Scripture Focus: Ephesians 1.17-21
17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength 20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.

Reflection: Ask and Keep Asking
By John Tillman

Writing Ephesians, Paul is “an old man” (Philemon 9). He is in chains. Execution and death lie ahead. Yet, in many of his letters from this time, Paul sounds enduringly hopeful.

Paul’s eyes are not set on his current circumstances or on the current state of the church. They are set on the heavenly realm. He speaks little of earthly sufferings, focusing attention on spiritual blessings.

By the sovereignty of Rome, Paul was predestined for trial, suffering, and, eventually, execution. But by the sovereignty of God, Paul was predestined to adoption to sonship through Jesus, to redemption and forgiveness, and to bringing Gentiles into the family of God. By the Holy Spirit’s prompting, Paul’s speaking, and the Ephesians’ hearing, they believed and were included in Christ as heirs to his promises.

There are different types of sovereignty at work in our lives. We live under the sovereignty of governments and employers. There are penalties and benefits predestined by their laws and policies. When we work according to our employment policies, we receive promised wages. Whether we believe in paying our taxes or not, if we don’t pay them, we are predestined for trouble.

By God’s sovereignty, not only the Ephesians but we are included in Christ by hearing and believing the gospel of salvation. (Ephesians 1.13) Like them, we who believe are marked, sealed, and predestined for the glory that is to come.

And like the Ephesians, we also have farther to go. Paul thanked God for their faith but prayed that through the Holy Spirit they would know God better.

Pray this prayer based on Paul’s:
Lord, help us to ask and keep asking that through the Holy Spirit you would grant us greater wisdom, greater enlightenment, greater hope, and greater power.
In this world that seeks to do us harm, these are our daily bread. We cannot survive without them.
Whatever the world has destined for us, Lord, work out everything in conformity with the purpose of your will.
Your Holy Spirit guarantees that we are your possession. We do not belong to the world.
Through whatever suffering, whether loss of life or comfort, let no harsh treatment make our speech harsh or our hearts hard.
Let your resurrection power not only resurrect our bodies should we die, but resurrect our compassion, our love, our goodness, our humility, and our generosity while we live.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons
Help me, O Lord my God; save me for your mercy’s sake. — Psalm 109.25

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Today’s Readings
Joshua 9 (Listen 3:46)
Ephesians 1 (Listen  3:10)

Today’s Readings
Joshua 10 (Listen 7:23) Ephesians 2 (Listen  3:04)
Joshua 11 (Listen 3:52) Ephesians 3 (Listen  2:41)

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There are times when the monotony of life creates an apathy toward caution.

Read The Bible With Us
There is joy to be found in the scriptures. Read the Bible with us at a sustainable, two-year pace.

https://mailchi.mp/theparkforum/m-f-daily-email-devotional

Scripture Focus: Ephesians 3.1-6, 14-15
1 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles— 

2 Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that was given to me for you, 3 that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. 4 In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ 5 which was not made known to people in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets. 6 This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.

14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name.

Reflection: A Glorious Mystery
By John Tillman

Paul’s Ephesians 3 prayer, beginning in verse 14, is well known. It is often memorized. Portions of it are often in liturgies or prayer guides. But it is an interrupted prayer. What is so important Paul would stop praying?

Paul begins to pray in verse 1, but after just getting started, he breaks in the middle of a sentence. Most modern translations include a dash: “For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles—…” 

Paul just can’t go on without making sure that the Ephesians remember something: the mystery of Christ.

When you read or watch a good mystery, the revelation of the truth is, by design, a surprise. However, with the best sort of mysteries, once we know the truth and reflect on the plot and the clues, we think, “Ahhh! It was so obvious!” If the clues don’t make sense or if the vital clues were kept from us, the revelation isn’t as satisfying. Only highly skilled authors can write mysteries that do not violate this principle of fairness.

The mystery of Christ is that God always intended people of every race, not just Jews, to be part of the kingdom of God. No tribe, tongue, or nation will be unrepresented and the Gentile nations will not be second-class citizens or immigrants. God isn’t just handing out green cards or worker permits. (Joshua 9:20-27) Not only will all people be full citizens, they’ll be family. All ethnicities will be “heirs together with Israel.” Heirs of God’s promise. 

This mystery surprised many people in the first century, including Paul himself and Jesus’ closest disciples. However, this mystery does not violate the principle of fairness. When we look back through the scriptures, as seen through Christ, (Luke 24.25-27) we say, “Ahhh! It was so obvious!” The clues were right there all along.

When we read the Old Testament, we are reading the mystery backward. Knowing the solution, the truth, we can see more clearly the clues that God, a highly skilled author, placed there.

Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians, in which he prays to “God the father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name…” makes more sense when we understand this mystery. From many peoples, God is making one people. From many families, God is making one family.  It is more than we would imagine he would do—a glorious mystery.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons
Those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. — Psalm 92.12

Today’s Readings
Ezekiel 25 (Listen 2:50) 
Ephesians 3 (Listen 2:41)

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Scripture Focus: Ephesians 2.11-22
11 Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (which is done in the body by human hands)—12 remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 

14 For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15 by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, 16 and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. 17 He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. 

19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

Reflection: Don’t Rebuild Walls Christ Destroyed
By John Tillman

Paul’s writings counter the cultural pressures to separate along racial lines and his ministry shows us how he resisted this pressure. 

Paul traveled with, taught alongside, and ministered to Jews, Greeks, men, and women. He associated with Roman government officials, wealthy businesswomen, common laborers, and runaway slaves. Paul referred to all these people as “co-laborers” in the gospel. Paul declared and demonstrated that Christ takes foreigners and strangers and unites them as one people. The way of the world is hostility and enmity. The way of Christ is love and unity.

Paul is unavoidably clear that Christ destroyed the dividing wall of hostility between people of different ethnic backgrounds. There is no redlining in the Kingdom of Heaven. Let us not, therefore, allow some Christian voices to entice us to rebuild these walls.

A growing belief in evangelicalism, Kinism, holds that God sovereignly ordained “races” and that we are to maintain them, keeping them separate. This heretical view is simply the warmed-over and renamed theology of the Klu Klux Klan, repackaged in softer, more academic-sounding language. Underneath, it is the same deadly poison leading to the same deadly outcomes.

Those who promote Kinism wrap it in a cloak of nationalistic patriotism mixed with Christian duty. They defend it by twisting scriptures and embrace Christian authoritarianism to enforce their beliefs. They claim that “loving one’s neighbor” applies primarily to one’s own race,  discounting the parable of the Good Samaritan. (Luke 10.29-37) They call justice “reverse racism.” They call mercy effeminate (meaning it as an insult). They call humility weakness. (Micah 6.8)

More than a theological heresy, Kinism is a recipe for violence and never peace. In the United States, “White Replacement Theory,” is the direct outcome of Kinist logic. This theory, promoted by some pastors, media voices, and politicians has motivated violence targeting Blacks, Asians, and Jews in recent years. This violence is driven by enmity arising from Kinism.

Rather than enmity, Christ brings unity that transcends culture, race, gender, politics, or any other typical determinant of affinity. Christians don’t like only one another because we like the same things. We love all people because all people are loved by God.

Bad theology and thinking precede bad action. Therefore protecting against violence requires speaking out to counter Kinist lines of thought, whether spread by Christians, politicians, or the media. Before the next violent act, raise your voice.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Request for Presence
O Lord, watch over us and save us from this generation forever. — Psalm 12.7

Today’s Readings
Ezekiel 24 (Listen 4:13) 
Ephesians 2 (Listen 3:10)

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Scripture Focus: Ephesians 4.25-32
25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. 26 “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold. 28 Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.

29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. 

Reflection: Anger Industrial Complex
By John Tillman

The Christian relationship to anger is complex. God gets angry. Jesus gets angry. Christians can be angry too. Anger can be an appropriate reaction to injustice and suffering. Anger can be a fruit of love. Anger can be a requirement for social change. However, anger is also a “Deadly Sin.” Deadly sins are ones that produce and lead to other sins.

We need to escape sinful anger while acting on godly, righteous anger. How?

Our culture is addicted to anger. We play anger for laughs in our entertainment. We signal our virtue with anger. We get applause when we are angry at the “right” things. Yet, we judge others for their anger. We mock those triggered or angered by things we deem insignificant.

Anger affects us in many ways. It warps our humanity. Anger can form grooves, patterns, in our lives that affect our identity, transforming us into people of anger, rather than people of God.

Anger hinders our relationship with God. Paul considered anger a severe problem. Elders in the church could be disqualified if “given over to anger.”

Anger makes us vulnerable to human and spiritual manipulation. Paul says anger gives the devil a foothold in our lives but it also gives a foothold to manipulative politicians and media voices. This “anger industrial complex” sows tares of outrage in our hearts and harvests profits from the crop of our anger. 

Anger crouches at our doors, and on our devices, ready to take us down a path leading eventually to violence. Anger will rule us or we will rule it. 

We must ask, “Why am I angry?” and “How can I turn anger toward loving action?”

Anger is often sinful when rooted in self-love, fear, insecurity, and pride. We think, “I deserve better.” “I’ll never allow that to happen again.” We must turn these thoughts over to God and starve our lives of the voices that prompt these demands.

Even “selfless” anger can spur us to sinful actions. Actions springing from righteous anger will always be inherently righteous. If what anger motivates us to do is sinful, then either the anger itself or our reaction to it is sinful.

Rather than comforting ourselves with anger, let us comfort ourselves with God’s peace. His peace will lead to flourishing. Our anger will only lead to failure and violence.

*Based on my notes from a sermon by JR Vassar, at Church at the Cross. See the full sermon here.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Call to Prayer
Sing praise to the Lord who dwells in Zion; proclaim to the peoples the things he has done. — Psalm 9.11

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Today’s Readings*
Ezekiel 4(Listen 2:56)
Romans 7 (Listen 4:09)

*We have diverted into 1 Kings and Ephesians for this week. Devotionals on our daily readings will continue next week.

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