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In Conclusion

11/28/2016

"and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness."
~Ephesians 4:24

Well here we are at the final Ephesians Four blog. It has been a long, sometimes exhausting, sometimes encouraging, sometimes tough journey through a chapter that is meant to be all of that. But I made it! How about you?

Ephesians 4:24 is the last verse of Ephesians Four for us to talk about*, and it really does serve as a great conclusion to this entire study.

Last week I spoke about being made new directly by the power of God’s Grace. Today I want to conclude with a truth that summarizes the process of growing our walk with God and others: God provides the power, we provide the effort; when joined together (God’s power working with us), we experience the newness of true righteousness and holiness that God designed for us.

1 Corinthians 3:9 says that we are co-workers with God, doing His work on earth. Ephesians 2:10 says that we are His masterpiece that HE created; but He created us for the purpose of doing good works. He works on us, but He also works with us, so that together we can become the masterpiece He envisions, and the helper He needs.

The journey of Ephesians Four does not have to be made alone. The Lord Jesus Christ walks with us every step of the way. All that we are and ever will become, we owe to Him.** Take His hand. Take your journey. Overcome.

I pray that something this year has made a difference in your life. I pray that you never forget the encouragement and challenges from Ephesians chapter four. I pray that you have grown (as I have); and, that each time you are ready to go to the next level in your walk with God and others, Ephesians four will be a ready reference.

Next week we will begin a special focused time of prayer for our individual lives and the coming year. Please join me on The Christian Woman Chronicles’ Page under "Bible Study Blog and Discussions," as we take the remainder of the year to hear from God and walk confidently into 2017 with His blessing and vision. Are you ready to do 2017 differently than other years? Prayer is the key, and God has the answer! Let’s tap into both this December!

Dawn
~Pouring My Life Out in Worship, Like Costly Oil~

*To read about verses 25-32 see the 2016 Summer Session Bible Study Blog HERE
**Paraphrase of a lyric from “To God Be the Glory” by Andrae Crouch

Be Made New

11/21/2016

"and be renewed in the spirit of your mind,"
~Ephesians 4:23

Change is difficult. For some, like me, it is more difficult than for others.

I gave my life to Christ at 13 years old, and sure enough my life took on a drastic change. But the changes were all self-willed changes. Nothing wrong with self-will and discipline; indeed, that is vital for a strong Christian life. However, my life was nothing but a series of self-directed rules, imposed upon me by a legalistic leadership. Soon, my efforts to perform the changes that were imposed on me began to take a toll on my mind, will, and emotions. As my human effort inevitably failed the perfection test, I became guilt and shame ridden. My guilt and shame led to greater failures and poorer choices. Eventually I gave up…to the wrong things. I gave up trying to live a new life in Christ.

After ten years of living as I heard one preacher call it, and have since adopted as the theme for my backslidden state, “A Believer Behaving Badly,” I gave up once more. The consequences of my lifestyle and poor choices, and my pure exhaustion at trying to fit in with the World AND with Christ, had finally brought me to the end of myself. A little over 10 years ago, I decided I needed to make a change…again. This time, I decided that God, the church, and I myself needed to accept me exactly as and where I was, at whatever level of righteousness I found myself. I decided that if God wanted me to live righteous, He needed to make it happen. I had come to the realization that I was useless and powerless where true life transformation was concerned.

What I found was that all I needed to do was be willing to say yes when God prompts me; to follow [Him] in simple, unashamed Faith; to take the small, insignificant, sometimes unseen or embarrassing steps of obedience. I realized that I didn’t have to be a new person overnight. And let me tell you, it has been a long road that I am still walking; step by step, faith by faith, one act of obedience after another. Each step and act of obedience gets me closer to Christ-likeness, and makes the next step that much easier.

Change, true change, didn’t come quickly for me. The part of me that God was truly interested in was not even penetrated for more than 20 years after my first confession of faith. And here is where we come to our verse for the week… The spirit of our mind is the part of humanity that will live forever; and that is the part of humanity that needs to be completely transformed first. Change in our actions comes ONLY through the power of God, AFTER we have experienced renewing in the spirit of our minds.

What does that mean? Well for me it was simple (although not simple to perform): If God said it, I believe it, and that settles it. I agree with Him and His Word. Even if I can’t find the strength to obey perfectly, I agree that He is true, and everything and everyone else (even my own heart, will, and desires) is a lie. I start and stop and start again. I try and fail and try again. Each time I pray and cry and say, “God if You help me, I will obey!”

Little by little, my stops begin to be few and far between, my victories outnumbering my failures. Pretty soon it became that all my victories are now recalled (by me) to be solely due to the tears of surrender and the Grace of God, instead of any effort on my part. Being renewed is something that happened to me, rather than something that I did. I am not perfect, and I know I never will be until I reach heaven; but, God’s Grace has been sufficient enough in every one of my struggles that I know I can continue on to full maturity if I stay the course, and truly desire to do so. If I stop growing, it is not due to any failure in God, or His ability to keep me from falling.

So what am I saying with this part testimony, part long blog post? More than anything else I am pleading with you not to give up on holiness, and not to settle for “good enough.” A rich and thriving life of the Overcomer is in your future if you would just believe and take the small steps God places before you, no matter how many times you fail. I think what I needed more than anything else during my days of trying to live differently, was someone who had truly lived an overcoming life by Grace instead of by human effort; someone who could truly be transparent and open enough to point to God’s overcoming Grace and their personal failures. We all need that. I pray I can be that for just one person reading this today. I pray that in turn, someone will become that person for me on the journey still ahead of me.

May I pray with you this week? Please email me, or inbox me on social media. Our theme for 2016 is coming to a close in just one week. Don’t let this time end without us making a firm commitment to grow…to continue on to full maturity in Christ. Let’s grow together, by God’s Grace!

Seeking to Grow my Walk with God and Others,
Dawn~

Since You’re Saved INDEED

11/14/2016

"that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts,"
~Ephesians 4:22

…stop living like you used to live; stop talking like you used to talk; stop following the negative and destructive patterns of your former life… These things corrupt our lives and world, even though they give us a false “feel good,” “feel right” feeling.

This week’s verse is pretty clear, but I really want to highlight the very last statement “the deceitful lusts…”

Lust is a strong desire or craving, especially for something that is forbidden. Sounds pretty wrong, right? Doesn't always feel wrong at the time though. Most of us can, at this very moment, think of something in our lives that we crave or desire strongly. Even some forbidden things. And with that image, we can almost taste the pleasure that comes with satisfying that craving. At the moment of satisfaction, you can’t imagine that eating those ribs could possibly turn out as bad as the doctor said when she told you that eating saturated fat will kill you. But that satisfaction is total deception! And so is the case with most forms of lust.

Lust is more than anything else, deceitful. Giving in to cravings rarely have positive results; even on a simple level. That ice cream scoop every day is just the amount of sugar it takes to create greater and longer cravings, pile on the pounds, and tear down the immune system.

And so is the case with the lusts we embraced and followed in our former lifestyle. The lifestyle of the world tells us to “do what feels good;” the Bible tells us to do what is good for others. Of course this doesn’t mean we don’t have fun. “Fun” only become dangerous when is an addiction, and begins to interfere with doing what is right (work, family and home responsibilities, making good decisions, etc.), or is harmful to others (hazing, bullying, etc.).

Here are a few good rules to live by:

Work to create a life, let your life serve others, and have fun in the process. See the progression? Work. Serve. Fun.
If you feel you “have to have it,” pray about giving it up completely. If it is a harmful habit, ask God for His grace to help you let it go.
If there is a sinful behavior in your life that you are craving and addicted to, there is MUCH help if you truly want to be free. Below are some Biblically grounded ways for you to seek freedom from sin.
- Resist temptation: This is the starting ground. Jesus resisted temptation, and His followers are required to do so as well. We never grow stronger in our walk with God by being pushovers where temptation is concerned. (1 Cor. 10:13, James 4:7, Gal. 5:16, Heb. 2:18, just to list a few verses)
- Don’t do it alone: Pray diligently about going to a church counselor or seeking a trustworthy and spiritually strong accountability partner. These should be Spirit-filled individuals who are not weak with gossip or a critical spirit, and have the gift of Mercy and boldness to speak the Truth in Love. (James 5:16, Prov. 15:22, Prov. 11:14)
- Reject pride and get serious help: There is a great Christian program for those who have very difficult and long term “hurts, habits, and hang-ups” (which we all do), that they simply can’t overcome alone. Learn more about this program at : www.celebraterecovery.com, and find a location in your area. God will abundantly honor those who are humble, serious, and diligent enough to go this route and follow the process. (Same verses as above)

May we not live life based on our cravings or desires, but by Love, Truth, and the power of a changed life!

Seeking to Grow my Walk with God and Others,
Dawn~

Are You Saved INDEED?

11/7/2016

“if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus:”
~Ephesians 4:21

“You’re going to hell…if you do this, if you do that, if you act like this, if you act like that…etc., etc.!” Heard that before?

I had a conversation with a couple of people last week where one person was rightfully annoyed that some Christians wrongfully, openly, boldly determine who is or isn’t “going to hell” based on certain sins being committed. I think sometimes Christians only painfully admit that no one but God gets to make that determination, or has that level of knowledge. But make no mistake, many people will definitely wake up in hell at the end of their life on earth. But why do some Christians feel the need to make a decision about who these individuals are? I mean for all intents and purposes, the thief who was crucified next to Jesus had every single attribute of one whose life was done and spoken for…he was a hellion, and was as good as dead. But Jesus, God in flesh, made the determination hours before he died, that this thief would instead be with Him in Paradise. What do we know about someone else’s eternity???

What I would like to point out based on today’s verse, and what I pointed out to those friends last week, is that what my fellow Christ Followers are really trying to say is this: If you are truly Saved, you live differently…or, you should.

Last week’s blog spoke about how Believers are supposed to be different from their old lives, and from unbelievers. Today’s verse finishes that thought…IF you INDEED have heard (responded to) His (Christ’s) message, and have been taught the Truth, which is in Him (Jesus)…then you ARE DIFFERENT. Galatians 5:17 states clearly that if God’s Spirit lives in us, we constantly have a war going on within. Our old nature fights against the new nature, and vice versa. But if there is no war going on…if we are content to remain as wretched ungodly, unconverted, unchanged sinners in mind, body, and soul, then we most likely have not INDEED heard (responded to) Christ’s message of Truth. That is what those who preach the “hell, fire, and damnation” message really should be saying. No, there is no time limit on how fast or how much we change in Christ; but, that war should definitely be happening within...constantly!

True Christ Followers should have to fight God Himself, each and every day, in order to live a life of sin. And let me tell you from experience, it is exhausting. But if you do have to struggle against the Truth to live in darkness and deceit, that’s a good thing! Don’t feel bad about it. But now it’s time to stop fighting, and give control to the Spirit that is living in you! It will be so freeing, I promise!

Seeking to Grow my Walk with God and Others,
Dawn~

But We Are Different

10/31/2016

“But you have not so learned Christ,”
~Ephesians 4:20

We [Christians] are [to be] different…to paraphrase the final rebuke from Paul’s sad, shameful, sometimes scathing description of the lifestyle that is reflective of non-believers.

So exactly how are we do be different? All the verses surrounding this week’s verse, from 17 to the end of the chapter, is a detailed outline of the answer to how we are to be different. We have studied verses 17-19 already in this blog, and verses 25-32 in our Summer Bible Study Blog; so let’s talk about it:
Our thinking should be of moral, emotional, and mental substance
Our mentality and emotions (disposition) should be as Light in the dark world
We should live like we know better, because we know God
Our hearts are to be aware and full of vision
We are not to reject truth and light
We are never to be callous
We should have a life of discipline and self-control
Our life will not result in greed and uncleanness because we are keeping ourselves from sin which is rooted in greed and uncleanness
We don’t indulge in or promote corrupt conversation
We are daily renewing our mind according to the light and truth; and putting on our new nature of righteousness and holiness which is found in Christ through grace
We are not liars
Our anger should not control us
We don’t give Satan an opportunity to manipulate us
We don’t steal; we work hard; we make plans to give
Our conversations should help and encourage others
We should not ignore or stifle the leading of God’s Spirit
We don’t hold on to bitterness or live as “drama queens” with their fussing, fighting, and fury
We are to be kind and tenderhearted
We should always forgive; just like we have been forgiven

I dare say that shockingly, these are just the "basics;" but even so, I wonder what the world would look like if even half of all us Christ Followers were to be consistent in just these areas? I wonder what my home, family, business, ministry, smile, impact would look like if I were consistent in all these basic areas of spiritual growth? It is a daunting challenge, but it is not a discouraging one. Why? Because what we learned BEFORE Paul started on his “list,” is that God has placed within the Body of Christ everything we need in order to accomplish this daunting task. Not that we will individually be perfect, but we all perfectly fit together making the whole work in perfect order; growing together, and ministering to each other in Love. We got what it takes Sisters! Let’s do this!!

Seeking to Grow my Walk with God and Others,
Dawn~

The Sin Journey

10/24/2016

“to work all uncleanness with greediness.”
~Ephesians 4:19(c)

Quote from our last blog…, “Failing to grow in our walk with God will inevitably drag us past willful ignorance, to callousness, and eventually into all out excess! And that excess is accentuated by uncleanness and greed…”

As my pastor always says, “Sin will take you further than you want to go, cost you more than you want to pay, and keep you longer than you want to stay.” That basically summarizes parts b and c of Ephesians 4:19.

You may ask, “Wait, how do you, Dawn, go from “Failing to grow in our walk with God” to “Sin”?” The answer is very important and true: When we are not growing in our walk with God, we are intentionally or unintentionally allowing sin to remain active in our lives. The only way to truly and effectively combat sin is to grow closer to Christ, and connect stronger with God’s people. It is nearly impossible to keep sin out of our hearts and lives without God’s help. And if we are honest, we don’t even recognize sin in our lives until we begin to grow closer to God.

Furthermore, Scripture tells us that Jesus stands knocking at the door of every heart...that includes the Believer who is not in communion and fellowship with Him. God is always trying to draw us closer. Refusal to respond to God is sin and rejection. Rejecting God’s advances, will only lead to more sin, which leads to excess, which leads to…yeah, you see where we are… Almost every evil act under the sun can be summed up to greed or uncleanness. It is not only the end result of sin, but it is the foundation of evil itself. Sin makes its journey full circle, beginning and ending with greed and uncleanness.

Let us fight bitterly against apathy, indifference, and complacency in our walk with God and others. Let us strive to keep sin fighting for victory; let’s not just lay down and let it win! The key to all of this is to GROW UP in Christ!

Seeking to Grow my Walk with God and Others,
Dawn~

No Shame, No Restraint

10/10/2016

“have given themselves over to lewdness,”
~Ephesians 4:19(b)

So before I make a few short statements about this week’s portion of verse 19, I want to recap…
…the Apostle Paul is urging Christ Followers not to walk in the way of their former lives…in the way of unbelievers, who have weak and wrong mentalities; and their entire dispositions fail to represent the Light of God because 1. They don’t know God, 2. They willfully resist Truth and Light, and 3. Their rejection of God’s Truth and Life have made them callous toward the things of God…

Well this week’s passage makes the first of two scathing accusations against those who walk in the way of the unbelieving: They have no self-control; they have instead completely and willingly given control of their lives over to excess, shamelessness, filth, and unbridled lust.

Let me just tell you something, a person who has no restraint in their actions, desires, or conversations falls into one of three categories: 1. An unbeliever, 2. A new Believer, or 3. A Believer who is not growing. Failing to grow in our walk with God will inevitably drag us past willful ignorance, to callousness, and eventually into all out excess! And that excess is accentuated by uncleanness and greed, which we will discuss in two weeks.

In Paul’s words from two verses ago, we are urged to intentionally move past all three of the above categories of spiritual growth. Again, this command is tied closely to our close connection and submission to the leadership of Christ, and our working together with each member of the Body of Christ. For more insight into that, this is a great blog that explains the importance of growing in Christ.

If you fall into category number one above, I ask you to join me in becoming a Christ Follower. What is keeping you from making Jesus your choice? Email me, and let’s talk about how you can make Him your choice today! Blessings!

Seeking to Grow my Walk with God and Others,
Dawn~

Callousness

10/3/2016

“who, being past feeling,”
~Ephesians 4:19(a)

This is one of the weeks that I will deviate from the New King James version of the Bible, and use a version that has different wording, while making the point of the passage very clear. The New American Standard Bible phrases this week’s passage like this,
“and they, having become callous,” ~Ephesians 4:19(a)

Callousness… Last week we spoke about an implication Paul makes that unbelievers have somehow willingly remained ignorant to the Light of life that is found in God. Well, the very next statement (this week’s passage) sums up the result of willful ignorance: Callousness.

Last week I asked if you know anyone who refuses to see the truth that is staring them in the face, or that just keeps knocking them down. This week I ask, do you know anyone who has ignored the truth so much, and rejected God’s plan so often that they can’t even tell right from wrong? Yeah…those are the people Paul is talking about in his statement above. They are so far past ignoring the light and the truth of who God is and what He desires for them, that they have lost all sensitivity to both.

Do you think Christ Followers can be this way? ABSOLUTELY! Why do you think some of us get caught up in habits, addictions, and philosophies that dishonor God? I’ve been there! More than once!! As I often tell people, I spent 10 years living my life as a “Believer Behaving Badly.” I was making my own decisions, and my life resembled nothing less than a hot mess! I lived in such a way that I now have a nice healthy dose of fear of going my own way. But I never feel that I am too “spiritual” to go there again. I know how easy it is for human nature to put God on the side burner (not all the way on the back burner; that would be way too blatant), just for a season. And that is all it takes to lose track of His will and leading. Without even doing anything, God is soon on the back burner, and we are out of touch…literally.

The key here for Christ Followers to keep from becoming callous to God’s will and way, is staying connected to the Body of Christ. That has been a poignant theme of Ephesians Four. Stay connected, learn of one another, submit to one another, encourage one another, be accountable to one another. And of course staying closely attached to the head who is Christ. Prayer; scripture reading and meditation; Bible-based teaching; obedience to all of the above. These things will keep us safe from being desensitized to God’s Light and will. It will be very difficult to grow callous as our Faith and passion are being consistently fed!

Seeking to Grow my Walk with God and Others,
Dawn~

Walk in the Light, Part 2

9/26/2016

“because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart;”
~Ephesians 4:18(b)

Once again, the Apostle Paul is reiterating the truth from verse 17, and the first part of verse 18: We are not to live our lives, or give our minds and emotions over to the ways of unbelievers. Why? Because 1. Their way of thinking is futile (weak, wanting, and wrong), and 2. Their mentality and emotions (disposition) have been shielded from the Light because they don’t know God.

But this part of Ephesians 18 seems to suddenly take on a bit of a twist. Last week we learned that Paul was speaking about why unbelievers have an excuse not to walk in the Light of God: because they don’t know any better. But here, he seems to be saying, “And this is why they don’t know any better, why they don’t know God…1. Because of their ignorance, and 2. Because of the blindness of their heart." Now two more things before I go on, 1. The word “ignorance” used here fundamentally refers to “moral blindness,” and 2. Notice how now the word “heart” is used when referring to blindness, where previously, Paul correlated darkness with their understanding, which implicated their mentality, emotions, and/or disposition.

It seems that now Paul is making a clear judgement against unbelievers in this part of the verse. Why? The words Paul uses are accusatory as if the ignorance and blindness of unbeliever’s hearts is somehow intentional, or willful. Do you know people like that? The truth is right there staring them in the face. The evidence is clear. The witnesses are 12 deep. But they absolutely refuse to see truth or change the core (heart) of their belief system(s). Can it be said of your lifestyle, “She just doesn’t know any better”? This is not a call to be perfect, but, we are not to be stubborn rejecters of Truth. Even as Christ Followers, we can be guilty of not growing into full maturity because we refuse to see the evidence of Truth and God’s path for us. Stubbornness, rejecting the truth, and refusal to grow, will keep us from closeness and intimacy with God. It will cause us to fall into traps of deception, and fall prey to false doctrines. It will determine whether we experience revival on a regular basis, or fall into the herd of the masses of lukewarm living.

Let us not reject the light of morality, nor allow our hearts to be stubborn as God reveals more and more Light. Let us embrace and obey…always! And then we can expect to grow into the full measure of the stature of Christ Jesus!

Seeking to Grow my Walk with God and Others,
Dawn~

Walk in the Light

9/19/2016

"having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God,”
~Ephesians 4:18(a)

This week’s passage simply means that the unbelieving mentality and emotions have been shielded from Light due to their separation from the Life that is in God. This is NOT a judgement on unbelievers. This is not a weapon to use for criticism or condemnation of those who don’t believe. That is not what Paul is doing. This is an explanation for why unbelievers do and behave as they do; and, more importantly, a call for Believers to make a distinction in how we live and behave.

In last week’s verse he compels us not to live as unbelievers because the mind of our former, unbelieving life was filled with futility. This week he gives us one reason more reason not to live as unbelievers: Since they, unlike us, don’t have a relationship with God, they don’t know any better.

Because we DO have a relationship with God, we are connected, embraced into Life that comes from Him, and have Light poured into our minds and emotions. We know how to live a life pleasing to God. And more than that, we know that the power to live a life pleasing to God comes by Grace through Faith in Jesus Christ. This is the true Light that illuminates our entire mind, will, and emotions. This is the Light we are called to walk in daily.

If there is one thing to take away today to Make Monday Matter I suggest to you this: Let's put away excuses. We have all we need to live in the Light and Life of God!

Seeking to Grow my Walk with God and Others,
Dawn~