Category Archives: Ephesians

Rise and Shine

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Rise and Shine. 

Excellent counsel!

Rise from your slumber – that reminds me of Scripture. 

Romans 13:12 New King James Version

12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.  source

Get this. I use an app to check my writing for grammar, punctuation, etc.  
And the verse above, the App suggested I reword it for clarity. 

That is so like the world!
The world is never satisfied with GOD’s Word.
But I am.
How about you?
Our verse for today says: the night is far spent, the day is at hand.
And it is time to cast off the works of darkness and shine the LIGHT OF JESUS!
We do that by wearing His WORD. 

Ephesians 6:10-18 Complete Jewish Bible

10 Finally, grow powerful in union with the Lord, in union with his mighty strength! 
11 Use all the armor and weaponry that God provides, so that you will be able to stand against the deceptive tactics of the Adversary.
12 For we are not struggling against human beings, but against the rulers, authorities and cosmic powers governing this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realm.
13 So take up every piece of war equipment God provides; so that when the evil day comes, you will be able to resist; and when the battle is won, you will still be standing.
14 Therefore, stand! Have the belt of truth buckled around your waist, put on righteousness for a breastplate,
15 and wear on your feet the readiness that comes from the Good News of shalom.
16 Always carry the shield of trust, with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the Evil One.
17 And take the helmet of deliverance; along with the sword given by the Spirit, that is, the Word of God;
18 as you pray at all times, with all kinds of prayers and requests, in the Spirit, vigilantly and persistently, for all God’s people. source

Let’s do that today! Rise and Shine!

But Wait

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Genesis 3:4 The serpent said to the woman, “It is not true that you will surely die; 5 because God knows that on the day you eat from it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” source

I got a new Bible today.  A new Study Bible and I’m in love again. 

I opened it and I read the verses given above.  Allow me to share my notes with you.

Not True.
How would she know what that meant?

Your eyes will be opened, he said. 
Here’s what I hear him saying to Eve (Havah).
Your eyes are closed. 
When you believe GOD your eyes are closed. You cannot see. You do not know. 

He is still saying it today. Moreover, so are his followers. Have you not heard them?

The evil one went on speaking. As I see it he said:
But, if you eat what HE told you not to eat THEN you will be like HIM. HE does not want you to be like HIM.
(WHAT A LIE!) 
HE wants to keep all that knowledge to HIMSELF. HE is holding out on you.  (See Ps. 84:11)

How many times have we heard those lies?

Be like GOD, knowing good and evil.
Until the evil one, she knew no evil!!
Can you imagine? SHE KNEW NO EVIL!
And there he stood: EVIL.
There he stood taunting her to know him instead of GOD.
Telling her that GOD knew both good and evil and she didn’t. BUT wait.
Wait she could know evil – all she had to do was disobey GOD. 

And that is all we have to do to become well acquainted with evil, just disobey GOD. 
It comes no naturally, doesn’t it? 

Satan made evil look more appealing to Eve than obedience than goodness, than purity, than health, than GOD HIMSELF.

Satan has not changed. 
And until we believe JESUS, we remain unchanged as well.

BUT wait: 

4 But God is so rich in mercy and loves us with such intense love 5 that, even when we were dead because of our acts of disobedience, he brought us to life along with the Messiah — it is by grace that you have been delivered. 6 That is, God raised us up with the Messiah Yeshua and seated us with him in heaven, 7 in order to exhibit in the ages to come how infinitely rich is his grace, how great is his kindness toward us who are united with the Messiah Yeshua. 8 For you have been delivered by grace through trusting, and even this is not your accomplishment but God’s gift. 9 You were not delivered by your own actions; therefore no one should boast. 10 For we are of God’s making, created in union with the Messiah Yeshua for a life of good actions already prepared by God for us to do.  source  Ephesians 2

Dead or Alive

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We are hours from Sunday.
Resurrection Sunday. 
A Sunday we have singled out to be the most celebrated, most acknowledged Sunday in our world. 
I mean stores even close! No buying, no selling. 
I wonder what about JESUS they have bought and sold? 

Ephesians 2. A reading portion for me today. 
I got through verse 1 and stopped to come here to meet with you.

Ephesians 2 (NKJV) 1 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins,  source 

Resurrection Sunday.

The day we celebrate that Yeshua, the one and only GODMAN. He who was DEAD and in three days was NO LONGER DEAD. 
but rather, Alive again! 

Verse 1 above says that you and I were DEAD in trespasses and sins UNTIL JESUS made us alive. 
Before our rebirth, we were as spiritually dead as Yeshua was physically dead.
The power that raised His GODMAN body to life again is the same power who has quickened us to LIFE. 

Like it or not until Yeshua is raised in us, we are stone-cold dead. 

So, in these hours of waiting for Resurrection Sunday, are you dead or alive? 

Let me give you a story to read.
I titled it HIS Story, My Story. I’d be so honored if you would take the time to read it. 
Click HERE. A new page will open to HIS Story, My Story. I hope you will rejoice with me.

More . . .

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Ephesians 3:20-21 (NKJV) 20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, 
21 to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. source

And then he said:

I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called,   Ephesians 4:1 source

There’s that Therefore again.

So, because HE is able to do exceedingly abundantly more than we can think or ask; because of this, I beseech you, he said WALK WORTHY.
Could there be a more appropriate, more important, more needed time for US to walk worthy?!

People of Ephesus

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Ephesians 3. Verse 13

13 Therefore I ask that you do not lose heart at my tribulations for you, which is your glory.  source 

He actually asked them to NOT lose heart? Like that was an option for them?

And it was. And it is. And why was it? And why is it? 
Do you see that word, THEREFORE? Long ago I was counseled when I read the word THEREFORE in Scripture that I should immediately ask why is that word THEREFORE, there for? 
So, I do.
To get the reason for the therefore in verse 13 we need to back up to verse 8 and read again through verse 13. Here’s a link for you to do that. Ephesians 3:8-13

A sentence that spans 5 verses. He has written longer sentences.

And then he prays for them. And what a prayer! 

Ephesians 3:14-19  (AMP) 14 For this reason [grasping the greatness of this plan by which Jews and Gentiles are joined together in Christ] I bow my knees [in reverence] before the Father [of our Lord Jesus Christ], 
15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name [God—the first and ultimate Father]. 
16 May He grant you out of the riches of His glory, to be strengthened and spiritually energized with power through His Spirit in your inner self, [indwelling your innermost being and personality], 
17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through your faith. And may you, having been [deeply] rooted and [securely] grounded in love, 
18 be fully capable of comprehending with all the saints (God’s people) the width and length and height and depth of His love [fully experiencing that amazing, endless love]; 
19 and [that you may come] to know [practically, through personal experience] the love of Christ which far surpasses [mere] knowledge [without experience], that you may be filled up [throughout your being] to all the fullness of God [so that you may have the richest experience of God’s presence in your lives, completely filled and flooded with God Himself].  source 

So Christ may DWELL in your hearts.
Don’t miss that.
Don’t just breeze over it.
DWELL. It means what it says. 

HOLY SPIRIT, please help us believe this DWELL.
Believe it so much that we MAKE ROOM for HIM to dwell and live and DO in us. 

And I see in this that if we receive, accept, and believe that GOD LOVES US, I mean REALLY loves us, then tribulation does not cower us in fear or steal our faith or our joy.
If we are going to BELIEVE GOD, the first and most crucial fact we must believe is THAT HE LOVES US ALWAYS AND FOREVER. 

I’m just gonna put my name on that and accept that HOLY SPIRIT is going to answer this prayer on my behalf just as much for me as He did the Ephesians. 
You too?

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