DAILY DEVOTION, Nov. 24, 2021

Ephesians 1:15-20: ¹⁵ Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, ¹⁶ do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: ¹⁷ that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, ¹⁸ the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, ¹⁹ and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power ²⁰ which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places…

The above quote is lengthy, but it is all one sentence. Paul is delighted with the Ephesian Christians. They are strong in faith and mighty in love. Paul continually thanks God for these mature believers. If I were to try to summarize the nature of a mature church, I could do no better than to use Paul’s words. A mature church is filled with persons who possess a strong faith in Jesus Christ and express love to one another. The two thoughts are connected. If you have a strong faith in Jesus, realizing that He has redeemed you through His sacrifice at Calvary, you will overflow with love for other believers.  The reason for that is simple. God loved you and saved you through His Son when you were lost in sin. Those who have experienced the unmerited, undeserved love of God will extend that love to others. Mature Christians are long on love and short on criticism, judgment, gossip, jealousy, and pettiness as they relate to each other. I need to ask myself, “How am I doing in living up to this verse? More on these verses tomorrow.

Father, I want to be a Christian like the Ephesians. I want to have a strong and unquestioning faith in Jesus and a love for fellow believers. I do not need praise from men.  It is enough for me to know that You regard me as one of Your faithful servants. Amen