Thought for w/ending 11 July

 

Ephesians 4:31-32

Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words and slander; as well as all types of malicious behaviour.  Instead, be kind to each other, tender hearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.

I reckon that every time we have been cut off by another car, been disappointed by a service or a product we’ve purchased, every time we have heard a politician say things we don’t agree with or going back on promises he/she has made, every time we’ve tried to call our surgery at 8.00 am and can’t get through, every time we have made arrangements to meet with somebody and they’ve called at the last minute to say they can’t make it……..you can see where I’m going with this.  I could’ve included many more examples of things that happen in our day to day lives that really wind us up and I’m sure some of you would agree with all or most of the things on my list but I’m also sure you could all add to this list with the things that really get to you as an individual.

Well, every time you get wound up by situations such as I’ve mentioned, I recommend finding a quiet corner of the house or the park or park the car somewhere and have a read at the full chapter of Ephesians 4.  The heart rate will soon be back to normal and the occurrence that wound you up will soon be a fading memory.

At the very beginning of this chapter, (Paul is writing this letter while imprisoned) he begins by asking us to ‘live a life worthy of your calling’.  We go to church and/or follow Jesus because we are called to do so.  We are blessed by being given this call.  Each of us will probably have  received this call in different ways, some, suddenly, in a moment and some over a period of time, some when we were young and some, later in life.  The important element is firstly,  that we have received the call and secondly, that we have responded to it and stuck with it.

In verse 7, we are told that each one of us who has been called has been given a special gift.  My first reaction to this was wondering what my gift could be, and I found myself struggling for an answer unless it’s writing these articles or could it be something else?  It’s certainly worth pondering and I’m guessing that I’m not the only one that would find themselves in this position wondering if there is some gift we might have that we’re just not using or something that we’re just not making the most of, or a gift we are aware of, but we’ve never ever given God the credit for providing us with it.

Paul goes on to talk about unity in his church with all his people using the gifts given to them by God to work together and help all those who have been called to develop a maturity in their faith.  With this maturity, we will not be so easily distracted from our faith, it will become increasingly important in our lives and the amount of good or right choices we make in our day to day lives will increase. 

I’m pretty sure that none of us has to look far to see someone that has problems or challenges to deal with that are on a whole different level from our own. Pray for them, pray for unity in the church, pray for church people that they may discover their God-given gift and use it to further the Gospel message. 

This chapter is therapeutic in the respect that it puts life into perspective, tells us to take it easy, tells us to get our priorities right, tells us to think, and reminds us that we are one of God’s people and he’s keeping an eye on us every second of every day of our lives.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, forgive us for any bitterness that we have harboured in our hearts against you or others.  We thank you that we have been forgiven by grace through faith in you.  Help us to live our lives in ways that are acceptable to you, in ways that cause you no offence.  Help us to be slow to anger, quick to forgive, and abounding in steadfast love, kindness, compassion, forgiveness, and grace. To the glory of you, our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray, Amen.  (with thanks to knowing-jesus.com)