Transformed!
Note from Jesus Dear Disciple, How does one of My ministers prove his or her legitimacy, worth, and right to serve and lead? Paul will return to this question over and over again in 2 Corinthians. His answer in today’s verses is important because it is built upon the coming of the Holy Spirit to each Christian as a sign of God’s glorious and transforming presence inside each believer. The Holy Spirit is at work transforming those who are My disciples into something the law of the old covenant could never do. Later, in his letter to the Roman Christians, Paul will state this point with these words: Therefore, now no condemnation awaits those who are living in Jesus the Anointed, the Liberating King, because when you live in the Anointed One, Jesus, a new law takes effect. The law of the Spirit of life breathes into you and liberates you from the law of sin and death. God did something the law could never do. You see, human flesh took its toll on God’s law. In and of itself, the law is not weak; but the flesh weakens it. So to condemn the sin that was ruling in the flesh, God sent His own Son, bearing the likeness of sinful flesh, as a sin offering. Now we are able to live up to the justice demanded by the law. But that ability has not come from living by our fallen human nature; it has come because we walk according to the movement of the Spirit in our lives. (Romans 8:1-4) In Paul’s day, it was common for people to carry letters of recommendation to prove their trustworthiness and legitimacy. Also, the reputation of the sponsor was extremely important. This practice was in place in early churches so that when a guest arrived, My assembled disciples would know the guest was trustworthy (Romans 16:1-2; 1 Corinthians 16:10-11; 3 John 1:5-8). Paul was dealing with criticism from some opponents in the Corinthian house churches. They were saying that he was not much of a minister, especially when compared to the “super apostles” who were making strong demands for support by the Corinthian churches (2 Corinthians 2:17; 2 Corinthians 12:11-13). These critics were wanting Paul to show letters of recommendation proving the validity of his ministry even though he was the one who first planted these house churches in Corinth. Paul’s answer was clear: You are our letter, every word burned onto our hearts to be read by everyone. You are the living letter of the Anointed One, the Liberating King, nurtured by us and inscribed, not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God — a letter too passionate to be chiseled onto stone tablets, but emblazoned upon the human heart. …any competence or value we have comes from God. Now God has equipped us to be capable servants of the new covenant, not by authority of the written law which only brings death, but by the Spirit Who brings life. He didn’t need a literal letter of recommendation; the Corinthians were his letter written by the Holy Spirit! Paul then spoke emphatically to the difference between the old covenant and the new covenant based on the work of the Holy Spirit. The old covenant was chiseled into stone tablets at Mount Sinai with Moses (Deuteronomy 5:1-24). The new covenant was written on human hearts by the Spirit and brought to the Corinthians through Paul’s ministry. This new covenant was foretold in the promises of the great prophets Ezekiel and Jeremiah. They promised a new covenant with the coming of the Holy Spirit — a time when God’s will would be written on human hearts and not stone tablets (Ezekiel 11:19-20; Ezekiel 36:26-27; Jeremiah 31:31-34). Paul’s competence came from his being equipped by God to be a capable servant of the new covenant. That competence was validated by the coming of the Holy Spirit Who brought life to the Corinthians. While the old covenant given to Moses on Mount Sinai came with great glory, this glory was outshone by the far greater glory of the new covenant. Moses’ face reflected the glory of the Father after being in the Father’s presence. But that glory dimmed as Moses was away from the Father’s glorious presence. The far greater glory of the second covenant never grows dim. Paul said: In fact, what seemed to have great glory will appear entirely inglorious in the light of the greater glory of the new covenant. If something that fades away possesses glory, how much more intense is the glory of what remains? Because God sent the transformational power of the Holy Spirit to Paul to empower his ministry, he had great confidence to speak and act as a minister of God’s new covenant. Unlike Moses, who hid his face as God’s glory began to disappear from him, Paul shared a message and ministered through the power of the Holy Spirit Whose glory doesn’t diminish or depart. Instead, the Spirit’s power transforms you to increasing glory to become more and more like Me (2 Corinthians 3:18)! Verses to Live As you read these verses, please take the time to read the bold highlighted sentence at the end of today’s verses especially carefully. The new covenant, the covenant of the Holy Spirit, brings life and transformation. As you seek Me, the Spirit transforms you — you “are being … metamorphosed” is what Paul literally says! Are we back to page one? Do we need to gather some recommendations to prove our validity to you? Or do we need to take your letter of commendation to others to gain credibility? You are our letter, every word burned onto our hearts to be read by everyone. You are the living letter of the Anointed One, the Liberating King, nurtured by us and inscribed, not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God — a letter too passionate to be chiseled onto stone tablets, but emblazoned
Today’s Verse – Luke 8:21
[Jesus] replied [when he was alerted his physical family was near], “My mother and brothers are those who hear God’s word and put it into practice.” —Luke 8:21 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… I love the simple truth that Jesus taught his first disciples. Do you want to be recognized as a part of Jesus’ family? Obey his Father’s word and live his Father’s will! When you do, Jesus gladly claims you as part of his family and holds you up as an example for others to follow! My Prayer… Bless me today, please, dear Heavenly Father. I want to live with clarity and see the opportunities you have placed in my life to follow you obediently and honor your will. However, dear Father, I don’t want this clarity to be a fleeting thing. Just as I want to be a part of your family permanently and eternally, I want to obey and honor you with my life consistently. Help me be more aware of the opportunities you place in my daily path to do just that! In Jesus’ name, I ask this. Amen. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.
Aroma
Note from Jesus Dear Disciple, As Paul gets ready to talk about the new covenant of the Spirit in 2 Corinthians chapter 3, he pauses long enough to make an important point about his authority as My messenger. He uses the image of a conquering warrior or king returning with the spoils of war. This image includes the prisoners who follow along in the victory procession. Those who are the victors enjoy the sweet aromas of incense burned in celebration as well as the sweet smell of perfumes worn by the women welcoming their warriors home. Behind the victors came the prisoners of the defeated enemy. They were dying, on their way to death, or on their way to being imprisoned or becoming slaves. For these vanquished warriors, an awful stench permeated everything. The horses ahead of them were defecating and urinating on the road they had to travel. Their body odor from hand-to-hand combat was awful and mingled with the dreadful smell of rotting and dying flesh from their war injuries. Mingled with all of this stench was the smell of fear which permeated their sweat as they marched in shame toward their death, imprisonment, or enslavement. Paul uses these powerful images to talk about his authority to minister for Me. He says that I have conquered him. He has yielded his heart without reservation to serve Me and follow Me. I am the triumphant King of Kings. As a vanquished warrior, he is happy to be part of My victory procession and celebration of life. As one vanquished, he had gladly given up his old life to live a new one in subjugation to Me. For people who do not know Me as their Lord and Savior, Paul’s voluntary service to Me seems crazy and wrong-headed and a huge waste of his life. These skeptics cannot see how surrendering to Me as Lord brings them any gain. They look on those who have yielded to Me with disdain or pity. They do not recognize the truth of what I taught My disciples in My earthly ministry: Jesus warned his disciples not to tell anyone who he was. “The Son of Man must suffer many terrible things,” he said. “He will be rejected by the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He will be killed, but on the third day he will be raised from the dead.” Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but are yourself lost or destroyed? If anyone is ashamed of me and my message, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when he returns in his glory and in the glory of the Father and the holy angels.” (Luke 9:21-26 NLT) Paul believed My promise. Paul surrendered his heart, his life, and his future to Me to do My work. Those who do not believe in Me cannot understand Paul’s behavior. However, for those who have come to love Me and who call on Me as their Lord, Paul’s service in My kingdom has the aroma of life — everlasting life that cannot be overpowered or taken away! Paul placed himself in bondage to Me, but I empowered him and liberated him to do My work, the work he was made to do. His surrender to Me as his Lord didn’t mean that he lost out on life, but that his life was caught up into something bigger and better with a future that is forever glorious. For those who believe, Paul may have entered My triumphal procession as a captive, but he is not marching to death; he is marching to life, purpose, and triumph. Verses to Live Paul is open with the Corinthians about his struggles and his doubts and concerns about them. He talks about the challenges he faced in places all over the world where he served Me and My people at great risk and endured great hardships. Despite his challenges, what emerged was the life that only I can bring — meaningful life for Paul and new life for all who were impacted by his words and turned to Me! So in this letter to the Corinthians, he repeatedly focuses on the source of his sufficiency. This sufficiency was not found in himself, but in the power only I can give (2 Corinthians 2:14-17; 2 Corinthians 3:4-6; 2 Corinthians 4:1-16; 2 Corinthians 9:8; 2 Corinthians 12:6-12). So Paul boasts in his weakness because My power is revealed in his weakness. He wants the Corinthians (and you) to know that this is truly the procession that leads to life because I am leading the procession! When I [Paul] came to the city of Troas to preach the Good News of Christ, the Lord opened a door of opportunity for me. But I had no peace of mind because my dear brother Titus hadn’t yet arrived with a report from you. So I said good-bye and went on to Macedonia. But thank God! He has made us his captives and continues to lead us along in Christ’s triumphal procession. Now he uses us to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere, like a sweet perfume. Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing. To those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom. But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume. And who is adequate for such a task as this? You see, we are not like the many hucksters who preach for personal profit.
Today’s Verse – 2 Corinthians 8:20-21
We want to avoid any criticism of the way we administer this liberal gift [of money you have given for the Christians in Jerusalem]. For we are taking pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of men. —2 Corinthians 8:20-21 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… We want to be generous in helping others in need, especially those who are part of our Christian family. Generosity reflects how deeply God’s loving gifts have touched our hearts. At the same time, those who are entrusted with stewardship to lead in this benevolent giving of funds to bless others must carefully heed the example and call of the Apostle Paul. God’s leaders must be circumspect in the way they handle funds contributed by God’s people for efforts to bless others in Jesus’ name. They must take great “pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of men.” My Prayer… Thank you, Father, for your people who are often very generous to help those in need. Thank you for being generous toward us with your blessings. Thank you for entrusting those blessings to us so we can use them for good. At the same time, dear Father, stir us to deal with the charlatans and money grubbers who masquerade as your servants and steal from you, your people, and the needy who need your blessings. May we, both leaders in charge of such gifts and those who generously give them, be honorable and holy in the sight of all as we use these resources to do your work and generously share your grace. In the name of our LORD and Christ, we pray. Amen. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.
Correct and Restore!
Note from Jesus Dear Beloved, Occasionally in an earthly family, a family member can lose his or her way. That person’s behavior can become bizarre, erratic, hurtful, rebellious, sinful, or dangerous. The same is true in My spiritual family. Occasionally one of My disciples will rebel and run after another lifestyle and become enmeshed in sin. Others can stumble or wander away from the truth ensnaring themselves in a life of sin and depravity. And some simply let their hearts grow cold to My way of life and lose passion for Me and the life of faith. In the church as in any family, discipline sometimes must be exercised for the good of the person who has a problem and also to protect other family members who might be easily led astray by a rebellious brother or sister. Discipline can also be useful in preventing shame from being brought on the family of believers because a rebellious person is identified as one of My followers but is living in hypocrisy with blatant disregard for My way. This discipline is also important as a loving strategy to bring the sinful person back into the family fellowship. Today’s verses speak to these kinds of issues in My family of believers. In the first two passages, Paul addresses specific situations in the Corinthian church. The third passage is My teaching during My earthly ministry. Spiritual discipline is for someone who has become entrenched in a lifestyle of sin. This loving discipline is practiced when that person has refused to change his or her lifestyle even after being privately, lovingly, and carefully approached about the sin (Matthew 18:15-17). This kind of discipline must not be done carelessly or selfishly, but lovingly and carefully in an effort to bring that person back into full fellowship with Me and My spiritual family. The approach to this person should never be done arrogantly, but in humility and with deep compassion. One must recognize that any of my disciples could succumb to numerous sins and be dragged away into a lifestyle of destruction (Galatians 6:1-2; James 1:13-15). Discipline in My spiritual family has two goals for the sinful person: correction and restoration. I want My rebellious followers to change their behaviors and return to Me. I want each person who has wandered away, for whatever reason, to be brought back into full fellowship with Me. Spiritual discipline is a recognition that someone is far away from Me and needs to return to Me and My way of life. Spend time in prayer for the one who has wandered from My way and who has been captured by the allure of sin. Ask the Father to be at work in this person’s life to provide an opportunity to come to his or her senses and return to Me (Luke 15:11-24). Work to restore this lost person to your fellowship. After exercising discipline, seek to bring him or her home to My family (Luke 15:1-10). I don’t want you to push people farther away from Me, but to call each person back to grace and to restore each person to active and faithful fellowship. Restoration is the ultimate purpose of all spiritual discipline! Verses to Live The first passage today is from 2 Corinthians and is about a person the Corinthian Christians had spiritually disciplined. The second passage is from 1 Corinthians and is about a problem that the church needed to address and about the needed discipline. As you read these passages, remember the principles I have shared with you today. Read both of Paul’s messages to the Corinthians, and then read My words from My ministry in the third passage. Feel the deep emotions of Paul’s words and also his deep concern for the person who has been disciplined. Your group has great power to lead someone to repentance and forgiveness, so please use this power by demonstrating your love for all those who have wandered away from Me and restore these precious children of the Father. Be certain to notice the goal of spiritual discipline as shown in bold in this first passage; this is a theme that runs through each of these passages. Please bring My lost sheep home to Me! I [Paul] finally determined that I would not come to you again for yet another agonizing visit. If my visits create such pain and sorrow for you, who can cheer me up except for those I’ve caused such grief? This is exactly what I was writing to you about earlier so that when we are face-to-face I will not have to wallow in sadness in the presence of friends who should bring me the utmost joy. For I felt sure that my delight would also become your delight. My last letter to you was covered with tears, composed with great difficulty, and frankly, a broken heart. It wasn’t my intention to depress you or cause you pain; rather, I had hoped you would see it for what it was — a demonstration of the overwhelming love I have for all of you. But if anyone has caused harm, he has not so much harmed me as he has — and I don’t think I’m exaggerating here — harmed all of you. In my view, the majority of you have punished him well enough. So instead of continuing to ostracize him, I encourage you to offer him the grace of forgiveness and the comfort of your acceptance. Otherwise, if he finds no welcome back to the community, I’m afraid he will be overwhelmed with extreme sorrow and lose all hope. So I urge you to demonstrate your love for him once again. I wrote these things to you with a clear purpose in mind: to test whether you are willing to live and abide by all my counsel. If you forgive anyone, I forgive that one as well. Have no doubt, anything that I have forgiven — when I do forgive — is done ultimately
Today’s Verse – Isaiah 8:19
When men tell you to consult mediums and spiritists, who whisper and mutter, should not a people inquire of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living? —Isaiah 8:19 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… We live in an age when people want to mix the contents of many mystical faiths and spirituality into the boiling pot of a self-made pseudo-Christian religion because they added a little Jesus to their mix. Most do not know that the primary claim of Scripture is simple and straightforward: Only God, the Almighty Yahweh, is truly God, and we must worship only the one true and living God (2 Kings 19:19; Nehemiah 9:6; Matthew 4:10). Only he can be trusted. There are other spiritual powers, but these powers lead to despair, death, and destruction. Jesus, as God who came in human flesh (John 1:14-18; Hebrews 1:1-3), triumphed over all these evil powers for us on the cross (Colossians 2:13-15). So we seek God, YAHWEH, the great “I AM” of Israel, the Almighty because we find life in him. All others are false. We should inquire only of our God! My Prayer… Almighty God, you are holy and majestic. You alone are worthy of our worship. Please rekindle our passion to seek you passionately and truthfully. Reawaken us to your glory so the world may know your grace. We long for the people in our time to honor you appropriately as God. We pray that those around us see Your character and grace reflected in who we are, what we do, and how we live for you. May they be drawn to You because of what they see in us. We long for the nations come to know Your peace and honor You alone as LORD. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.
Depending on God
Note from Jesus Dear Precious Child of the Father, My people have had to face hostile trials for their faith all throughout history. I’m not talking about the challenges, agonies, and suffering that sometimes go with being mortal or about loving broken people who can disappoint you. These difficulties are part of being human. These burdens of mortality are part of the reason I came to earth and lived among you as one of you (Hebrews 2:14; Hebrews 4:14-16). The trials I am addressing today are ostracism, the seizure of property, the loss of jobs, imprisonment, beatings, persecutions, and martyrdom because you entrust your life to Me. I want you to read and be changed by what Paul wrote to the Corinthian Christians. I want you to notice what is in today’s verses as well as in the parts of 2 Corinthians you will be reading over the next several days. Paul faced many difficult challenges in his life of ministry (2 Corinthians 11:16-30). Some of these difficult challenges nearly cost him his life (Acts 9:22-31; Acts 14:19-20; Acts 23:12-35) years before his actual death (2 Timothy 4:6-8). There are things in 2 Corinthians that Paul wrote after having faced severe challenges in Asia Minor, especially in Ephesus (2 Corinthians 1:8-11; 1 Corinthians 15:32). He was close to losing his life and endured many hardships that are not reported to you in the book of Acts. But if you carefully read Acts and 1 and 2 Corinthians, you get a glimpse of his living through very difficult ordeals while faithfully serving Me and My people. Paul came to realize that he had no power to protect his own life or to deliver himself from death. He had no choice but to rely on Us — Father, Son, and Spirit — to deliver him from death and deliver him back to ministry. In the middle of his horrible ordeals and in spite of the long time he had spent in Corinth, Paul felt the need to explain and defend himself to the Corinthians. He explained how the money for the church in Jerusalem was being handled (2 Corinthians 8:10-24) “so that no one can claim that we [Paul and those with him] are mishandling the funds we’ve collected” (2 Corinthians 8:20). He explained the change in his plans to visit Corinth and that he was sincere in wanting to be with the Christians there again (2 Corinthians 1:12-24). He defended himself as being really as good of an apostle as those who were claiming to be “super apostles” — also called “great emissaries” (2 Corinthians 11:5 The Voice). In particular, he explained that his message and God’s power were the important things. It was not important that he was not an imposing physical presence, not as accomplished an orator, or not as successful by human standards as these “super apostles” who demanded support from the Corinthians (2 Corinthians 10:1-12; 2 Corinthians 11:4-20). Paul demonstrated in 2 Corinthians the character of a true Christian leader. This person finds his or her sufficiency in Me by serving like Me, depending upon Me, and living for Me. A leader’s outward appearance, charisma, and worldly success are not indicative of being My chosen instrument. Too often, because of the representations of Me in your movies and paintings, people forget the great prophet Isaiah’s statements about Me as the Suffering Servant of the Lord: He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. (Isaiah 53:2-3 NIV) When Paul spoke of his qualifications as an apostle, he pointed to Me as the Suffering Servant of the Lord. The Corinthians were being lured away by those who appeared to be very talented and charismatic leaders. These false leaders called themselves “super apostles.” Paul challenged the Corinthians to see that their “super apostles” did not measure up to My life and ministry as the Suffering Servant of the Lord. My strength is made perfect in those recognizing their weaknesses, those who know that their strength is found in trusting in My power and relying on Me as their all-sufficient Lord! Verses to Live As you enter into the world of 2 Corinthians in the third passage below, I want you to understand the path that Paul had endured. He had walked a very difficult path as he journeyed through Ephesus, other parts of Asia Minor, and Macedonia, as noted in the first two passages. In the end, Paul realized that there was only One on Whom he could truly depend. He discovered that he could trust “solely in God, Who possesses the power to raise the dead”! As soon as the uproar ended [in Ephesus], Paul gathered the disciples together, encouraged them once more, said farewell, and left on foot. He decided to pass through Macedonia, encouraging believers wherever he found them, and came to Greece. He spent three months there, and then he planned to set sail once again for Syria. But he learned that a group of Jewish opponents was plotting to kill him, so he decided to travel through Macedonia. (Acts 20:1-3) And as for us, why do we endanger ourselves every hour? I [Paul] face death every day — yes, just as surely as I boast about you in Christ Jesus our Lord. If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus with no more than human hopes, what have I gained? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” (1 Corinthians 15:30-32 NIV) Paul, an emissary of Jesus the Anointed pressed into service by the will of God, and our brother Timothy to God’s church that gathers in Corinth and all the saints in the region of Achaia. May grace and peace from God
Today’s Verse – Romans 8:18
I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. —Romans 8:18 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… “Life is pain… Anyone who says differently is selling you something.” This line from the movie “Princess Bride” is poignantly accurate. However, it is not eternally accurate! Better days are ahead for those of us who follow Jesus, and these better days are far better than anything we can begin to imagine. As the old song says, “O that will be, glory for me… when by Thy grace I shall look on His face, that will be glory, be glory, for me.” My Prayer… Please, Almighty God, give me the courage and vision to anticipate from afar the ultimate realization of grace that you have waiting for me. I want to fully believe that you are working to bring me home to you and to that glory — a glory that makes all present sufferings insignificant compared to what you will reveal to me and in me. In Jesus’ name, I anticipate this day as I pray. Amen. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.
Spiritual Power
Note from Jesus Dear Friend, To understand your verses today from the book of Acts, you need to be aware of two challenges facing My early followers in Ephesus. The first issue involved disciples of John the Baptist and My apostle Paul. John was both My cousin and My predecessor in preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God. John had gained a huge following before I started the primary part of My earthly ministry. Many people were baptized by John as they turned their lives from sin (as they repented) and got ready for My coming. Many who never heard the full story of My coming and the full good news about Me were baptized (Mark 1:4-8). In Ephesus, Paul met a group of these disciples who had been baptized by John. They had a fundamental gap in their understanding: they knew nothing about the Holy Spirit and the Spirit’s connection to spiritual rebirth, to the gospel, and to baptism (John 3:3-7; Acts 2:36-39; Titus 3:3-7). Paul taught the importance of the Spirit: But you do not live in the flesh. You live in the Spirit, assuming, of course, that the Spirit of God lives inside of you. The truth is that anyone who does not have the Spirit of the Anointed living within does not belong to God. (Romans 8:9) So Paul taught these disciples of John in Ephesus the truth about Me and the Spirit and then baptized them. Paul then laid his hands on them, and they received the Spirit in a demonstrable way just as Jews did at Pentecost (Acts 2:14-21; Acts 2:32-39), Samaritans did after Philip’s ministry (Acts 8:14-17), and Gentiles did with the conversion of Cornelius and his household (Acts 10:34-48). In this same way, the Holy Spirit also made clear that the people in Ephesus who had been baptized by John had become My disciples. A second issue was the challenge that demonic power represented for faithful disciples in Ephesus. Not only was Ephesus one of the Mediterranean world’s four largest cities and an important port, but this city was also the most important banking center in the Mediterranean world. When you think of banking centers in your world today, you think of financial institutions. However, Ephesus was an important banking center for Asia Minor because of the many temples, the places where money was exchanged, held, and connected to religions. Ephesus was a huge place where eastern cultures, western cultures, and ancient magical spiritual practices collided. Pilgrims came from all over the world to receive healing, to have demons cast out of people they loved, and to connect to spiritual powers of all kinds. In addition to preaching and teaching, Paul did all sorts of miracles showing My power at work through him. The people of Ephesus needed to know I was more powerful than the false gods and demons they worshiped. If Paul’s great miracles were not enough to convince them, the confrontation of demons with the sons of Sceva demonstrated that My power was stronger than the demons and could not be manipulated! This story, both humorous and sad, should serve as a reminder to you of what Paul said to the Ephesians when he wrote to them later: Finally, brothers and sisters, draw your strength and might from God. Put on the full armor of God to protect yourselves from the devil and his evil schemes. We’re not waging war against enemies of flesh and blood alone. No, this fight is against tyrants, against authorities, against supernatural powers and demon princes that slither in the darkness of this world, and against wicked spiritual armies that lurk about in heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:10-12) I want you to realize today that when I sent the Holy Spirit to you at your conversion, I sent you Our — Father, Son, and Spirit’s — presence and power. My victory over sin, death, and demons was won in the cross and the resurrection and gives you spiritual power. While you live in a world where sin, death, and demons influence many things, these forces no longer have power over you and can no longer control you if you follow Me (Colossians 1:9-13). Verses to Live The challenge for believers in Ephesus revolved around Our spiritual power — My disciples had it and there were impostors aligned with demons who didn’t have that ultimate power. My disciples demonstrated through their lives and their actions that I have the power over all demonic forces and that the Holy Spirit gives My disciples confidence not to live in superstition and fear. While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul’s overland journey brought him back to Ephesus. He encountered a group of about a dozen disciples there. Paul: Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers? John’s Disciples: We’ve never heard about the Holy Spirit. Paul: Well then, what kind of ceremonial washing through baptism did you receive? John’s Disciples: We received the ritual cleansing of baptism that John taught. Paul: John taught the truth — that people should be baptized with renewed thinking and turn toward God. But he also taught that the people should believe in the One Whose way he was preparing, that is, Jesus the Anointed. As soon as they heard this, they were baptized, this time in the name of our Lord Jesus. When Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them in the same way the original disciples experienced at Pentecost: they spoke in tongues and prophesied. For three months, Paul continued his standard practice: he went week by week to the synagogue, speaking with great confidence, arguing with great persuasiveness, proclaiming the kingdom of God. Once again, some members of the synagogue refused to believe and insulted the Way publicly before the whole synagogue community. Paul withdrew and took those with him who had become disciples. For the next two years, he used the public lecture hall of Tyrannus, presenting the Word of the Lord
Today’s Verse – Deuteronomy 8:17-18
You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today. —Deuteronomy 8:17-18 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… What do we have that wasn’t given to us? Nothing. It came either by God’s generous grace, an unexpected blessing, a disciplining hardship, a providential opportunity, or our good health. And when we stand before the throne of judgment, what will be our claim to grace? Only God’s generous and loving gifts to us through Jesus. This grace has made us pure, holy, and whole! Nothing we possess, accomplish, or buy can give us such a claim. Only God’s generosity, grace, mercy, and love can bring heaven’s greatest gifts to us. As the famous Doxology leads us to sing, “Praise God from whom all blessings flow!” My Prayer… We thank you, dear Father, for your wonderful and extravagant blessings. All that we have, all that we are, and all that we ever hope to be exists only because of the mercy and grace you have lavished upon us. We thank you in Jesus’ name. Amen. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.