October 21: Ephesians 4:1-6
Key Verse: Ephesians 4:3
Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
Devotion:
I know I have used these verses on more than one occasion; its because they are worth going over again and again! God gave us His word, what we know as our bibles nowadays, so that we can get to know Him more and start to live our lives more in line with how He wants us to live. It is no surprise the bible continues to be one of the best selling books in the whole world!
Through His Word we continue to learn more about how to live and how to love. Yes, not just living our lives but filling them with love. We don’t get a second chance at living our lives on earth, so we should try to live them as close as we can to how Christ wants us to live. This means getting to know what He wants in our lives and trying to do our best. This means reading our bibles and taking in all the instructions Christ has given us.
It may be hard for us to get to grips with the scriptures of old, because we live such different lives to the people who lived back then. But God wants us to learn these scriptures so we can get to understand just how holy and powerful He is! We should humble ourselves before Him because He is our Creator and our Saviour!
Christ told us to love our neighbours as ourselves; meaning we should go out and try to keep the peace above all. There is no real place for petty arguments in our lives because they chip away at the very core God made within us and take us away from the lives He wants us to live. There is only one body we have which can be indwelt by the Holy Spirit whom the one Jesus Christ gave us because His only Father allowed this all to happen so we could be saved from the wrath of the evil one...
Points to Ponder:
Have you ever wondered where you get love from?
Will you allow God’s love to grow in you?
October 20: Ephesians 3:14-21
Key Verse: Ephesians 3:18
may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,
Devotion:
When the apostle wrote this letter to the Ephesians he wanted them to make sure they knew the gravity of the things he was saying to them. Not only is God a God to be feared, but He is the only true God from whom all life on earth came to be. It was because of what He did we are alive and are here today. It is because He contains the earth in His hands we continue to live spinning in the mostly blank universe.
The apostle prays for strength for the people of Ephesus to stand up against the powers who try to take God away from them. He prays for inner strength that they may stand up to the spiritual battles which lay ahead, not just the physical battles against principalities and people in power!
The power God has far out-sizes and overcomes any power mankind can imagine; this is why we say nothing is impossible with God. It is this power the Holy Spirit shares with us so we can know God’s power over all the heavens – not just the earth! It is this power which will show us the goodness and mercy God has toward us all.
Imagine what someone would do for you when they love you without reserve, and multiply that by a factor or greatness we can only imagine. This is the power God instils on us all so we can get to know Him more in our lives. This power comes to us through Jesus Christ and continues to be with us generation after generation – without end!
Points to Ponder:
Who do you think looks after you?
God looks after them and you!
October 19: Ephesians 3:2-6
Key Verse: Ephesians 3:6
This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.
Devotion:
One thing Christ made sure the disciples knew was the gift of God’s grace was not just for the Jews but for the whole world! Jesus made it very clear, and it is written in the gospels, nobody was to be left out just because they were the wrong race, colour, shape, age or whatever! The only reason for anyone to be left out is if they choose to be left out for themselves!
Why would anyone choose to be left out? Well that is an answer we have to ask God about when we get to be with Him in heaven. We may wonder how anyone could make the decision to be away from God, but people do that every day. People choose not to have God in their lives…
We need to be more like the apostles and actively tell people this choice is theirs to make. They can choose to have God in their lives, or they can choose to walk away from Him… But there is another “choice” which many make without knowing: the choice of doing nothing! This choice, unfortunately, separates us from God because it is not the same as choosing to believe in what Christ has done for you!
When we turn toward Jesus, no matter what circle of life we are in, we choose to be children of God. He has promised us we will be called His children if we trust in and believe in what Christ has done for us. It is a simple choice, but it has far reaching repercussions. When we choose to believe in Christ, we should also be choosing to leave our old life behind and walk forward in a new life in Christ!
Points to Ponder:
What are you doing about having Christ in your life?
Will you choose to trust in Him?
October 18: Isaiah 35:3-6
Key Verse: Isaiah 35:5
Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped.
Devotion:
I wonder how the prophets felt when they received words like these from God? They were human just as we are and yet we can feel the joy and wonder they felt when we read the words given them by God. This is why He gave them to very special people – so we could know Him better and know just how special each one of us is to Him!
When we see or hear about anyone who is down-hearted or in trouble in any way, we should be the ones who step forward and remind them of the great things which await them when God comes. We should be the ones who give them hope once again so they can gain the strength God is trying to give them during their times of weakness. If we can do that, then we have done a great job just like the prophets did so many years ago.
These words are written down for us so we can continue to share them with everyone… What part of the bible has given you the most hope or joy? Have you shared that with anyone in your life yet? Just a few words can give someone hope, a hope which is tangible and a hope which God can make grow into something spectacular in their hearts too!
When we share a little of the love God has shared with us, we will allow the blind to see again and the deaf to hear. People are not always physically afflicted; sometimes it is a few words which can give them the spiritual hope they need to get to the next level in their relationship with God. The bible is the source of that hope and God can use it to make people grow – if we are willing to open it to them...
Points to Ponder:
What is special about your bible?
Will you share it with someone you know?