Monthly Archives: November 2021

To the Point Tuesday: Are You Ready…?

Posted on by
Reply

After several weeks of digging into Ephesians, we’ve arrived at chapter 6! The Armor of God is probably the most well-known and often-taught portion of Ephesians.

Now I ask: Are you ready… truly ready… for today? I’m sure you got dressed or will soon, grabbed a bite to eat, and sipped some coffee or tea. But are you spiritually ready for today?

We are reminded in Ephesians 6:11-12 that we have an enemy, one that has already designed a set of plans to bring us down! The devil has nothing but time on his hands and he chooses to use it to destroy all he can. When we think about the struggles we face in our lives, we tend to focus on what we are aware of in the natural: our bank account, our health, our relationships, our dilemmas. But we are not called to deal with those things in the natural; we are told (yes, it is a command!) to put on His armor and to battle spiritually!

With that thought in mind, I’d like to share a prayer of preparedness with you. As you get dressed in the morning and prepare for the events of the day, add this prayer to your routine. When we stand as commanded in verse 13, literally wearing HIM, we can trust that the Lord will put His “super” on our “natural” and know that He has the power to back it up!

“Lord, I believe that Your Word is true and that You are faithful to do what You have promised!1 Today, I put on the whole Armor of God according to Your Word. I put on the Belt of Truth, committing myself to walk in Your Truth, speak the truth, and discern truth. I put on the Breastplate of Righteousness knowing that by the blood of Jesus, I am in right-standing with You! I commit to make choices that reflect Your heart and ask You to fill my heart with Your love.

On my feet, I put the Shoes of Peace, standing firm and ready to reflect and share the Shalom-complete peace-found in Jesus. Over all of these pieces, I cover myself with the wrap-around Shield of Faith, that I know can and will extinguish every flaming dart the enemy shoots at me. Thank You, Lord, that Your glory is behind me as my rear guard.2

On my head I place the Helmet of Salvation to protect my mind from lies of the enemy3 and as a reminder that in Christ I am a beloved child and co-heir with Jesus.4 I firmly grasp the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God on which I base my life. I commit myself to constant conversation (prayer) with You throughout my day.5 Help me to discuss the ups and downs of my day with You as well as listen to and respond to Your Holy Spirit.

I go forward today as a prince/princess warrior doing the will of my Father. And You will crush Satan under my feet!6 I love You, Father! Thank You for going before me and with me through this day!

Adapted by Joy Morey

Praise God for His armor! We sure wouldn’t go into our day physically naked. So, let’s not go out spiritually naked either! If you don’t have time to read the above prayer, be sure you’ve committed the pieces of God’s Armor to memory so that you can “strap” them on whenever the Holy Spirit reminds you. I encourage you to add physical motions to your words as you put on His Armor. There’s something about action that engages our mind and activates our faith.

There’s a song trending on the radio about putting on His Armor. As a teacher, I assure you that singing something helps solidify it in your thoughts, so check it out: E6 by Evvie McKinney

Live Victoriously!

1Hebrews 10:23

2Isaiah 52:12

3John 8:44

4Romans 8:17

5Ephesians 6:10-18

6Romans 16:20a

To the Point Tuesday: Have You Noticed…?

Posted on by
Reply

I am so thankful for the Word of God! How blessed we are to have His truths written for us. But I still think it would be neat to walk around with Jesus digesting His parables and asking Him questions. There are a few key phrases I want to pull out of His teachings. I know that we are heart-deep in Ephesians, but take a side trip with me to Matthew.

“Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit” (Matthew 7:17-18 NKJV).

“For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man” (Matthew 15:19-20 NKJV).

“…How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things” (Matthew 12:34-35 NKJV).

These are the verses that came to my mind as I meditated on Ephesians 5:17-6:9. Paul is addressing our relationships with others in the home, in the church, and in the work place.

So, I ask…. Have you noticed that what is in our hearts is what comes out? Good or bad, it comes out and splashes on those around us… our spouse, our parents, our children, our co-workers, and on other believers.

I’ve heard lots of sermons on this portion of Scripture… too many that skip the foundational Truths laid out in Chapters 1-4. When the Holy Spirit directed Paul to write Ephesians, the progression was deliberate! If we try to skip over who we are in Him and the power to live righteously, we will miss the foundational truths that enable us to live a life of love instead of a life of religiosity.

Our journey as believers is all about drawing close the Lover of our soul and the Keeper of our heart! We learn to look to Him for answers and follow the nudgings of the Holy Spirit. As our heart beat becomes set to the cadence of His heart, it is HIS goodness that flows out of us! That outflow will bless our spouse, our children, our parents, our co-workers, and other believers!

We are given foundational clues to set us on the path of relational right-living in 5:18-21:

  • Be filled with and led by the Holy Spirit
  • Speak to one another with words of truth, grace, and peace
  • Let your heart overflow with praise to the Lord
  • Be thankful in all things
  • Honor one another

I’ve noticed that if what starts to come out of my mouth isn’t reflective of the Father’s heart, it’s time for a heart-check! What works as a heart-check? Whispered prayers, time in the Word, singing to the radio, or even a nap, whatever works for you, be sure to reconnect your heart to the Father’s.

Proverbs 4:23 reminds us to guard our hearts, for they affect who we are.

Live Loved,

To the Point Tuesday: Are You Reflecting…?

Posted on by
Reply

Ephesians 4 challenged us to take a hard look at our ourselves… are we making choices that demonstrate maturity in Christ. In Ephesians 5, Paul doesn’t hold back! He gives clear instruction to help us know HOW to demonstrate the maturity of the previous chapter.

And so I ask, Are you reflecting…?

The quick answer is, “Yes!” We are all reflecting something or someone. So, the better question is: What or whom are you (and I) reflecting?

We reflect the actions and beliefs of the things and people that we spend the most time focused on.

Let that sink in…

Who or what does your life revolve around? Politics? Social media? A hobby? An addiction? A person? A job? An idea? A dream? A disappointment?  Whatever dominates our thinking, our feelings, and our time will impact our life choices.

Ephesians 5:1 instructs: Imitate God as beloved children in everything you do… So simple and yet complex. It makes me think of a child following mom or dad around and mimicking the actions they see. To imitate someone well, you need to watch and learn. To imitate God, we will need to spend a lot of time with Him and focus our attention on Him and what He values.

Paul lets us know what not to imitate too… he specifically speaks to areas that we are prone to struggle with: passion, pleasure, power, and people. If you feel inclined, you can write down the list of behaviors addressed in Ephesians 5 and pin it on your fridge as a reminder of what not to do.

But, might I suggest a better strategy? Instead of focusing on the edge of the cliff… you know, the area just before the “sin drop-off”… we can focus on moving closer to our Daddy King! The closer we draw to Him, the more we learn of His ways, and the deeper we connect to His heart, the farther we will move away from the “danger zone” of sinful ways.

Of course, we all miss the mark at times. But Paul is addressing a lifestyle of sin that will prevent us from having any inheritance in the Kingdom of God (verse 5)! I sure don’t want any part of that! I want to walk as one who is wise, not wasting time, but rather living in the light with Him! When we live that way, we will see our desires align themselves with the Father’s heart. Our relationships will reflect His ways. Our priorities will fall in place with His!

Are you reflecting your Heavenly Dad?

There’s so much more in this chapter, go check it out!

Live Loved,

To the Point Tuesday: Are You Really…. ?

Posted on by
2

Our delve into Ephesians has already challenged us:

  • to realize that we are chosen by the Father as beloved children!
  • to understand that when we acknowledge His plan for our lives, we become citizens of His Kingdom!
  • to grow in our relationship with Him to better understand that He loves us deeply and unconditionally!

How amazing are these Truths!?! They are a necessary foundation to what the Holy Spirit addresses through Paul in Ephesians 4. This leads me to the question: Are you really… ?

Are you really living a life worthy of the calling you’ve received?

“I plead with you to walk holy, in a way that is suitable to your high rank, given to you in your divine calling” (Ephesians 4:2 TPT).  In other words, are you living your life in a way that clearly indicates who you are (a follower of Jesus) and Whose you are (a child of the King of kings)?

This verse makes me think of the movie Princess Diaries1 in which a girl-next-door finds out she was actually born a princess. The story line follows her as she abandons her commoner mentality in favor of royal thinking and behavior. Ultimately, she learns to walk in the “royal calling” she has inherited while still maintaining her uniqueness and personality.

As followers of Jesus this is what we must do! We need to “grow up” in the faith, walking as royalty with a divine calling, living out the love of Jesus in our every day lives. Notice that Paul focuses more on character–be humble, gentle, patient, and loving with one another– than on doctrine here. Why do you think that is? It’s not that understanding the truth of God’s Word isn’t important; but rather that our character (and maturity) is foundational in how we live out our divine calling!

The antithesis of being mature can be inferred throughout Ephesians 4: being proud, impatient, dishonest, opinionated, unbending, apathetic, divisive, greedy, self-righteous, and a careless talker. Oh my!

Wait, by accepting the offer to become royalty (children of the King) we are expected to act like royalty?

Absolutely! You and I are royalty! More than that, we are ambassadors, carrying the Kingdom of Heaven inside of us. Ambassadors officially represent the character, priorities, and opinions of our King (truly dying to ourselves3). The only way we can represent Him well is to spend time with Him and His Word, growing in maturity as followers of Jesus.

I appreciate that Paul reminds us that we are not alone in our journey to mature! We are recipients of supernatural grace in Jesus and part of the body of Christ designed with giftings to build one another up in unity and faith! He goes on to outline what being a mature believer looks like in verses 15-32. Take some time to dig in and hash it out. Be willing to look harder at yourself (the beam in your own eye) rather than looking at the faults (or specks in the eyes) of others (Matthew 7:3). Hint: that is one mark of maturity!

One resource that I’ve used to build my understanding of Ephesians 4 is a teaching by Jennifer Toledo called Mature.2 Grab a notebook, a pen, and a humble heart and I know you’ll glean challenging truths that will take you deeper in your royal walk with the King.

So, again I ask, “Are you… am I… really living a life that represents our high rank and divine calling?” Let’s be willing to grow together in maturity so that we can be trustworthy, anointed, loving ambassadors for the Kingdom of God!

Live Loved,

1Princess Diaries: https://youtu.be/G3jzLo31DTk

2Toledo, Jennifer. 2021. “Mature” Expression 54 Church. https://youtu.be/GTOutgUX34s

3Luke 9:23, Galatians 2:20, 5:24

To the Point Tuesday: Will you ever… ?

Posted on by
Reply

Ephesians 3 rocked my world! Crazy, right? I mean, it’s not like I hadn’t read it before. In fact, I could have quoted several of the verses.

But this time, just… wow! It wasn’t so much that Paul willingly accepted jail time because he could see the purpose in it. It wasn’t even that God’s plan for Salvation and unity were made perfect in Jesus, or even that we now have confidence to go freely before the throne of the King of kings. As awesome as those Truths are, it was Paul’s prayer for you and me that gripped my heart and brought a new hunger to my spirit (3:14-20).

So I ask: Will you ever grasp the magnitude of the love of Christ for us? Will I? This love that is deep, intimate, all inclusive, endless, far reaching, and extravagant? I truly hope so! We need at least an inkling of it because it’s that understanding that leads us to experience God’s presence and fullness in our lives!

Don’t worry, though, we are not alone in our journey to grasp His love for us! In verse 16, Paul prays that all believers will be strengthened and empowered by the Holy Spirit in the very core of our being (innermost part) so that Christ will dwell in our hearts through faith. Sometimes we think this is the end-goal of the Gospel: to have Jesus in our hearts as our ticket to Heaven. But, if we stop there, we miss out on the incredible richness of a relationship with Abba… Daddy!  We miss out on developing a relationship with Jesus, our Co-heir and Groom. We spend our days trying to be “good enough” instead of living life with the Holy Spirit as our Coach, Comforter, and Counselor.

God has SO much more in mind for us!

As we become secure in the idea that Jesus loved us enough that He gave His life for us (head knowledge), we want to know Him! We choose  to grow in intimacy with Him through relationship. It is in that journey that the Holy Spirit enables us to KNOW the love of Christ… he takes it from head knowledge to heart knowledge! We begin to grasp that He loves us, ALL of us, deeply, intimately, endlessly, and extravagantly! With that deep understanding, we become filled with the very presence of God in all of His fullness! Wow! Yes, please!!

Paul closes out his prayer glorifying God and declaring praises from every generation from now till eternity. And in that closing, don’t miss this incredible reminder and promise: The God that we serve, our Abba, is able to carry out His purpose for us! He is able to do superabundantly, infinitely, immeasurably more than you and I can ask, imagine, think, hope, dream and pray! Now I ask, are you dreaming? Are you asking? Are you hoping? Are you praying? I sure hope so. Let’s declare, “Yes, and Amen!” to this promise!

On your behalf and mine, I pray in agreement with the prayer in Ephesians 3:14-20. Here is that prayer in The Passion Translation:  “So I kneel humbly in awe before the Father of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah, 15 the perfect Father of every father and child in heaven and on the earth. 16 And I pray that He would unveil within you the unlimited riches of His glory and favor until supernatural strength floods your innermost being with His divine might and explosive power.

17 Then, by constantly using your faith, the life of Christ will be released deep inside you, and the resting place of His love will become the very source and root of your life.

18–19 Then you will be empowered to discover what every holy one experiences—the great magnitude of the astonishing love of Christ in all its dimensions. How deeply intimate and far-reaching is His love! How enduring and inclusive it is! Endless love beyond measurement that transcends our understanding—this extravagant love pours into you until you are filled to overflowing with the fullness of God!”1

Live Loved,

1 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=ephesians+3&version=TPT