Day 2 - Week 72 - Ephesians 2:10 "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

Robert J. Morgan has great commentary on this verse that I'm going to share tonight....

This is an incredible verse because it tells us that while good works aren't the cause of our salvation, they are the result of it; and God has even planned in advance what those good works will be in your life and mine.

When you study the history of the world, you'll find that Christians have always been at the forefront of benevolence, social reform, education, hospitality, and medical care.  Jesus told us to let our light shine before others that they might see our good works and glorify our Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 5:16).  He said when we visit the prisoners and feed the hungry and help the oppressed, it's as though we were doing it for Him (Matthew 25:45).

Sometimes I wonder if I'm missing any of the good works that God has prepared for me to do.  I sure don't want to.  I don't want to be so consumed with what I think my life should consist of that I miss the opportunities that God is placing in my life to do good works for His glory.  I don't want to strike out doing things that bring me praise and miss the humble things that God may have asked me to do, not for anyone else but Him. 

Not missing God's opportunities means staying in close touch with Him through prayer and His Word.  It means consistently submitting myself to His plans, not mine.  It means looking through spiritual eyes when I'm viewing my day, my week, my year...making sure that I'm not getting blinded by the worldly views that start clouding my eyes.

Should it become burdensome to us thinking that we "better be at work" or we're not pleasing God?  I don't think that's what God wants for us.  Conversely, I think He wants us to take such pleasure in participating in His work that it is no burden, it is our joy. 

I think God knows that this is the very moment when we feel most satisfied...when we are doing just what we were created to do...the good works that He prepared for us in advance.

Day 1 - Week 72 - Are we resting or are we working?

The section of verses we are currently studying is titled "Faith"...but subtitled "Resting in God's Word."  The first two verses we have contemplated have reminded us that our faith brings with it the freedom from earning our salvation...our salvation is given to us by God's grace through faith, nothing that we can boast about of ourselves, but what we should be celebrating and yelling from the rooftops proclaiming our wonderful and merciful God.

Isaac Watts penned these beautiful words centuries ago...his proclamation of God's mercy toward him:

Lord, we confess our numerous faults,

How great our guilt has been.

Foolish and vain were all our thoughts,

And all our lives were sin.

'Tis not by works of righteousness

Which our own hands have done;

But we are saved by sovereign grace

Abounding through His Son.

Raised from the dead we live anew;

And, justified by grace,

We shall appear in glory too,

And see our Father's face.

So have you gotten Ephesians 2:8-9 down?  Say them with me:  "For it is by grace you are saved, through faith; and this is not from yourselves, it is God's gift.  Not by works, so that no one can boast."

We'll add Ephesians 2:10 this week, but first let's review:

The Holy Spirit's Role in our Lives (6)
Ephesians 5:18 "And don't get drunk with wine, which leads to reckless actions, but be filled with the Spirit."
Ephesians 5:19 "Speaking to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making music in to the Lord in your hearts."
Ephesians 5:20 "Giving thanks always for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."
Ephesians 5:21 "Submitting to one another in the fear of Christ."
Galatians 5:22 "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control."
2 Timothy 1:14 "Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you...guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit living in us."

Joy: God's Kind of Happiness (12)
Psalm 118:24 "This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it."
Philippians 4:4 "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!"
Philippians 4:5 "Let your graciousness be known to everyone. The Lord is near."
Philippians 4:6 "Do not worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God."
Philippians 4:7 "And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."
Romans 15:13 "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope through the power of the Holy Spirit."
James 1:2 "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds."
James 1:3-4 "Knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. But endurance must do its complete work, so that you will be mature and complete, lacking nothing."
1 Thessalonians 5:16 "Rejoice always."
1 Thessalonians 5:17 "Pray constantly."
1 Thessalonians 5:18 "Give thanks in everything, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."


Faith: Trusting God and Resting in His Word (12)
Ephesians 2:8 "For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God's gift."
Ephesians 2:9 "Not by works, so that no one can boast."

So what does Ephesians 2:10 say?  Does it say, "So take it easy, you can now spend your lives doing whatever you wish, indulging yourself in any way you like"?  Not quite...even though Paul just told us that our salvation is a gift to us from God due to his abundant grace, listen to his very next words....-

Ephesians 2:10  - "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." NIV

Wait a minute!  I thought we were talking about resting!  Now we're told we are expected to work!  Which is it?  LOVE the way this verse reads in The Message...

No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing.

Our salvation is bestowed to us without any work on our part --- without any merit.  It is not a reward for our wonderful works, rather God's response to our cry of faith in Him.  But once we have received God's mercy, once He has reached out His hand and pulled us from the drowning sea of sin, we come to an understanding of just exactly what our purpose is on this earth.  We are now truly His children, placed here to do His good works that He ascribes to us each day.  And we do not want to miss out on participating with our Father in the wonderful things that He is doing.  He will give us the strength - He will give us the ability - and He will give us the resources to do whatever it is that He asks of us. 

Day 4 - Week 71 - Ephesians 2:9 "Not from works, so that no one can boast."

So what do you think you deserve?  I mean, you've been a pretty good person, right?  When you come to the end of your earthly road, what do you think should be waiting for you?

If you think that when your final breath is drawn and you appear before the holiness of God that you will have anything to bring before Him that has been accomplished within your own power and ability that even begins to appear of value, you are mistaken.  Our worthiest of deeds falls so very, very short of God's complete perfection and holiness...so if you even start to boast that you may be in a better position than someone that you are comparing yourself to, think again!  You're both in a pitiful state!

But, take heart!  We don't have to panic thinking that we will have to stand before our Father trying to explain away our unworthiness...citing all the reasons that we did not attain the high level of accomplishment that we could have had we just kept focused, avoided all errors in judgment, kept on God's path 100% of the time, and never, never participated in anything that was driven by selfishness, ego, or pride. 

No, we are told that it is not our works that will bring us salvation, nor is it our lack of works that will cost us our salvation.  No - our salvation has nothing to do with us, and everything to do with God.  It is through Him, through the salvation offered through Jesus Christ, and bestowed to us through our faith in this offering.

So get over yourself...and if even a hint of boasting starts to come out of your mouth, think again. 

Holy?  Not even close.  Perfect?  Far from it. 

Forgiven?  Absolutely. 

Grace.  It's a beautiful thing. 

Day 3 - Week 71 - Ephesians 2:9 "Not from works, so that no one can boast."

Do we, as evangelical Christians, tend to "boast" in our good works?  Do we sometimes rather arrogantly live like we're the ones who have "gotten it right"?  Sometimes I fear that...and even in my feeling of angst over our attitudes, I am reminded that it is not us that have gotten it right..it is God.  He is the One who developed His plan for our salvation, He is the One who prepared the way of grace.  I don't have it right, but, through the grace of God and responding to His call, I have accepted His right way...the way of the cross, the way that Jesus paved for me, the way home to my Father.

Now --- does that give me the ability to express to others that I am a better person than they?  Not one little bit.  I am no better, I have nothing in me of any more worth than any other creature on this earth.  All I have is the grace of God over my life.  My works, of which are very few, have no merit in my salvation...my works are my gifts back to God for His enormous gift of acceptance that He has extended to me. 

I have been purposefully avoiding blogging this week because I have been so burdened as to the current discussion regarding same-sex message.  Dan Cathy's statements regarding his company's (Chick-Fil-A) support of the traditional family brought the discussion again into the forefront this past week. 

Now, personally, I believe that as an American, Dan Cathy, along with any other business owner, should be able to state their values and beliefs and then let the "chips fall where they may."  I think he realized that there would be people who didn't agree with him, just as there are many pro same-sex marriage business owners who have stated their views and probably lost some business from those who don't see eye-to-eye with them.  But just as those business owners are still allowed to conduct business wherever they have the opportunity, so should Mr. Cathy.  Even the liberally-minded ACLU has stated that,

"The government can regulate discrimination in employment or against customers, but what the government cannot do is to punish someone for their words,” said Adam Schwartz, senior attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois. “When an alderman refuses to allow a business to open because its owner has expressed a viewpoint the government disagrees with, the government is practicing viewpoint discrimination.”

Just as Mr. Schwartz states that the government should not practice viewpoint discrimination, neither can I mandate my viewpoint on another.  I do believe that there is a distinct difference, though, in the discussion I can have with fellow Christians on our differing viewpoints than the discussion that I can have with a person who does not share my Christian beliefs.  For me trying to argue why someone should or should not participate in a particular behavior with someone who does not accept Christian values or Biblical guidance, would have absolutely no point.  Their moral compass does not come from the same source as mine, so there would be no reason to argue over our opposing directions. (1 Corinthians 5:12)

But, should I have a discussion with my Christian homosexual (and that is not an oxymoron) brother or sister, I pray that I would not "boast" and present myself as any more of a Christian than they.  I know that many Christian gays and lesbians do not perceive their lifestyles as sinful.  I hope that I could very humbly ask them to read the passages in the Bible that list homosexuality as a sin, right along with many other sins that I have been guilty of throughout my life, (Romans 1 Corinthians 6:9, 1 Timothy 1:10, Jude 1:7), and then to prayerfully repeat the words of David, simply stating, "See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." Psalm 139:24.

If there is an inability for someone to humble themselves in this way, to lay themselves before God and ask Him of His opinion, of His view of their life, to sense if He is nodding His approval over their life, then therein may be the bigger issue --- the issue of submission.  This is not an issue limited to our sexual activities....I know I have struggled with it in multiple areas, and still do.  Battling the innate desire to rule my life without God's authority.

So, I guess my bottom line is...please Lord God, restrict me from any tendency to boast over a "superior" life...but, please Lord God, bring all of us who profess to be believers in the grace bestowed to us by the blood of Jesus over our lives to a place of absolute submission, asking for Your hand of authority to direct our lives. To do everything we can to show our love for You through our love for others in a real way...but in a way that not only shows acceptance for them, but directs them to You so that we may not only share the enjoyment of this life You have given to us now, but also the eternal life that we will share with them in Your presence.

I pray that my words have not been offensive, that they have in no way been boastful, and that they express my absolute belief in God's wonderful, comprehensive grace...a grace that is available to all who come to Him in faith; a grace that covers all our sin when we bring it to Him in humility and submission.  I also ask you to please let me know if you feel I have stated anything in conflict with Biblical teaching.  I am very open to correction.

Thank You, my Father, for your wonderful plan of grace, mercy and forgiveness. 

To YOU be the glory!