Focus on the unseen promises(faith)
Ephesians 6:10(Be strong in the lord):
On this powerful passage of the Bible,we will divide the devotion into two which are:
1: The preparation.
2. Our power.
1. THE PREPARATION : “Finally…”
The word finally reveals that this is Paul’s final section of his letter to the Ephesians. And Ephesians 6:10-20 is the final instructions. It is interesting, because if you were to do a study of the book of Ephesians, and take note of all the key terms and ideas found throughout the book, you would discover that Paul repeats them all in these next eleven verses.
So these are his summary words to the rest of the letter. Paul directs these final words to his brethren. By using the term here, Paul is associating himself with those to whom he writes. He is saying, “Look. I am not your general ordering you around in this war. Rather, I am your brother and your are mine. We are fellow soldiers in this war. We are “A Band of Brothers.” We fight side by side. We watch each other’s backs,protect each other and defend each other, We go to the wall for each other, We march with each other.
This is key for us to understand, and especially for us to practice. When you see another brother or sister in Christ who is facing problems, you need to come along side them and help them. See what you can do to serve and support them. In a battle, the heroic soldiers are those who stay and help the wounded get off the battlefield. Those who flee just to protect themselves are seen as cowards.
As Christians, we are in this battle together, which means we must help those around us who get injured and damaged in the fight. We must come around them and give them the encouragement and support that they need.
That is good to know in a war like this. It is good to know that we are not fighting alone, It is good to know that we have friends and allies, It is good to know that we are watching out for one another. That is what Paul means here by using those encouraging words, my brethren. So throughout this letter, Paul has been instructing us about how to live the Christian life, and now he comes to the final, summarizing instructions.
Do you want to be fully prepared to live the victorious Christian life? Here, finally, is how to do it Here, finally, is how to be fully prepared. And what is this final step of preparation? We need, according to the rest of Ephesians 6:10, our power.
2. OUR POWER: “…,be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power”
The second half of Ephesians 6:10 tells us to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Verse 10 tells us that the power we get for spiritual battle is not ours, but God’s. It is given to us the moment we first believe in Jesus Christ for eternal life.
At the moment we believe, all of God’s power and resources and strength and might are put at our disposal. In fact, this power from on high is a common theme right here through Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. Ephesians 1:19, Paul tells us that the exceeding greatness of God’s power has been given to us who believe. And in Ephesians 3:16-20, Paul prays that those to whom he writes will know and experience the great power of the Spirit in their lives. Paul was not the only Biblical author to speak of such power.
Almost every New Testament book speaks about the power that Christians have been given through the Holy Spirit living in their lives. So let me ask you a question. Why is it, if every Christian has this infinite supply of power available to us—that our lives do not reveal this power? Why is it that we don’t feel it, or experience it, or see it’s effects in our lives and Why is it that we rarely feel God’s presence in our lives? Why is it—if we have all this power—we rarely, if ever, see any evidence of it in our lives? Picture your life as a spiritual fuse box.
No matter how much power is available, the fuse box only lets a certain amount of power through. If too much power tries to get through, or if there is a power surge, the fuses break. They don’t allow the current to flow through. And that is the way it is in our lives. We’ve got this infinite source of power over here in heaven, and this terribly dark and cold room that is our lives over here. But right in the middle, is this silly little ten amp fuse. And no matter how much power you pump into that fuse box, only ten amps are going to get through, and if you try to send in more, you keep experiencing the frustration of having your fuse break.
But guess what? There is a way you can allow more power to get through, and that is what Paul means here when he says be strong. You can get a bigger circuit breaker. You can get a bigger fuse. You can let more power through. How? Well, to answer that, let me remind you of the overall picture of the section we are in. Paul is telling us about the armor of God.
Conclusively, we all know from physical exercise, the only way to become stronger and stronger is to keep working out, and pushing yourself, and exercising and lifting weights. You become strong in direct proportion to the time and effort you invest. That is exactly the way it is with the Christian. Do you want to become strong? It won’t happen automatically.
You will only become strong in direct proportion to the time and effort you invest in practicing the Christian disciplines. And I would go even further than this. I would say that it takes more strength, and more discipline, and more courage to practice the spiritual disciplines than it does to become physically disciplined.
It is harder to pray than it is to perspire. It is harder to pay tithe than it is to spend money on things of the world. It is harder to lift your Bible and turn its pages in Bible study than it is to bench press your own weight. It is harder to attend church services faithfully than it is to attend the club house and parties. I know the spiritual disciples are difficult to do, but we must do them if we are going to survive the Christian life.
If we are going to survive spiritual warfare, we must constantly be in training for battle so that we can become stronger. However, when we do these things, we need to remember that we ourselves are not getting stronger, nor is it our strength by which we are doing these things. It is only as you begin to work out spiritually that you will become strong in the Lord and in the power of His might and the Lord will help us all to grow stronger spiritual in Jesus name. God bless you all.
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