A New Year: Drawing Closer to Jesus

Around thirty years ago, I went to a conference where one of the speakers shared that she was reading through the Bible for the 50th time. She was a humble, mature lady that shared how God had used each time to show her more of what He wanted from her.

At that point, I had read through the Bible once and was just starting my second time. I was encouraged by this woman sharing her blessings with reading through the Bible but she also shared the struggles. When we set out to learn what God wants for our lives, there will always be opposition. That day I put it in my heart that I would read my Bible each day for the rest of my days, Lord willing. That dear woman helped me set a goal that until then, I never even thought about obtaining.

She inspired me to press on towards the goal of His high calling. I am pretty sure at that point in my Christian walk, I hadn’t even thought about Him actually calling me to anything, but I have come to understand that without His calling me, I wouldn’t be where I am today.

With reading the Bible daily, methodically from beginning to end in one year, I started recognizing some patterns. That God does call us to a position so He can use us. Sometimes He has to allow us to go through much purging to let go of the past and reach for the goal that He has in store for us. Can you imagine? I certainly couldn’t even comprehend that He had called me to Him so He could use me to further His work! And yet, Scripture revealed that very idea to me.

We just finished the book of Ephesians but I will remind you of a very key verse that also encourages me to keep going,

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works so that no one may boast. For; we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Eph 8-10)

We are also reminded in James how important it is to put your faith to work for Him,

“In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action is dead.” (James 2:17)

“As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.” (James 1:16)

We see in Genesis 6-8 that Noah put his faith into practice and obeyed God in the calling of building a boat. There is example after example throughout the Bible where you will see that God has a purpose for each of us. Make that your goal this year, to find these examples.

Before reading each day, ask God to show you just exactly what He wants you to know from His Word. Believe me, year by year, He continues to reveal more of His Word when you are ready and willing to obey.

Have you noticed that I’ve mentioned several times about obeying God’s Word? What is the use of reading the Word if you are not going to be obedient? Knowledge without wisdom is worthless. We are so weak at times but all we have to do is ask Him for help, to show us what He expects and the strength to do exactly what He is calling us to do. Oh sure, we will meet resistance many times but as we keep our eyes on Him and His Word, He will guide us through the dark days. The strength we gain with Jesus walking alongside us is empowering!

No matter what your age, take the challenge to read through the Bible, to learn from the Master. If you are young enough, perhaps you will one day say you’ve read through the Bible 50 times and encourage those around you. In the meantime, draw upon His Wisdom one day at a time and seek to do His will.

If you are wanting to take this challenge but know you need some help, I have a few copies of “Faithful Promises of God” that I am able to give away, if you cannot afford to buy one from Amazon. Just let me know and we will make arrangements to get it to you. If you haven’t noticed, my email address is on the first page of this blog: manager@afaeoriginal.com I want to hear from you, how I can help encourage you throughout 2021. May you be drawn closer to the One who can make a difference in your life!

Ephesians 6

Ephesians 6:1 is a great example of the way God designed our world to flow. Obeying authority: children obey their parents (some parents give that authority over to teachers, police and so on), the wife is under the authority of the husband, the husband is under the authority of God. Although this is not a popular train of thought in today’s society, it is how God intended us to live.

What changes God’s design is sin. Adam and Eve sinned, they thought they could go against God’s instructions. And through the ages, as we read Scripture, we see people committing the same sin, thinking they know better than God. And so, it is the same today. Sin which was once hidden is now in the open, being flaunted as if there are no consequences.

Verse 1 calls the child to action whereas verse 2 has us checking our attitude, what is the motive behind our behavior? Obeying your father and mother is a principle from Scripture and should be followed to this day. (see Pro 1:8; 3:1; 4:1-4; 7:1-3; 10:1; 17:21; 19:13-26; and 28:24)

As long as we are on this earth, we will battle temptation regularly but God has given us exactly what we need to win this battle. We put it on, just like a coat, as in verses 10 through 17. We receive instructions to “be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.” As we read this passage on a regular basis, we obey His Word as it becomes a part of us. God has given us the full armor of God so that we may stand firm against the evil that goes on around us. We will wrestle not against the person, but it is a spiritual battle and with that we must know the Word and fall on our knees in prayer.

“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.” (v. 13) It is only through obedience to God that we desire to do His will. Here He tells us to “take up the whole armor of God” and we are further directed to “put it on”. Why? Because since Adam’s sin, every day has been a temptation of doing evil—until the Lord’s return. We stand against the evil that is all around us.

At every turn, satan tries to take us down but we are told to stand, a firm position, in our spiritual battle against evil. In James 4:7 we are told “therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” How can we resist evil unless we take a stand? We literally must remember that there are only two stances to take, we are either for the Lord or for satan. Plain and simple.

We have Divine support which allows us to stand firm. God is our strength which gives us peace that can only come from Him! The first verse I ever memorized as a new believer was Psalm 27: 1, “The LORD is my light and salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid?” That is powerful!

We must have continual trust in God’s Word. It strengthens our faith. Such truth is the foundation for strong faith, which then helps us to obey. Our strength is in Christ Alone. The shield of faith, in verse 16, is our weapon of choice.

“The helmet of salvation” protects our head. One of the key ways satan attacks us is through our thoughts. We can start to question God, we can doubt the Word of God, we can become so discouraged that we turn away or worse yet, we want to end our lives. All of this is part of the evil one’s plan to destroy as many as he can.

And finally, we are to be “praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit,” (v 18). Another reason to read the Bible daily, continually year in and year out is so our prayers will be supported by God’s Word. We start praying them from our heart.

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Heavenly Father, may this study of Ephesians help us to grow ever more obedient to Your Word. May we be able to help others, bringing comfort to the hurting and strength to those who are weak. Oh Lord God, use each of us mightily as we read your Word daily and put it into practice. Thank you Lord, that you are rich in mercy and that You reveal in Your Word exactly what you expect from each of us. You are mighty O Lord, Maker of heaven and earth! Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen

Ephesians is an exciting book! I hope you have been blessed as much as I have these past few weeks and that you are drawn to reading the Word daily. I look forward to your comments as we look to a new year.

Many of you know that I have read through the Bible, from front to back, for many years. This year, 2020, I tried something a bit different. I read one chapter a day from the New Testament and wrote what God was impressing upon my heart to learn in a journal. And I listened to the Old Testament each morning as I prepared breakfast for everyone. As 2021 opens in less than two weeks, I will read one chapter in the Old Testament and journal and listen to the New Testament. Just changing things up a bit helps me to see a new perspective and I can apply that to another area of my life. I praise God for each of you who have stuck with my blog and sent encouraging notes.

The days might become more difficult soon but praise God that He deemed us worthy to withstand each day for His glory! It is only through His strength that we can carry on. Merry Christmas my friends!

Eph 4:25-5:33

Eph 4:25-5:33

And we continue…

From verses 25 to 32, we find what we should be doing, what we should be striving for. Yet, each of these directives is impossible to achieve unless we go back to verse 22 and 23.

“that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind,”

Where do we go to renew our mind? To the Word of God, the Bible. Can you see why it is so important that you read your Bible each day? It is God speaking directly to you through His Word, giving direction on how to live, what to watch out for and finding His promises to each of us. Our understanding is in our mind and that understanding and the beliefs we develop are shown in our behavior (see Col 3:1-2; 10)

We can say we are a Christian but if we continue to live in the world, doing as the people of the world do, our behavior speaks loud and clear that we are not truly walking with Christ in the renewing of our mind.

Oh, I can hear some of you right now making an argument that living as a Christian is no fun. Well, let’s continue on with the passages we are looking at today. We can start seeing that living with a renewed mind can be challenging but it is also exciting. Our fun becomes focused on something different…not alcohol, or drugs, or immorality or the emptiness of life but of the fullness of Christ and our longing comes in doing what He has called us to.

When we continue on to verse 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.” (NKJV) When we look to the New American Standard and the New International Version, they use the words, “unwholesome talk”. Whether using corrupt or unwholesome, the meaning is the same. It means foul and stinking in every way and should not be said by a person who takes on the label of Christian. For as you read the Word, you will see that such talk it totally out of character as we walk this new life in Christ Jesus.

Verse 29 also tells us that a Christian’s speech should be filled with goodness that is encouraging and helpful to those who are listening.

Verses 20-32 are continually reminding us how we are to live in our new life in Christ. I read it often and pray for obedience to Christ in not only my words but also my behavior.

Finally, we have made it to the end of Chapter 4 and press on to Chapter 5 for further instruction on how to live our lives in this new walk with Christ. The first verse, “be imitators of God as dear children”, is a good start. How can we live a different life from our former ways unless we imitate the One who Chose us?

If we “walk in love as Christ…”, it changes our perspective on how to care for and love those around us. Christ gave His life for those He loves, are we ready to do the same?

“Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.” (Ephesians 5:6 NKJV) John MacArthur points out in his commentary in “The MacArthur Study Bible” that “no Christian will be sinless in this present life, but it is dangerously deceptive for Christians to offer assurance of salvation to a professing believer whose life is characterized by persistent sin and who shows no shame for that sin or hunger for the holy and pure things of God. They are headed for wrath (2:2) and believers must not partner in any of their wickedness (v 7). (p 1811)

Chapters 4 and 5 are full of directions on how to live a Godly life. These are not suggestions they are guidelines on what God expects from each person who says they have had a changed life, a life with new goals. We cannot use the excuse that we don’t know what God wants but we have to put the effort into learning what He expects.

I have often heard people say, “I don’t know what God wants of me.” And the reason so many don’t know what God expects of them is because they sit back and wait. For what? Some say that God will just let them know. Others wait out of laziness. But truly, we must do our part in learning what He requires as we move forward in our Christian walk.

Why not make it your goal to read through the Bible in 2021? “Faithful Promises of God” is available from Amazon and will help walk you through the Word, with guidance for how to apply the Word to your life. If you struggle along the way, ask someone from your church or Bible Study to walk with you. Or, please know that I am here to encourage you as well. My email address is on the home page of this website, you can always contact me for help.

One more week of Ephesians and then we move on to the birth of our Savior and Lord. See you next week.