The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Ephesians 4:1,
"As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received."
For those of us who have any sense at all, we want to live our lives pleasing to our Creator. After all, we are only in this life 70 or 80 years or so, shorter for some, longer for others, and then we are off to the next phase of life: eternal life or eternal death.
"As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received."
For those of us who have any sense at all, we want to live our lives pleasing to our Creator. After all, we are only in this life 70 or 80 years or so, shorter for some, longer for others, and then we are off to the next phase of life: eternal life or eternal death.
The foolish, those who cherish their sin more than their Creator, those given to immediate gratification of what they might find appealing for sensuality's sake, reject God. Their place will be in a fiery lake of burning sulfur, see Revelation 21:8. Of them, Jesus said, "This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed." John 3:19-20.
However, for those of us who care, for those of us who have any lick of sense, we turn to our Creator in this life, we embrace Jesus Christ as the only way into God's family with a wonderful inheritance that awaits us. Consequently, we desire to live our lives in a manner pleasing to him. We put off, we shun, the pleasures of this life as we attempt to live our lives worthy of the calling, the invitation, we have received and responded to.
As members of God's household of faith we emulate the heroes of faith we read of in Hebrews 11:13-16, "All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them."
However, for those of us who care, for those of us who have any lick of sense, we turn to our Creator in this life, we embrace Jesus Christ as the only way into God's family with a wonderful inheritance that awaits us. Consequently, we desire to live our lives in a manner pleasing to him. We put off, we shun, the pleasures of this life as we attempt to live our lives worthy of the calling, the invitation, we have received and responded to.
As members of God's household of faith we emulate the heroes of faith we read of in Hebrews 11:13-16, "All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them."
Living our lives in a manner worthy of what God has freely given us, a righteous standing before him, is different from earning it. It is because he has already given us this place in his family, it is appropriate we reflect our gratitude by living our lives in a manner worthy of it.
This chapter is rich with direction from Paul on how we can do just that.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.
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