suffering, so you should feel honored and encouraged.
SUFFERING
We will suffer for our choice of Christ as our Lord and Savior but Christ will see us through it in this life and take us into eternity with Him when our date comes. We have the privilege of suffering for others as Jesus suffers for us. This is a choice that we have to make; it will not be pushed on us. Think carefully about suffering and grow in Christ. At the right time you will be privileged to suffer for others.
11/11 Ephesians 3:14-15
When I think of the wisdom and scope of God’s plan, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth.
GOD
We speak to the Lord and He listens to us. That alone is a majestic thought. Some people spend their entire life trying to know important people. We know THE ONE who is Lord and Savior and HE really loves us.
11/12 Ephesians 3:16
I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will give you mighty inner strength through his Holy Spirit.
ASK
Ask the Lord for what you need. Especially ask Him for peace and joy. The Holy Spirit will build in you what you need to be and do all that the Lord has called you to do. Pray for the hurting, the lonely, and the poor. Pray for our leaders. Pray that you will accept the strength that the Lord has available for you.
11/13 Ephesians 3:17
And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts as you trust in him. May your roots go down deep into the soil of God’s marvelous love. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love really is.
GREAT
God’s love is great. It is bigger than we can imagine and even more than that. It is immeasurable, infinite and big. Take your problems to the Lord. Put them on Him. He will help you. He will deal with your problems. He loves you.
11/14 Ephesians 3:19
May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it. Then you will be filled with the fullness of life and power that comes from God.
LOVE
Love unleashes the power that the Lord has for us. He is able to give us all that we need and cannot earn and this great gift flourishes in us. We are equipped to love because we are so loved. When we love people we grow. As we grow the fullness of life and power explode within us empowering us to be exactly the person God created us to be.
11/15 Ephesians 3:20-21
Now glory be to God! By his mighty power at work within us, he is able to accomplish infinitely more than we would ever dare to ask or hope. May he be given glory in the church and in Christ Jesus forever and ever through endless ages. Amen.
FULL
Our life can be full to overflowing with Christ. Christ in us is the key to dealing with everything we face in life. When you are overwhelmed or defeated; feeling victorious or superior that is the time to get closer to Jesus. Let Jesus have your attention. He will direct you in the path you should go.
11/16 Ephesians 4:1
Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. Be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.
HUMILITY
We must choose to be humble. Look at other people with love and appreciation. Begin to see them as special to the Lord. Choose to honor others and to be genuine with them. Give them the same courtesy you would give yourself. When you do you will find that you are living a life worthy of your calling.
11/17 Ephesians 4:3
Always keep yourselves united in the Holy Spirit, and bind yourselves together with peace.
UNITY
Unity is achieved by valuing people and working together with them. We cannot do the work the Lord has called us to by ourselves. We need people. Jesus died for people. We honor Him by honoring others. The result is unity in the Holy Spirit. Unity is easy when we live a life that is focused on Jesus.
11/18 Ephesians 4:4
We are all one body, we have the same Spirit, and we have all been called to the same glorious future.
GOAL
Jesus glorified is our goal. He is our creator. In Him all things exist. We are with Him now. Think about Him. Now take Him your problems.
11/19 Ephesians 4:5-6
There is only one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and there is only one God and Father, who is over us all and in us all and living through us all.
ONE
In Christ we are in the Family of God. We pray to Jesus. We walk with Jesus. We grow in Christ. We do all of these things and we are indeed dealing with God. Jesus is Lord. He is Lord of all things including our world. He is personal. He is interested in us and will deal with us individually. He knows us, our name, our actions, our hurts, our sin and He still loves us.
11/20 Ephesians 4:7-9
However, he has given each one of us a special gift according to the generosity of Christ. That is why the Scriptures say, “When he ascended to the heights, he led a crowd of captives and gave gifts to his people.” Notice that it says “he ascended.” This means that Christ first came down to the lowly world in which we live.
YOU
Jesus came for you. He stepped down into this world knowing that you needed Him. He came looking for you. Has He found you? If He has rejoice today but if you are still wandering on your own ask Jesus to come into your life.
11/21 Ephesians 4:10
The same one who came down is the one who ascended higher than all the heavens, so that his rule might fill the entire universe.
RULER
Jesus is the ruler over all things. But He loves you and me. He cares for every part of our life. If we are troubled He listens to us. When we fail He will comfort us. Jesus is alive and He is willing to guide our life if we will let Him. Today you can talk with Him about your life. Remember those in need around you. Believe in Him and He will change your life.
11/22 Ephesians 4:11-14
He is the one who gave these gifts to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ, until we come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature and full grown in the Lord, measuring up to the full stature of Christ. Then we will no longer be like children, forever changing our minds about what we believe because someone has told us something different or because someone has cleverly lied to us and made the lie sound like the truth.
ROCK
Jesus is our Rock. He gives us strength to face the challenges of life. His Word is always true. His place is always with us. He will not forsake us. He knows all about us. He is our friend and Lord. He is worthy of all of our devotion and He will never leave us.
11/23 Ephesians 4:15
Instead, we will hold to the truth in love, becoming more and more in every way like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.
FOCUS
When we focus our heart and mind on Jesus we will know the truth. We will not be disappointed. He will guide us in the right way. We will be useful and we will do the right things. As we live a focused life we will grow in Christ likeness and we will love one another.
11/24 Ephesians 4:16
Under his direction, the whole body is fitted together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.
COMPLETE
We are complete in Jesus. There is nothing we need for our spiritual life but Jesus. He is God’s everything. We start with Jesus, we grow with Jesus and one day we will go home to be with Jesus. He is Lord and worthy to be Lord of our life.
11/25 Ephesians 4:17-19
With the Lord’s authority let me say this: Live no longer as the ungodly do, for they are hopelessly confused. Their closed minds are full of darkness; they are far away from the life of God because they have shut their minds and hardened their hearts against him. They don’t care anymore about right and wrong, and they have given themselves over to immoral ways. Their lives are filled with all kinds of impurity and greed.
GODLY
The Godly are becoming like Jesus. Jesus suffered and died for the lost giving His life for them. Can we do any less? We are called to a life of caring and service. We are to reach out to those around us not because they are easy to love but because Jesus first loved us. His love redeemed us from sin. He has put us into a right relationship with God. Nothing can separate us from His love. Therefore we are to love and care for the lost.
11/26 Ephesians 4:20-22
But that isn’t what you were taught when you learned about Christ. Since you have heard all about him and have learned the truth that is in Jesus, throw off your old evil nature and your former way of life, which is rotten through and through, full of lust and deception.
PRACTICAL
Practical sanctification is the process of our working out in our daily life what the Lord is putting into us, where we walk, what we say and who we live life together with. We were saved by grace, positional sanctification, and we will never have to worry about our salvation. But we are called to become more like Jesus every day. This is an act of the will. Am I going to let Jesus have control of me? I choose every minute of every day how much I will let the Lord Jesus have of me. He wants all of me.
11/27 Ephesians 4:23-25
Instead, there must be a spiritual renewal of your thoughts and attitudes. You must display a new nature because you are a new person, created in God’s likeness ? righteous, holy, and true. So put away all falsehood and “tell your neighbor the truth” because we belong to each other.
ATTITUDE
We celebrate Thanksgiving in America today. We are truly thankful for so many things, chief of which is the Lord Jesus. An attitude of gratitude goes a long way in becoming more like Jesus. It will help us each day to deal with the deceitfulness of the enemy. We have everything we need in Jesus.
11/28 Ephesians 4:26-29
And “don’t sin by letting anger gain control over you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a mighty foothold to the Devil. If you are a thief, stop stealing. Begin using your hands for honest work, and then give generously to others in need. Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.
PRACTICAL
Practical sanctification is simply bringing everything I say and do under the control of the Lord Jesus. Will I do it His way? Will I go at His pace? Do I really believe that what I am doing is important? There are many more questions dealing with our practical sanctification. Ask them and change. Let Jesus have control of you.
11/29 Ephesians 4:30-31
And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he is the one who has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of malicious behavior.
JOY
Bring joy and you will have joy. An interesting thought, be a friend to have a friend. Live like Jesus calls us to live. Throwing ourselves into His care is the only way we will succeed. This old world is a wicked place and the world will do you in unless you let Jesus have control of your life.
11/30 Ephesians 4:32
Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.
HUMILITY
People are self-centered. They evaluate relationships based on how a person helps or facilitates them. Jesus calls us to love one another including those who do not like us. We can learn to be forgiving. Ask the Lord to give you a forgiving heart.
