ohnpcoach Ephesians Devotional

A Very Personal Walk through Ephesians – 39

Embracing God’s love for me

39. Peace, Love, Faith, and Grace.

Ephesians 6:23-24. “Peace be with you, dear brothers and sisters, and may God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you love with faithfulness. May God’s grace be eternally upon all who love our Lord Jesus Christ.” (NLT)

Paul opens and closes his letter to the Ephesians with prayers for grace and peace for his readers. And in between those two prayers he showers all those who have faith in Christ with the realities of how much grace God’s love has given us and how we can find peace in our relationships with God and each other. 

Looking back over the spiritual truths that the Holy Spirit especially impressed on my mind when studying Ephesians this time, the following are highlights for me:

> I have every spiritual blessing that I need. This passage reminds me of Second Peter 1:3 – “By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life…” I am very wealthy spiritually and God intends for me to invest and enjoy the blessings He has given.

> God’s love for me is unconditional and greater than I could ever imagine or hope for. This is a crucial concept for me to understand and thoroughly believe. Realization of God’s love for me is the starting point for everything else I understand about myself, my relationship with God and with others, my purpose in life, and my future into eternity.

> My identity is determined by my relationship with God. I am chosen, adopted, called to a special purpose in life, gifted for that calling, and pleasing to God.

> My greatest need and my greatest strength is to trust God. That includes believing what He says through His word — that He has the power to do what He says He will do and that He will empower me to do what I’m called to do and be. My greatest happiness will come from choosing to trust him and responding quickly to his leading (because I trust him to lead me in the best way). He has planned significant things for me to do; I need to trust Him and depend on Him to do them. My greatest idol is my own trust in myself and my abilities to control my life. When I trust in them instead of God, I am putting myself in God’s place.

> The importance of loving others and being united with others. The power of using words to build up others; God may dispense grace to other people through my conversations with them.

> Living intentionally and mindfully to please God and thank Him for His goodness to me. I want pleasing God to be my primary motive in all my relationships. 

> The necessity of having an intentional strategy to resist the evil one.

Father, thank You for these six chapters in which You have revealed the depth of Your love for me. I need Your help to respond with more than just temporary appreciation. Make me more like You, Father, and spread Your grace through me. Amen

ohnpcoach Ephesians Devotional

A Very Personal Walk through Ephesians – 40

Embracing God’s love for me

40. Postscript.

Where do I go from here? In looking back over my quiet time notes in Ephesians I see several convictions and prayers for growth that I want to occur in my life. My habit in the past has been to finish a study and go right on to the next Bible study or spiritual book study, forgetting the list of changes I prayed about making in the previous study. Therefore, I am making an intentional plan now to address these areas. Initially, I have a two-step plan, but I will be flexible in adding or subtracting to my plan as I see whether I am getting closer to my goals.

These are my Growth Goals from this study:

  • More awareness of God’s presence during the day
  • More grateful response to God’s blessings
  • Memorize key Bible verses
  • Keep track of prayers and answers
  • Live more intentionally (grace-filled conversations, use of strategies to fight temptations, looking for ways to bring joy to the heart of God)

And here is my plan:

Step 1

Use a small notebook (Bible-sized, kept with my Bible so I see it each day). Print the list above, tape it inside the notebook. Make a brief note each day on at least one of the goals listed.

Step 2

Ask a close friend to hold me accountable to pray about and write notes at least 5 days a week.

This feels very “mechanical,” but I have found that to establish a habit I must be methodical at least initially. And I have already thought of some creative ways of recognizing God’s presence during the day, such as imagining that each pleasant little thing I notice during the day is a post-it note that God has placed in my world to remind me of His love. E.G., a new bloom in my garden is a post-it note of His love; the parking space right in front of the grocery door when it is raining, another post-it note; a smile from my infant granddaughter, another note, etc.

Father, You deserve my complete love and worship, and here I am needing reminders of Your goodness to me. Thank You for Your patience and never-ending love! Thank You for the Book of Ephesians, and all You have taught me through it. Please continue to draw these images on my soul so that I become a more beautiful part of Your Body of believers. Amen. 

From the personal devotional notes of Peggy McKechnie, certified life coach and follower after God’s own heart.

Dear Reader, this post is the conclusion of the series on walking through Ephesians. I hope these posts have been a blessing to you. I would love to hear what you have taken away from Ephesians that has been encouragement for your soul. Also, would you be interested in walking with me through a series of posts on another passage or book of the Bible? You can respond on this post or write me at ohnpcoach@gmail.com. I appreciate your input. Peggy