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Ephesians 4:1-3
I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
7 comments:
Hope you all had a wonderful weekend. I felt compelled to pray for Kim and her family this morning--I guess assuming they would be traveling home soon or already returned. May we all lift up their family today.
There is no better way to start the week than in the Word of God! The past few weeks my Mondays have caught me off guard and it wasn't until Wednesday that I was able to get to my devotions. YIKES. I am so blessed to have the peace of the Word of God start my day.
I was really captured by the key words today: worthy, calling, gentle, patient, love, unity, bond of peace. They are applicable in so many ways!! Though they are mostly meant for how we act toward the body of Christ, I found it very convicting in my actions towards my children, daycare kids and husband. Am I gentle, patient, loving and peaceful toward them? Completely? (as my NIV says) And what about living my life worthy of the calling I have received from the Lord. This is the most exciting part of these verses to me. I LOVE being a mom. I LOVE teaching my children. I LOVE my husband. (though I know I could improve this area GREATLY) And I try to love daycare. :) But these verses seem to be impressing on me that love is incomplete without humbleness, gentleness, patience, and peace. Help me, Lord, strive (in your power) to apply these attributes to the love I have for the calling you have given me.
I pray for all of you ladies as well, that the Lord would give you a passion for living worthy of the calling you have received.
Many blessings today.
Sonja
Sorry about the new title to my entry, I forgot to sign in under the proper name.
:)
SOnja
It is great to be back on a normal schedule, even though I did love vacation. It is nice being back in the swing of things :)
I too liked the words that were used in the passage. Along with the words Sonja mentioned I also liked the word beseech which means to beg eagerly. So Paul is not just telling or asking us, but eagerly begging us even though he knew it would not be easy all the time. I also like that he reminds us that we should be bearing with one another....just like we are through this blog. We are not meant to struggle on our own.
I pray that we will all be able to focus on these words today and be able to show them to those around us. I pray that the Zipf will get home safely and transition back to daily life smoothly! I pray for the rest of you ladies and that you will have a glorious Monday!!
Thank you ALL for praying for me and my family over this past week. We are now home safely and for the most part healthy! We had a great time travelling many, MANY miles, visiting friends and family, and returning with so many memories. I pray that we came back refreshed and renewed and semi-germ-free. (I think my mother-in-law Jill asked the perfect question one early morning last week...why is it easier to spread germs than it is to spread the Gospel?) It was a great time, and now reality must set in (ok, maybe not yet as I now get to enjoy having a little bit of help around here for a time)!
Well, my prayer for vacation was that I wouldn't take a vacation from God and my quiet time. I had so many expectations and goals for vacation that were just too high to attain and thus discouraging me and making me feel like I failed! (I even brought a second reading book thinking I would finish the book I was reading and could start another one - what was I thinking?!?!) Does anyone else do that too? If I must confess, I did ok at best with my quiet time, and I found myself praying more than being in the Word last week.
So, this morning, I read and studied v.18-21 to catch up and finish up the doctrine part of Ephesians. I look forward to reading over all of your comments last week as I'm sure I will learn a ton from you ladies and be so encouraged. I just ran out of time this morning. And, I can't wait to start in chapter 4 this evening to get into the application part of Ephesians. Thank you for your ladies' faithfulness and encouragement with just being in the Word and praying - you have no idea how much the Lord has used you all to help me and encourage me!
For today, I want to dwell on v.20 and 21. To God who is able to do EXCEEDINGLY ABUNDANTLY ABOVE ALL that we ask or think, according to HIS power that works in us, TO HIM BE GLORY in the church by Christ Jesus. Whew! Lord, use me beyond what I ask or think I can do so that You may be glorified!
Have a marvelous Monday, ladies!
Kim
The part that is sticking with me this morning is living a life WORTHY of the calling you have received. Do I live my life, especially at work (where I feel I spend ALL my time lately) according to how Jesus has called me? Or do I just go through the motions hoping to get to the next day in one piece. I want to live a life that is worthy of God's calling. Perhaps he is putting me in the position I am to be in just the right place for someone at the right time...who knows? I don't want to miss it!
Brienne
Great passage today. When we walk worthy of our calling, we are seeing ourselves as Christ sees us. As one of His own. And when we do this we must have a humble heart, especially as we walk with others in their journeys as well. And when we see flaws in them, we must be humble and check ourselves and spend time in prayer for that person. This is what creates the unity with other believers (when we are in prayer and listening to the holy spirit) I am going to try this week to specifically pray for people right away if I am irked by them. This could be the guy that cuts me off on the road or the churchgoer ranting about politics. Either way I need to have a humble heart and pray for these people. I dont want to let my attitude get in the way of your work in them Jesus! I yearn to see people as you see them more and more in my life.
These verses really hit home for me. God has called me to be at home with my kids. Am I walking worthy of that calling. When I'm feeling worn down, stressed and lacking patience do I emulate lowliness, gentleness patience and love? I know God has been working on my heart lately to parent with more gentleness.
Today was such a rough day for me and I needed to hear these verses. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
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