Author: David Short

Ephesians 6:10-18

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.
Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness,
and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.
And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;
praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—

Encouraging Words

This passage stands on its own and needs no additional commentary. We are commanded to be strong in our faithful commitment to our Lord and to stand in the breach of the spiritual battle that rages on around us. The encouraging part is that God gives all the battle gear that we need to wage this war. Glory be to God!

Wisdom of Solomon 1:1-2

Love righteousness, you who judge on the earth.
Think about the Lord in goodness
And seek Him with sincerity of heart;
Because He is found by those who do not tempt Him,
And He is manifest to those who do not disbelieve Him.

Personal Challenge

We are told here to love righteousness and to think about the Lord. Neither of these actions have any value unless they are done in goodness and in sincerity of heart. Our Lord appreciates our actions that we do for Him, but He always looks at the state of our heart to determine the intentions behind Those actions. By living this way and believing in Him. we will find Him in our lives, and He will be manifested there. Glory be to God!

Ephesians 6:5-8

Bondservants, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ;
not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart,
with goodwill doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men,
knowing that whatever good anyone does, he will receive the same from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free.

Personal Challenge

In the book of Ephesians, Paul goes through various relationships and lays out clear guidelines on how we are to behave in them from a godly perspective. Husbands and wives. Parents and children. Subordinates to their superiors, which is this passage. As subordinates we are to be obedient with sincerity of heart as if we were giving that obedience to Jesus. This means doing the will of God in that obedience. It is our responsibility as followers of Christ to emulate him in thins, and all other relationships. By doing this, we will glorify God and spread the good news of His kingdom. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Ephesians 6:4

And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.

Personal Challenge

Paul gives us guidance in Ephesians on how to live in our relationships as husbands and wives as well as how to treat our children. His admonitions are directed mostly to us men as husbands and fathers. Our responsibilities as fathers goes far beyond just being good providers. We must learn to not provoke our children to wrath but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord. We sometimes fail at this, and it is in these times that we teach our children the lesson of repentance and forgiveness by apologizing to them and asking for their forgiveness when we do the provoking and forgiveness when they do the provoking. Lord Jesus Christ, Sof God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Ecclesiastes 10:6

The senseless man devotes himself to great heights,
And rich men shall sit in a lowly place.

Personal Challenge

Where is our heart focused or devoted? Is it here on earthly things or is it on the heavenly things? As followers of Christ, we are no longer citizens of earth but citizens of God’s heavenly kingdom. As such, we need to be devoting our all to the heavenly realm and not the great heights of this world that are here today and gone tomorrow. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have money on me, the sinner!

Ephesians 5:25-28

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.

So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself.

Personal challenge

What did Jesus do for His Church, His bride? He went to the cross for her. Jesus gave His life for His wife so that She would be glorious and have no spot or wrinkle. He made the ultimate sacrifice for her. Our world today has tended toward much more misogynistic and dominionistic mindsets and made it okay to subject women to lower status and oppression. This is not what Jesus wants from His followers, especially husbands. As husbands, His expectation is that we love our wives to the point where we will give our lives as sacrifices for them. We are to help them be without blemish. Glory be to God!

Ecclesiastes 7:16

Do not be overly righteous,
Nor be overly wise,
Lest you be confounded.

Personal Challenge

We must be very careful to not get all wrapped up in our own perception of what we think our righteousness is. First of all, this leads us to pride and away from humility. We must also be careful not to relish in what we think wisdom is. We are not wise in Christ because of the number of books that we read or the difficulty of the writer. We are not righteous because of the number of services that we attend or the roles that we lead in the church. Righteousness and godly wisdom come from our Lord and through our relationship with Him, which is based on loving Him and loving our neighbor. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Ephesians 5:14-16

Therefore He says:

“Awake, you who sleep,
Arise from the dead,

And Christ will give you light.”

See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise,
redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

Personal Challenge

Jesus calls us to awake from our slumber and to follow Him. He desires that we arise from our death in sin, hear His voice calling us, and walk circumspectly in His footsteps. He calls us to not be fools but wise, redeeming our time, and living in His light. He will provide all that we need to awake from our slumber and live fully for Him, if only we will seize it. Glory be to God!