Ephesians | Paula Wiseman

Grace and the T-shirt

The other day Jon brought me a t-shirt. The Red Cross had been to the refinery and he gave his latest pint on his way to five gallons. Along with the usual juice and cookies, they offered him a nice long-sleeved shirt, and he picked one in my size.

See that?

I got something free, because someone who loved me shed his blood to secure it.

Ephesians 2:7 says God saved us, so "that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus."

It is beyond my comprehension to imagine what God has for us, all obtained by the blood of Christ.

And now I have a t-shirt as a gentle reminder.

Filed Under: Devotional Tagged With: Christ, Ephesians, grace, Jesus, Jesus Christ

Preventing Chafing

By Paula

I have now run enough to get chafed. I'm not sure if that's a good milestone or a bad one, but it is a memorable one. The sting will transform that relaxing, post-run shower into a prying-yourself-from-the-ceiling moment. (Or worse, depending on where you happen to get chafed.)

It is almost solely a result of wearing the wrong type of clothing. Like cotton. I love cotton, but it quickly gets wet and having that wet clothing rubbing against you for a few miles is the easiest recipe for chafing.

Living around other folks we're bound to get chafed, too. With some people, it's their superpower, rubbing you the wrong way with everything they say or do. Just like with running, the key to preventing chafing is carefully choosing what you put on. In my quick search of the New Testament, I found these:

"For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ." Galatians 3:27

"…put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness." Ephesians 4:24

"Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering" Colossians 3:12

"But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection." Colossians 3:14

Christ, the new man, tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering and love. See if those don't cut down on chafing.

Filed Under: Running Lessons Tagged With: Colossians, Ephesians, Galatians, Running

STT:Lists

By Paula

(This is an encore presentation of one of my earliest tips.)

Are you a list-maker? Why do you make them? To remember things, right? Today's tip is learn to recognize lists in Scripture.

Some of the lists you're already familiar with- Ten Commandments, Fruit of the Spirit and so forth. Sometimes though, they are a little more subtle. For example:

They can take the form of instructions, like in the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19-20 "Go… teach… baptize… teach."
They can be attributes, as in 2 Timothy 1:7 "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind."
They can be an action plan. "For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the Law of the Lord and to do it and to teach the statutes and ordinances in Israel." (Ezra 7:10)

One of my favorite lists is in Ephesians 1:3-6. Check out the blessings in those few verses!

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved."

Every spiritual blessing (We could actually stop there. The rest of it explains some of what that entails.)
Chosen in Him before the foundation of the world
Holy & blameless before Him in love
Adopted as His children
Accepted by His grace, according to His will.

Now we could dicker about exactly how many things should or could be on the list. For example, 'holy" and 'blameless' could be two separate items, but no matter how you cut it, that's a pretty fantastic list.

There's another in Romans 5:1-11. Check out all that 'we' have, what 'we' were and what 'we' are now.

Noticing or even writing down the lists causes us to slow down and consider the truth for an extra moment or two. I number the list items in the text or write them in the margin.

As you study, watch for lists in Scripture, and spend some time with them. I'd love to hear what lists you discover.

Filed Under: Study Tip Tuesday Tagged With: 2Timothy, Bible study, Ephesians, Ezra, lists, Matthew, Romans

STT: But

By Paula

In our continuing look at signpost words, today we'll at the u-turn word- 'but'.

You'll find 'but' is used-

To indicate a better choice (not this, but that)

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. (Psalms 1:1-2)

To contrast two different ideas or people or events

Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field; but Jacob was a mild man, dwelling in tents. And Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob. (Genesis 25:27-28)

The Proverbs are full of contrasts using 'but' to connect them.

To denote a complete, radical about-face

(My Sunday school boys call this 'the big but'.) This is my favorite one:

And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.

But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),

and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2:1-7)

It shows very plainly who we were, what we were and where we were headed BUT GOD changed ALL of that.

So as you study, when you come across a 'but' stop a moment and notice what is being contrasted. What can you learn from it?

Do you have a favorite 'big but'?

Filed Under: Study Tip Tuesday Tagged With: Bible study, Ephesians, Genesis, Psalms

A Gift from Jesus

By Paula

But to each one of us, grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift. Ephesians 4:7

I've never put grace on my Christmas list.

But that's what Jesus Christ is giving me. (It's in the Bible, so it's not a big secret.) That's what He's giving all of His children, all of His brothers and sisters this year.

He reaches into His limitless storehouse and measures it out. Perfectly. Exactly what I need. It fits me just right.

And He expects me to use it, not leave it sitting in the box until next year. It cost far too much for that.

Thing is, I don't have to wait until December 25th to receive it. It's available anytime I ask.

And He doesn't mind if I re-gift it.

Filed Under: Monday Meditations Tagged With: Christianity, Christmas, Ephesians, gift, grace, Jesus