Daily Bread 6-7-17
Ephesians 4:1-3
1 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,
2 With all lowliness and meekness, and long-suffering, forbearing one another in love;
3 Endeavoring to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace.
ref. - Col 1:10 - That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God.
Gal 5:22 - But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith.
John 13:34 - A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
Wow! When we go looking for answers they are surely found in the scripture. Although it may be unclear what our calling is, we must know that once it is evident that God wants us to walk worthy of it! Even though we may have stumbled or hit a few bumps in the road, even failed him at times, we must know that God's will in our lives is not to cast us out, but to redeem us and give us the tools necessary to carryout the mission that he has planned for us on this earth. You see, Paul knew what his vocation was. He was a prisoner of the Gospel. He would have no other beliefs, no other agenda, nothing other than the gospel of Christ and the Church to tend to. He knew that he had no choice in the matter and was all right with that. He was a prisoner of Christ. All he was asking those in Ephesia was to also determine what their vocation was, and also walk worthy of it. There are different qualifications for each vocation or calling that God gives us and we are to stay within those lines. Sometimes hard to do, but not impossible of we look to Christ. The vocation, or purpose, that Paul was trying to show the Ephesians was that they seek to attain the fruit of the Spirit. This was, and still is, the first and foremost things that we need within us in order to fulfill any calling that he has for us. We must love one another to the point where we can put aside our own feelings and needs and tend to the well being of our Brothers and Sisters. We must truly love one another, not carnally or in lust, but in our hearts. Just as Christ loved us. Do we have that love today? We must be joyful in the Lord spreading a positive example of Jesus Christ in us! Today, are we joyful in Christ and the Gospel? We must be peaceful, not studying war any more but peace. Today, have we found inner peace, or is our carnal self at war with our Spirit? We must be willing to dig our heels in, no matter how long it takes or how hard it gets, and endure through the hand that we have been dealt in this life. We must also be patient with one another. Do we have that in us, or just when others are around? We just also find the grace to be gentle and good, spreading the love of Christ by our actions and our lives examples. Is that the desire and the necessity that we have in our souls? To be gentle and good? And finally, we must have faith to trust that God knows where he put us and what we are to be doing to please him. We must be content in the situation that we are in. Like the Apostle Paul in being a prisoner of Christ. He was not complaining, he was stating a fact. Are we content today with the situation that God has put us in, or have we put ourselves in a situation that is not of God. Either way, it is very clear that many of us have found something or some area that we need God's help in today. Let us concentrate on prayer and devotion to find these fruits of the Spirit and not just act them out, but ask God to put them in our hearts, minds, and souls today. If it is of God, it will stand. If it is of the world, it will crumble and fall. Don't be discontent if it has fallen, stand up, dust yourself off, get right with God, and chase after what he has created for you and in you!! And have a great day!!!