Author: David Short

Ephesians 4:29

Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.

Personal Challenge

We have come to a place where our culture and our society have devolved to a state where people have no problem belittling, bullying, and minimizing people around them. The advent of social media has made it possible for people to do this hiding behind a persona that appears loving and caring but speaks unedifying words. As practicing Christians, our charge is not to have corrupt words, come out of our mouths. We are to speak, or type on our keyboards, words the edify others and imparts grace toward others. It is bad enough that our culture embraces the opposite of this charge, but when we, the members of the body of Christ, behave this way, then we have abandoned our Lord, Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Ephesians 4:26-27

“Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil.

Personal Challenge

Is there such a thing as righteous anger? It appears, based on this verse that there is. There is a fine line, however, between righteous anger and sin. We can be angry at those things that are wrong, evil, and unrighteous, but it is what we do with that anger that can turn it into a sin. If we dwell upon it and let it fester in our hearts and minds, it will infect us and lead us to sin. If we lash out and seek to hunt those whom we are angry at, we sin against them. The challenge is to process that anger, determine the godly response to it, and respond accordingly in a loving way. Often that response will be difficult, but will lead to closure and reconciliation. In order to do this we need to include our Lord in our actions by doing them for Him. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

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.

Personal Challenge

Paul is reminding us that we have been called to follow Jesus and walk worthy of that calling. We are to do this with all lowliness and gentleness, with long suffering, bearing with one another in love, and endeavoring to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. This is absolutely necessary in the universal church of our Lord, His bride, that all who follow Him are members of. We are blessed to have local expressions of His bride, the churches that we worship at. It is important the we strive to follow Paul’s admonition in these bodies as well. Sometimes, however, it may mean that in order to keep this unity and peace, we separate ourselves from that body due to local conflicts or changes of direction and purpose. This is always a difficult challenge and one that requires much prayer and soul searching. If our desire is unity and peace then personal sacrifice is always necessary. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Ephesians 3:14-19

For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Encouraging Words

Paul ends his letter to the Ephesians with a plea to God for them to be blessed. What are these blessings that he wants bestowed upon them, and ultimately us? To be strengthened with might through His spirit in our inner man or woman. That Christ will dwell in our hearts through faith. That we being rooted and grounded in love be able to comprehend with all the saints the width, length, depth, and height of His love for us through Christ. That we might be filled with all the fullness of God. These are the rich blessings of our Father bestowed on His children. Glory be to God!

Ephesians 2:19-22

Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

Encouraging Words

What is the holy temple in the Lord? Is it a building or a tabernacle built by human hands? It is not. The holy temple is the Church of Christ that is built from the people of His adopted family. Jesus is the cornerstone of this holy structure. Upon this cornerstone, the foundation was built by the apostles and prophets who new Jesus personally and learned directly from His teachings. Upon this foundation, the church is built by the lives of the saints that have gone before us and continues to be built by each new believer in Christ. We are not strangers or foreigners, but fellow citizens in the building of this holy structure, the Church of Christ. the dwelling place of God in the Spirit. Glory be to God.

Ephesians 2:8-10

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

Encouraging Words

Our salvation from death has been given to us by God. There is nothing that we can do. to earn it, but there are many good works that we can do out of our gratefulness for His love and mercy. It works this way because we can only boast in Jesus and His works and not in ourselves. Glory be to God!

Ephesians 1:3-6

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.

Encouraging Words

We are blessed…by God! He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places through Jesus Christ. He knew before the beginning of time that we would be His and that through His Son we would be holy and without blame before Him in His love. In this love we are adopted as sons and daughters of God by the work of Jesus. Glory be to God!

Galatians 6:14

But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

Personal Challenged

It is very easy to slip into the mode of boasting about what we have done and leaving God out of the conversation. This often happens in our lives outside of the church, which is still boasting in ourselves and not about God. We should always give God the praise for our accomplishments. But when we do this in the church, boast about what we have done, then we are thumbing our noses as God. I have started a new ministry at my church. I am the lead singer in our choir. I set up a video ministry for those who can’t be there. I, I, I, is where we make the mistake. It is God who has done these things and He was merciful enough to use me in this process. Something to think about in this age of personal expression and glorification. To God be the glory, not me!