Dear Student of God's Word,
It's been two weeks, so it is time once again for a lesson from God's Word. We started looking into Ephesians in our last study, and will have six Ephesians lessons in all. Each study has seven parts to it and this week I wrote in part two the following commentary:
2:10 – How do you know what works were created for you to do? First, it requires that you know your purpose, which will give you an indication of the general area you works will be in. Then you need to be aware and not self-absorbed. In other words, pay attention to the needs of others as expressed through what they are saying. That means you have to deal with your selfishness and put your focus on other people, even at times when you don’t feel like your own needs are being met.
It is an awesome thing to think that God prepared the works for you to do and then helps you do them. This is how much God wants you to succeed and please Him. He is involved at every level of your spiritual walk and development. God prepared my good works beforehand for me to do. What a great planner God is! And that means that you have an important role to play in the economy of God. He has set up things for you to do and He is counting on you to do them! God can’t do these good works alone. He sets them up and we do them.
Are you cooperating with His plan? Are your good works being done with excellence and enthusiasm?Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him (Philippians 2:12-13 NLT).
2:11&12 – Paul urged the Ephesians to remember that once they weren’t part of God’s family. Once they were apart from the plan of God, but then they were adopted as sons and daughters. This was the focus of Paul’s ministry: to bring the Gentiles into the same covenant relationship that was once only available to Jews. Now you and I have that same privilege. Do you realize what God has done for you? Do you realize that what was true for the Ephesians is also true for you? Are you grateful for what God has done, or do you take it for granted?
What has God done for you in the past that you need to remember today? Why not write those things done as part of your journal for this study. How can you establish more effective memorials to the work of God in your life?
One of them [ten lepers who were healed], when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, "Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" (Luke 17:15-18).
As always, I welcome your comments to this week's study. For additional Bible studies, check out my website archive, which contains a complete collection of all my verse-by-verse New Testament studies, along with the unpublished volumes of The Faith Files.
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OPERATION CHICKEN COOP: I announced
last week my latest effort to help orphans in Kenya and it is Operation
Chicken Coop. The goal is to help orphanages raise chickens for food
and revenue. I outlined how we can do this in a blog post
last week. You can give using the widget from Chipin on my Monday Memo or blog site. If I have the money by
August 11, I can take it over with me and we can get started
THE SOPHIA FUND: While you are at
it. don't forget that I need your ongoing help for The Sophia Fund,
which I use to feed orphans and widows. I cannot set up chicken farms
for every orphanage, and there are still plenty of children in Kenya who
eat one meal a day, if that. I have a separate widget for that cause
as well on the Monday Memo site.
Thank you in advance for your help.
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