I’m Alive! I’m Alive!
If we were trapped with no way out and then found we might say, “I’m Alive!” If we were in a car accident and survived we might shout, “I’m Alive!” Today on Veterans Day I’m sure many of our combat worn veterans and POW’s have shouted, “I’m Alive!”
Paul tells us, throughout chapter 2 but especially in the beginning 1-10, “We were dead but now We’re Alive!” We were bound by our sinful passions and desires. We were trapped by our lusts and selfishness. We were incarcerated to our sin nature, it ruled our lives. Sure we would make a good choice once in a while and it even felt good, but it wasn’t our passion. All we were looking forward to was death. Then it happened, God demonstrated his love for us and saved us. It says we were not saved by our own strength, and he didn’t wait until we cleaned up our acts; but because of His actions, His love and His blood sacrifice He has freed us to live. WE’RE ALIVE!
What is this life we are free to live - a sinless, selfless, caring, compassionate, peaceful life, a life full of victory? We are free to live like Christ making God directed choices. The more we live the more Christ’s likeness becomes our first response, the more passionate we become for pleasing God. We are alive and free it says (v 10) to be about the business that God created us for – His business.
•The business of being like him and telling others about him.
•The business of helping others and holding people up.
•The business of righteousness, holiness and purity.
•The business of Loving Him and Loving Others for we have been given life and saved from death.
Paul also tells us (v 19-22) that God was so pleased with saving us, so excited for our future, so passionate about us that he made us his dwelling place - making our bodies, mind and souls his temple. Throughout time people have built magnificent temples structures and monuments to “GOD”. What does the God of the universe, the Yahweh God do? He gives us life and says, “I want to be with you not apart from you.” By making us His dwelling, His temple, He is saying, you were dead and I gave you life now let’s LIVE and LIVE TOGEHTER. Wow! Let’s not waste a moment, doesn’t our loving and giving God deserve the most amazing and holy temple? May we live such a life of holiness that our lives become a worthy temple!
Tim
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Ephesians 2
Posted by Calvary Community at 7:44 AM
Labels: Ephesians Two
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2 comments:
As I was reading Ephesians 2, I kept focusing on the word wrath. You don't want to see my wrath or the words wrath of God. Why is it that we sometimes see God as the enforcer? When in reality He is the one who set this whole world in motion. He is the one with incredible love and compassion for us. Without our God we wouldn't have Jesus and all the incredible life offerings He brings.
Then I looked a little deeper into verse 3. Wrath is something we bring on ourselves by rejecting Christ.
Isn't it just in our nature to point the finger away from our actions and not take the time to contemplate why it is we do what we do. It was a tough week for me seeing the damage that was done in people's lives because someone was pointing the finger and not contemplating what to do to help.
This word wrath has a lot of stigmas and negative connotations but if we really think about it, it is a gift. God's gift to us to stop putting blame elsewhere and to focus on Him and what He wants for us!!!! If God pointed the finger our way we would never have been saved. We didn't deserve it.
Thankfully God doesn't unleash His Wrath on us because it definitely wouldn't be pretty. I am thankful and I pray we will all continue to strive to live a life pleasing to our incredible Creator.
Thank God for his Grace, thank God for His mercy, thank God for His love! We don’t deserve life, we don’t deserve love, what we deserve is death. Yet God showed mercy on us, saving us, renewing us…through Christ we have been raised from death and made alive! When we were dead, we followed the ways of the world, the ways of Satan, serving ourselves and living lives of sin (v.1-3). Yet now we are alive, we’re free (v.4). With this new life we have been given, we no longer should follow the ways of the world; no longer should we live our lives for “me.” No, instead we are alive; we have been raised to do good works, to live for Christ! Don’t give in to the ruler of this world, our God is greater…why would we want to return to death…?
GRACE through FAITH…so many people think that if they are pretty good people, if they go to church on Sundays, if they don’t swear, if they are faithful to their spouses, if they throw an extra $20 every now in then in the offering, etc…that they will escape Hell. No, No, No…it is only by GRACE through FAITH that we are saved, not by what we do (v.8). There is nothing that we can DO; no amount of good things will save us. Only FAITH in Christ, FAITH that brings us out of death and into life! FAITH that completely transforms us, that fills us with a yearning, with a desire to live for Christ. FAITH is not just saying “I believe,” it’s not just being baptized. No, a life of FAITH, of true saving FAITH that brings life; this FAITH will change us, it will produce those works that we were created for (v.10)…just as an orange tree bears oranges, or a peach tree peaches, so a man or woman of FAITH will produce fruit that exemplifies their FAITH. Believe on Christ, put your faith in HIM, take hold of God’s free gift of mercy and LIVE.
Now that we are saved, now that we have FAITH, we are children of God, “members of God’s household” (v.19). We have hope, we have life. As children, we are still learning, we are becoming holy (v.22). We aren’t perfect, yet we are growing towards perfection, following the model of Christ, our cornerstone, our foundation! Let’s grow in our Faith, becoming holy, doing the good works that that God called us to.
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