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Take the opportunity to review the readings from this week.
What truths from Ephesians 2:19-22 impacted you most this week?
Consider talking or meeting with somebody you trust to discuss what you’ve learned this week and how it’s helping you to grow emotionally and spiritually.
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The story of the Bible is without a doubt the greatest story ever told. Throughout it we see God doing what only He can do to bring His people back into right relationship with Him.
In the Old Testament, God invited Moses and the people of Israel to build a tabernacle. This tabernacle was a location in which God’s presence could be near and among His people.
Centuries later, Jesus came and made His home among us. John 1:14 literally reads that Jesus “tabernacled” among us. It was John’s way of communicating that Jesus was and is the very presence of God.
As the story moves forward, God continues to do what only He can do for His presence to be with and among His people. The Holy Spirit comes to live within the people of God. This shows that God isn’t just living near His people, but within His people. We are a temple (or tabernacle) made to house the very presence of God.
The church isn’t simple building we go to, it is something we are. And the presence of God Himself is always with us.
READING & PRAYERS:
EPHESIANS 2:19-22, MATTHEW 18:20, MATTHEW 28:20, 1 PETER 2:4-5
How would your life be different if you took regular opportunities to reflect on the truth that God lives within you?
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, the fact that You have chosen not only to live near me, but within me, is truly remarkable! May I continue to grow in recognizing Your presence within me, and may I grow in loving you and others with my whole heart, eyes, ears, hands, and feet. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
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Traveling internationally, even when there isn’t a worldwide pandemic, has a lot of rules and regulations. A passport is required for all travelers and the majority of countries around the world require an additional visa. This may be necessary even if you’re only planning to stay in that country for a few days. If anything goes wrong, there’s an Embassy with government officials that can help you get back to your home.
But one of the principles regularly communicated in the New Testament is that as followers of Christ, we are first and foremost citizens of heaven. No matter our nationality, race, or other aspects of our heritage, we are all in Christ and citizens of the Kingdom of God. As you can guess, the implications of this would’ve been profound to those reading it for the first time. Those who trusted in Christ were invited to set aside their cultural biases and instead see themselves as part of the one family of God.
As members of the one family of God (Ephesians 2:19) we are invited to do the same. To see ourselves and all followers of Christ as citizens of heaven.
READING & PRAYERS:
EPHESIANS 2:19-22, PHILIPPIANS 3:20, 1 PETER 1:4, HEBREWS 13:14, 1 CORINTHIANS 3:16
How would you explain to a friend what it means to be a citizen of heaven?
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, I recognize that just like everybody else, I can give in to the temptation to be part of my culture. Continue to help me live a life in which I am in this world even though I am not of this world. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
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If you study out the Scriptures in depth and discover that you’re not very challenged by it, you’re probably not digging deep enough into the text. Just as the process of removing impurities from precious metals has significant challenges, so ought God’s Word challenge us as we are transformed more and more into the image of Christ-likeness.
Many of the principles in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians were, without a doubt, difficult for the people of Ephesus to read and apply. And right after declaring that Christ had broken down the wall of hostility between Jews and Gentiles (2:14), he continues by writing, So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family (2:19).
On the one hand, the people of Ephesus would have been thrilled to read that they are direct members of God’s family. Having full rights as God’s heirs would’ve been very welcome news! On the other hand, their nationality, status, power, and influence was no longer something that could define their lives. They had to give up how others in their culture identified them and rest in how God defined them.
READING & PRAYERS:
EPHESIANS 2:19-22, HEBREWS 13:14
What do you think it would’ve been like for the Christians in Ephesus to not focus on their nationality, status, power, and influence to be the defining factor in their lives?
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, just like the people of Ephesus, my nationality, status, power, education, or influence cannot lead to a life of true belonging. Today I simply rejoice in the truth that I am part of Your family. With You and Your family, I belong. What a wonderful truth! In Jesus’ name. Amen.
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To begin this week, take a few moments to reflect on the below statements. Which of these statements is most true of you. Which is least?
Statements provided from the EHD Assessment. Check out a PDF of the entire assessment here — Emotionally Healthy Discipleship Assessment, or to 15 minutes to complete the entire assessment online.
READING & PRAYERS:
EPHESIANS 2:19-22, JOHN 13:35, COLOSSIANS 4:5-6
In what ways may God be inviting you to be transformed into His image this week?
What steps will you take this week to slow down and more intentionally discern His will in your life?
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, I recognize that today’s reading isn’t about shame or criticism, but is simply an indication that too often I try to forge my own path instead of discerning Your will in my life. This week, help me to slow down, embrace silence, and more prayerfully discern how to respond to the day-to-day challenges that come my way. I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
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What truths from Ephesians 2:11-18 impacted you most this week?
Consider talking or meeting with somebody you trust to discuss what you’ve learned this week and how it’s helping you to grow emotionally and spiritually.
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The Scriptures regularly tell us that the Gospel message is Good News. What’s interesting is that Paul uses this same language after highlighting that Jesus broke down the wall of hostility between Jews and Gentiles.
Ephesians 2:17-18 reads, He brought this Good News of peace to you Gentiles who were far away from him, and peace to the Jews who were near. Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us.
The understanding of what this looks like in our lives cannot be overstated. This shows that Christians with different political perspectives all come to the Father as one. Christians with different perspectives on race and racial reconciliation all come to the Father as one. Christians with different backgrounds in education and socio-economic status all come to the Father as one.
Jesus broke down the walls of hostility and brought peace between Jews and Gentiles. How can we continue to bring peace and live in unity today?
READING & PRAYERS:
ROMANS 12:18, EPHESIANS 2:11-18
What are some practical ways you can make sure you are living in peace with those who may look, live, think, and/or behave differently than you do?
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, today I pray that You will help me to recognize that the Good News is Good News for me and Good News for the whole world. Help me to share Your mercy and grace with others in such a way that they recognize the gospel not as a message of judgment, but as Good News. I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
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In his book Everybody Always, author Bob Goff shares an illustration from a children’s book about a bucket. The premise of the book is that we will become whatever it is we put in our bucket. If somebody fills their bucket with business deals, they reveal to others that they’re a businessman. If somebody fills their bucket with a critical spirit, they pour out cynicism into the lives of others. But if somebody fills their bucket with joy, they will bring much more joy and happiness into the lives of others.
Today, if you were to fill in the following sentence, you would likely discover the types of things Jesus poured into His bucket. Jesus came to ____________.
What word did you use to fill in the blank? What did Jesus pour into His bucket? Some possible answers include:
READING & PRAYERS:
If you had to narrow it down to one thing, what would you say Jesus filled His bucket with? Explain your answer.
What would you say you most regularly pour into your bucket? What kind of an impact is this having on those around you?
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, I confess that there are times when I build up walls of hostility instead of recognizing that You have torn them down. Times when I create tension instead of being a peacemaker. Times when I want to be right instead of wanting to get it right. Help me to live today and every day as one who fulfills Your will and not my own. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
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As the story of God plays out in the Old Testament, one discovers that there wasn’t anything special about Abraham, his children, or the people of Israel that God would choose them to fulfill His ultimate purpose. Yes, God did choose to work through them. Not because they did anything specific to deserve God’s grace and mercy, but because of His grace.
Yet as time went on the people of Israel began to elevate themselves above others. One could even argue that they lived with an “Us vs. Them” mindset. They may have thought things like, “We, the people of God are good – but those people are not good. We, the people of God are insiders – but those people are outsiders.”
But Jesus did not live and minister with an “Us vs. Them” mentality. In fact, Jesus came to destroy the power of sin, the power of death, and also the barriers that separated Jews and Gentiles.
Ephesians 2:14 reads, For Christ …has united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us.
READING & PRAYERS:
EPHESIANS 2:11-18, GALATIANS 3:28 (also read the commentary notes in your study bible of choice)
When Paul wrote this letter to the Christians in the city of Ephesus there were two groups of people. Those who were Jewish thought they were more righteous because of their heritage. Those who were Greek thought they were more righteous because of their wealth, power, and influence in the world.
What are some ways today in which people in our culture build up walls of hostility between groups of people instead of tearing them down?
Would others see you as somebody who builds up walls of hostility between two or more groups of people, or one who tears them down?
PRAYER: Today, write out your own prayer to God.
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Genesis 11 shares a historical story about all of humankind gathering together to construct a large building that will reach into the heavens. Many scholars believe that the type of structure indicated in this text was a ziggurat – a large pyramid shaped structure with large stairs reaching to the top.
Ziggurats were constructed as a gateway to the gods. But they weren’t constructed for people to be able to reach the gods. Instead, they were constructed to be a gateway for the gods to come down to us. It was as if the people were saying, “This is a way for us to know that the gods are on our side.”
What happened next? Genesis 11 tells us that God did come down but He wasn’t excited about the motives of the people. As such, He brought forward many different languages and scattered the people.
Yet this mindset of, “God is on our side,” continued to dominate the religions of the ancient world. In time, this view seeped into ancient Jewish culture as well. The result was that some Jewish natives believed they were better than others. But this is not the message God wanted His people to believe.
READING & PRAYERS:
GENESIS 11:1-9, EPHESIANS 2:11-18
What are some potential consequences of a group of people believing that “God is on our side?”
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, as I begin a new week I pray that I would live not by thinking that You are on my side, but instead with the focus that You are free to fulfill Your will within and through me. Continue to mold and shape me in the person You have made me to be so that I can fulfill Your purpose. I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
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