Our summer Bible Study has begun looking into Ephesians. Last week I was so excited because Ephesians is so clear on communicating the gospel message. It tells us that it is God's great pleasure to welcome us into a saving grace through Jesus. Eternal life is our hope and our reward.
This week I was really intrigued by the words Paul shares in the second half of Ephesians 1. As soon as we believe that Jesus is our Saviour we are given the gift of the Holy Spirit which is God's guarantee that we will receive our inheritance.
Then in the next few verses I feel like we are given very clear insight as to what God wants us to be doing until we receive our inheritance. We are to have a love for God's people everywhere. Paul teaches us to be praying constantly, asking God to give spiritual wisdom and insight that will allow us to grow in our knowledge of God. THEN, he says our hearts will be flooded with light so that we will understand the confident hope He has given us. That confident hope is our inheritance of Eternal life.
These verses explain that our God has incredible power and because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, we have access to God the Father. That access to God and the confident hope we have should encourage me to live a life that glorifies Him.
Our group had a great discussion as to why it is sometimes difficult to love some people around us and what holds us back.
It seems to me that the place to begin is in prayer. We have been given the gift of the Holy Spirit and He can help us to do God's will in our lives.
How to pray:
1. Pray constantly that your faith and your love for God's people would grow strong.
2. Thank God for those He put in your life to love on.
3. Ask for wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God. Thank Him for the gift of the Holy Spirit.
4. Ask for God to flood your heart with light that will encourage others of the love of God the Father through Christ His Son.
5. And finally, put your hope in the rich and glorious inheritance that is promised to all believers.
2 comments:
Wow I can use this for my devotional tomorrow. Maybe I need to start going to your bible study. Wouldn't that be fun!
You, my friend, would be a great asset to our discussion!
Post a Comment