The Way You Were.
Day 1
Read Ephesians 4:17-24
In his commentary on Ephesians in the NIV Application series, Klyne Snodgrass makes the case that the word “Gentile” can be subbed out for “American” in this section. Maybe another way of saying it is “Don’t live like the rest of the world.” Either way, the work of understanding the analogy is not that difficult for us. I like to think that I am living in the “new way” presented in this text, but the reality I keep finding hidden in my heart of hearts, is that I am still find places in my life that are trapped in futile thinking and darkened understandings, leaving me chasing after desires that pull me further away from God when I leave them unchecked. About this struggle, Klyne Snodgrass says, “Desires are not bad in themselves. They are God-given assistants for living, but they need a Lord. Give them one.” What a great thought?!
Paul’s approach here is that a good time of learning God’s word will go really far in moving our behavior away from what it doesn’t need to be. When we are honest and open with ourselves and God, we find the progression of sin that seems to leave us in the downward spiral of chaos and the life we just don’t want. So, be honest with yourself and learn from God’s word today.
Where are you seeing your “understanding darkened” right now?
What are the selfish desires in your life that have too much time, attention, or effort in your life?
How do you renew the spirit of your mind?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
In his commentary on Ephesians in the NIV Application series, Klyne Snodgrass makes the case that the word “Gentile” can be subbed out for “American” in this section. Maybe another way of saying it is “Don’t live like the rest of the world.” Either way, the work of understanding the analogy is not that difficult for us. I like to think that I am living in the “new way” presented in this text, but the reality I keep finding hidden in my heart of hearts, is that I am still find places in my life that are trapped in futile thinking and darkened understandings, leaving me chasing after desires that pull me further away from God when I leave them unchecked. About this struggle, Klyne Snodgrass says, “Desires are not bad in themselves. They are God-given assistants for living, but they need a Lord. Give them one.” What a great thought?!
Paul’s approach here is that a good time of learning God’s word will go really far in moving our behavior away from what it doesn’t need to be. When we are honest and open with ourselves and God, we find the progression of sin that seems to leave us in the downward spiral of chaos and the life we just don’t want. So, be honest with yourself and learn from God’s word today.
Where are you seeing your “understanding darkened” right now?
What are the selfish desires in your life that have too much time, attention, or effort in your life?
How do you renew the spirit of your mind?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
Day 2
Read Romans 1:18-30
Romans 1 and Ephesians 4 almost seem like they were plagiarized from each, whoever wrote them. Oh…wait. It was the same guy, Paul. It seems that he was pretty adamant about what he was believing was going on in people’s hearts. So the problem was the same thing in Ephesus as it was in Rome. People are people. Culture doesn’t change the nature of people. Neither does time. So now we have them both and even thousands of years later, we are fighting the same problems and seeing the same patterns. If you could just get your mind around Ephesians 4 and Romans 1, it would go a long way to helping you understand yourself and also understand those around you. And that is a context that is vital to ministering to people.
One difference that I notice between Ephesians and Romans is that in Ephesians, Paul says that people are giving themselves up to the corrupt way of thinking. In Romans, Paul says God is giving them up. Can both be true? Which one is it? I think they can both be true. It is a scary place to arrive where you want to live in the chaos and you have grown so hard hearted toward God, that He just lets you have what you want. Don’t start down that path. Make today the day that you see what Paul is desperately wanting you to see about yourself.
How would you explain God’s wrath in light of how Paul explains it here?
What does it look like to exchange the “truth for a lie” (see verse 25)?
Why do you think that Paul sends both of the passages (Ephesians 4 and Romans 1) to an example of sexual distortion at the end of the decline of the sinful mind?
How does today’s devotion inform your prayers?
Romans 1 and Ephesians 4 almost seem like they were plagiarized from each, whoever wrote them. Oh…wait. It was the same guy, Paul. It seems that he was pretty adamant about what he was believing was going on in people’s hearts. So the problem was the same thing in Ephesus as it was in Rome. People are people. Culture doesn’t change the nature of people. Neither does time. So now we have them both and even thousands of years later, we are fighting the same problems and seeing the same patterns. If you could just get your mind around Ephesians 4 and Romans 1, it would go a long way to helping you understand yourself and also understand those around you. And that is a context that is vital to ministering to people.
One difference that I notice between Ephesians and Romans is that in Ephesians, Paul says that people are giving themselves up to the corrupt way of thinking. In Romans, Paul says God is giving them up. Can both be true? Which one is it? I think they can both be true. It is a scary place to arrive where you want to live in the chaos and you have grown so hard hearted toward God, that He just lets you have what you want. Don’t start down that path. Make today the day that you see what Paul is desperately wanting you to see about yourself.
How would you explain God’s wrath in light of how Paul explains it here?
What does it look like to exchange the “truth for a lie” (see verse 25)?
Why do you think that Paul sends both of the passages (Ephesians 4 and Romans 1) to an example of sexual distortion at the end of the decline of the sinful mind?
How does today’s devotion inform your prayers?
Day 3
Read Romans 12
I love the fact that Paul makes the argument here and also in Ephesians 4 that the help to the sin problem is a growing in the understanding of the Bible. You have to know. Maybe not know more, but definitely understand better what you do know. Your mind has to be renewed, mature, and growing…that is what you have been called to. It is not just a good idea, but it is what you are called to. You grow in a community. Paul says the best way to learn more is to exist in a community like a church, with like minded people seeking a goal like you are. These are all things I spend so much time harping on, so it is so refreshing when we get to those parts in the Bible where we see it together.
He ends this passage with a list of actions coming from faith. Our next sermon will go the same place, because he takes the end of Ephesians 4 to that same idea. This is not a complete list, nor is a complete list of actions found in Ephesians. But it is a great list to meditate on. So do that this morning and grow in your knowledge and understanding!
What does it look like to be “transformed in the renewal of your mind?”
What does Paul mean when he urges us to present our bodies as “living sacrifices?”
Spend time focusing on two things from the list of actions Paul calls us to. Why do you need to focus on this and how can you do that?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
I love the fact that Paul makes the argument here and also in Ephesians 4 that the help to the sin problem is a growing in the understanding of the Bible. You have to know. Maybe not know more, but definitely understand better what you do know. Your mind has to be renewed, mature, and growing…that is what you have been called to. It is not just a good idea, but it is what you are called to. You grow in a community. Paul says the best way to learn more is to exist in a community like a church, with like minded people seeking a goal like you are. These are all things I spend so much time harping on, so it is so refreshing when we get to those parts in the Bible where we see it together.
He ends this passage with a list of actions coming from faith. Our next sermon will go the same place, because he takes the end of Ephesians 4 to that same idea. This is not a complete list, nor is a complete list of actions found in Ephesians. But it is a great list to meditate on. So do that this morning and grow in your knowledge and understanding!
What does it look like to be “transformed in the renewal of your mind?”
What does Paul mean when he urges us to present our bodies as “living sacrifices?”
Spend time focusing on two things from the list of actions Paul calls us to. Why do you need to focus on this and how can you do that?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
Day 4
Read Romans 6:1-14
In Ephesians 4, Paul gives us a way to understand the difference between us and the Gentile-like way of thinking. We are a new creation, a new self. We put on a new uniform that goes with our new way of being. The old man has died, and we are raised a new person. It’s really close to the baptism picture, which is where Romans 6 steps in with its analogy. The death of the old ways is marked by the life of the new person. So the old life is separated from the new life. The old life was a slavery that we were trapped in, but the new life is a freedom that we can exist in. To leave the old person behind would be one thing, because we could return to them at any time, so the exchange has to be more permanent, more obvious, less appealing…thus the analogy of death.
Since the New you is renewed in life, it doesn’t make sense to take part in the old way of being or with anything from the old way of being. This is a total life transformation.
How does this old vs new look in your story of salvation?
How can we let sin “reign in our mortal bodies”, which is what Paul warned us against doing?
How does this show us the meaning of baptism?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
In Ephesians 4, Paul gives us a way to understand the difference between us and the Gentile-like way of thinking. We are a new creation, a new self. We put on a new uniform that goes with our new way of being. The old man has died, and we are raised a new person. It’s really close to the baptism picture, which is where Romans 6 steps in with its analogy. The death of the old ways is marked by the life of the new person. So the old life is separated from the new life. The old life was a slavery that we were trapped in, but the new life is a freedom that we can exist in. To leave the old person behind would be one thing, because we could return to them at any time, so the exchange has to be more permanent, more obvious, less appealing…thus the analogy of death.
Since the New you is renewed in life, it doesn’t make sense to take part in the old way of being or with anything from the old way of being. This is a total life transformation.
How does this old vs new look in your story of salvation?
How can we let sin “reign in our mortal bodies”, which is what Paul warned us against doing?
How does this show us the meaning of baptism?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
Day 5
Read Colossians 2:1-15
Wow…Paul repeated this idea a lot apparently. Here he focuses on the idea that in being saved, Jesus forgives us our trespasses, and makes us alive together with him. We no longer have the record of debt against us because it was fully paid for us. Paul has connected this to the idea of baptism, and does that a bit here, but also connects it to the work of the cross, on which Jesus died on our behalf.
The best part is the authority that was disarmed in our lives because of that work. Ephesians has this language when it told us that the church was for the purpose of revealing to the authorities in the heavenly places, the wisdom of God, but here Paul tells us that the work of Jesus has disarmed those same powers and authorities from any hold on our lives. So if the powers are no longer controlling us and the freedom has been given to us, what is the problem when we return to the sinful desires? It’s us. The problem is our hearts and minds that need to be renewed and reshaped to the promises of God.
Why does Paul include thanksgiving in our “walk with Him?”
Why is it important to acknowledge that the only rule and authority that has a place in our lives is God?
How would you describe the debt that has been paid for you to someone that is new to the Bible?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
Wow…Paul repeated this idea a lot apparently. Here he focuses on the idea that in being saved, Jesus forgives us our trespasses, and makes us alive together with him. We no longer have the record of debt against us because it was fully paid for us. Paul has connected this to the idea of baptism, and does that a bit here, but also connects it to the work of the cross, on which Jesus died on our behalf.
The best part is the authority that was disarmed in our lives because of that work. Ephesians has this language when it told us that the church was for the purpose of revealing to the authorities in the heavenly places, the wisdom of God, but here Paul tells us that the work of Jesus has disarmed those same powers and authorities from any hold on our lives. So if the powers are no longer controlling us and the freedom has been given to us, what is the problem when we return to the sinful desires? It’s us. The problem is our hearts and minds that need to be renewed and reshaped to the promises of God.
Why does Paul include thanksgiving in our “walk with Him?”
Why is it important to acknowledge that the only rule and authority that has a place in our lives is God?
How would you describe the debt that has been paid for you to someone that is new to the Bible?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
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