Ephesians 5:11-13
Verse 11 Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.
Whether it is through the reading of the Word or listening to teaching on it, it comes to nothing if we don’t take it to heart and apply it to our lives. Jesus didn’t teach His followers so they could go about life the way they had been but so they could live as His ambassadors to the world. So if we are His followers too, we need to be understanding our role as His ambassadors and take that role seriously.
There are those who will tell us we need to be like the world to win them or even be in their world to understand them. You may also have heard how Jesus hung out with the worst sinners and so should we. All these thoughts come from a place of not wanting to give up anything for Jesus. When He ate with “the worst of the worse” it wasn’t because He was trying to fit in with them, He always had the goal of bringing them out of their sin.
We can’t think we can help anyone with their sinful condition until we admit and want to take care of our own sinful hearts. If we aren’t willing to address the sins in our own life, we need to question where we are in our relationship with the Lord. What part are we allowing Him to play in our lives? If we aren’t willing to let Him change our lives to be more like Him, do we really care about Him?
If He didn’t want us to obey Him, He wouldn’t have made it so His teachings were preserved for so many centuries. This book we call the Bible is a gift like no other. This gift was being put together thousands of years ago so we could find His teachings, not to admire them but to embrace and obey them. The problem is we don’t like when His Word cuts deep as it reveals our sinful ways.
Having this weapon is about fighting the enemy’s schemes and we can’t use it for that if we are willing to allow the enemy to keep us distracted from the work of the Lord. When we aren’t willing to allow the Word to cut things from our thinking and actions, we will find we are not ready to do the things the Lord has created us to do. He doesn’t want us thinking it is OK to do the things those around us are doing, He wants our lives to be reflecting His word so much that others can’t help but notice we aren’t like the world. There should be no question who we belong to.
Making It Personal
Do you love Jesus or your sin more? Were you honest with that answer? Where does your life reflect Jesus as Lord?
Making It Personal Kids
Do you love sin or Jesus more? Does your life show that? What sins are in your life which you know Jesus wants you to stop doing?
Closing Prayer
Father, thank You for giving us the guidelines we need to live like You. Help us willingly accept the cutting away of sin through the conviction of the Holy Spirit and Your Word. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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