EXPAND TO READ: EPHESIANS 6 (HCSB)
PERSONAL JOURNAL:
SIN (verse 4): Although I am far better now than I used to be not too long ago, I do still struggle with this a bit every so often. You tell us that fathers should not stir up anger in our children, rather we should bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. For most of my fatherhood since coming to faith, I have been stuck in my anger and irritability. This has been directed towards those closest to me, unfortunately, which has resulted in the same being riled up in my children as a result of my poor example to them. Please forgive me for being an angry and irritable parent for so long, Father. Forgive me for not living in the example of fatherhood that You have provided to me. Forgive me for not always bringing my children up in the training and instruction that You have provided to me. Help me to be a better father in this life as You have been to me, so that I can help raise my children to be better followers of Jesus than I ever could imagine being.
PROMISE (verse 9): This is an important promise both throughout history as well as in modern day. Although we do not have masters and slaves as much in this world as we used to, there are still bosses and employees; parents and children; authority figures and those subject to their authority. The same relationship exists between all of these, although hopefully not as harsh of a relationship as the masters and slaves of hold I would hope. The promise here is that You do not show favoritism as You see the heart of the individual, not their circumstances. Whether they are the boss, employee, parent, child, slave, master, authority figure, or those subject to those authority figures, we are all judged based on our good works and the intent of our hearts without any favoritism. Thank You so much for this promise, Father, as it does give me hope that no matter what position I am in, I can always seek Your favor through all that I do if what I am doing is pure in heart and for Your kingdom!
ATTITUDE (verse 18): I have struggled at times to live in an attitude and Spirit of prayer since coming to faith. It’s not that I don’t pray, because I definitely do. I have been known to typically only pray deeply from the heart in the bad times instead of through all times as You have asked us to do in this verse. You tell us to “pray at all times in the Spirit” so that we can stay alert with perseverance and intercession for all the saints. Our prayer life isn’t meant to be solely for our own benefit or solely for when things are getting tough for us. Our prayer life is meant to be a constant communication and relationship with You for all things in this life and all people in this life—past, present, and future. Help me to embrace and walk in a constant attitude and Spirit of prayer in this life, Father, so that my communication with You is not always about the negatives I see or experience in this life. Help me to pray through all things, even the miniscule pleasantries such as a sunrise or sunset, so that I am always communicating with You through ALL things at “all times in the Spirit.”
COMMAND (verses 10-11): A couple of tough verses to truly embrace here, but they are necessary and I am grateful for them as well. In these verses, You essentially tell us that we must be able to stand against the tactics of the Devil. We do not, should not, and cannot do this alone however. You provide us with Your vast strength as well as the Armor of God to be able to stand against these tactics of the Devil. You command us to be strengthened by You and to put on the FULL armor of God so that we can fend off the tactics of the Devil. I do struggle at times with leaning on You for Your strength through the trials of this life; thinking that I can handle “this situation” by myself and don’t need to “bother” You in those moments. Those are typically the times that I fall horribly as a result of trying to do it all alone. Remind me that I cannot live this life on my own and that I must truly equip the FULL Armor of God in my daily walk in this life. I must be willing and able to always lean on You for Your vast strength to take on the challenges of this life as You are the one who strengthens me.
EXAMPLE (verses 14-17): There are several examples in this scripture, but I think the one that stands out to me the most is how You laid out the full Armor of God. We have Your truth as a belt around our waist. We have Your peace as sandals on our feet, making us ready for the day’s challenges. We have the shield of faith to protect us from all of the fiery arrows the enemy will launch at us. We have both the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit (which both are God’s word) to fend off any attacks the enemy has in store for us on this day. Thank You for providing both an amazing mental picture of these various aspects of Your protection while at the same time showing us all the tools You have given us to walk this life securely in Your embrace. The armor You provide is the perfect protection for the spiritual and fleshly warfare we are constantly facing in this life, but it also provides us with the comfort we need to truly embrace Your love, peace, and joy in our lives. Thank You!
*DAILY NOTE: It’s amazing what a growing relationship with You can produce in my heart, Father. As I mentioned before, I tried to do Ephesians as my first quiet time because I figure it speaks to marriages and relationships quite a bit and that was my biggest struggle and hardship at the time. I wasn’t ready for the book of Ephesians at the time, so I didn’t see anything You were trying to speak to me in the moment. Your timing and knowledge of my current heart towards our relationship, however, is perfect! The quiet times throughout the book of Ephesians this time around has been absolutely amazing for me personally and I am so grateful that You brought me back, full circle, to this book to show me the greatness of Your teachings, counsel, convictions, joy, peace, and of course timing. I couldn’t be any more grateful for the conversations we’ve had over the last several days in this book as well as grateful for You guiding me back to Ephesians when You knew my heart was ready to truly receive the blessings and lessons this book has to offer. Thank You so much for always knowing me FAR better than I know myself, Father!
EXPAND TO READ: GENERAL NOTE FOR MY QUIET TIMES
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