Liz’s Morning Devotional: Scripture selected from Upper Room
June 16, 2022
Read Ephesians 4:1-13
1 Therefore, as a prisoner for the Lord, I encourage you to live as people worthy of the call you received from God. 2 Conduct yourselves with all humility, gentleness, and patience. Accept each other with love, 3 and make an effort to preserve the unity of the Spirit with the peace that ties you together. 4 You are one body and one spirit, just as God also called you in one hope. 5 There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 and one God and Father of all, who is over all, through all, and in all. 7 God has given his grace to each one of us measured out by the gift that is given by Christ. 8 That’s why scripture says, When he climbed up to the heights, he captured prisoners, and he gave gifts to people. 9 What does the phrase “he climbed up” mean if it doesn’t mean that he had first gone down into the lower regions, the earth? 10 The one who went down is the same one who climbed up above all the heavens so that he might fill everything. 11 He gave some apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers. 12 His purpose was to equip God’s people for the work of serving and building up the body of Christ 13 until we all reach the unity of faith and knowledge of God’s Son. God’s goal is for us to become mature adults—to be fully grown, measured by the standard of the fullness of Christ.
Good morning! Let us accept each other with love!
This is a great follow-up to yesterday’s devotion discussing that we are all of value. Today, let’s focus on vs. 12 His purpose was to equip God’s people for the work of serving and building up the body of Christ until we all reach the unity of faith and knowledge of God’s Son. Paul also calls us to conduct ourselves with humility, gentleness, and patience.
Most of us have had an experience with another person that we would like to “undo” or “redo”. Perhaps, we were unkind in our thoughts, words, or deeds. Why? Whose interest was served by this? In other words, who benefited from our misdeeds? God? Our earthly boss? It was certainly not the one we hurt.Most likely, the one who perpetrated the action: you as the case may be in this scenario.
In Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, he warns his followers to be wary of those sharing the “Word” in an attempt to benefit themselves. As Christ modeled for us, following God requires us to act selflessly. We must consider what is best for others before worrying about ourselves. “What can I do, or what do I have that would benefit this person in need?”
When Paul was converted by Christ on the Road to Damascus, he spent all of his time and energy serving Christ completely as we worked to mature in his faith so that he might be measured by the standard of the fullness of Christ. (vs. 13) Paul was also quick to admit that he had not yet attained this goal, but we must all work to gain Christ no matter what the cost. His words in all of his letters in the New Testament give advice and examples of how to move forward in our faith journeys so that we can all gain Christ and join together as one body.
We are blessed by the Good News that God loves us and gives us time to work on our human imperfections. When we make mistakes, God is there to forgive us and accept us as we are. We are sinners, but through God’s grace, Christ’s example, and the Holy Spirit working within us, we are given the tools to serve others. We are to serve not out of obligation, but as a response to the joy that replaces our worries when we turn our lives over to Christ.
Loving and Gracious God, Thank You for loving us. You bless us even when we fail to serve you and even when we make mistakes. Thank you for giving us the tools and gifts to grow in faith and follow You. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen
Thought for the day: My new life in Christ gives me the strength to face my mistakes.
Smile! God Loves You! Pastor Liz
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