Daily Meditations on the Bible / We stand with Israel
For this reason …
Summary: Paul starts off the next section of his letter with “For this reason…” While the connection between what he is going to write and what he just wrote might be clear in his mind, it needs a little thought on our part to sort out what he is pointing to.
Continue reading “Ephesians 1:15a – Deciphering Paul”— to the praise of his glory.
Summary: How we respond to our God varies with our approach. If we are studying the Word, we might be intellectually engaged. If we are meditating on God’s goodness, we might be overwhelmed by his Love.
Continue reading “Ephesians 1:14c – The Music of Praise”… until the redemption of those who are God’s possession
Summary: In this passage, Paul points us to an important aspect of our present and future condition, and our relationship with God’s Holy Spirit.
Continue reading “Ephesians 1:14b – Believing is Seeing”… who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance …
Summary: Deposits come in all amounts, large and small. The deposit paid for you and I was beyond measure.
Continue reading “Ephesians 1:14a – Beer Money”… the promised Holy Spirit,
Summary: Trying to describe the message of the Bible is a bit like a blind man trying to describe an elephant. There are a lot of parts to the book to get to know.
Continue reading “Ephesians 1:13f – The Whole Elephant”… you were marked in him with a seal,
Summary: Being marked with a seal isn’t quite as rare as one might think. It used to happen to me all the time. Yet nothing quite compares to the mark left by God’s Holy Spirit.
Continue reading “Ephesians 1:13e – Sealed With a Kiss”When you believed …
Summary: The topic of belief is a very deep well. Paul’s use of the word in Ephesians is directly related to the gospel of salvation. This is the “message of truth” Paul is talking about.
Continue reading “Ephesians 1:13d – A Reason to Believe”… the gospel of your salvation.
Summary: What is the gospel? What is salvation? Is it really important to know?
Continue reading “Ephesians 1:13c – Good News!”… when you heard the message of truth …
Summary: Paul points us to the “message of truth.” When we think about it, the question, “What is truth?” echoes throughout history. Even in our contemporary world, the question still applies.
Continue reading “Ephesians 1:13b – What is Truth?”And you also were included in Christ …
Summary: Some passages are a challenge for the translators, and this is one of them. Perhaps because there are many ways to look at the passage, there are many things to learn.
Continue reading “Ephesians 1:13a – Included in Christ”