120th Week, Ephesians Intro - Chapter 3 (Click on title for Video Intro)

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Click on Title for Video Intro


Monday, Ephesians Introduction
Ephesians 
Introduction
Jeanie Boldt

THOUGHT
Paul wrote this letter to the believers in Ephesus when he was a prisoner in Rome. He states the responsibilities of believers in the light of God's great purpose. The phrase that I wrote in my Bible after reading the book was, "We must live as Christ would want us to." This book is a constant reminder of how we can be a better Christian example. It is a letter of encouragement. I know we will experience an uplifting feeling each and every day after our reading. We must be united in Christ and united in the body of Christ. 

PRAYER 
Lord, thank You for direction to this book. We pray, in Your Will, that our minds, hearts, and souls will be open as You speak to us. Thank You for Paul. How marvelous his faith and encouragement. We pray that we can be ‘Pauls’ here on earth. Help us to speak words of affirmation and give us actions of loving mercy and faithfulness. Help us not to obey You so that You will give us grace, but help us to obey You because of the grace You have already given. Thank You for this family and time in Your Word. AMEN 


Tuesday, Ephesians Chapter 1
Ephesians 1
Verse 18a
Jeanie Boldt

Paul, what a MAN! Gosh, we would not be where we are without him. Remember Paul was Saul, a man who persecuted the Christians. Then the Lord Himself appeared to him in a bright light and asked him why he persecuted Him. He was commanded by the Lord to go to Damascus and he would be told what to do. Upon arising he opened his eyes and was blind for three days. After three days, the Lord sent Ananias to go to Saul and put hands on him. Immediately he could see and was filled with the Holy Spirit. He began preaching that Jesus is the Son Of God. He was a changed man and no longer called himself Saul but Paul. THANK YOU, JESUS! What an encourager and Christian friend he has been. 

Verse 18a: Taken from Paul's prayer of Thanksgiving 
I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you. 

THOUGHT 
Thank the Lord for his gift of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Because of His Love we can wake each and every day with HOPE. It is not a vague future; it is a positive one. It is an assurance for certain victory through God. This comes to us through the Holy Spirit just as it did to Paul. He became a changed man. We didn't earn this nor did we deserve this. It was a free gift.

Now what will we do with this free gift? Will we be a Paul? Will we be a quiet Christian with this wonderful gift and go hide it? God's Purpose is SALVATION through Jesus for the whole world. Let's not forget as we share, we grow also. Let’s radiate the heart of Jesus. May His Name be written on our foreheads. 

PRAYER 
God our Father, open our spiritual eyes to see the greatness of Your Power. Jesus is alive and has conquered every enemy!! May we draw on His Power to meet every need in our lives. Help Your Light so shine in us that we may glorify Your Name and bring hope to the hopeless, rest to the weary, joy to the broken hearted and peace to the restless. OH, how we long to see You, feel You, and walk with You. Our hearts cry out for Your assurance and presence. Thank You for this support group and for the people that we each personally lift up to You now. May our week bring glory to Your Name. 
AMEN 

                          

Wednesday, Ephesians Chapter 2
Ephesians 2 
Verse 8,9
Tanya Ruden

Verse 8,9: For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith, and this is not from yourselves. It is a gift from God — not by works — least any should boast. 

THOUGHT
What more is there to say? Thank God for grace! If it was left up to us to save ourselves by works, this would be a full-time job with no pay. It would be the only hope for an ultimate reward. I know, because we are blessed with grace, we are driven to want to do good works which is what God calls us to do as servants of His Word. But thank goodness we don't have to count on good works for eternity. 

PRAYER
Dear Jesus. thank You for grace. We would be a hopeless people without it. Thank You for bearing the burden of our sin so we can be saved by accepting Your Grace. Help us, Lord Jesus, to do good works in every part of our daily living. May these "works" be a witness of our faith to those around us. We love You, Jesus.  AMEN. 


Thursday, Ephesians Chapter 3
Ephesians 3 
Verse 8
Tanya Ruden

Verse 8:  Although I am less than the least of all God's people, this grace was given me to preach to the Gentiles the unreachable riches of Christ. 

THOUGHT
God is really convicting me this week on my evangelism. Between the book, Purpose Driven Life, and Ephesians, God is driving in my head to preach the Gospel. This is what He wants us to do — share with everyone we meet. Jeremiah was a good example of this, sharing with the people, over and over, even when they wouldn’t listen to him. We need to pray the Holy Spirit would prepare people's hearts and guide our words to share the Gospel. One method of showing the Gospel is through our life, our attitude, and decisions. Keep this in mind as you live your life today.  Reflect the Gospel and the grace you know in all you do. 

PRAYER
Dear Jesus, I pray that out of His Glorious Riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep the love of Christ is.  I pray that you will know this love that surpasses knowledge, and that you will be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. AMEN 

Friday - OUR TRUE IDENTITY IN CHRIST
Taken from Life Application Bible
Ephesians 1:3              We are blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ.
Ephesians 1:4              We are holy, blameless, and covered with God's love. 
Ephesians 1:5,6           We are adopted as God's Children.  
Ephesians 1:7              Our sins are taken away, and we are forgiven.
Ephesians 1:10,11       We will be brought under Christ's headship.  
Ephesians 1:13            We are marked as belonging to God by the Holy Spirit.
Ephesians 2:6              We have been raised up to sit with Christ in glory.
Ephesians 2:10            We are God's work of art. 
Ephesians 3:6              We share in the promise in Christ.
Ephesians 3:12            We can come with freedom and confidence into God's presence.  




















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