Ephesians 5:1-16 Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

(Has God spoken to you lately if not click to listen to God's teaching?)

Max Lucado Daily:


A Nosey Neighbor

Doubt.  He’s a nosey neighbor. An obnoxious guest.

The first seeds of doubt were sown in the Garden of Eden in the heart of Eve.  There she sat, enjoying the trees, when she noticed a pair of beady eyes peering over the shrubs. He positioned himself between Eve and the sun and cast his first shadow of a doubt.

“Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden?” (Genesis 3:1).  No anger.  No picket signs.  Just questions. Had any visits from this nosey neighbor lately? If you find yourself doubting God could forgive you again for that, you’ve been sold some snake oil.

I suggest you put a lock on your gate. Draw near to your heavenly father and that old devil will tuck his tail between his legs and scamper out of the garden.

from Six Hours One Friday

Ephesians 5:1-16
New International Version (NIV)
5 1 Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children 2 and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

3 But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. 4 Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. 5 For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.[a] 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. 7 Therefore do not be partners with them.

8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) 10 and find out what pleases the Lord. 11 Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. 12 It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. 13 But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. 14 This is why it is said:

“Wake up, sleeper,
    rise from the dead,
    and Christ will shine on you.”
15 Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.


Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Read: Philippians 4:10-20

Thanks for Their Gifts

10 I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. 11 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

14 Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles. 15 Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only; 16 for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid more than once when I was in need. 17 Not that I desire your gifts; what I desire is that more be credited to your account. 18 I have received full payment and have more than enough. I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. 19 And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.

20 To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

On The Fringe

March 7, 2013 — by Julie Ackerman Link

When butterflies hatch at Frederik Meijer Gardens in Grand Rapids, Michigan, they do so in an indoor tropical paradise perfectly suited to meet their every need. The temperature is perfect. The humidity is perfect. The food is a perfect balance of calories and nutrition to keep them healthy. No need to go elsewhere. Yet some butterflies see the bright blue sky outside the conservatory and spend their days fluttering near the glass ceiling far away from the plentiful food supply.

I want to say to those butterflies, “Don’t you know everything you need is inside? The outside is cold and harsh, and you will die within minutes if you get what you are longing to have.”

I wonder if that is the message God has for me. So I ask myself, Do I look longingly at things that would harm me? Do I use my energy to gain what I don’t need and shouldn’t have? Do I ignore God’s plentiful provision because I imagine that something just beyond my reach is better? Do I spend my time on the fringes of faith?

God supplies all our needs from His riches (Phil. 4:19). So instead of striving for what we don’t have, may we open our hearts to gratefully receive everything we’ve already been given by Him.

All that I want is in Jesus;
He satisfies, joy He supplies;
Life would be worthless without Him,
All things in Jesus I find. —Loes
Our needs will never exhaust God’s supply.


My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
March 7, 2013

The Source of Abundant Joy

In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us —Romans 8:37

Paul was speaking here of the things that might seem likely to separate a saint from the love of God. But the remarkable thing is that nothing can come between the love of God and a saint. The things Paul mentioned in this passage can and do disrupt the close fellowship of our soul with God and separate our natural life from Him. But none of them is able to come between the love of God and the soul of a saint on the spiritual level. The underlying foundation of the Christian faith is the undeserved, limitless miracle of the love of God that was exhibited on the Cross of Calvary; a love that is not earned and can never be. Paul said this is the reason that “in all these things we are more than conquerors.” We are super-victors with a joy that comes from experiencing the very things which look as if they are going to overwhelm us.

Huge waves that would frighten an ordinary swimmer produce a tremendous thrill for the surfer who has ridden them. Let’s apply that to our own circumstances. The things we try to avoid and fight against— tribulation, suffering, and persecution— are the very things that produce abundant joy in us. “We are more than conquerors through Him” “in all these things”; not in spite of them, but in the midst of them. A saint doesn’t know the joy of the Lord in spite of tribulation, but because of it. Paul said, “I am exceedingly joyful in all our tribulation” (2 Corinthians 7:4).

The undiminished radiance, which is the result of abundant joy, is not built on anything passing, but on the love of God that nothing can change. And the experiences of life, whether they are everyday events or terrifying ones, are powerless to “separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:39).


A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

God's in the Personnel Business - #6824

Thursday, March 7, 2013

When a member of our family would "shirk" a chore that they had at our house, we had a familiar line that we used jokingly. Somebody would say, "Oh, it's so hard to get good help these days." Actually, I first heard that from a friend of mine who said that about trying to find a housekeeper. Now, that's not been a real heavy issue for us, hiring a good housekeeper. We have a mom!

But the saying does have some truth to it. How do you find the best person for a job: want ads, call an agency, put out a sign, do an interview? Well, it's always a risk trying to match a person with a position. And often we're disappointed, as the worker turns out to be the wrong person for the job. That happens all too often in God's work, but it doesn't have to if you and I will do our part.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "God's in the Personnel Business."

Our word for today from the Word of God is from Matthew chapter 9; I'll start reading at verse 36. "When Jesus saw the crowds, He had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, 'The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest field.'" Okay, here's what Jesus saw then and what I believe He sees now as He looks at the world you and I live in. There's a desperate need. There's a leadership shortage, and there's a personnel plan. You know what it is? One four-letter word - pray.

He gives here a prayer assignment for you and me. He says, "Ask the Lord of the harvest for the leaders of His choosing." Now, we often tend to pray for those who are already in His work. But often we don't pray for those who aren't in His work who should be. The words of Jesus indicate that God does not call and send these workers without our prayer. The active verb on our part is to pray and He will send.

The greatest danger in Christian work is that workers go out who have not been sent by God. It was said of John the Baptist in John 1:6, "He was a man sent from God." See, if they've not been sent from God, the work they do is only the work of man no matter how talented they are. There are people in leadership who never should have been, and there are people not in leadership who should be. And we are partly to blame. We need to fervently and specifically pray that God will send out His choices, sovereignly matching people with assignments, and that God will weed out those who should not lead His Kingdom.

Maybe you see a leadership need right now in His Kingdom. Well, pray! Focus on that need until God sends His laborer. Perhaps you see a leader who doesn't seem to be put there by God. Well, don't gossip. Don't complain! Don't back stab! Pray to the Lord of the harvest. Or maybe God will lay on your heart some man or woman that He wants in His service, and you can quietly pray them from the job they now have to the ministry they should have.

Consider if possibly you're the answer to your prayer, and the Lord of the harvest is calling you. As inadequate as you feel, He'll use you because you know you're inadequate. It's hard to think of a more important and more neglected prayer task. If the right person gets in the right place, there's almost no end to what he can do. Sure, it's hard to get good help these days. But prayer to the Lord of the harvest is how it gets done. After all, God is in the personnel business.