“Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.” (Ephesians 3:20 NLT)

When my oldest son was a little boy, I would take him to Toys R Us. We would look around. I would tell him to pick out something for himself. He would look at the Star Wars figures. I would look at the X-Wing Fighter with the remote control, thinking that I would like to get it for him. The truth is that I wanted to play with it, too. He would pick out his little figure. Then I would say, “I was thinking of getting you something better than that.” He always went along with my idea.

After a while, he started to learn something about Dad, which was that Dad liked to get presents for his kids. He came to realize that it was better to say, “I don’t know what to get, Dad. You choose it for me.” He came to realize that my choices were often better than what he chose for himself.

Paul sends a similar message about our heavenly Father in Ephesians 3:20. The difference is that God’s generosity is perfect because God is perfect. He isn’t limited by resources. He isn’t swayed by moods, feelings, or impulses. He doesn’t have to guess at what might be meaningful or right for us. He designed us. He knows our code. He knows us better than we know ourselves.

Sometimes that can be hard for us to accept. We don’t always recognize God’s perfect generosity because we allow misconceptions to warp our view of who He is and what He does. We fall for the lie that He’s a cosmic killjoy, always on the lookout for things that bring us joy so that He can put an end to them.

And we compound the problem by being dazzled by temporary thrills—opportunities that have surface appeal but no real depth. Things that have no lasting value, that bring no sense of meaning, purpose, or fulfillment. Or, like my son, we’re content to settle for something small, something that pales in comparison to what we might have.

Our enemy knows our tendencies and weaknesses and does everything in his power to exploit them. Look at his temptation of Jesus in the wilderness. He appealed to Jesus’ immediate physical needs. He offered fame and power. He wanted Jesus to settle for something less than the grand, glorious plan of God to redeem the world. And he does the same to us. He emphasizes flash over substance. He urges us to choose immediate gratification over long-term fulfillment.

One of the many reasons God’s Word encourages us to become mature in our faith is so that we will recognize His generosity and respond with a spirit of gratitude. A mature faith understands that even though we have done nothing to earn God’s favor, He wants only what is ultimately best for us.

Reflection Question: When have you experienced God’s generosity in your life?

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“I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.” (Ephesians 3:16–17 NLT)

Can you imagine going home tonight and getting ready to go to bed when, all of a sudden, you see someone walking up to your front door and knocking? Lo and behold, it is Jesus. How would you react?

Of course, you know this isn’t going to happen. The Lord isn’t going to come bodily to your home and knock on the front door. But let your imagination run wild for a moment and pretend that He is. Jesus Himself is knocking at your door. Would you open it up and gladly welcome Him in? Or would you feel a little apprehensive?

The fact is, you should be living your life in such a way that Jesus could walk into your home at any moment and be welcomed without embarrassment. Look at the apostle Paul’s words in Ephesians 3:16–17: “I pray that . . . Christ will make his home in your hearts” (NLT). He’s not talking about Christ simply living in your heart. The reality is that Christ lives in the heart of every believer. Paul’s point is that Christ should feel at home in your heart.

This isn’t a temporary arrangement, the kind where you hide your mess until your company leaves. This is a permanent residency. Making Him feel welcome requires you to transform your life completely. But you don’t have to guess at how to do that. The Bible tells you how to live in a way that honors Christ—a way that makes Him feel at home in your heart.

“I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return” (Philippians 1:9–10 NLT).

“Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ” (Philippians 1:27 NLT).

“Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable” (Philippians 4:8 NLT).

If we were talking about a human guest, these extensive preparations might seem like an inconvenience. But notice in Ephesians 3 what Paul says results from making Christ feel at home in your heart.

“From his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit” (verse 16 NLT).

“Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong” (verse 17 NLT).

“You will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God” (verse 19 NLT).

Jesus doesn’t want to feel at home in your heart because He’s a fussy guest. When you prepare your heart for Christ, you make yourself useful to God. You find fulfillment, challenge, motivation, strength, peace, and joy. And you experience what Jesus meant when he said, “My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life” (John 10:10 NLT).

Reflection Question: How can you make Jesus feel more at home in your heart?

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“For I fully expect and hope that I will never be ashamed, but that I will continue to be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past. And I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die. For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better.” (Philippians 1:20–21 NLT)

Every one of us has something that moves us in life. Something we are excited about. What is your purpose in life? How would you complete this statement: “For to me, living means living for _______”? You might say, “For to me, living means living for fun.” Or “For to me, living means living for pleasure.” Or “For to me, living means living for money.” Or “For to me, living means living for success.” Or “For to me, living means living for fame.” Or “For to me, living means living for sex.” No matter what it is, everybody lives for something.

For the apostle Paul, living meant living for Christ. That was his purpose. That was his motivation. But he didn’t stop there. He completed the statement by saying, “and dying is even better.”

Only the person who says, “For to me, living means living for Christ,” can say, “and dying is even better.” When Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after His crucifixion, He destroyed the power of death. That’s why Paul wrote, “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” (1 Corinthians 15:55 NLT).

When you live for Christ, you no longer have to fear death, because you know that death is nothing more than a transition from point A to point B. A transition from a body that is wearing out to a new body that God has created for you. A transition from an earth that is corrupt and separated from God to a new Heaven and a new earth where you will live in His presence. A transition from a world filled with sin, temptation, and unhappiness to that place where there will be no more sorrow. When you confidently say in this life, “For to me, living means living for Christ,” you don’t have to be afraid of what happens in the next life.

That’s not to suggest that Christians should have a death wish. If you look at Paul’s words in Philippians 1:22–24, you see his ambivalence about dying. “But if I live, I can do more fruitful work for Christ. So I really don’t know which is better. I’m torn between two desires: I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me. But for your sakes, it is better that I continue to live” (NLT).

The reality is that God has given us important responsibilities in this life—responsibilities to people who don’t yet know Christ as well as responsibilities to our fellow believers. Recognizing, embracing, and making the most of those opportunities helps build unity in the body of Christ.

If we live for Christ, we can face death with no fear. In the meantime, though, let’s make the most of the time we have on earth.

Reflection Question: What evidence of living for Christ might people see in your life?

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“God has now revealed to us his mysterious will regarding Christ—which is to fulfill his own good plan.” (Ephesians 1:9 NLT)

No Christian should ever say, “I was really lucky today” or “Whatever will be will be.” Forget that. If you are a Christian, then you are a child of God. There’s no such thing as dumb luck. God has a plan and a purpose. He has a strategy for your life. You may not see it now, but He sees it and always has seen it. God is paying attention to what you are facing right now. He is paying attention to what you really need—not necessarily to what you want. So the great thing to know is that God is thinking about you and that He cares about you.

The more mature you become in your faith, through prayer and studying God’s Word, the better able you are to see and trust God’s plan. Proverbs 19:21 says, “You can make many plans, but the Lord’s purpose will prevail.” So the first thing to do is line up your self-made plans behind God’s plan. You make His plan your priority.

That’s the wise course of action. Isaiah 55:8–9 says, “‘My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,’ says the Lord. ‘And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts’” (NLT).

You can find God’s thoughts and ways in His Word. If you study and pray about them enough, you start to align your decision-making with them. You make choices that honor the Lord and pave the way for His plans to be accomplished in and through you.

God doesn’t reveal His entire plan for your life at once. Instead, He reveals only what you need to know at a given moment—just enough for you to stay dependent on Him.

You can know how things will end, of course. God reveals the culmination of His plan in Ephesians 1:10: “And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth” (NLT). For those who receive Christ as Savior, this “bringing together” will be eternal life in Heaven under His authority.

For those who reject Christ as Savior, this “bringing together” will be facing His authority as Judge. The first time Jesus came, it was as a baby. When He returns, it will be as the all-powerful divine Judge.

God’s Word doesn’t give us a calendar for Christ’s return. All we know is that it will happen “at the right time”—that is, when God, in His perfect wisdom, patience, and justice, decides that it’s time.

Until then, your job is to discover and embrace God’s plan for your life—and to align your will and your priorities with His.

Reflection Question: Where do you see evidence of God’s plan in your life?

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“He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.” (Ephesians 4:16 NLT)

Good things happen when the church functions in the way God intends. Not only do God’s people become unified, like the parts of a body working together, but we also become spiritually mature. The apostle Paul offers a glimpse of what that maturity looks like: “We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church” (Ephesians 4:14–15 NLT).

When I was a brand-new believer, I would talk with Pastor Chuck Smith, who was quite a bit older than I was. One day, I asked, “Chuck, how long have you been a Christian?”

I think he said it was somewhere around fifty years. That number stunned me.

“Fifty years?” I asked. “Does that make you an apostle now? Can you walk on water after fifty years?”

There is maturity that comes with time. But I’ve been a Christian now for longer than fifty years, and while I’ve certainly grown and learned a lot, I have a long way to go.

Some of you may be saying, “Yeah, you do, Greg.” And that’s true. I do. But you do, too. We all do. There’s no shame in admitting it. In fact, when we stop believing we have a long way to go, we set ourselves up for a fall.

Paul himself said, “No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us” (Philippians 3:13–14 NLT). Even as he taught others how to become spiritually mature, Paul constantly was striving to become more mature in Christ himself.

Spiritual maturity grounds us in the truth of Scripture. It keeps us from being “tossed and blown about” by false teachings. It gives us the wisdom and discernment to recognize deceivers, people who try to make the Bible say things it doesn’t say.

Spiritual maturity and spiritual unity complement one another. When you develop a sense of unity with other believers, you also develop a sense of accountability. And believers who are accountable to one another will speak the truth in love when one of them starts to go down a questionable path.

Reflection Question: What does spiritual maturity look like in your life?

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“This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.” (Ephesians 4:13 NLT)

God didn’t say, “I desire unity in the church. Good luck with that.” Instead, He designed the church so that it would promote unity. In Ephesians 4:11–12, the apostle Paul tells us that Christ gives people specific gifts so that they can fill specific offices in the church. When those officers use their gifts to fulfill their responsibilities, something amazing happens. Connections are made. Fellowship occurs. Bonds of unity are forged.

Some people are called—and gifted—to be apostles. They don’t have the authority of Jesus’ apostles, but they are special ambassadors of God’s work. Apostles may plant churches or serve as liaisons to other Christian organizations.

Some people are equipped to be prophets. They don’t have the same authority as biblical prophets, but they speak the words of God that agree with the Old and New Testaments. In 1 Corinthians 14:29, Paul emphasized that the words of prophets are subject to the discernment and authority of church leaders.

Some people are equipped to be evangelists. That is, they are specially gifted to share the Good News of Christ with others.

And some people are equipped to be pastors and teachers. We shepherd the flock by making God’s Word accessible, understandable, and applicable. Often that involves building a bridge to our audience or making a connection to get their attention. Ultimately, though, the power of our message is not in some quote from a secular philosopher or a pop star or some other iconic figure. The power is in the Word of God.

God said in Isaiah 55:11, “It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it” (NLT).

And Paul said in 2 Timothy 3:16–17, “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work” (NLT).

My job, and the job of all pastors and teachers, is not to make the Bible relevant. The Bible is relevant. I just need to let the lion out of the cage and let the Word of God do what it does best, change lives.

In the bigger picture, Christ equips the leaders of the church to equip God’s people to serve. This common experience—of learning the truth of God’s Word, of being equipped, and of sharing a commitment to serve—strengthens the unity among church members.

When we embrace our roles, the body of Christ grows, and the members of that body learn to work in unity.

Reflection Question: How can you help create or nurture a spirit of unity in your church?

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“Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace.” (Ephesians 4:3 NLT)

In our increasingly fractured culture, we don’t have to look hard for issues that divide us. But where can we find things that unite us? Ephesians 4 is a good place to start our search. For the next few days, we’re going to look at the apostle Paul’s teachings on creating and nurturing unity in the church.

In the first three chapters of his letter, Paul reminded the Ephesian believers of what God had done for them. In Ephesians 4:1, he urged them “to lead a life worthy of your calling” (NLT). When you have a sense of what God has done for you, you’re more likely to serve Him out of gratitude. You don’t lead a worthy life so that He will love you; you lead a worthy life because He loves you.

Leading a worthy life means embracing qualities such as humility, gentleness, and patience. That might involve tabling your own agenda for the sake of someone else’s. Or choosing to forgive instead of taking revenge. Or learning to appreciate the characteristics and quirks in other people that don’t mesh with ours.

James put it a little more bluntly: “Don’t grumble about each other, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. For look—the Judge is standing at the door!” (James 5:9 NLT).

Don’t complain about other believers. Go to them and try to help them. The phrase “grumble about each other” means to groan within yourself. It speaks of a person who has a bitter attitude. Some people are always criticizing. They think it’s a spiritual gift—the gift of tearing others down. But it’s not a gift of the Spirit; it’s a work of the flesh, and it’s used by the enemy. Don’t be known as someone who burns bridges; be known as someone who builds bridges. Don’t be known as someone who kicks others when they’re down; be known as someone who reaches out to people and pulls them back up again. Don’t denigrate and tear down one another. If you have something to say about someone, say it to them, not about them.

Paul said, “Make every effort to keep yourselves united” (Ephesians 4:3 NLT). If that means sacrificing your own preferences, so be it. If it means swallowing your pride, so be it. If it means meeting people more than halfway or doing the heavy lifting in a relationship, so be it. Keeping people united may seem like thankless work at times, but God sees and rewards our efforts. His Spirit works in us and through us, making sure that our efforts don’t go to waste.

As believers, we share one body, one Spirit, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father of all. That gives us a wide swath of common ground on which to build unity.

Reflection Question: What is your best strategy for building unity in a group?

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“That Sunday evening the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! ‘Peace be with you,’ he said. As he spoke, he showed them the wounds in his hands and his side. They were filled with joy when they saw the Lord!” (John 20:19–20 NLT)

If we were telling the origin story of the Christian church, this would be a compelling first scene. A handful of Jesus’ followers hiding behind closed doors, shell-shocked, confused, and too scared to show their faces in public. Suddenly the risen Jesus miraculously appears in the flesh, victorious over sin and death, confirming the truth of everything He taught and promised them.

At some point, either while Jesus was in the room or after He left, the truth must have dawned on them. If the One they served is more powerful than sin and death, then (1) they had nothing to fear, and (2) the world needed to know. We see their newfound boldness and sense of purpose in the passages that follow. That’s the power of the resurrection.

Armed with that power, this small group of believers changed the world. And most of them sacrificed their lives to do it.

According to church tradition, Peter took the gospel to Pontus, Galatia, Bithynia, Cappadocia, and Asia. He was crucified upside down because he told his executioners that he wasn’t worthy of being crucified in the same manner as Jesus.

Andrew spread the gospel through what is now Russia, Turkey, and Greece. He, too, was crucified.

Thomas wasn’t present when Jesus first appeared to the disciples in John 20. And he doubted their story. But when Jesus appeared again, and Thomas saw Him, his doubts disappeared. He took the Good News of Jesus’ resurrection all the way to India. He died after being impaled by the spears of four soldiers.

Philip spread the gospel in North Africa and Asia Minor. After he converted the wife of a Roman official, the official had him put to death.

Matthew, the tax collector, traveled to Persia and Ethiopia to spread Jesus’ message. He was stabbed to death.

Bartholomew accompanied Thomas to India and also shared the gospel in Armenia, Ethiopia, and Southern Arabia. He was crucified.

James, the son of Alphaeus, shared the Good News of Christ throughout Syria. He was stoned and then clubbed to death.

Simon took the gospel to Persia. He was put to death there when he refused to make a sacrifice to the sun god.

Matthias was the man chosen to replace Judas Iscariot. He shared the gospel in Syria, where he was burned to death.

John is believed to be the only disciple who died a natural death. He was exiled to the penal colony of Patmos.

The apostle Paul traveled extensively to share the gospel. He was beheaded in Rome.

The apostle John ended his Gospel with these words: “Jesus also did many other things. If they were all written down, I suppose the whole world could not contain the books that would be written” (John 21:25 NLT).

Among the “many other things” was the impact Jesus had on a small group of ordinary people. He changed their lives forever. And, in turn, they changed the world in His name.

As Jesus’ followers, we’re still called to change the world—one life at a time. We have Good News to share—the best news, in fact. If we’re faithful to our calling, we can impact lives for eternity.

Reflection question: In what ways would you like to be bolder in sharing your faith with others?

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