Ephesians 1:1 - God's Holy People

Ephesians 1:1 - Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God. To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus. 

Message: God's Holy People

Time: Paul wrote the letter to the Ephesians sometime in AD 60–61, around the same time he wrote Colossians and Philemon. Ephesians deals with topics at the core of being a Christian - faith and practice, no matter the situation.

What the Lord is Saying: 

Based upon the Apostle's creed, we are looking at 4 truths about the church of Christ: its unity, its holiness, its catholicity, and its Apostolicity. The last 2 lessons looked at our unity which transcends the local body each of us may be involved in and connects us with people throughout history and in other lands. 

In our time on earth, the Christian is both holy and still a sinner. We are set apart to be holy in virtue, being in Christ by faith. Being justified by faith in Christ we possess the righteousness of Christ and yet at the same time we still have a fallen nature, still sin, still walk in His grace, daily toil, daily need to be reminded of His forgiveness and strive to live in a way to glorify Him in all we do. 

When God describes something as holy, it is set apart first and foremost for God's special use. 

Incense - "And the incense which you shall make, you shall not make in the same proportions for yourselves, it shall be holy to you for the Lord." (Exodus 30:37). 

Sabbath - "For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there is a sabbath of complete rest, holy to the Lord" (Exodus 31:15).

Tithe - "Thus all the tithe of the land, of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord's; it is holy to the Lord" (Leviticus 27:30). 

To be holy is to be separated by God for a special use. God sets us part. By the Spirit we become purer and purer in action but in Christ, each of us begins by being Holy, set apart unto God. Thus, as is recorded today by call, each of us are "saints" or called-out one's. 

Summary: By being in Christ, though we still have a fallen nature and sin daily, God has set us apart as holy, as his saints or called-out one's. 

Promise: The church is already holy in position, yet becomes purer in practice. Thus, we pursue personal and corporate holiness. Let us encourage one another to live Holy lives. 

Prayer: O God, thank you for crowning me as Holy and showing me the truth of Your Word and how you have decreed other things as holy: incense, Sabbath and Tithes. Thank you for the clarity of this truth. You have set me apart as holy, as a saint already. Now help me to keep focused on being holy in my life, making me purer and purer each day. And may we exhibit this in our churches, in my church. May we work together to show ourselves distinct and different from the world, so the world will want to come in our doors, to be among us and hear the Gospel preached. Take us there. 

Note: I follow the readings from the Tabletalk Magazine devotional, though I am now working through 2017 devotionals. 2017 is a study of key biblical doctrines celebrating the 500th year of the Reformation. The month of August is about the Body of the Lord - the Church recovered in the Reformation; July was the right use of God's Law; June was justification by faith alone; May about solus Christus - Christ Alone; April, salvation by grace alone; March, the sovereign providence of God; February, the doctrine of revelation, Scripture that sola Scriptura seeks to preserve; January, the doctrine of God. 

Christ's Body

The Body of Christ - The Church is the Body of Christ and Christ loves the church. We are to imitate Christ and see that the Church is how Christ carries out His purposes in the world. The Head of the Church - Christ is Head of the church and he only has final authority and gives life to the church. Life is found only in Jesus Christ our Lord. - The Church We Can See - Belonging to a church is not optional, for anyone. We are meant to live in a community with other believers, to hear the Word of God preached, and to grow. The Church We Cannot See - What we see is the Visible church, the invisible church only God knows because He is omniscient and that is the Church we cannot see. 

Truths about the Church from the Apostles Creed

Church Unity - The church is bigger than our local assembly; there are core beliefs among the invisible church. One People Throughout History - God has only one people; throughout the world there are people that share doctrines and truths despite their being differences in where we attend or belong. 

Deuteronomy 5:19 - The Many Forms of Theft

Deuteronomy 5:19 - You shall not steal.

Message: The many forms of theft

Time: This book chronicles farewell messages by Moses, the 120 year old leader of the Israelite, primarily intended for the lay person. It covers about one month, at the end of the forty-year period in the wilderness - 1405 BC. It is a renewal of the old covenant given at Mount Sinai to the plains of Moab.

What the Lord is Saying:

"Have you ever stolen anything, even if it was small and even if you were small?" - I've spent time at malls or parks with a friend asking spiritual questions and when we would approach people this was a common question we would ask. In general, when we think of theft we think of it on a large scale of breaking into a store or shoplifting items from a store, taking items that have a price tag without paying for them. When I was a kid, I remember stealing candy. There was even a time when I thought I could steal a magazine but as I grew up I did not do this again. 

And yet, there are other types of stealing or thievery. A child taking another child's toy is a form of theft. More recently, downloading music from the internet is a form of theft. In addition, using company time to do personal things. Or simply not working at your job when you are being paid to work. 

In addition, in Malachi 3:8 it says, "Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings." Here is a pronouncement - we rob God by withholding our tithes and offerings. How often have I done this? 

I think one of the big reasons I have trouble with this command as well as other commands is I do not see the consequence clearly from breaking the command. So when I steal hours from my job, I still get paid. When I withhold tithes and offerings, I still expect God to bless me. And so without clear consequences sometimes I keep breaking laws. 

I think this is a reason accountability is difficult because it lays out consequences. As a manager at work, there are expectations of workers and when they are not followed, consequences follow. One item that we uphold is getting to work on time. We are supposed to write people up that are late, so even if they are 2 minutes late then we are to write them up and this could result in suspensions of various lengths. It is hard to enforce these accountability moments. 

Summary: Any time we take from another, a store, another person, our employer, or another owner of those goods or services, we are committing the crime of thievery.  

Promise: Let us not rob God by withholding our tithes, but let us carefully consider our income and budgets to make sure we are giving to the work of the Lord and the advance of His kingdom. 

Prayer: O God, remind me continually of the ways I continue to break this command. I know it happens as I am not working always in the way you ask me to work or I'm expected to work. Lord, keep me sensitive to those that break this law. The problem being sin and I need to have more compassion as I live and am alongside others. My patience with my kids sometimes has not been great. Lord, I want to honor you with my choices. 

Note: I follow the readings from the Tabletalk Magazine devotional, though I am a little behind and working through 2017 devotionals. 2017 is a study of key biblical doctrines celebrating the 500th year of the Reformation. The month of July is about the right use of God's Law; June was justification by faith alone; May about solus Christus - Christ Alone; April, salvation by grace alone; March, the sovereign providence of God; February, the doctrine of revelation and the various aspects of the doctrine of Scripture that sola Scriptura seeks to preserve; January, the doctrine of God. 

Bringing me to Christ

The Restraint of the Law - the law is given for lawless, unholy, disobedient people, to restrain us from acting on our sinful thoughts. Restraint and Guilt - the law is meant to restrain Christians and non-Christians alike; so that others may see Christ. The Law's Revelation of Sin - The Law reveals sin, at times making it more desirable, and show the sin which people commit and the complete standard it expects. The Law and Our Powerlessness - We are powerless over the Law and Sin revealed. It is in Christ that we receive forgiveness and the power to resist sin. The Law our Guardian - The law is not a tool of justifying me, but rather it is an instrument to bring me to Christ and show me my need for Him. 

Guiding our Lives

The Guidance of the Law - The Law is a guide in our lives for what pleases God and what it looks like to walk in holiness. The Antinomian Error - We were slaves to sin, but now we are slaves to obedience and righteousness. Judaizing Legalism - The error of Judaizing Legalism is the idea that obedience brings about God's acceptance of us for salvation. The Deadliest Form of Legalism - This legalism is that one would get too focused on external practices instead of focusing on the heart.

The Law is our Guide

The Centrality of Love - Love and the law go hand in hand. We do not belong to God unless we love our neighbor, and we cannot love our neighbor without knowing and doing God‘s law and loving him. Finding Guidance in the Law - God's Word, all if it, is a guide to my life and I am to meditate on it continually. 

Caring and Protecting Us

The One and Only God - I seek to trust and love God above all else today. Images and Idols - Pictures, statues, symbols, art, people are not bad; but be careful about placing too much emphasis on these things I see. Using God's Name Frivolously - Blasphemy or using God's name frivolously are examples of taking God's name in vain. Keeping the Lord's Day - It is vital that we are setting apart a day to gather for worship and fellowship, resting from our ordinary vocations. Honoring Father and Mother - Parents are to rear their children in faith, teaching them to respect authority and children are to follow. Murder, Self-Defense and Hatred - Murder is not unforgivable and yet like any other sin, even hatred, we need to avoid it. It has consequences in this life. Adultery - Breaking the covenant of marriage by replacing what God has commanded with our own choices. 

Ezekiel 45

Message: (A continuation from Ezekiel 44) Division of the Land, Rules for the Princes, Special Offerings and Celebrations

Time: This continues the Lord's message to Ezekiel through a vision.

What the Lord is Saying:

What the Lord gives us as a gift, his provision, also includes a portion or section which is to be set aside for His purpose. Here that purpose is a temple. And within that temple is a place that is Most Holy. All the parts of the temple have specific purposes. And each member of the tribe of Israel will be allotted a portion.

To the princes of Israel: Do what is just and right. Stop acting with violence and oppression. Be honest in your dealing with them and give them what they each are due.

And the prince will receive from you an offering or tax from what you have. And other offerings given for atonement. All people must bring these offerings. There is atonement for sins of error and ignorance. And then there are other periods where a celebration (Passover) must be held for 7 days. And for these seven days there are rules of offerings.

Promise: God is our provider, but also in His provision are rules as to how we are to give back to Him and provide atonement for our errors. He provides it all.