Jeremy Myers's Blog: The Blog of Jeremy Myers

Be Night Lights to the World (Ephesians 5:7-14)

A well-known pastor and author from Texas tells a fictional story in one of his books of a bunch of candles that were in a storage closet. One night, there was an electrical storm, and the electricity in the house went out.

So the husband went to the candles to get them to provide light during the darkness, but the candles—which could talk—all had excuses for why they couldn’t leave the closet, or why they couldn’t give off light.

One said that it needed more preparation. He didn’t want to make...

The ONE Key to Living Life: LOVE (Ephesians 5:1-6)

Harry Chapin wrote a song called “Cats in the Cradle.” Most of you have probably heard it before, but let me read the lyrics for you.

A child arrived just the other day.
He came to the world in the usual way.
But there were planes to catch, and bills to pay.
He learned to walk while I was away, and he was
talkin’ ‘fore I knew it, and as he grew, he say,
“I’m gonna be like you, dad,
You know I’m gonna be like you.”

And the cat’s in the cradle, and the silver spoon
little boy blue and the man on t...

Embrace Your Sin to Heal it (Ephesians 4:31-32)

John D. Rockefeller built the great Standard Oil empire. He was rich and successful, and not surprisingly, demanded high performance from his company executives.

One day, one of these executives made a two million dollar mistake—a small little error that cost the company two million dollars.

News of this man’s error spread rapidly throughout the executive offices, and they all were scared of Rockefeller’s reaction, and so every executive made himself scarce. They didn’t want to be the one who re...

Ephesians 4:29-30 – What REALLY is Foul Language?

How do people who ride horses control such a huge, strong animal? That’s right—with a bit.

How does a single man in the bridge of a boat control the boat and where it goes? That’s right—with a rudder. Though the ship is large and though there are fierce winds, ships are turned by a very small rudder to go wherever the captain desires.

How does a huge forest fire get started? That’s right, with one careless spark. One careless match, and thousands of acres go up in smoke.

Humanity has accomplishe...

Hey You! Stop Stealing! Yes, YOU! (Ephesians 4:28)

A man applying for a job was asked, “Why were you fired from your last job?”

He answered, “I was overly ambitious. I wanted to take work home with me.”

The manager was a bit surprised. “That doesn’t seem like grounds for firing. Who was your employer?”

The man’s answer: “First National Bank.”

Today, as we continue to work our way through the book of Ephesians, we come to Paul’s instructions regarding the sin of stealing. Paul discusses this in Ephesians 4:28.

This verse comes in a section dealin...

Ephesians 4:26-27 – Away with Anger!

In The Screwtape Letters, (Amazon ad link) a little book written by C. S. Lewis, a demon by the name of Screwtape writes letters to his nephew, Wormwood, on how to be more successful at tempting human beings.

In one letter, Screwtape advises Wormwood that if he wants to keep his assigned human on the road to hell, the best method is not through tempting him to do the big sins like murder and adultery, but with small little sins or even actions which are not sin themselves, but which are of etern...

Why Deceit is the First Sin You Should Get Rid of (Ephesians 4:25)

After President Calvin Coolidge returned home from attending church early one Sunday afternoon, his wife had been unable to attend, but she was interested in what the pastor spoke on in the service, so she asked her husband what the sermon was about.

“Sin,” he responded. She pressed him for a few words of explanation, and, being a man of few words, he elaborated by saying, “I think he was against it.”[1]

This is funny because it seems that so many sermons are nothing more than tirades against si...

Ephesians 4:20-24 Out with the Old! In with the New!

Outline for Ephesians 4:20-24 You don’t learn Christ by sinning (Ephesians 4:20-21) You learn Christ by: (Ephesians 4:22-24) Put off the Old (Ephesians 4:22)Renew the Spirit of Your Mind (Ephesians 4:23) Put on the New (Ephesians 4:24)

A few years ago, I watched on television an edited version of a movie called “Trading Places.” It starred Dan Ackroyd and Eddie Murphy. Ackroyd was a rich business executive stockbroker, and Murphy was a recently arrested con-artist. Dan Ackroyd w...

Carl Jung and Learning About Your Soul

Lots of Christians think Carl Jung was a heretic. I’ll be the first to admit he does write some pretty provocative ideas. But I have also found great spiritual truths and insights into the nature of God, the person and work of Jesus Christ, and helpful ways of reading Scripture with better understanding.

Most of all, I have found in the writings of Jung some of the deepest help for my soul. His life work was to map out the psyche (the soul), and his work in this regard can be greatly beneficial ...

Ephesians 4:17-19: Sacred Selfishness

Imagine that I was a guest speaker at your church. Or maybe at your social club or gathering of friends. Maybe you had heard that I have some insightful ideas and some things that will better help you understand God and yourself, and so you showed up to hear what I had to say.

And imagine that after the introduction, I stood up, and one of the first things I did was spend several minutes insulting you, your friends, and everything you had ever thought, said, or done. Imagine I said something lik...