The First 15

Wednesday July 27, 2022

by Jan Davis

Today is Wednesday, July 27. This week our summer adventure takes us to Ephesians chapter five.

Opening Prayer

This is the day the Lord has made! I rejoice in God’s loving presence. I seek to receive whispers of his wisdom and follow the gems of his guidance.

Pause and Pray

Holy and loving Lord, I lay aside the burdens of the upcoming day, still the chaos of my mind and relinquish the cares of my heart. I empty myself of worldly concerns creating space to receive your indwelling presence. Come, Holy Spirit, live within me.

Scripture Reading

My God is loving and merciful, I call out to him and earnestly seek him with the words of Psalm 6.

Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath. Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am faint; heal me, Lord, for my bones are in agony. My soul is in deep anguish. How long, Lord, how long? Turn, Lord, and deliver me; save me because of your unfailing love. Psalm 6:1-4

Pause and Pray

Paul’s message in today’s text provides a severe and sobering warning. Following up on his admonitions from yesterday to not participate in sexual immorality, impurity or greed, today he underlines this behavior going so far as to say a person will lose their inheritance in the kingdom. This seems harsh! This is not the gentle, kind, loving God and Jesus we learned about in Sunday School. Yet Paul does not want us to be deceived into thinking that even a hint of immorality should be allowed to go unchecked.

For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. Therefore do not be partners with them. Ephesians 5:5-7

Reflection

Paul links all these vices to idolatry. When people make idols of sin they become more important than God. When I favor immoral behaviors above the God who loves me, I worship the things of this world and neglect the Creator of all. When I succumb to idolatry – I forfeit my inheritance in God’s heavenly kingdom and spurn my status as a beloved child of God. I choose the world and its ways and reject God and his ways. Paul says I am not to be partners with the disobedient. I am not to be deceived with empty words of an immoral, impure or greedy person. I am to identify, renounce and reject evil, and correspondingly seek, claim and embrace good in every area of my life.

Ask: How have I made idols out of things or people? How do I permit myself to be partners with those who are disobedient to God?

Pause and Pray

Holy and loving God, I reject all aspects of immorality, impurity, idolatry, and greed. Do not allow me to partner with the disobedient. Awaken me to my own temptations and do not permit me to be deceived. Keep my eyes fully open to the wiles of the devil enticing me to turn away from the God who loves me. I read the words from Ephesians again and listen for the message you have for me.

For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. Therefore do not be partners with them. Ephesians 5:5-7

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

This particular passage from Ephesians may be a difficult one for me to digest. I consider what God may be trying to say to me this morning. Which words resonate with me the most – obedience or disobedience, morality or immorality, generosity or greed, purity or impurity, wise or deceived, grace or wrath? Maybe God wants to reveal my places of strength and my places of weakness. Perhaps God wants to make me aware of where I need to put on the full armor of God against the wiles of the devil (preparing me to hear the admonitions of the next chapter of the letter, Ephesians chapter six).


Pause and Pray

Come, Holy Spirit, reveal my places of weakness and struggle. Strengthen me to walk the way of love and empower me to stand firm in the way of temptation. Help me to heed your warning and strive to lead a holy life. I put my faith, hope and trust utterly in you and wait for your goodness to invade the recesses of my soul. Amen.

It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God; and that in this matter no one should wrong or take advantage of a brother or sister. The Lord will punish all those who commit such sins, as we told you and warned you before. For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. 1 Thessalonians 4:3-7

Closing Prayer

As I leave this time of prayer, I strive to live a holy life, seeking to bear fruit in relationships and serve the kingdom of Jesus Christ.

Amen

The First 15

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