10/11 Ephesians 5:1
1 Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children.
BELONG
We belong. We belong in the Father’s council chambers. We belong to the group that the Lord is intimately involved with minute of each day: His Children. We belong to the Lord forever and nothing can separate us from Him.
10/10 Ephesians 4:30-32
And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. 32 Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.
FORGIVE
A critical part of the normal Christian life is learning to forgive quickly, completely and to move forward without bringing it back up. To forgive is like God. We are surrendered to grow into Christ likeness therefore we are learning to forgive.
10/09 Ephesians 4:26-29
And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 for anger gives a foothold to the devil. 28 If you are a thief, quit stealing. Instead, use your hands for good hard work, and then give generously to others in need. 29 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.
POSITIVE
We can have confidence about our life. We need to stop the negativity. The call for us is to be positive, encouraging and careful with what we say. What you think is who you are. Set a guard over our mouths Father. Praise the Lord.
10/08 Ephesians 4:24-25
Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy. 25 So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body.
TRUTH
The call is for us to be truth tellers. If you think of a lie don’t tell it. Tell the truth. That’s simple. Tell the truth. Tell the truth. Stop lying. Tell the truth.
10/07 Ephesians 4:20
But that isn’t what you learned about Christ. 21 Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, 22 throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. 23 Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes.
CHOICE
We have a choice to live the defeated life we have always live or to change and live a life of wisdom, mercy and grace. We can be our self. True to Christ, faithful in doing the next right thing and caring for those around us. The Lord delightfully gives us His power for living and doing for Him. Right living is a choice. I choose. You choose.
10/06 Ephesians 4:17-19
With the Lord’s authority I say this: Live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused. 18 Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him. 19They have no sense of shame. They live for lustful pleasure and eagerly practice every kind of impurity.
LIVE
Live clearly by letting the Lord set your agenda. Praise Him as each day begins. Remember all of the things that you are thankful for and be quick to thank God. Ask Him to bless those around you, to help the weak and give them strength and to help you to care for those around you. Thank the Lord. Thank Him with all your heart. Then you will see clearly the needs around you and what you can do and you can do something.
10/05 Ephesians 4:16
He makes the whole body fit 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.
BE
Be yourself. You have a gift that the Lord wants to use in His body, the Church. Do what only you can do. Do it well. Do it without worrying what somebody else does or doesn’t do. You count. You are needed. Do your thing.
10/04 Ephesians 4:11-15
Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. 12 Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. 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. 14Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. 15 Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.
KNOW
In Jesus we will know the truth and the truth will set us free. He is here with us, spending time with us. Christ is our leader. He knows us and loves us. We are encouraged to spend time with Jesus. He will tell us the way we should go. Jesus is Lord.
10/03 Ephesians 4:8-10
That is why the Scriptures say, “When he ascended to the heights, he led a crowd of captives and gave gifts to his people.” 9 Notice that it says “he ascended.” This clearly means that Christ also descended to our lowly world. 10 And the same one who descended is the one who ascended higher than all the heavens, so that he might fill the entire universe with himself.
JESUS
Jesus is God’s everything. He does for us what we cannot do for ourselves. He saves us, He graces us, He guides us. Everything we need for victorious Christian living we find in Jesus. He loves us and will never leave us. Praise the Lord. Praise the name of the Lord-Jesus.
10/02 Ephesians 4:4-7
For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. 5 There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all, in all, and living through all. 7 However, he has given each one of us a special gift through the generosity of Christ.
YOU
You have a special gift. I don’t know what it is but you do. Exercise your gift. Do what the Lord called and equipped you to do. Today. Now. Consistently.
