Pastor Mikes Daily Devotion Thursday September 25, 3014 Ephesians 4:1–2, I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, For the first three chapters of the book of Ephesians, the Apostle Paul has given us some of the richest teachings on the doctrine of grace in the bible. Now, as he enters into chapter four, he gets to the hard part. It is Gods desire that rich biblical teaching should result in obedient Christian living. So Paul beseeches us to walk worthy of the calling in which you were called. This is to live our Christian lives in a manner that is equal to the grace that was given to us. Since, in our Christian lives, calling and conduct go hand in hand, what is to be the dynamic of a life that would be worthy of the grace of God? A Christian that understands the place of grace in his life is lowly. A lowly person is a humble person, and a humble person has put off pride, and taken the example of Christ as a bondservant as his example. Next, a worthy person is gentle. Gentleness will be seen in the life of someone who is humble. Humble is what I need to be, and gentle is an outward expression of that lowliness. When you are humble and are expressing gentleness, then you will be able to be longsuffering. To be longsuffering is to have the ability to suffer long with those whom God has brought into your life for you to serve. How longsuffering do you need to be? Remember how God suffers long with you. A person who is longsuffering is patient with people. Lastly, not only do you need to be patient with people, but you need to do it in love. It is love that breaks through the barriers that people construct in their lives in order to keep the gospel out. As God has freely given us salvation by grace, ought we not to offer up our lives to him in the manner described here for His glory? Isaiah 57:15, For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, With him who has a contrite and humble spirit, To revive the spirit of the humble, And to revive the heart of the contrite ones.
Posted on: Thu, 25 Sep 2014 14:49:26 +0000
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