Week 2, Day 4

cripture.

Ephesians 1: 20-21 "Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,
Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come"


bservation.

I think it's important to note the verse before this again. Here we're talking about the great power that God gave to Christ. Raised from the dead, set at God's right hand, far above all other powers. This power that is referred to is available to us! Its just a more indepth description of that power.

pplication.

I find myself saying things like "I just don't have the will-power" or that "I'm just not patient, I try..." or simply "I can't!" at various situations throughout my day. It seems to me I just need to draw from that source of power thats available to me.

rayer.

Lord, remind me today when I feel powerless that I am powerFUL through You! I'm not needing power to over throw rulers, I just need to keep my over-eating in check, not yell at my kids, do a little schoolwork with them, do my housework and try to squeeze in a fun activity with them today. Please help me remember these verses today when I feel drained. Thank you Lord for making this power available to your children!

Being pro-active!

Well it appears that I may not have time to blog tomorrow so in the spirit of planning ahead I am going to do another 2 for 1 day.

Scripture

17That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him

18The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,

19And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,

Observation

So, I've hit my first moment of confusion. I'm not sure if all who read this know that I belong to a church that believes that the King James Version of the bible is the only bible we should use. I have been questioning that belief recently and so I've been quoting the KJV here on my blog but I've been referring to both the KJV and the ESV while studying Ephesians with this group. In the KJV the word "spirit" is not capatilized, which I've been taught to mean it is not referring to the Holy Spirit which would show that in the verse it means that God is giving unto me a spirit...

(Spirit : Temper; disposition of mind, habitual or temporary; as a man of a generous spirit, or of a revengeful spirit; the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit. Let us go to the house of God in the spirit of prayer)

...of wisdom and revelation in the knowlege of him. But the ESV capitolizes the word Sprit, which would make reference to the Holy Spirit. That the Holy Spirit has been given to me and IS wise and reveals the knowledge of God. I suppose either way God is showing me giving me wisdom and knowledge of Himself. Funny thing is this would be an incredibly big deal to some people and now that I'm reading through and seeing differences for myself, it seems that the main message conveyed remains the same! God is giving me wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him whether if thats by giving me a disposition of mind or by the Holy Spirit!

And what does He want me to know?

• He wants me to know what benefit there is to my calling; which I believe is to raise my children and be a good helper for my husband!



• Also, the riches of His glory I will inherit one day!



• The immeasurable greatness of His power to us who believe!

Wow, those are wonderful things to know!

Application

I feel that I can be sure of my calling, but its good to remember that there is a benefit to following God's calling for my life. I believe that God will bless me with the riches of His glory! Also, I can call on His power! I know that the power of God is available to me and when I find it to continue in my calling I can draw on that power for strength and assurance.

Prayer

Thank you Lord for my husband and children and my place as a wife and mother. Thank you that not only will I one day recieve an inheritance but that I can also enjoy the blessing of my hard work in having a beautiful home, happy and healthy children, and of course a contended, loving husband who works hard for us because he cares for us! Grant me strength to carry on even when I have challenges in my day! Remind me of these verses.

Two for One!

Well I missed Friday... so I'm doing Friday and Monday together!

Ephesians 1:13-16

13In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
14Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.
15Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints,
16Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers;

Trusting the word of God is what saves me. Believing alone seals me with the Holy Spirit! There's nothing complex about this process. Trust in God that He sent Jesus to pay the debt for my sins... both those I've done and those I will do!

Is my faith so evident that others would hear of it? Would others know of the love I have for all the saints? When the bible refers to saints...isn't it referring to all those who are saved? Not just a particular church or denomination but all Christians, right? Food for thought.

I'm so thankful that other people take the time to pray for me, I don't deserve such kindness.

I need to show love to ALL Christians. If others take the time to pray for me, I most certainly should take the time to pray for others.

Thank you Lord for saving me. I trust you Lord. Help me trust you more, increase my faith. I won't name specifically those who I'll pray for but I will pray for those I've been having disagreements with lately. Lord, let your will be done in my life and those who I have trouble with lately. I love my fellow believers and want to show them God's love. Help me not to immitate their behaviour and attitudes but instead to show a loving attitude! I pray that I will cease not to give thanks!

• 
  
  
  Thank you Lord that everything on my shopping list was on sale yesterday.



• 
  
  
  Thank you that because we are a little strapped for cash I'm being forced to think harder about what I eat and not have as much junk food in the house.



• 
  
  
  Thank you for running water.



• 
  
  
  Thank you that no water on Thursday gave me a fun outing!



• 
  
  
  Thank you that Lacey is such a content baby!



• 
  
  
  Thank you that my husband doesn't make abrupt decisions for our lives and is really trying to seek the RIGHT thing to do for us!
  

Ack! What a day!

Before I blog my devotional entry, let me share a few tidbits from my personal life! So last night I did not sleep well. Wesley woke up around 1 ish for no apparant reason then around 3 our water pump was noisily pumping away without stopping, I soon realized that something was not right and had to get up and shut off the breaker for it. Next, Lacey woke up about 6 (yes she is an amazing 3.5 month old baby who actually sleeps like 10 hrs a night most nights for the past 2 weeks now!!!) Aaron was up also trying to fix what turned out to be a burst pipe (good thing turning the pump off stopped the flow of water) but to no avail :( After feeding Lacey I went back to bed until around 8, tried the pump again (as per hubby's instructions) and still no water. I then packed up my four kids and all our church clothes and headed over to my mother-in-law's house. Its super nice and quiet here because my MIL is up north right now so just my BIL is home. I'm hanging out upstairs sipping on coffee with vanilla syrup and cool whip topping in the peace and quiet while the kids are watching a movie in the basement. I forgot a few key items, Wesley's beloved bottle, Lacey's "go to sleep" music box and my deoderant... but I think I should get by.

Ok, so Day 3 of my Journey Through Ephesians bible study.

Scripture
11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.

Observation

...And here is where I got interrupted to bath all four kids, nurse the baby to sleep, take a shower and put on another movie... and now I'm back to work!

...Or not, ok I got interrupted right after I typed that. But I'm back at it now! Seriously, finding it really hard to focus today!

Wow, God predestined us to obtain an inheritance! I guess there are some weird religions out there that take this to mean that only a select group of people are meant to have God's salvation but the way I see this is that God wants everyone to accept Jesus as their Savior. If I inherit something from a family member I have to take it.

Application
If we are to be to the praise of His glory I imagine we should stop back-biting and trying to devour one another. That would probably help. I think the key thing is to love others the way that God loved us. Sometimes, it seems like fellow Christians are too busy playing "holier than thou" and forget that we are supposed to be showing for Christ's love for the glory of God.

Prayer
Lord, let me be to the praise of your glory. Show me how to be what you want me to be today.


I kind of feel like I'm not doing this right. Lots of people in my group are using colored pencils and word lists?? Ack! Well, I love the Lord and I just pray and He shows me everything I'm supposed to learn from this!

Day 3 of my Journey Through Ephesians!

S.O.A.P.

Scripture

7In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
8Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;
9Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
10That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:

Observation

Here's that word grace again. And wow, the "riches" of His grace. I wish I had just a penny worth of God's grace! I like the ESV bible, its says that grace is "lavished upon us in all insight and wisdom" "Lavished: Characterized by or produced with extravagance and profusion" Yup I really do NEED that much grace.... probably more! He definitely is insightful and wise!

Application

To always be seeking God's will because it is His pleasure for me to know it!

Prayer

Lord, show me your will for my life today.

Journey through Ephesians - Day 2

Scripture

Ephesians 1 : 5-6
5Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
6To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.


Observation

God wants us to be His children. So I would surmise that we are not born the children of God, we must be adopted into His family. We can only become His child through Jesus. Grace, thats an interesting word. It seems to have a lot of meanings. The one that struck me as being a simple definition of God's grace was "Favor; mercy; pardon" God is doing me a favor to allow me into His family. I do not deserve to be here and He is merciful to me, a sinner, to pardon my transgressions and love me as a daughter!

Application

I gets the idea that strikes me is that if God can show me this much love and forgiveness then shouldn't I as a Christian (Christ-like) be able to show at least some measure of love and forgiveness to others? I think that today I will practice that on my children (only people around me regularly! haha!) I will try to remind myself that messes can be cleaned, broken things replaced and that they are only just learning! If I am their teacher, what lesson am I teaching today?? Am I showing them God's grace?? Love??

Prayer

Thank you Lord for giving me what I don't deserve! Salvation, my husband, my children, our material possessions....it's all from God!!! My prayer for today is that God will remind me to treat my own flesh and blood with at least some small measure of grace today. That I will show them favor, mercy and pardon today.

I joined an online bible study!

Ok, So today marks the beginning of a 12 week bible study of Ephesians. I'm doing this with Good Morning Girls.

Today, I'm reading Ephesians 1:1-4. They follow the S.O.A.P. method of bible study.

S. scripture
O. observation
A. application
P. pray

S (scripture)

The KJV says...
"1Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:

2Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

4According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: "

O (observation)

• Paul considered those at Ephasus to be faithful in Christ Jesus.
  


• Spirtual blessing are what is noteworthy, it doesn't say "who has blessed us with big houses, fancy cars and lots of money"
  


• God wants us to be holy and without blame.

A (application)

• Am I faithful in Christ Jesus? I sure hope so! I doubt I'm as faithful as I should be. I find that in my current situation I'm always doubting if my faith is real because of the standards that I'm not interested in upholding. This is a tough place to be. Belonging to a church that I'm not 100% sure I want to be a part of. I love God and I desperately want to serve Him by raising these children He's given me in a way that displays His love so that maybe one day my children will choose to follow the Lord! I also want to serve Him by following my husband's leading (even if that means attending this church).
  


• I need to stop worrying about the things of this world and remember that my blessings are in heaven. I see that to mean my children. I need to focus on making sure that these sweet little people come to know the Lord so that I will be able to enjoy the blessings of God throughout eternity!


• What does being holy mean? I always go to the webster's 1828 dictionary to define words used in the KJV because it seems to provide a more accurate definition of the word. It says that holy means "Properly, whole, entire or perfect, in a moral sense. Hence, pure in heart, temper or dispositions; free from sin and sinful affections. Applied to the Supreme Being, holy signifies perfectly pure, immaculate and complete in moral character; and man is more or less holy, as his heart is more or less sanctified, or purified from evil dispositions. We call a man holy,when his heart is conformed in some degree to the image of God, and his life is regulated by the divine precepts. Hence, holy is used as nearly synonymous with good, pious, godly" That is intense! I really need to work on lots of that! I really want to try to focus on what God considers sinful. Instead of what church or man thinks. I think sometimes it is so easy to follow man's rules/standards rather than letting God lead us. The things I want to work on in life to make myself holy my temper, I'm not exibiting God's full love towards my children when I'm yelling at them. Blameless is a little more simple "Without fault; innocent; guiltless; not meriting censure" Again, if I want to be blameless before others then I open myself up to a whole gammet of what some people consider to be sinful. I want to focus on being blameless before God. This also applies to how I raise my children and keep my home. I need to focus on teaching the children about God's love for us and caring for the things God has given us. Sometimes I ask my kids to get dressed or help me clean up and I hear them ask "is someone coming over?" Wow, that gets me thinking! Are we doing the things we do to be seen of man?? Shouldn't we put the same effort in for no other reason but that God would have us to take good care of ourselves and our home?

P (pray)

My prayer for this bible study is that God would help me remember that those at Ephesus were faithful. I can learn about how to be faithful by reading this book.

My prayer for today is that God would show me the things in my life that are sinful so that I can repent of my sins. I want to truly know God's will and focus on hearing God's voice speak to me through His word and focus my day on seeking to glorify God in my home and in how I raise my children.

And as always, I'm praying that God will give me peace with our church if this is where I'm meant to be. If its not, I pray that He will guide my husband to lead our family where we should go.