A Worthy Life (Ephesians 4.1–6)
SCRIPTURE READING Ephesians 4.1–6 DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT In Ephesians 4.1–6, Paul writes: As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely...
View ArticleSpiritual Gifts (Ephesians 4.7–16)
SCRIPTURE READING Ephesians 4.7–16 DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT Paul’s letter to the Ephesians naturally divides in halves. In the first half (chapters 1–3), Paul’s overarching theme is “by grace you have been...
View ArticleThree-Stage Process of Change (Ephesians 4.17–24)
SCRIPTURE READING Ephesians 4.17–24 DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT A group of young men once asked me to talk to them about the use of pornography. They knew that using porn was unworthy of the life to which they...
View ArticleFive Case Studies in Change (Ephesians 4.25–32)
SCRIPTURE READING Ephesians 4.25–32 DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT Yesterday, I wrote about the three-stage process of change Paul teaches in Ephesians 4.17–24: Put off your old self (verse 22). Be renewed in the...
View ArticleImitating God (Ephesians 5.1–2)
SCRIPTURE READING Ephesians 5.1–2 DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT When I was in high school, I played basketball. One afternoon, my coach decided to forego practice and take us to see a movie instead. The movie...
View ArticleGod, Sex, and Popular Culture (Ephesians 5.3–6)
SCRIPTURE READING Ephesians 5.3–6 DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT We live in a sex-obsessed culture. Turn on the television during prime viewing hours, and you’ll see advertisements, entertainment news shows,...
View ArticleThe Indicative and the Imperative (Ephesians 5.7–14)
SCRIPTURE READING Ephesians 5:7–14 DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT In Ephesians 5.7–14, Paul makes two kinds of statements. The first is indicative; it states who we are. The second kind is imperative; it tells us...
View ArticleBlack and White Morality in a Gray Culture (Ephesians 5.15–21)
SCRIPTURE READING Ephesians 5.15–21 DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT The Bible portrays morality in black and white, but our culture sees morality in shades of gray. Take sex, for example. In the Bible, sex outside...
View ArticleWives, Submit to Your Husbands? (Ephesians 5.22–24)
SCRIPTURE READING Ephesians 5.22–24 DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT Ephesians 5.22–24 reads: “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head...
View ArticleHusbands, Love Your Wives! (Ephesians 5.25–33)
SCRIPTURE READING Ephesians 5.25–33 DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT In the Roman Empire, men held tremendous power over their households. According to Charles Seltman, “A girl was completely under her father’s, a...
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