Monday 29/4/13

Ephesians 5:15-17 ASV

Look therefore carefully how ye walk, not as unwise, but as wise; redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

What is walking wisely, not unwise?

_ it means using our time effectively, focusing on important goals and avoiding any vain or needless pursuit. It also means able to perceive the time and the trend, so as to know what is best to do know to avoid losing the opportunity.

How do we know the important goals to focus on? We need to understand what the will of the Lord is. How? Through Bible study and meditation, through communing with God via prayer and applying His Word in our daily life.

As we walk close to God and be in tune with the Holy Spirit, we will be able to hear His voice and understand His will. Then we can make it our important goal, which we ought to do as effective as we can.

Thursday 25/4/13

Ephesians 5:11-12 ASV

and have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather even reprove them; for the things which are done by them in secret it is a shame even to speak of.

As children of the light, we should refuse to take part in any sinful activity which bear no fruit of goodness or righteousness. Instead, we ought to reprove them and bring to light the shameful things they did in secret.

Wednesday 24/4/13

Ephesians 5:8-10 ASV

For ye were once darkness, but are now light in the Lord: walk as children of light (for the fruit of the light is in all goodness and righteousness and truth), proving what is well-pleasing unto the Lord;

Before we knowed God, we were darkness, walking in the way of the world. Now we know God and His Word, we have light in Him to guide us and help us discern good and evil. Since we know the light and God adopted us as His children, we ought to walk worthy of our knowledge & calling. As we walk in the light, we will bear the fruit of goodness and righteousness, all that are pleasing to God.

Tuesday 23/4/12

Ephesians 5:5-7 ASV

For this ye know of a surety, that no fornicator, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no man deceive you with empty words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the sons of disobedience. Be not ye therefore partakers with them;

God is the source of love, but He is also the source of righteousness. He hate sin and cannot let heaven be tainted by sin like the earth. Therefore, unless a sinner repents, acknowledges and turns away from his sin, and asks for forgiveness, he will not enter heaven. The wrath of God abides in that sinner.

As Christians, we are called to be holy - separated for God, and be the light and the salt. Therefore, we must not be partaker with them. Instead, we should gently warn them of sin, fight against the corruption of sin, and help them see the right way in God.

Monday 22/4/13

Ephesians 5:3-4 ASV

But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as becometh saints; nor filthiness, nor foolish talking, or jesting, which are not befitting: but rather giving of thanks.

Here is the list of worldly things which Christians ought to put off.

+ fornication & uncleanliness: we ought to keep ourselves pure and free from immoral deeds.

+ greed and covetousness: we ought to be content with our lot and not to compare ourselves with others. While generally considered an acceptable sin in worldly mind, greed - envy - covet are among the deadly sins according to God. The love of money is the root of all evils, those who love it will inflict themselves & their neighbors with many pains.

+ filthy talks: Christians ought to talk with grace, gentleness and self control. We are to avoid dirty and angry words, thoughtless or useless talking. Even humour should be thoughtful and befitting, not dirty or profane.

Finally, Christians must never take things for granted but always be thankful. We should thank God for everything we have, and thank others for what they give us, for they are the channels of blessing of God to us. To know how important one is to us, we can just imagine what if we never meet them and lose all things we are taking for granted.

Wednesday 17/4/13

Ephesians 4:29-30 ASV

Let no corrupt speech proceed out of your mouth, but such as is good for edifying as the need may be, that it may give grace to them that hear. And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, in whom ye were sealed unto the day of redemption.

As Christians, we must put off the old manner of speech, and learn from God. Our speech must not have any profane or corrupted or angry words. Instead, it must be gracious, gentle, as good and edifying as it can be. If we must edify or correct, do it as considerate and gentle as we can.

Overall, God has sent the Holy Spirit the indwell in us to teach us and remind us of His Word. He will grieve & convict us when we do wrong, and rejoice when we do right. Therefore, we must be sensitive to His evaluating, and listen to His instructions. We also must study the Bible regularly to store up God's Word so that we can differentiate the Holy Spirit guiding with our own thoughts.

Tuesdays 16/4/14

Ephesians 4:28 ASV

Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labor, working with his hands the thing that is good, that he may have whereof to give to him that hath need.

As beloved children of God, Christians must labor and work with their hands. God makes men labor so that they are properly occupied and avoid being idle which leads to sin. Labor trains us and helps us fulfill the purpose God created us, to work and keep the garden of God, to rule over all creation.

Moreover, we must mind the things we work, whether it is good and make our world a better place, or it promotes evil and damages to our neighbors like casino, drunkenness. God is good and righteous, we must labor for God, not for money.

Additionally, we work not just to provide for ourselves, but also to help our brothers who are in needs. Therefore, we must be generous and willing to share. Not just sharing our extra things, we can share our knowledge & skills to help others meet their needs, and the needs of the society.

Thursday 11/4/14

Ephesians 4:25-27 ESV

Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.

To put off the old body and put on a new one in God, we must stop doing the old things and practice the new things.

The first thing to do is to put away falsehood & lie. We must always speak the truth to one another. Here Paul compared us with members of a body. Billions of cells all have a common well-being in the body, and they must be completely truthful to each other. If some cells decided to cheat & lie at the cost of others, they become cancerous cells and can destroy the body if not properly cured. Similarly, if some of us act like those cancerous cells, the body of Christ will suffer harm & danger. We must be like healthy cells, each cooperate and do their functions in unity and truth.

Wednesday 10/4/13

Ephesians 4:23-24 ESV

and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

As we hear the Word of God and believe, we are called to put off our old selves and put on a new self. The old self thinks and act in the manner of this world, which is corrupted through vain and deceitful desires. The new self is created after the likeness of God in true righteousness & holiness.

To put on the new self, we must be renewed in the spirit of our mind. The spirit is the fundamental emotional & activating principle of something. So we must let God and His Word transform our mind and change its principles, change the triggers to our emotions and decisions. A worldly mind chooses worldly things and delight in them. A Godly mind chooses godly things and enjoys them. To do this, we must study God's Word and come to Him in prayers, so we can see things like Him, think like Him, and delight in what He delights.

Tuesday 9/4/14

Ephesians 4:20-22 ESV

But that is not the way you learned Christ!— assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires,

Before knowing God, we also only know the way of the world. But in Christ, we can learn the Word and the way of God. Therefore, we must diligently apply ourselves to learn and practice God's Word.

As we renounce our worldly thinking & acting, we put off our old self, which belongs to our former manner of life. That life is corrupt through deceitful desires. As Solomon in Ecclesiastes said, it is vanity and will ultimately frustrate us. But the way of God, of faith, hope, love leads to enduring wealth, peace and joy and love, and above all, eternal life.

Monday 8/4/14

Ephesians 4:17-19 ESV

Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.

As Christians, we ought to walk in the way of God, not as the Gentiles who don't know Him. Because of their ignorance and of their hardened heart, their way is futile, their achievements are vain, and their understanding is darkened. What have the Pharaohs gained with their pyramids? They cause great suffering to their people while building up their judgements in hell. And what do people gain with their great wealth? How much can they spend for good and for the benefits of their body? How much do they spend wastefully and for pleasures harmful to their bodies & their souls?

Not knowing the eternal life of God, people will focus on what they can get in this life "...Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die..." They will get carried away by the sensuality of drunkeness, debauchery, lust, greed and many other impure things. That's all people can gain in this life, but these are harmful to their bodies and their souls. So we need to share the Good News of God, of forgiveness and salvation, and of eternal life.

Friday 5/4/13

Ephesians 4:15-16 ESV

Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

Christians are to grow up in every way into Christ. We ought to speak the truth in love, not in condemnation.  We also must study the Word and the way of Christ / the wisdom of God so we can understand Him. Christ said we are His friends, not His servants. The difference is that a friend knows what his friend is doing, the servant knows not.

Similarly, we need to build the body up in love. Each joints must be properly equipped, each parts must functions properly. All are held together and joined together in Christ, the head of the body. And that must be done in the spirit of love and gentleness, and the way of God.

Thursday 4/4/13

Ephesians 4:13-14 ESV

until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.

What are the end goals for building up Christians and the body of Christ?

_ to attain the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God: I think it means we are all fully understand and united in faith and knowledge of God.

_ to mature manhood: meaning we are not like children, but able to take responsiblities, to think and plan, to work and keep, to supervise and correct... like a grown man.

_ to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ: to understand how great our God is.

When we have matured, we will achieve understanding and stability, able to see through and not being tosses around by waves deception and craftiness and scheming. We can resist fall doctrines,  and correctly follow & apply the faith in our lives

Tuesday 2/4/12

Ephesians 4:7-8 ESV

But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift. Therefore it says, "When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men."

We are united in God, but each of us has different gifts given by God. We have one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. But God gives each one of us different gifts to help us play our role in the church as a member of one body.

Our differences should help us rely on each other abd support one another in love. We must not let it become a source of envy and contention. The eyes, the mouth, the arms and legs, they all play an indispensable role in the body. Yes, the eyes & the mouth are at higher place, get better treatment and more protected than the arms and legs. But the whole body cannot be consist only of eyes & mouth, majority must be arms & legs. Each part is equally important to the body. No part can be proud and think lowly of other parts. Each should focus on doing best its functionality. Like wise, each of us should focus on using our gifts for the body of Christ, and not comparing with others.

Wednesday 3/4/13

Ephesians 4:11-12 ESV

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers,  to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,

Just like a body has many members with different functions: eyes, mouth, ear... a church also has many members with different functions: apostles, prophets, teachers... God gives us spiritual gifts and skills so that we can work together for ministries, for building up the body of Christ and every Christians.

In a body, very parts are equally important, and all parts must work together in harmony and do their roles for the body to work. Similarly, each of us is equally important in God and we must work together in harmony for the church to prosper. We must not think ourselves higher, or lower, or envy with others. Instead, we must mind our gifts, our roles, our ministries and do it well.