Ephesians 6 - 2.27.26

Scripture: Ephesians 6: 10-17

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 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. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Observation

Paul is writing a letter focusing on applying the gospel to daily life and equipping believers for spiritual warfare. We are to stand against spiritual deception using the “Armor of God”. Paul is calling believers to “be strong in the Lord”. The “Armor of God” (Belt of Truth, Breastplate of Righteousness, Gospel of Peace, Shield of Faith, Helmet of Salvation and the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.) is a metaphor, inspired by Roman soldiers, for protecting oneself against spiritual, not physical, attacks. (Google)

Application

We are to be ready everyday to battle the enemy. We need to wake up every morning, read our Bible, Pray and put on the “Armor of God”. The first thing Paul tells us to put on is the Belt of Truth. Jesus is “the Way, the Truth and the Life”. Truth is one of the most important things about being a Christian. The belt of Truth also holds the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. The Word of God is Truth.

When you put on your Breastplate of Righteousness, you allow God to protect your heart and soul from evil and deception. As we become more like Christ our choices become more righteous.

When we wear our “Peace Shoes” we are on the defensive and offensive. We must be confident in our position in Christ. We must stand firm in the truth of God’s Word, regardless of how bad our circumstances get. God also expects us to share our faith with everyone who asks us to give the reason for the hope that we have. Sharing our faith helps us to maintain our sure footing.

The Shield of Faith is one of the most important pieces for a soldier of God. It is our protection from the flaming arrows that are shot at us every day. Without faith it is impossible to please God. Faith is one of the greatest gifts and it opens the door to a right relationship with God. Because we have faith we can walk through trials knowing we are victorious.

We need to keep our Helmet of Salvation buckled tight on our heads, because our mind is a battlefield. We need to take every thought captive and expose it to the light of the word. We must allow God’s truth to continually wash away the world’s filth, lies, and confusion from our minds and adopt God’s perspective.

When I was in high school, my mom would park a little bit away from the school and we would pray together and put on our armor before I left the car to enter the school grounds. I believe wearing my armor every day at school protected me from the devil’s schemes. I went into school as a soldier in God’s army and walked with love and confidence. I shared Jesus with a lot of my school mates and would bring some of them to church with me, so they could learn about Jesus. What a wonderful practice that my mom taught me from a young age.

Prayer

Dear Lord,

Help us to always remember to put on your full armor every day so we can live in the truth of your word. Help us to have a faith so strong that there is no room for doubt. Give us boldness to share Jesus with every one we meet and truly be the Light of the World.

- Michelle Craig

Psalm 6 - 2.26.26

SCRIPTURE: PSALM 6:1 - 10

1 Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath.

2 Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am faint; heal me, Lord, for my bones are in agony.

3 My soul is in deep anguish. How long, Lord, how long?

4 Turn, Lord, and deliver me; save me because of your unfailing love.

5 Among the dead no one proclaims your name. Who praises you from the grave?

6 I am worn out from my groaning. All night long I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears.

7 My eyes grow weak with sorrow; they fail because of all my foes.

8 Away from me, all you who do evil, for the Lord has heard my weeping.

9 The Lord has heard my cry for mercy; the Lord accepts my prayer.

10 All my enemies will be overwhelmed with shame and anguish; they will turn back and suddenly be put to shame.

OBSERVATION

This psalm comes from a grieved heart of David. While I felt like I needed to add a light hearted and chipper revelation to this devotional, my heart has not been able to move away from how encouraging this psalm itself is because it beautifully encaptures the heart of God and the compassion of the son of man himself. As you read this psalm, I encourage you to read it from the perspective of understanding more the heart of God towards us, one eager to enter into every detail of the human experience and be our cornerstone in every emotion and challenge.

David is someone who understands the heart of God and understands it so well, He knows that what grieves his heart has a place in God’s courts. 

When David’s heart is stirred up with joy, He acknowledges this joy has a place in God’s courts through His writing of psalms of praise.

When his heart is stirred up with anguish, He acknowledges their place in God’s courts through His writing of lament and transparent anger. 

David knows God’s heart and knows that His deepest and truest thoughts belong there, all because he knows that God’s heart is invitational to these deep and complex areas of ourselves. He even says, The Lord hears my prayer AND accepts it.

I love to think about how Jesus went to the places God’s heart goes. Jesus acted in unison with God’s heart, being His only son and the divine revelation of God on earth, so He went where God’s heart would be compelled.

Throughout scripture we see Jesus, and well, God’s heart, enter into many different contexts. We see Jesus entering into areas of worldly suffering, into spaces of death, into spaces of grief, into times of joy, into atmospheres of celebration, into mundane moments, and into tense moments, just to name a few. 

The point is, Jesus entered where God’s heart wants to be. And in this psalm, we see that God’s heart is to be with David in the grief and complex anguish He is currently living in.

APPLICATION

There is a scary truth that frightens me a bit that we can live our whole lives as followers of Jesus without truly experiencing His fellowship in our grievances and our sufferings, all because we have not offered our truest experiences to Him, out of a lack of understanding they are what He desire.

As you read this Psalm, where David invites God into his suffering because David knows that is where God wants to go, I want you to see this as an invitation and an example on how to live a divinely intertwined life with Christ’s character and God’s heart.

This week, as emotions rise and if grievances surface, see them not as interruptions — but as invitations. Invitations for God to meet you there. Express the deepest and truest emotions to your heart through practices like honest journaling, the practice of intimate and true prayer, and in turn see God’s presence meet you there - showing you the mystery of Christ that He enters into suffering as a perfect and relational LOVE that nothing in this world and no one in this world can taint, but every single person desperately needs.

To live in full fellowship with Jesus Christ is to understand His heart: He enters into suffering with us. He enters into delight with us. He enters into every corner of the human experience with us.

He went first. He stepped into our humanity fully so that when we walk through valleys and stand on mountaintops, we would never walk alone. David acknowledges this through His true expression of anguish towards God in Psalm 6. David knew that it is His creator's delight to be in suffering with Him. He is the only thing that can enter into darkness and bring unchanging and unaltered light.

PRAYER

Jesus,  I am sorry for how I have hid the parts of my heart from you, not thinking you want to be there. Right now, I give you permission to enter into every space of my being that you know and want to be in - come into my existence and my human experience and show me your heart towards every area of my life. Every thought, every emotion, every experience is yours. Today I want to live in that truth and truly invite you into each deep and complex thing. Would you show me your love for every aspect of my heart and your desire to be with me in every experience? Thank you for moving in David’s heart in a way that shows me how you want to move in mine. I love you Jesus, thank you for deeply loving me first. Amen.

- Tess Shrupp

Ephesians 4 - 2.25.26

Scripture: Ephesians 4:11-13, 16

So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

Observation

The title at the top of Ephesian 4 says, Unity and Maturity in the Body of Christ. In verse 1, Paul opens with, As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received, and throughout the rest of the chapter, he follows up with on instructions on how to live in unity and help one another grow in maturity in Christ. Before we explore the specific ministry gifts outlined in this chapter, I want to point out that Paul is writing to everyone when he references the calling you have received. We all have a calling on our lives – to love Him and make Him known, to continually grow in maturity in Christ, to live in unity, and to serve others. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

Application

I wasn’t sure what the differences are between apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. I did some searching and although I’m sure this isn’t exact, I think it’s a good summary:

Apostles go out (think missionaries), establish and build churches, Prophets hear and reveal God's will and message, Evangelists preach the gospel to win souls, Pastors shepherd/nurture the local flock, and Teachers explain and instruct in the Word.

Paul says the purpose of these ministries is to equip the body of Christ. I contend that even though we might not be called to full time ministry in one of these areas, God has placed one or more of these giftings on many of us. I could name so many people in our church! And even if we don’t think we have one of these five specific ministries, God has given each of us unique gifts to serve the body of Christ. If your gift is to encourage others, then go all out – we all need encouragement. If you are a prayer warrior, support us in prayer. If you love to serve others, serve lavishly. We shouldn’t feel that God can’t use us because we aren’t a prophet or evangelist. And we definitely shouldn’t use that as an excuse to sit back! From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

Prayer

Thank you that each of us is fearfully and wonderfully made, designed specifically by You with different strengths to be used to grow the Body of Christ. May no one feel less than, but instead learn to grow in their unique giftings and calling. May we all continue to grow in unity and maturity as we set our focus on You. Amen

- Debbie Dunn