Daily Reading: Ephesians 5
Scripture Focus: Walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God… Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord… Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise. (Ephesians 5.2-3, 8-10, 15)
Devotional Thought: In Ephesians 5, Paul continued his instructions about walking begun in chapter 4. We are to walk in…
Love. Jesus showed us the way. Walking in love means that we give ourselves up for the one we love. Many times, when we think about giving ourselves in sacrifice, we conjure up images of giving a kidney or some other noble sacrifice. Most of the time, however, our sacrifice is much more mundane: take out the trash, talk with respect, clean up our messes, scrape off the windshield. This is not the stuff of movies, but it is how we can walk in love.
Light. The older I get, the more I depend on good lighting to see clearly. Just this morning, I was looking at one of my Christmas gifts, trying to figure out how it worked. It was a small accessory for ties, and my eyes just couldn’t focus on the tiny little clasp to see how it worked. I needed better light! Life is like that. We need the light of God’s Word and Spirit in order to see clearly how things work.
Wisdom. We need to exercise care in walking. We may look for opportunities around obstacles, but we must remember that obstacles may be opportunities! Be open to the Voice of wisdom – the Holy Spirit – who will guide us past obstacles and toward opportunities. When we get too fixed on our goal, we may miss some important things along the way.
May God bless you as you walk in love, in light, and in wisdom!
Prayer: Help us, O Lord, to "be imitators of God, as beloved children. And [to]walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." Amen. (Ephesians 5.1-2)
Psalm of the Day: 1 Praise the LORD! Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise in the assembly of the godly! 2 Let Israel be glad in his Maker; let the children of Zion rejoice in their King! 3 Let them praise his name with dancing, making melody to him with tambourine and lyre! 4 For the LORD takes pleasure in his people; he adorns the humble with salvation. 5 Let the godly exult in glory; let them sing for joy on their beds. 6 Let the high praises of God be in their throats and two-edged swords in their hands, 7 to execute vengeance on the nations and punishments on the peoples, 8 to bind their kings with chains and their nobles with fetters of iron, 9 to execute on them the judgment written! This is honor for all his godly ones. Praise the LORD! (Psalms 149:1-9)
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