The Daily Dose

What are you suffering for?

For this reason, I Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles—Ephesians 3:1

In the beginning of Ephesians chapter 3, Paul talks about the grace he has been given from God to take the good news of salvation in Jesus to the nations of the world.  Other nations than Israel.  He also points out that He is in prison because of his mission to the gentile nations.  The interesting thing is that his imprisonment wasn’t because the other nations were objecting to Paul’s message, it was because the Jewish leaders were.  They were trying to influence the Roman government to shut Paul down.  In reality, being in prison was actually protecting him because a group of Jews had made an oath to kill him. (see Acts 23) So being under guard was keeping him safe from those who would harm him.  Not to mention sitting him down long enough to write the New Testament letters there.

All of the Apostles suffered the persecution of the Hebrew leaders almost immediately after Jesus was resurrected.  Thank goodness it didn’t slow them down or deter them. If they had pulled back from the message of salvation, we may not live in the nation we do today or have the freedoms to worship our God and Father.

Take a look at this passage in the book of Acts 4:29 & 30 that says Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.”  This is amazing.  After the apostles Peter and John had been beaten for a lame man’s healing and forbidden to speak in the name of Jesus anymore, they went and prayed to become even bolder than they had already been.  They didn’t go into hiding and pray for God to protect them and keep them from being found.  They prayed that God’s signs and wonders would be done as they proclaimed His name and His Word.  The point is, they were not afraid to suffer.

Thankfully, because of their suffering, we don’t have to do much of it today, but are we willing to if necessary?  How many of us Christians are praying for boldness to speak God’s Word each day.  How many of us are looking for opportunities to see God’s wonders done through the name of Jesus?  Sure, it may not be comfortable at first, but once you see the results that come when you are backed by God’s Spirit, you won’t mind being a little uncomfortable once in a while.  Instead of joining in with others who complain about the latest inconvenience, begin to turn your focus and attention to places where the you can speak the Word of God in love. Tell about His great salvation, the greatest gift ever and all because God loves us all so much. Pray for the lost and hurting around you with boldness and confidence that God’s signs and wonders will be done as we proclaim His name and His great love!

Today I want to encourage you to pray the prayer that the first Christians prayed as they began to spread the good news of salvation.  I challenge you and me to get uncomfortable for the love of God.  To stand up and be different than those who are lost.  Let the world see what a life of victory looks like and let them know there is a loving Father who wants to give them victory in their lives too.

Today’s scripture reading: Ephesians 3:1-7

Growing into His temple

in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, Ephesians 2:21

The closing remarks of Ephesians chapter two are about how we are no longer stranger from God, but we now have become citizens of His Kingdom, the Kingdom of Heaven.  Now that we are in Christ Jesus, we are part of God’s family.  The entire structure of His family and Kingdom have been built on what the old testament prophets taught and the new testament apostles.  With Jesus, of course, being the chief cornerstone (the one who holds it all together).

Now, the passage says, we all fit together, just like stones/bricks of a building and growing into the temple of the LORD.  The body of Christ, God’s family, is a living, growing organism.  We are growing, not only in numbers, but also in strength and in His power.  As we come closer to the time of His return, and as we grow larger as a body of believers, the Holy Spirit’s presence is manifesting in greater degrees all over the world.  It was prophesied in the book of Joel that there would be a former and latter rain of the Holy Spirit. (See Joel 3)  Peter also talked about it on the Day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit first came on the new testament church in the upper room. (See Acts 2)

The church is growing like never before and the Holy Spirit is being poured out.  Now the world is beginning to see the power of the Holy Spirit increasing so that hearts are being turned back to God and the “bride” is getting ready for her groom.  Ephesians 5:2 says that we, the church, will be presented without spot or wrinkle or any blemish when He comes for us, and the power of the Holy Spirit is preparing us even today for that great day that is coming.

So what’s our part?  Prepare yourself by putting away distractions, weights and anything that is pulling you away from your relationship with your heavenly Father.  Make yourself available for the work of the Kingdom and tell Him today, you want to be a part of all that He has going on in these last days.

Today I want to encourage you to press into God more. Start with prayer.  Pray for God’s will to be accomplished in the earth, just like it is in heaven.  Pray for your part to be known to you.  Pray for a willingness and boldness to complete your part.   Make His plan and agenda your priority.  Recognize that we are coming down to the final days and He has a part for you in His great plan.  Get in place in the body and ask His today what you need to do and where you need to be to fit into all that is in His heart for you.  

Today’s scripture reading: Ephesians 2:19-22

How do you love Him?

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. Ephesians 2:8&9

I want to back up a little to a couple verses I skipped over earlier in this chapter.  I passed by them quickly because they are so well known and thought I couldn’t possibly add any incite to them.  However, I feel pressed to go back and share any revelation I have gotten from them in hopes that it would encourage someone today.

First of all, I want to talk about this word grace.  It is widely used throughout the scriptures and many have given their definition of what it means to them.  I feel it gets passed over many times because a natural instinct is to say “oh yeah, I know what that means” without ever taking a minute to actually let it soak in.  In this particular passage, I have always viewed this word grace as God taking pity on me.  God felt bad that I was so pitifully lost in sin, so He made a provision for me to be saved from it.  While it is true that I was a pitiful mess, lost in sin and God may have felt badly about it, but the real truth is, that is not what grace is about in this passage.  What it really says is that it is by God’s love and great kindness that I have received my salvation.  Only one verse before it even says He showed the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward me and that was expressed in the gift of salvation.  The grace in this entire passage is all about God’s love.  I finally get it!

As simple as that may sound to many, it is equally profound and worth pondering.  God of heaven and earth loved me so much that He was willing to give His only Son for me.  I know we all know that God loves us, but I want to take it a step further and consider . . . How do I feel about Him?  I am grateful for sure!  I am so thankful that He made provision for me to be with Him, but now I am considering that God loved me first, because He wanted me to love Him back.  Which brings me to the next phrase I want to talk about.  Salvation is a gift from God.  It has nothing to do with me, who I am or what I’ve done whether good or bad.  It is a gift and the best part about that gift is that it is available to anyone who will open it.  Think about it this way.  If a friend gave you a gift and you set it aside or thought little of it or worse yet, didn’t even open it, how do you think that friend would feel?  How would you feel?  Slighted? Offended?  God has given us the greatest gift and He has given it to all the world, yet how many people just push it aside and think: “someday I open it.  Someday later on I will look in that gift and see if it can be used in my life.”  Yet even when we do receive it, we don’t recognize that it is a love gift and all God wants in return is our love back to Him.

My point in saying all of this is to come to the place that I ask the question “am I showing God how much I love Him by how I live or am I just so thankful for my salvation and run with it as a safeguard in my life?”  So here’s the bottom line.  How do we show God that we love Him for His great gift of Salvation?  By telling Him of course, but the greatest act you can do to show how much you love God is by sharing His love gift of salvation with others.  Love God? Love People!

Today I want to encourage to ask yourself “how do I feel about God?”  Don’t answer this question by  what you know the answer should be, answer it honestly.  Then evaluate or even ask God how your life can better show your love for Him.  Lastly, begin to grow that love you have for Him by sharing it with others.  The more you talk about it, the greater it will become in your life.

Today’s scripture reading: Ephesians 2:1-11

Wall of Separation

For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, Ephesians 2:14

This is truly an equalizing passage in scripture.  Breaking down the walls for race, gender and religion.  We are all equally in need of a Savior.  This passage speaks of “gentile” which simply means a person without a covenant with God.  After Jesus’ provision of Salvation, the requirement for salvation was available to every person, not just the Jewish community.  I for one am so thankful!  Now we have peace, not only with God, but also with each other. 

In Salvation in Christ Jesus, we have peace with our fellow believers no matter what race, gender or denomination.  This is good news and definitely worthy of celebration.  Jesus not only removed the enmity between God and people, He eradicated the animosity among people.  Even with all the strife and turmoil in the world today, we, as the body of Christ, can come together to accomplish anything that is in the heart of God.  We bring our gifts, or strengths and our abilities together to form one body in complete agreement.  No matter who we are, we are no longer separated!  The best news of all comes in verse 18 that says: In Christ Jesus, we both (Jews and gentiles) have access by one Spirit to the Father.  In that one Spirit, the Holy Spirit, we become one body, Jesus being the head. 

Today I want to encourage you to first of all spend some time with your Heavenly Father, thanking Him for breaking down the middle wall of separation through our Lord and Savior, Jesus.  Next, come together in agreement with the rest of the body of believers.  Our agreement starts with our love for our Father and our need for Salvation to be with Him.  Lastly, ask Him how you can use your gifts, strengths and talents in the body and surrender them to the head, Jesus.  Let’s come together like never before to accomplish all that is in the heart of God for this time.

Today’s scripture reading: Ephesians 2:11-18

With His hands

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in.  Ephesians 2:10

We are His workmanship, His masterpiece.  We are the only thing God ever created that He used His very own hands to shape and fashion.  We are the only one of His created things that God breathed the breath of life into.  We are the only being He ever created in His own image and we are the only ones He ever gave His life and died for.  We are special to Him.  So special that He calls us His own special people, His family.  It is overwhelming to think of how much He loves us and how close He wants to be with us.  He desires a relationship with us so much that He prepared a path ahead of time of His goodness that we walk in to live this life to the fullest.  He wants to be an active part of that path and guide us where to walk and how to stay on it.  His desire is to do life with us on a personal level, so He set it up ahead of time that we would seek out His good plan and works and He would lead us on that path step by step.

However, there is only one way to find that path and that is through Christ Jesus!  Because our loving Heavenly Father is not going to force us or control us to make us walk that path, we must enter through the door He provided.  The door is Jesus.  Jesus said in the gospel of John 10:9 “I am the door: by Me if anyone enter in he will be saved, and go through the door and find His goodness.”  The desire of our Father is to not only walk out this life and plan with us to have a close relationship, it is also that we would choose this path.  Any other way would not be “good”.

As He whispers direction, we keep close to Him so we can hear clearly the sound of His voice.  Because He doesn’t shout, it is vital that we stay as close as possible so as not to miss a step. Not because we will lose our relationship with Him if we get off track, but only because we love Him and want to commune with Him continuously by faith.  Also, we want to walk in all the goodness He has prepared for us.  Imagine for a minute, if you are walking with God and He has a special “gift” in the road up ahead of you. He prepared it for you even before you started walking with Him, when suddenly you veer off that road and get stuck in the ruts of life.  Maybe you were thinking “this is how I’m supposed to live securely like everyone else does”, but that may not be God’s best plan. He is patiently waiting for you to turn back to Him so He can get you back on the path to get down that road to the next “good work” He has already prepared for you to walk in.  He is that good!

Today I want to encourage you to stay close to your Heavenly Father.  As you walk through your day and your week, don’t let the cares and troubles of life knock you off the “good” path.  Press into Him and let Him give you continuous course correction to keep you on track with all the good things that He has prepared ahead of time for you to walk in.  The choice is up to you, He already made His.

Today’s scripture reading: Ephesians 2:1-10

God’s masterpiece in progress

“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good works he planned for us long ago.”  Ephesians 2:10

You are God’s masterpiece!  He sees you as a completed work of art.  This is wonderful and we know He does all things good including what He works in us!  Glory to God!  Keep this in mind when things aren’t going as you thought they should or when the enemy attacks.  But there’s more to this story.

Philippians 1:6 says, “being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will continue it until the day of Jesus Christ;”. You are God’s “good work”.  This verse looks like we are a work in progress.  So how can we be both a work in progress and a masterpiece at the same time?  God is doing a good work in us every day.  This means God is actively involved in our everyday life!  Since God sees me as He created me to be, I am His masterpiece, but day to day, I am His work in progress.  He “touches up” and “perfects” us as His work of art each day.  That is why He is called the author and finisher of our faith in Hebrews 12:2. He began a good work in me the day I received Jesus into my heart and made Him LORD of my life.  Now He continues that work every day through the steps I take in making a difference in this world doing the kingdom’s business.

Take note that it is a “good” work not a bad one.  God’s idea of good is way beyond ours, but He does know what good is.  He is the author of “good”.  We don’t have to be afraid to trust Him because we can know “good” will be the result of our obedience to His direction.  This goes back to knowing the difference between God’s hand in something and the devil’s work.  Good vs evil and blessed vs. cursed.  God can only produce good things and good works because He has no evil in Him.

This again reinforces that God wants good for us continually and He has the perfect plan to get His goodness to us as we seek and follow Him every day!

Today I encourage you to watch out for the “good works” God is doing in your life.  Don’t pass them up or walk around them.  Stop and recognize that this is your opportunity for God to do a good work in you to make an impact in the kingdom of heaven for all eternity.

  Today’s scripture reading: Ephesians 2:7-10

He is kind

that in the ages to come He shows the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2:7

This scripture is the prelude to one of the most frequently quoted passage about salvation there is.  Most Christians are familiar with Ephesians 2:8 & 9 that say: For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.  It is commonly referenced what confirming that we are saved by God’s grace and not by our good works.  A point that is valid and appropriately noted.  However, if we pay closer attention to the verse right before and right after them, verses 7 and 10, we can see that this scripture is sandwiched between two verses that sometimes get overlooked. 

In today’s key verse the Apostle Paul is talking about down through the ages of time up to and including today.  He says that God is showing us exceeding (very great) riches of His grace (grace being all sufficiency in all things for every good work) in His kindness because we are walking out our lives in Christ Jesus.  God is kind.  We know He is love and that He gives love, but I believe it is equally important to know of His kindness.  We don’t have to be afraid of Him.  He wants us to have all we need to accomplish our purpose in life.  He’s not trying to make life hard on us and He’s not punishing us when we mess up.  No, He poured out all His wrath on Jesus for the sin of the whole world and He is not angry anymore!  His love will reach all those who call on His name, no matter how far they are from Him.  God’s kindness is only one step away or rather one turn away.  By simply turning around and facing Him instead of running away from Him, He is ready to pour all His kindness out!

It is definitely supernatural and cannot be explained to the fullness in this life.  It is a step of faith to not only believe God’s kindness and love but also to receive them each day you walk on this earth.  This is not to say that bad will never happen or come close.  We do live in a fallen world and have no doubt, the enemy will always be up to His old tricks of sickness, disease, temptations and deceptions.  However, one day God’s wrath will be poured out when His judgement finally comes on all who reject Him, but in the mean time the windows of heaven are open and His lovingkindness is pouring out for anyone who wants to get under it.

Today I want to encourage you to get in line with God’s lovingkindness.  If you have never received His gift of Salvation through the blood of Jesus, invite Him in today.  If you are already a child of God and would like to see more of His goodness in your everyday life, press into Him by talking and spending more quiet time with Him.  When you are alone, you can praise and worship Him.  Let Him know He is the number one priority in your life, not by what you preach to others, but by how you return your love to Him.

Today’s scripture reading: Ephesians 2:7-9

His great love

But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)  Ephesians 2:4-5

Chapter two of Ephesians starts out with “And” which implies the thought is carrying over from Chapter one.  After talking about Christ Jesus being the center of everything and we as believers being His body in the world, Paul goes on to says “you were dead in sin and you acted like the world in agreement with the demonic powers of disobedience.  However, when you received Jesus as LORD, He made you alive and a part of Himself.  (no longer separated from God but connected to Him)  It’s all because God, in His rich mercy and great love that He loved us with that He made us alive and brought us together with Christ.  That is His great grace that saved us!”

As discussed yesterday, our inheritance in Christ is what this life is all about.  It’s what this world is all about and it’s what our existence is all about.  When you think about the things going on in the world, the things that we concern ourselves with like who is leading which country or what countries are at war with one another?  Also things like what’s going on in politics, racial divisions and current pandemics?  We begin to take on a whole new perspective when recognizing that the King of kings and the Lord of lords is in this thing with us.  He didn’t just come to rescue us out of this mess, He came to restore this earthly kingdom back into the hands of His people.  The arguments, disagreements and fights that are gong on in this world are of little consequence in the big scheme of things.  Yet, our Father wants us to let everyone know that He loves them and is calling them to be connected to Him through salvation in Jesus.

So why is He doing all this?  Because of His great love with which He loved us!  He raised us up from our pit and made us sit in the heavenly places with His Son.  One day we will rule and reign with Him and in the mean time . . . we are His hands and His feet. His body in the world.  We bring our Father to others and we bring the lost to our Father.

Today I want to encourage you to look around you for someone you can introduce to your Heavenly Father.  We were dead and are so thankful that His love gave us life.  Share that great love with someone today and help them find that new life in Christ too. We are God’s expression of love to the world, so be His love to those around you where ever you go.

Today’s scripture reading: Ephesians 2:1-7

The world is peripheral

And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. Ephesians 1:22-23

I like the way this scripture is explained in the message bible.  It says that at the center of everything that exists, Christ rules the church.  Then it goes on to say that the church isn’t peripheral to the world but the world to the church. It finishes by saying the church is Christ’s body, in which he speaks and acts and the church is how He fills everything with his presence.  This is very accurate and causes me to consider that it is true that at the center of everything Christ Jesus is ruling and leading the church.  Everything!  Heaven, earth, the universe and even hell.  Isn’t that interesting to consider?  It’s not our government that is ruling and reining in the world and its not even some other country that is in control.  Jesus is!  Of everything!  Makes me wonder why I ever worry.

The only problem I can see in this scenario is that Jesus is ruling and reining through the church.  His Christian people, the body of believers.  So why don’t we see more of our influence in the world today?  Is this really what He has in mind?  Is the world really in the condition that Jesus would have it in?

Consider this:  Jesus taught the disciples to pray God’s kingdom come and will be done in earth just like it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10).  Does it look like we are experiencing any of that today?  Well, maybe to some degree.  I know there are a lot of great things happening around the world and the Holy Spirit is definitely at work behind the scenes.  However, I believe He wants to do more.  I believe the Holy Spirit wants to penetrate through every part of darkness there is in the world today.  He’s not satisfied to let any of it go to waste and neither should we, as His body, be.

So what is the solution?  First of all get the plan!  God has a plan for your life and the way to be most effective for Him is to find out where you fit in that plan.  I’m not saying God cannot use you where you are right now. As you surrender to Him, He will make you effective where you are today as you position yourself in the place He has planned for you.  I am convinced that many believers are where they are today because it is where they think they want to be instead of where they have been led. God’s plan for you may be where you are right now or it may be someplace else. The important thing is that you seek it. Seek first the kingdom of God and His rightness (Matthew 6:33). He will get you where you need to be and you will know without a doubt you are in the right place, at the right time, with the right people! Then you will be in the place where you can be most effective for Kingdom progress and also be able to help those around you get into their place.

Today I want to encourage you to spend some special time along with your Heavenly Father.  Talk to Him about the plan for your life.  Ask Him: If you are there?  If not, Ask Him for steps to take to get there.  If you are, ask Him how to be more effective in that place. Then begin to thank Him for the grace and gifting on your life to accomplish His plans in that place.  Also, thank Him for making that path plain and clear so you can follow it purposefully. Only then will you experience true peace and satisfaction in living this life.

Today’s scripture reading: Ephesians 1:15-23

The same power

To know what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,  Ephesians 1:19-20

I want to continue today with the prayer in Ephesians 1 that the Apostle Paul prayed for the believers at Ephesus.  He starts by telling them: “I am continuously thanking God for you all because of your faith, how you love and care for one another and what a blessing it is to see.”  Because of what he heard about them he mentions them in his prayers unceasingly.  He is praying that they would grow in the wisdom and revelation of knowing God personally.  He prays that their understanding would be open to the call of being connected with each other and to recognize their inheritance as believers is very rich and glorious.

In today’s verse, Paul continues his prayer by telling them that he prays for them to have a personal revelation of the large amount of power that is available to all who believe and this is the same power that God used when He raised Jesus from the dead!  Wow!  That’s a lot of strength, ability and power!  Paul is praying this prayer for them as from the heart of God.  He knows that God wants His people to operate in this same kind of power through their salvation in Jesus.  That is why God revealed in Romans 8:29 that Jesus was the first born of many brethren or people raise up with Him (Jesus) in that same power.

This prayer is also for us today.  As believers in Christ Jesus, God wants us to have a personal revelation of that power in our lives and it starts with our salvation.  When we received Jesus, our “old person” died and we were raised up a new creation, alive with Jesus when He was raised from the dead.  Now our Heavenly Father wants us to walk in that resurrection power every day of our lives. He wants us to live in victory and share that victory with those around us.  When we bring others to Him, He hears and answers.  He is waiting to show Himself strong on behalf of all who are truly His children.  (2 Chron. 16:9)

Today I want to encourage you to get a revelation of the power that God has made available to us through our Salvation in Jesus.  Look for opportunities to pray with those who come into contact with you.  Pray for healing, pray for deliverance and pray for victories.  God won’t let you down.  Signs and wonders are for those who don’t know Him yet and God has put the power in our hands to touch the lost around us.

Today’s scripture reading: Ephesians 1:15-23