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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!

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

Two are better than one
Because they have a good reward for their labor.
For if they fall, one will lift up his companion.
But woe to him who is alone when he falls,
For there is not a second one to help him up!
If two lie down together, both stay warm,
But how can one stay warm alone?
If one is added strength, two will stand before him,
And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

Personal Challenge

People were not created to live life alone. God saw that Adam was alone and gave him Eve to complete him. The early church fathers taught that we are saved in community. Jesus is our Savior, and it is through Him alone that the gates of heaven are opened up to us, but it is in our Christian community that we find the opportunity to grow in our salvation. This is where we find sanctification, or theosis. Glory be to God!

Ephesians 5:8-10

For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth),
finding out what is acceptable to the Lord.

Encouraging Words

We were once darkness! Let that sink in. At one time in our lives, those of us who are followers of Christ, were darkness. Paul does not say that we were in darkness but that we were darkness. However, because of our Lord, and the work that He has done, we are light in Him. We have the fruit of the spirit in all goodness, righteousness, and truth within us. Our task now is to walk as children of the light. Glory be to God!

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, 11

To everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
A time to give birth
And a time to die;
A time to plant
And a time to pluck what is planted.
A time to kill
And a time to heal;
A time to pull down
And a time to build up.
A time to weep
And a time to laugh;
A time to mourn
And a time to dance.
A time to throw stones
And a time to gather stones;
A time to embrace
And a time to refrain from embracing.
A time to seek
And a time to lose;
A time to keep
And a time to throw away.
A time to tear
And a time to sew;
A time to keep silent
And a time to speak.
A time to love
And a time to hate;
A time of war
And a time of peace.

He made everything beautiful in its time, and He indeed put eternity in their hearts in such a way that man may not find out the work God made from the beginning to the end.

Personal Challenge

Our life is not lived in a constant state. Things are always fluctuating. Many times, these fluctuations are because of external things, but usually they are results of our own decisions. How we respond to the things that happen in our lives talks more about the state of our hearts than any words that come out of our mouths. As followers of Christ, we must choose to respond to the times in our lives in ways that glorify and honor Him. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!