Category: Ephesians

Ephesians 1:18-19a I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.

Not only is Paul praying for the Ephesians to know the hope of Christ, but also he is praying that they know the power of Christ, “his incomparably great power for us who believe.” Does that mean that Christ holds no power for those who don’t believe? I don’t think so. I think that as a believer, I know that I can bring all of my worries, doubts, fears, hopes to Him and lay them at His feet.

Ephesians 1:19b-21 That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.  

As a believer I know that He has a plan for my life, a plan that doesn’t always mean He will say yes to every desire of my heart. But when He says no or not yet, as a believer, I know that He has a perfect plan for me and it was created with His perfect love. Being a believer doesn’t make that no any less painful, but I have hope that the God of all creation has an even better plan in mind.

Ephesians 1:22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 

Precious Savior, Thank You for your fierce, all-encompassing love and Your unfathomable grace. Thank You that I know beyond a doubt that You want what is best for me. Help me to bring all my heart to You. Give me peace and hope no matter Your plan. Amen.

Ephesians 1:23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.

Have a blessed day.

Ephesians 1:15 For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people,  

Yesterday at the grocery store, I turned to the lady behind me in the checkout line and asked if she was doing ok. She wasn’t. She’d spent the day at the hospital with her son who just had his foot amputated. There was paperwork that needed signing, that she’d taken to this person, then that, then that, still trying to find the right one to sign. She was frustrated, tired, hopeless. I tried to give her what encouragement I could.

Ephesians 1:16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.

I felt like I wasn’t able to offer much comfort or encouragement to her at all. But I have continued to lift her and her family up. Verse 18 of today’s scripture is what I hope she was able to take from our brief exchange: “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you….”

Ephesians 1:17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.  

Precious Savior, My heart hurts for the pain of Your people. I feel so inadequate to counteract any of that pain, but I know You created me as an encourager for a reason. Help me to reflect and project You–Your love, Your grace, Your hope–as I try to encourage Your people. Help me to shine Your light. Amen.

Ephesians 1:18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people,

Have a blessed day.

Ephesians 1: In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 

What strikes me in today’s scripture are the propositions: in, through, in accordance with, with. Prepositions show the relationship between two nouns “to show direction, time, place, location, spatial relationships, or to introduce an object”. For instance, “the shirt in the sink” shows the locational relationship between the shirt and the sink.

Ephesians 1:8 that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding,

In today’s scripture, the propositions in, through, in accordance with, and with show the relationship between us and “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (v3). “In him…in accordance with….With….With” these are prepositions of unity, of togetherness, of belonging. That is balm to my soul.

Ephesians 1:9 he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ,

Precious Savior, Thank You for reminding me that You are with me, that through You, with You, and in You, I am Your deeply loved child. Without You, I am nothing. Help me to root myself firmly in Your truth and love daily. Amen.

Ephesians 1:10 to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ. 

Have a blessed day.

Ephesians 1:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 

At the beginning of last school year, a colleague shared his class motto with me: “It just doesn’t matter.” I immediately perceived it as a rather fatalistic view. However, the longer I sit with it, the more I agree with it, and the more I think it applies to EVERYTHING, not just school. God loves us. Jesus died for us. As Ephesians 1:4 reminds us, “Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.”

Ephesians 1:4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 

We ARE going to mess up sometimes. We ARE going to get it wrong sometimes. We ARE going to get it exactly right sometimes, too. In the end, it just doesn’t matter because we are deeply, fully, fiercely, completely, gracefully loved by our Creator.

Ephesians 1:5 he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 

Precious Savior, Help me to remember, always, that no matter how good I am, no matter how badly I mess up, it just doesn’t matter because You’ve got me covered with You amazing grace and unending love. Thank You. Amen.

Ephesians 1:6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 

Have a blessed day.

Ephesians 3:16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being,   

I don’t have much of a green thumb. I have tons of plants, and most of them are doing ok, but water and sunlight is all that I have going. I’m not good with plants. I’ve watched more than one plant struggle and die. And I have no true idea what went wrong, other than the roots didn’t take. If the roots won’t sink down into the soil, the plant is not going to make it.

Ephesians 3:17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love,

Maybe that’s why the words “rooted and established in love” resonate so deeply with me from verse 17. In my own life, I know that those times when I am not fully, deeply connected to God, that life spirals out of control. When I lose sight of Him and focus on the world, things go sideways in a hurry.

Ephesians 3:18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,

Precious Savior, Thank You for daily helping me to root myself in Your love. Help me to never neglect that practice because I know from experience what happens when I don’t start my day firmly rooted and established in You. Amen.

Ephesians 3:19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Have a blessed day.

Ephesians 3:12 In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. 

I love the simple reminder in verse 12 that in Jesus and through faith in Jesus we may approach God with freedom and confidence. Because we know the Son, we can approach the Father. There is something very comforting in that ability.

Ephesians 3:13 I ask you, therefore, not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory.

And there are no caveats included. We aren’t told that we can only approach Him in our desperate hour of need. We aren’t instructed to not bring little concerns and little joys to Him because it wastes His time. We are free to approach Him at any time for any matter. Period.

Ephesians 3:14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 

Eternal Savior, Thank You that through You we now have the right, ability and privilege to approach the Father with our joys, our sorrows, with everything. Thank You that there are no restrictions put on that relationship. Thank You for the intimate connection with God the Father through Jesus the Son. Amen.

Ephesians 3:15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. 

Have a blessed day.

Ephesians 3:7 I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power.  

Humility is something I struggle with, which embarrasses me no end. I know I pour my entire heart into everything I do, and I like to feel like my contributions are noticed and appreciated. That’s pride. God’s been working on me about that trait for a long time, and I’m still struggling to lay it at His feet.

Ephesians 3:8-9 Although I am less than the least of all the Lord’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the boundless riches of Christ, and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. 

I feel like I am more compassionate to others because of my struggle, however. I am much more likely to thank people, to appreciate people for things they do that aren’t always noticed. I know how nice it is to receive that appreciation. But I am still striving to lay my human pride at God’s feet and leave it there. That’s my goal.

Ephesians 3:10 His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, 

Precious Savior, I don’t want this life to be about me. I don’t want to crave human accolades. I want to give my all for You, to lift and encourage Your people, to rest in Your grace, always. Help me to lay my pride at Your feet, leave it there, and shine so brightly for You alone. Amen.

Ephesians 3:11 according to his eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Have a blessed day.

Ephesians 3:2-3 Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that was given to me for you, that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly.   

Christians sometimes have a way of making Christ feel exclusionary, like you can’t have Him if you look this way, dress this way, love this way, vote this way, etc, etc. I love today’s verses because they delve into the mystery of Christ, which is pretty simple and utterly beautiful.

Ephesians 3:4 In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ…

The mystery is inclusive, “that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.” Gentles and Jews. Republicans and democrats. Kind and crabby. ALL PEOPLE share together in the promise in Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 3:5 …which was not made known to people in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets.

Precious Savior, Forgive me when I draw lines and divisions about who is welcome and who is not. Help me to love others unconditionally as You love me. Help me to remember that we are “sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.” Amen.

Ephesians 3:6 This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.

Have a blessed day.