Daily Meditations on the Bible / We stand with Israel
As for you, you were dead …
Summary: The meanings of “alive” and “dead” are easy to see when we are talking about physical bodies. When the subject is a spiritual body, the definitions of “dead” and “alive” change. The words remain the same, but the meanings are different.
Continue reading “Ephesians 2:1a (Part 2) – The Big Door”As for you, you were dead …
Summary: Understanding the meaning of words is important. When the document we are reading is a matter of life and death, correctly understanding the words becomes even more important. Today we explore the meaning of the word “dead.”
Continue reading “Ephesians 2:1a (Part 1) – Dead Reckoning”I will sing the Lord’s praise,
for he has been good to me.
Summary: Today was one of those days when I ran out of road before I ran out of things to do.
Continue reading “Psalm 13:6 – How Long, Lord?”… which he has freely given us in the One he loves.
Summary: Keeping up with Paul’s train of thought can be a challenge. Today’s passage is the caboose on a long train of words that describe why Jesus came to earth as a man.
Continue reading “Ephesians 1:6b – The One He Loves”… to the praise of his glorious grace …
Summary: Ever wonder why God does something? Today we take a brief look at how Paul sees God’s motivations.
Continue reading “Ephesians 1:6a – Motivation”And before the world was made, God decided to make us his own children through Jesus Christ. This was what God wanted, and it pleased him to do it.*
Summary: The way God made us his own children is by adopting us into his family. Adoption changes who we are and changing who we are changes our future.
Continue reading “Ephesians 1:5 – He Made Us Anyway”… to be holy and blameless in his sight.
Summary: Being holy and blameless is not something we can achieve on our own. We need help! Fortunately for us, God has a plan. The plan is Jesus.
Continue reading “Ephesians 1:4b – The Plan is Jesus”For he chose us in him before the creation of the world …
Summary: Paul’s insights can be logically challenging. The Word of God can seem non-sensical from a worldly point of view. Viewed correctly, everything makes sense.
Continue reading “Ephesians 1:4a – The Meaning of “Chose””Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.
Summary: Paul makes unusual claims in his letter to the Ephesians. Whether or not we understand what the Bible tells us about God will determine how much of what Paul is saying makes sense.
Continue reading “Ephesians 1:3 – Amazing Claims!”Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Summary: When Paul speaks, people listen. People listen because he speaks with authority, the same kind of authority that set Jesus’ teachings apart from the Pharisees (Matthew 7:29).
Continue reading “Ephesians 1:2 – Good Authority”