Ephesians 5:1-33
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Ephesians chapter 5 is such an incredible chapter! I know I won't do it justice in this blog posting. There is so much I could dive into in nearly every verse. Actually, I will share this with you. I met with Pastor friend of mine. And he shared with me that he is currently memorizing the entire book of Ephesians! I had shared with him that I'm just starting to memorize Scripture verses - and to invite you along with me on this journey at the bottom of each daily blog posting. Well, you know how Pastors are - they're always a step ahead! And my Pastor is memorizing the entire book of Ephesians... wow. He shared with me that as he's memorizing Ephesians he is amazed how some of the words and meanings of words of Scripture are coming alive to him in new ways! I believe it. I'm curious if anyone reading this today has ever memorized an entire book of the Bible? Or even a chapter? Please post up in the comments below if you have? I have actually downloaded 1 Corinthians 13 onto my phone nd I am hoping to memorize that chapter soon! Okay, back to Ephesians chapter 5. You know how I enjoy posting up YouTube videos these days, so I of course loved reading verses 19 & 20, which you'll see in this image below! :)

Ephesians 5:1-2 touches on a theme I've been thinking a lot about lately - living a life of love! - "Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." (NIV) Have you ever meditated on what it means to live a life of love? I have occasionally. But I'm starting to camp out on this thought a lot more these days. I think it's in large part due to the impact 1 Corinthians 13 has had on me this past year. And it certainly fits in well with Jesus saying the 2 most important commandments are to love God and love people. But perhaps most significantly, I've been trying to live out this thought of "living a life of love" in real life a bit more these days. I definitely don't have it all figured out by a long shot! But I think living a life of love is something we should all seek. Not strive for. But seek. Or maybe "receive" is the better word. I think we can receive from Jesus the ability to live a life of love. I don't think we can get there on our own power. So, there's a lot more I could write about what I've been thinking about in regards to living a life of love. But let me at this point just encourage you to think about this concept. Living a life of love. Do you want to live a life of love? Think you can do this on your own? Or will you invite Jesus and the Holy Spirit into this process each and every day? How does 1 Corinthians 13 speak to you these days?

Ephesians chapter 5 verse 17 really stood out to me today: "Don't act thoughtlessly, but try to understand what the Lord wants you to do." I am wondering how often each of acts thoughtlessly? I am afraid in my case it is far too often. I can sometimes sleep-walk through my day - or even days - or even weeks... and miss the point of life completely when doing so! Paul teaches us here to try to understand what the Lord wants us to do. Why would we want to try to understand this? I think in large part so we no longer act thoughtlessly! I'm afraid we are far too often a thoughtless people in how we live our lives & how we waste so much time in our very short lives this side of heaven... How about you? Are you acting thoughtlessly at all these days? Will you seek to understand what God wants you to do? And then will you go do it and leave your thoughtless ways behind?

Bible.org's commentary on today's readings in Ephesians titled "The Meaning of Christian Marriage" is at this link. Below is a nice image for Ephesians 5:21 from today's readings:

Worship Video: I'm sure many of you have heard on K-LOVE "By His Wounds" by Mac Powell, Mark Hall, Steven Curtis Chapman and Brian Littrell. Here's a live version of the song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWnSX3X7wbw
By His wounds, have you been healed? Click here to be healed!
Please join us in memorizing and meditating on a verse of Scripture today: "But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people." Ephesians 5:3 NIV
Prayer Point: Pray that there is not even a hint of sexual immorality in your life today. Pray that there is not even a hint of any kind of impurity nor of greed in your life today. Pray that you are living as one of God's holy people, through your saving faith in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.
Comments from You: What verses or insights stand out to you from today's readings? Please post up by clicking on the "Comments" link below!
Grace, love, peace, and joy!
Mike
p.s. I would greatly appreciate it if you would pray for this Bible Blog ministry today! Please also consider partnering with us by financially supporting this ministry. Thank you!
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