Tune and Prepare!

With all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. (Ephesians 4:2-3) Ephesians 4 begins a whole new part of Paul’s letter. The first three chapters explain in glorious detail all that God has done for believers, freely by His grace. Starting with chapter 4, he tells believers how to live rightly, but only after having explained what God did for His people in Jesus Christ. Having considered and received all that God has done for us, we are to live with all lowliness and gentleness , not a pushy desire to defend our own rights and advance our own agenda. Before Christianity, the word lowliness always had a bad association to it. In the minds of many it still does; but it is a glorious Christian virtue (Philippians 2:1-10). It means that we can be happy and content when we are not in control or steering things our way. Having considered and received all that God has done fo...

"Put These Glasses On" Reading the Bible - to see what God sees "The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes." Psalm 19:8 ...by nature we don’t see well. We don’t see ourselves as others see us, let alone as God sees us. Reading the Bible is like putting on a pair of glasses. You begin to see what God sees. You get to know what grieves and offends him. Reading the Bible will open your eyes to the sins that lurk in your life. How does reading the Bible open your eyes to see the sins you must avoid? Look, for example, at 1 Corinthians 13: “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth” (1Cor 13:4-6). These two verses draw attention to at least seven sins that grieve the Spirit of God: (1) Impatience – love is patient (2) Envy ...

(our spiritual and mental hygiene) This article is part of the "Vitalize" pack Our salvation and our adoption has been prepared in advance (Eph 1:4-6) by His love, but our lives continue to go on in this disordered, ungodly world. The Lord Jesus and his apostles take great care to maintain the hygiene of our lives. They never confuse salvation with sanctification . 2Cor 7:1 Therefore, dear friends, since we have such promises, let us cleanse ourselves from every impurity of the flesh and spirit, completing our sanctification in the fear of God. Let's start with the well-known scene: Remember that Jesus Christ washed the feet of his disciples. During supper,... Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands,... rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel t...

Holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession, who was faithful to him who appointed him, just as Moses also was faithful in all God’s house... Moses was faithful in all God’s house as a servant.. Christ is faithful over God’s house as a son. And we are his house if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.. .. For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end. Heb 3

The apostolic "concept" of divine love, referred to as "Agape," is distinguished from other forms of love like friendship or affection. Agape is correctly understood as a cultural and linguistic concept (and not as a theological subject). In Greek, it is used for giving, absorbing love, sometimes describing events such as invitations, hospitality and celebrations, (often associated with weddings.) The link between the teachings of Jesus and this imagery is very close. Jesus Christ emphasizes that Agape is a representation of the invitation to His Kingdom. This invitation has consequences and various fruits in our lives. I begin this note with the Hymn of Love: 1Cor 13 If I am able to speak the language of men or of angels, but have not divine love in me, I shall be like a noisy cymbal or a rattling cymbal. If I have received the gift of prophecy, if I know all secret truths, if I have all knowledge, if I have faith so st...