BIBLE PASSAGE:
As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in
which you used to live when you followed the ways of this
world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who
is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived
among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and
following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature
deserving of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who
is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were
dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And
God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly
realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might
show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness
to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through
faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by
works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created
in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for
us to do.
(Ephesians 2:1-10)
MEDITATION:
When we read Ephesians 2, we discover how much God wants to
communicate to those He has created. When we take a step back
and think about His message to us, we can understand why His
desire is for every one of His creations to receive His salvation
(which leads to a new, exciting, and better life).
The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some
understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you,
not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come
to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9)
First of all we are told that before we received salvation from God,
we were “dead”. As a result of our transgressions and sins, we did
not have a destiny with eternal life. Instead we were on a “death
march” toward eternal suffering and separation from our loving
Heavenly Father (the One who created us).
For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s
womb. (Psalm 139:13)
In verse 2, we are reminded that before we received salvation, we
were “caught up” in the ways of the world, which are under the
control of Satan (“ruler of the kingdom of the air”). We are also
told that he is still active in the lives of those who are disobedient
(Christians and non-Christians alike).
As Christians, we all know how we can stumble at times and
succumb to the desires of the flesh. However when we are truly
saved, we have greater remorse whenever we “give in”, and we
refuse to let this become a lifestyle of ours (which is a return to
our pre-salvation state).
Even those of us who have received God’s salvation were also
on a “death march” until the Holy Spirit convicted us of our
sinful life, and our destiny if we continue living in sin without
the presence of Jesus in our lives. After salvation we discover
that Satan increases his efforts to cause us to stumble and become
unusable by the Lord. He attacks us in the most vulnerable part
of our mind.
If we struggle with honesty, then he will attack us there. If
we struggle with lust, he will attack us there. He knows that
everything begins in our minds, so naturally that is where he
will concentrate his efforts. If he can gain only a ‘foothold’,
he will exploit it in his effort to gain a ‘stronghold’ over us.
When we understand his strategies, we know that we have
to protect and defend our minds at the instant when it is
under attack. Obviously a ‘foothold’ is easier to combat
than a ‘stronghold’. When Satan gains a ‘stronghold’ in
in our life it is an indication that he is winning, and he
is making it much more difficult for us to return to our
fellowship with the Lord.
Some heed the Holy Spirit’s conviction of their spiritual state
and make a choice to exchange their selfish sinfulness for the
free gift from God that molds us into the people He wants us
to be. They realize they were deserving of God’s wrath since
they were allowing the “desires of the flesh” to control their
thoughts, words, and actions.
They chose instead to invite the Holy Spirit into their life and
surrender to God’s will for their life. Why? Because they know
He wants what is best for them and Satan wants the opposite
(which leads to death and eternal separation from the Lord).
Even though they realize God’s salvation is a free gift (“it is by
grace you have been saved”) and has nothing to do with “works”,
they become anxious to discover the spiritual gift He gave them
when they were saved. Why? Because they know He wants them
to enjoy using it to serve Him out of a heart of thankfulness for
His blessings.
And when they changed the direction where they were headed
and surrendered to the will of God (instead of being chained to
the will of Satan), they discovered the blessings of God who is
“rich in mercy”. They were taken off of “death row” and were
given a new destiny of living!
Unfortunately, there are many who have allowed the control of
the “evil one” to continue reigning in their lives and it keeps
them on their journey of eternal separation from the Lord
(including pain and suffering forever).
Lastly, we are told in these scriptures that we (everyone of us) are
created by God (His handiwork) with a prepared journey for us to
follow. That journey is centered on doing ‘good works’ (not works
in order to be saved, but a desire to do good works out of a grateful
heart for what we have been given from God).
When we look at the life of Jesus, we see an example of a life
dedicated to doing good works. So, when we have a desire to
do good works, we know that we are following in His footsteps,
and when we actually “do” good works, we are confirming to
ourselves (and others) that we are a new creation “in Christ”.
ACTION:
Be honest about your own spiritual state and your relationship
with God and your fellowship with Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
Have you been convicted by the Holy Spirit that you are not
part of God’s family? If so, have you heeded His conviction
and made a choice to stop going your own way and commited
to surrendering your life to the Lord?
If you are a part of God’s family, what can you say about where
you are in your relationship with Him? Do you feel closer to Him
today than you did when He gave you His free gift of salvation?
What changes could/should you make in order to grow closer to
Him? Are you using the spiritual gift He has given you to be used
in serving Him from a heart of thankfulness? On the other hand,
is Satan’s spirit “at work” in you as a result of your disobedience?
What can we focus on in our efforts to “break the chains” of
Satan’s control over us? Galatians 5 gives us some advice
to help us:
We can devote more time and effort to love each other.
When we love each other, we are concerned about each
others’ “ups” and “downs”. When someone is hurting,
we don’t ignore their pain and keep our distance until
they “get over it”. Instead, we let them know we are
concerned about them, that they are important to us
and we try to think of things that might help them
during their times of trials.
For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one
command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
(Galatians 5:14)
We can focus on “walking in the Spirit (of God)”. In other
words, we think about the things that are pleasing to the
Spirit and incorporate them into our own lives. We are
told in the scriptures that evidences of “owning” the
attitude of the Spirit are evident when we have:
love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not
gratify the desires of the flesh. (Galatians 5:16)
We can make every effort to “keep in step with the Spirit”.
Wherever the Spirit goes, we go, but more importantly
where the Spirit does not go, we avoid as well. It could
be a physical place, or it could be a place where we allow
our mind to wander.
Since we live by the Spirit,
let us keep in step with the Spirit.
(Galatians 5:25)
We can avoid three things that damage relationships with others
(being conceited; provoking others; envying others). When we are
‘conceited’, everything is all about us, so we will be less likely to
have concerns about others, unless we benefit in some way. If we
“provoke others”, then we could be failing to show love towards
them. We can do things which provoke others, but we can also
provoke them by being rude and inconsiderate of them and their
hurts; we can also provoke them by ignoring them (which sends
a message that they are not important to us). When we are “envious”,
we are more focused on the things of others than we are on them.
Let us not become conceited,
provoking and envying each other.
(Galatians 5:26)
Pray,
“Heavenly Father, You know me better than I know myself.
You know my innermost desires and You see the failures in
me whenever I start yielding to my fleshly desires. Forgive
me Father for my sins which are against You and Your
guidelines for living the life You have prepared for me. Help
me in my efforts to give the Holy Spirit control of my mind
(Satan’s point of engagement to ruin my life and create a
chasm between You and me). Show me my spiritual gift
from You and guide me in using it to serve You. Thank
You for Your love and forgiveness, for Your mercy and
Grace, for Your blessings and salvation, for Jesus and
His sacrifice for my sins, and for the Holy Spirit who
will help me in my efforts to become more righteous and
submissive to Your will for me.”
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