Friday July 15, 2022

Today is Friday, July 15. We continue our tour of Ephesus traveling to the fourth chapter of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians.

In the morning, I wait for a word from my Heavenly Father, I sit at the feet of my Lord Jesus to learn his truth, and I open myself to the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit.

Pause and Pray

Holy and Loving God, thank you for inviting me to sit with you in the stillness of daybreak as you surround me with your embrace of steadfast love. I breathe slowly and deeply – exhaling my concerns and worries into your trustworthy care and inhaling your joy and peace to carry with me throughout my day. Amen.

I worship God and celebrate his steadfast love with the ancient words of Psalm 92.

The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green. Psalm 92:12-14

Pause and Pray

Believers in Christ as well as the church (the body of believers) are together involved in a growth process – a process in which individuals become more like Jesus Christ and the church grows up into a holy temple in which God dwells. Jesus wants his disciples to root their lives in him and bear good fruit for the kingdom. Sometimes churches stop growing spiritually and fail to mature corporately as disciples. In the New Testament this is evidenced by the rotten fruit of pride, jealousy, dissension, division and quarreling. In stagnant churches there is a lack of understanding of the deeper truths of God, a lack of interest in advancing in the faith and a lack of motivation to exercise love and serve the world. Churches whose growth is stunted become subject to false teaching and are swayed by fleeting trends.

Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, 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. Ephesians 4:14-16

God does not desire me or my church to remain babes in the faith – tossed back and forth, blown here and there, without stable grounding in truth or solid foundation of teaching. God wants me and my church to become mature, speak the truth and grow to become in every respect more like Jesus Christ. We are Christ’s body and he is the head of his church. Jesus is in charge. The church belongs to him. We are joined together in Christ and held together by Christ. We are to build up one another in love – and each of us has an important role to play. I must be working together with fellow believers in my local church to realize God’s amazing vision for my particular community.

Ask: How do I see my role in my church? Am I doing my part to build up the body of Christ at my local church or am I neglecting my duties?

Pause and Pray

Blessed Lord God, speak the truth in love to me today. Your servant is listening. Reveal the places where I am weak, infantile, unsteady, and easily swayed by falsehood. Caution me in places where my knowledge and faith are lacking. I want to grow alongside other believers to become spiritually mature through Jesus Christ and be built into a holy temple for you. I read the words from Ephesians again and listen for the message you have for me.

Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, 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. Ephesians 4:14-16

Ask: What image, word or phrase stands out to me when I slowly read this passage? What is God trying to say to me through these words of scripture?

Pause and Pray

I consider what God is revealing to me today about me and/or my local church. Which words resonate the most with my soul. Words like infants, tossed, and blown? Or words like growing, mature, joined together, and built up? Perhaps God wants me to gain awareness of my places of spiritual immaturity. Maybe God wants to invite me to invest more in helping my local church grow strong. Perhaps God is warning me about false teaching, cunning, craftiness or those who scheme and deceive people with their lies. Maybe God wants me to hear his ultimate truth, spoken in love. Do I have ears to hear what God wants me to know?

Pause and Pray

Precious Lord, I invite you into the waywardness of my heart and mind. Steady the reeling confusion of competing thoughts, set my feet on a firm foundation and speak absolute truth into my heart. Grant me wisdom and understanding so I may grow strong in the faith and be resolute in my beliefs. Amen.

He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me. Colossians 1:28-29

I leave this time of prayer, with renewed energy to go into a divided and hurting world to share the love and peace of Jesus Christ.

Amen