Week 14:
Day 1: Ephesians (entire
book)
Ephesians was written while Paul
was in prison in Rome, around 60 A.D.
There are several key verses in
Ephesians that are worth highlighting here.
(Ephesians 2:8-9 NIV) “8 For it is by grace you have been
saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—
9 not by works, so that no one can boast.”
We are saved by God’s doing. It
is a gift. We can’t earn our salvation.
Because of our belief in what
Jesus did for us, we have these benefits:
·
We were aliens, now we are citizens of God’s
household, the church.
·
We were far away, now we have been brought near.
·
We have peace and have been reconciled to God,
ending God’s hostility with us.
“11 He gave some apostles,
some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers. 12 His
purpose was to equip God’s people for the work of serving and building up the
body of Christ 13 until we all reach the unity of faith and knowledge of
God’s Son. God’s goal is for us to become mature adults—to be fully grown,
measured by the standard of the fullness of Christ.” (Ephesians 4:11-13 CEB) This passage is the basis for the
understanding that all Christians are given spiritual gifts and a ministry role
by the Spirit. We are to use our
ministry role and spiritual gifts to complement others in the Body of Christ in
order to build each other up. Our goal
is to become mature Christians, moving toward Christlikeness.
Day 2: Philippians (entire book)
Philippians was written while Paul
was in prison in Rome, around 61 A.D.
We are called to go on toward
Christlikeness. Paul said in Philippians2:5 (MSG)
“Think of yourselves the way
Christ Jesus thought of himself.” The
same verse in the NIV translation is:
“Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:” Regeneration into a new life as a follower of
Christ comes with responsibilities and obligations. We don’t work “for” our salvation but we work
“out” our salvation. We do that by
obeying God’s commands. We are justified
(declared not guilty, in other words “saved”) but we are called to continue in
our sanctification (becoming more and more like Christ) for the rest or our
life, 24x7. This allows others to see
the changed hearts and lives that come from following Jesus.
13 Brothers and sisters, I
myself don’t think I’ve reached it, but I do this one thing: I forget about the
things behind me and reach out for the things ahead of me. 14 The goal I
pursue is the prize of God’s upward call in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:13-14 CEB)
Day 3: 1 Timothy (entire book)
Written to Timothy, one of Paul’s
closest companions, in approximately 64 A.D.
It was written to give instruction and encouragement to Timothy as a
young leader in the church.
Timothy was “pastor” of the church
at Ephesus (which Paul started) for a time.
Day 4: Titus (entire book)
Written to Titus around 64
A.D. Titus was Greek and was converted
to Christianity by Paul and became Paul’s special representative to the
churches on the island of Crete. This
letter was written to advise Titus in his responsibility of supervising the
churches.
Day 5: 1 Peter (entire book)
Written by Peter about 62 – 64
A.D. The letter was written to offer
encouragement to suffering Christians, especially those who had been driven out
of Jerusalem and scattered throughout Asia Minor. At this time, Christians were being tortured
and killed for their faith throughout the Roman Empire.
Read these inspiring words from 1Peter 2:9-10 (CEB): “9 But you are a
chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people who are God’s own
possession. You have become this people SO THAT you may speak of the wonderful
acts of the one who called you out of darkness into his amazing light.
10 Once you weren’t a people, but now you are God’s people. Once you
hadn’t received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” Peter speaks several times in this letter
about new birth. “Once you were not…”
but “now you are…” This new birth should
cause changes in our behaviors SO THAT others will see and understand about
Jesus through our changed hearts and lives and they may come to believe. “…Whenever anyone asks you to speak of your
hope, be ready to defend it.” (1 Peter3:15b CEB) We are called to tell others
of the hope we have in Jesus.
Day 6: rest
Day 7: rest
