WBC Daily Devotions Dec. Feb. 7-11, 2011

A Study of Ephesians
Daily Devotionals for February 7-11

NOTE: This week we pick up our studies in the New Testament book of Ephesians, continuing our weekday preparation for the upcoming Sunday's sermon by Pastor Rob. As you read and meditate on the verses we'll study this week, invite God to speak through this text, praying as Paul did for the Ephesians, that "the eyes of your heart may be enlightened" (Ephesians 1:18).

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 7

This week we are focusing on Ephesians 5:8-20, the text of Pastor Rob's sermon next Sunday.

8For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light 9(for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) 10and find out what pleases the Lord. 11Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. 12For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. 13But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, 14for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said:

"Wake up, O sleeper,

rise from the dead,

and Christ will shine on you."

15Be very careful, then, how you live-not as unwise but as wise, 16making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is. 18Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. 19Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, 20always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

There are two ways Ephesians turns our hearts to gratitude and praise. The first results from passages where Paul enumerates the riches that are ours in Christ. Riches like God's incomparable grace, our reconciliation to God, and our inclusion into God's own family affirm the depth of His love for us and cause us to respond in thankfulness and praise.

The second way this letter stirs up gratitude in our hearts comes in the form of reminders of what we've been rescued from.

Without Christ, we read in chapter 2, verses 1-3, we were dead in our trespasses and sins. Later, Ephesians 2:11-12 tells us, we were separated and we were excluded.

Now, as we come to Ephesians 5:8, Paul adds this reminder: "You were once darkness."

Thank God that for each of us who have accepted His gift of rescue and redemption through Christ, those reminders of the past are followed by the word "but..."

You were dead, "but because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy made us alive with Christ."

You were separated from Christ ... without hope and without God, "but now in Christ Jesus you were once were far away have been brought near."

You were once darkness, "but now you are light in the Lord."

Father,
Thank You for the truth of Your Word, and how clearly it shows my great need and how you have responded to that need through the gift of Your Son. Thank You that He is my Rescuer, my Redeemer, and my Source-of-All-Light. Thank You for loving me when I was dead in sin, far away from You, and lost in darkness. Thank You.
Amen

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8

This week we are focusing on Ephesians 5:8-20, the text Pastor Rob will teach from on Sunday, February 13.

"Wake up, O sleeper,

rise from the dead,

and Christ will shine on you."

What a powerful picture verse 8 projects of what we are in Christ. Paul doesn't show us just barely stepping out of the shadows or finding our way on a well-lighted path. The change, the truth, is more dramatic. We are not just in light, but in Jesus, we become light.

In Christ, verse 8 says, we experience not just a change of circumstances, but a radical transformation of our very composition. There's a new level of "enlightenment" and understanding. There's a new purity, and a new transparency, as we become lights shining from the inside out.

Even more, at that moment when we were brought into the kingdom of light, we were freed from bondage to the kingdom of darkness. No longer helpless against the lures and traps of the ruler of that kingdom, but able to live as people of light.

We who were darkness now become not only illuminated, but sources of illumination as we joined ourselves to the One Who is the Light of the World. Changed in our very nature, and capable, verse 9 tells us, of producing the fruit of light-all goodness, righteousness and truth.

Father,
Thank You for rescuing me from the kingdom of darkness so I can live in the realm of light! Show me today where I can be light, and how I can reflect Your goodness, Your righteousness, and Your truth.
Amen

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 9

This week we are focusing on Ephesians 5:8-20, the text Pastor Rob will teach from on Sunday, February 13. Today we're reading from the New Living Translation:

8For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light! 9For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true.

10Carefully determine what pleases the Lord. 11Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them. 12It is shameful even to talk about the things that ungodly people do in secret. 13But their evil intentions will be exposed when the light shines on them, 14for the light makes everything visible. This is why it is said,

"Awake, O sleeper,

rise up from the dead,

and Christ will give you light."

15So be careful how you live. Don't live like fools, but like those who are wise. 16Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. 17Don't act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do. 18Don't be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, 19singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts. 20And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

No one likes to think of himself or herself as a fool. In fact, in Matthew 5, Jesus cautions against calling someone a "fool" because it is such a serious insult. So probably everybody who reads verse 15 would see themselves living not as fools, but as wise.

However, in truth, it is only as we are in Christ, walking as children of light, that we are able to think with true clarity and live wisely when it comes to the things that really matter. Only in Christ are we able to live, not as fools, but as "those who are wise."

But what does wise living look like?

Living wise involves two things according to verses 15 to 17: 1) making time count (v. 16), and 2) discerning the will of God, aligning your life with His will and purpose (v. 17).

Making time count means the end of thoughtless living. No more sleepwalking through our days. No more muddling through like those who are "darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them" (Ephesians 4:18). Living wise means making the opportunity we're given in the hours of each day count for what matters.

Discerning and aligning with the will of God involves replacing thoughtless actions-time wasters-with investments of our time in ways that advance God's purposes and plans as they are revealed in His Word, in prayer, and in the counsel of mature believers.

Father,
I want to make my time count for You. I want to invest my days in ways that serve the purposes of Your kingdom and bring glory to You. Show me today what steps You want me to take as I apply the truth of Your Word.
Amen

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10

This week we are focusing on Ephesians 5:8-20, the text Pastor Rob will teach from on Sunday, February 13.

"Wake up, O sleeper,

rise from the dead,

and Christ will shine on you."

When someone is charged with a "DUI," we understand that to mean they stand accused of driving under the influence of alcohol. Paul uses different words in verse 18, but he conveys almost the same meaning. Don't, he says, be under the influence of wine, but be under the influence of the Holy Spirit.

In a way, both involve a "loss" of self control. In the case of drunkeness, self control is replaced by no control, a loss of good judgement, and a suppression of the intellect.

Being "under the influence" of God's Holy Spirit, however, has a far different result. In that state-what Paul calls, "filled with the Holy Spirit"-our own limited control is superseded by supernaturally directed guidance, mental faculties are sharpened, perceptions are sensitized, and the very wisdom of God Himself guides the decision-making process.

Father,
Thank you for the presence of Your Spirit within me. Help me to let go and let Your Spirit fill me. Guide my steps today, as You move, and speak, and act through me.
Amen

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 11

This week we are focusing on Ephesians 5:8-20, the text Pastor Rob will teach from on Sunday, February 13.

"Wake up, O sleeper,

rise from the dead,

and Christ will shine on you."

As we come to the end of the week-just two days away from when we'll gather again for worship-the final verses of this week's text speak directly to our fellowship as members of the Body of Christ.

Bible teacher William Barclay connects these final verses (19 and 20) to two observations about the gatherings of Christ followers in those early days:

First, the early church was a singing church. "It's characteristic," Barclay says, "was psalms and hymns and spiritual songs; it had a happiness that made people sing."

In fact, many commentators believe that the "Wake up, O Sleeper" quote in the text we're studying this week was taken from one of the early church's familiar hymns.

Second, Barclay says, the early church was a thankful church. "The instinct was to give thanks for all things and in all places and at all times," he writes. "The early Church was a thankful Church because its members were still dazzled with the wonder that God's love had stooped to save then; and it was a thankful Church because its members had such a consciousness that they were in the hands of God."

How can we regain that wonder and that consciousness?

Father,
Just like those early members of Your Church, I have experienced Your loving rescue and Your tender care. I, too, want to have a heart filled with wonder and thankfulness today. And help me to bring that gratitude and praise as I come to worship with Your people this Sunday, as we sing and make music in our hearts to You.
Amen