Author Archives: gonelikeashadowatevening

Bible, Father, Pleasing, Scripture, Walking

LEARN TO PLEASE

EPHESIANS 5:10

“as you try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.”

Some people are “people pleasers.” They’ll do just about anything to make you happy. That is okay unless it becomes unhealthy for you. I’ve seen that happen, and it’s not good. You may have heard also about people who have a “pleasing personality.” They get along with others well. That’s a good trait to have. But what is Paul referring to in today’s verse?

The phrase “as you try to learn” is the Greek word dokimazo. It means to prove what is good. Try that definition in the verse. Then it would read, “as you prove what is good in pleasing the Lord.” We want to make sure that we know what is good, what is well pleasing, what is acceptable. Right?

APPLICATION

I have a friend who writes daily devotional thoughts. Her words today fit this verse. “We do well to remember, that our ‘sacrifice of praise’ within the ‘fires of affliction’ is a sweet aroma, pleasing to the Lord Jesus. It indicates that we believe what He has allowed is for our best interest – even in the direst of circumstances.”

It is easy to focus on pleasing the Lord and doing all the right things when things are going well. But when the hard times come, and they will, are you able to focus on pleasing Him? This doesn’t mean you have to “do” things for Him to please Him. It means living your life as a reflection of Him. The writer of Hebrews says it well in Hebrews 13:20-21. “20 Now may the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, that is, Jesus our Lord, 21 equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.”

How can you please Him today? Don’t think about what you need to do. Think about how you need to live. When we walk in the light, we have fellowship with the Father. Live today with your motive being to please Him in all that you do.

O Lord, I want to please You in each and every thing I do.

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Bible, Goodness, Righteousness, Scripture, Truth, Walking

FRUIT OF THE LIGHT?

EPHESIANS 5:9

“(for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness, and truth),”

I have never seen light give off fruit. Have you? At first reading, you may think Paul has lost his marbles or something. This is why it is so important to consider the context in which this verse lies. Paul had been talking about darkness and light before this verse. This verse simply carries on that idea. Don’t let the language of the text confuse you. Remember, God is not the god of confusion.

MacLauren says this about this verse. “The Apostle has just been exhorting his Ephesian friends to walk as ‘children of the light’ and before he goes on to expand and explain that injunction he interjects this parenthetical remark, as if he would say, To be true to the light that is in you is the sum of duty, and the condition of perfectness, ‘for the fruit of the light is in all goodness and righteousness and truth’.” 

APPLICATION

Okay Carl, so what are you trying to tell us? I’m glad you asked. The evidence, the fruit of your walk in the light is goodness and righteousness and truth. Do you perform goodness rather than “badness”? Do you want to do good or evil? It’s that simple. Your goodness is not your goodness. There’s nothing good about you. That goodness is the fruit of the Spirit in you.

How about living a righteous life? What does that mean? It’s living a life approved in the eyes of God. Wow! Who doesn’t want that? You may be surprised. Some people could care less about having God’s approval. In fact, they will do everything they can think of that runs counter to God. But not you – you have received His righteousness.

And the truth is also fruit of your walk in the light. There is no hiding yourself, sneaking away to do who knows what. Your life is an open book, no secrets. The truth is there for all to see. How do you live that way? Because the One Who is the Truth lives in you. He produces the fruit of the light in you. What a Savior! What a Lord!

Father, help me to walk in the light as Your are the Light

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Bible, Darkness, Light, Scripture, Testimony

WALK IN THE LIGHT

EPHESIANS 5:8

“for you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light”

When I take my morning walk each day, I begin when it is still dark outside. To be safe, I wear a light on my cap that illuminates where I am walking. I do this for two reasons. One reason is to light the sidewalk and streets where I walk. I don’t want to trip on something in my path. The other reason is so any cars that approach me can see me. I don’t want to get run over, lol.

Why do you think Paul told the Ephesians to “walk as children of light”? I believe it was for the same reasons. They needed to be able to see the things in their path that might trip them up. Light exposes those things. Darkness flees in the presence of light. Also, by being the light, others could see them coming. Their light would shine as an example of Jesus and perhaps draw them to Him.

APPLICATION

Are you walking in the light? Do others see your light shining? No, then turn up the light by living according to His Word. What does He tell us about that light? In John 8:12 Jesus says, “‘I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.’” If you have Jesus, you have the light. Let it shine!

John said in John 1:4, “In Him was life, and the life was the Light of mankind.” His light is the light for all mankind. We weren’t meant to get it and hide it. Remember the children’s song about hiding your light under a bushel? That still applies to us as adults. Don’t be afraid to shine the light of Jesus wherever you are and with whomever you are with.

Jesus even told us in Matthew 5:14, “‘You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden;’” If He is the light and He has told us we are the light, why don’t we let it shine? Because when we do, it exposes the darkness, even our own. Ouch! Examine yourself first before you start pointing your 2 million lumen light at others. Amen?

Thank You for giving us Your light for all mankind.

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Allies, Bible, Partakers, Partner, Scripture

THE RIGHT PARTNER

EPHESIANS 5:7

“Therefore do not become partners with them;”

You’ve probably heard the expression “Partners in Crime.” It’s meant to portray people who tend to stick together. Now, this can be a good thing or a bad thing. I have some friends who I can stick with through anything. I used to have some friends in my “before Christ” days who could have been classified in the negative way. We just looked for things to get in trouble. You may have people like that in your life. Perhaps this verse is for you today.

Paul warns the Ephesians again in today’s verse to stay away from those who practice all the negative things he has just written about. Their goal is to bring them down. Paul uses the same Greek word back in Ephesians 3:6 which is translated as “partners” here. These are the only two times this word is used in the New Testament. Interestingly enough, back in 3:6 it is used in a positive sense whereas here in today’s verse it is used negatively. You can be partakers or partners with a lot of people. You just have to guard against joining yourself to the wrong crowd.

APPLICATION

I love spy movies. Often in those movies someone will innocently get involved with a bad spy. Before they know it, they are wrapped up in their schemes and are doing things they never thought they would do. The same is true of us. I love how Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible explains this. It says it means “In their sins, and acts of disobedience; by keeping needless company with them; by abetting and encouraging sinful practices; by conniving at them, and not reproving for them; or by committing the same things.”

Who are your “buds”? Who do you hang out with the most? Are they a good influence on you and point you to Jesus or do they lead you away from the truth? Choose your friends wisely. Choose carefully whom you spend time with and associate with. Yes, we need to reach the lost. Yes, we need to get to know unbelievers and invite them to Jesus. But we cannot become wrapped up in their lives at the expense of our spiritual life.

The devil is very sneaky. He will send people into your life who seem above board. They may say all the right things, but they don’t believe them. To all of you out there who are dating an unbeliever – stop now. Don’t buy the lie that you can change them. You can’t. Only Jesus can. And if He wants them to be your spouse, He will change them into what you need to grow spiritually. Enough said!

Father, give me partners who agree with Your truth and can help build me up.

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Bible, Deception, Devil, Disobedience, Evil, Scripture, Wrath

WORLDLY DECEPTION

EPHESIANS 5:6

“See that no one deceives you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.”

Many years ago, when I was on a trip, I was propositioned by a lady while I was eating my dinner alone in a restaurant. I had seen her and another lady sitting across the restaurant at another table when I was seated. About halfway through my meal she approached and asked if I was interested in some “company.” I proudly raised my left hand, pointed at my wedding band and said, “Sorry, I am happily married.” She said back very quickly, “That’s okay, honey. She won’t know.” I told her again that I was not interested and she walked away.

Worldly deception has been around a long time. Paul warned the Ephesians about it in today’s verse. All the things in which they had been involved (see verse 5) and all the things their unbelieving friends were still practicing were a lure by the evil one. They were probably saying things like, “Oh, come on. You’ve always participated in these things. They are our custom.” These “sons of disobedience” were being used by the evil one to try and drag these new believers right back to their old lifestyles. Paul says, “No, you have a new life now.”

APPLICATION

In Romans 2:7-9, Paul shows us the contrast between being a child of obedience versus a child of disobedience. “7 to those who by perseverance in doing good seek glory, honor, and immortality, He will give eternal life; 8 but to those who are self-serving and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, He will give wrath and indignation. 9 There will be tribulation and distress for every soul of mankind who does evil, for the Jew first and also for the Greek,”

We will always have people in our lives who will try to lead us astray. Even other believers who are deceived may try to do this. So, how do you protect yourselves? James 1:22 says it rather simply. “Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” We have to live out the Word of God in our daily lives. We have to walk in truth.

2 Corinthians 11:3 is another verse I have memorized about this worldly deception. “But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray for your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.” Stay sharp. Stay in the Word and set your mind on things above. 

Lord, guard me against any worldly influence as I walk with You

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Bible, Greed, Heaven, Hell, Idols, Immorality, Impurity, Lawlessness, Scripture

NO ENTRY

EPHESIANS 5:5

“For this you know with certainty, that no sexually immoral or impure or greedy person, which amounts to an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.”

The U.S. southern border has become rather porous. Even though we have laws in place which require people to go through the correct process to enter our country, people are flooding our country. I am not trying to get political here. I am just stating the facts. There are many people coming in who have criminal backgrounds who would have been denied entry if they had done it correctly.

Paul explains in today’s verse that heaven has guidelines for entry. Unrepentant and unrighteous people will not enter in God’s kingdom. They will go where the border is wide open – hell. I know that sounds harsh, but it’s the truth. Jesus even said the gate is narrow and few will enter. The things Paul mentions in this verse (sexual immorality, impurity, greed) all equate to idolatry. Why? Because those who engage in such activities have decided to worship themselves rather than God. That will only end in one way – eternal damnation.

APPLICATION

I am preparing for a 3 ½ week trip to East Africa and will be visiting three different countries. What do you think would happen if I showed up at the airports of these countries without my passport and visas? I would be denied entry and sent back home. We need our spiritual visa stamped to enter heaven. That is done when we acknowledge Jesus as Lord and confess that He has died for my sins. Romans 10:9-10 says, “9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 or with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”

Today’s verse really talks about our inheritance in Christ, doesn’t it? We only inherit something because we have a close personal attachment to someone. A relative is named in a will because of their familial attachment. We will inherit God’s kingdom because we are in His family. Anyone who lives here apart from God’s family on earth will certainly not inherit His kingdom at death.

Where are you going? What will you inherit? Heaven or hell? Heaven has requirements for entry. Hell welcomes everyone without question. In one place we will live in perfect peace while in the other in eternal punishment. It’s really your choice? What do you choose?

Father, I am grateful that my ticket is punched and I am ready for the journey to my eternal home with You.

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Bible, Defiled, Foolishness, Jesting, Praise, Scripture, Thanksgiving

CHOOSE YOUR MESSAGE WISELY

EPHESIANS 5:4

“and there must be no filthiness or foolish talk, or vulgar joking, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks.”

I have to admit that before I came to Christ, my language was a little salty. I didn’t talk filthy, but I did use curse words more than I should have. And I heard and told my fair share of dirty jokes in the locker room. It’s amazing how Jesus can clean up your language once you give your tongue to Him.

Paul uses three words in this verse that are not found elsewhere in the New Testament. “Filthiness” is aischrote which means obscene, or indecent conversation, literally, that which is shameful, or deformed. “Foolish talk” is mōrologia which refers to idle chitchat, words that serve no purpose. And finally, “vulgar joking” is the word eutrapelia which mean coarse jesting. I think it is interesting that Paul uses these particular words which are only used once in the New Testament. What does that mean to you?

APPLICATION

Paul then turns his attention to proper speech, a proper message. He says, “but rather giving of thanks.” What a contrast! Instead of filthy, foolish or vulgar talk, we are to give thanks. Sure, Carl! Are you saying that all we are to talk about is what we are thankful for? In a way, yes. Do I do that all the time? No, but I should.

The next time you are tempted to say something you shouldn’t about someone, pause and give thanks to God for that person. I believe God puts hard people in our paths to perfect us. If we never had challenges, how would we grow? Now, I am not saying that I do this perfectly. In fact, I miserably fail at this. There are people in my life that challenge me. But as my wife said to me last night, I need to give them to the Lord.

We need to spend a lot more time sending out that message of gratitude. We have so much to be thankful for, even when our circumstances are trying. God is faithful. He knows exactly what you are going through. Give Him praise! Thank Him! Tell others you are thankful. Their response to your praise may surprise you.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

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Bible, Greed, Holiness, Holy, Immorality, Impurity, Scripture

DON’T MENTION IT

EPHESIANS 5:3

“But sexual immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be mentioned among you, as is proper among saints;”

There are some things you just don’t want to talk about. For instance, I don’t want to talk about a gruesome, elaborate surgery. Just the thought makes me squeamish. I don’t want to hear about possible side effects of medications. If I hear them, I am bound to get them. And some sports fans don’t want to hear their biggest rival’s name mentioned.

Paul is dealing with something much more serious – spiritually serious. He warns the Ephesians (and us) to not even mention sexual immorality, impurity or greed. Why? Because these are not “proper among saints.” Paul knew if you talked about such things your mind would be focused on them. If I say, don’t think about ice cream, what did you just think about? Ice cream! What’s on our tongues originates in our minds.

APPLICATION

I don’t think I have to go into a deep discussion here about these three things Paul mentions. These new believers were well acquainted with these sinful behaviors, having come out of the pagan worship scene of Ephesus. Sexual immorality and impurity were part of the normal behaviors for many in Ephesus. Greed was commonplace. So, Paul tells them to get those thoughts out of their minds.

He uses a strong negative here in the verse which really means “don’t even mention.” Let it be the furthest thing on their minds. They have a new life now in Christ. Paul tells them so in the last phrase. They are holy people now, bathed in the blood of Christ. The word translated as “proper” can mean “fitting or suitable.” This is usually referring to godly behavior. They have been changed and should live like it.

When we come to Christ and surrender our lives to Him, we have chosen a new life. We cannot continue to frequent the same bars we once frequented. We cannot continue to live in a fleshly relationship with someone outside of marriage. We cannot… You get the message. Our inward change is reflected in an outward change. I am not saying we become perfect but are commanded to live lives that reflect God’s holiness that is within us. Let His light shine through you.

Lord, I know I will never achieve perfection this side of glory, but I want to strive for that every day.

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Aroma, Bible, Fragrant, Sacrifice, Scripture, Testimony, Witnessing

A GOOD COLOGNE

EPHESIANS 5:2

“and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.”

Men don’t seem to wear cologne as much as they used to. My favorite growing up was Brut. My dad wore that, so I used to slip into his bathroom and splash some on. Man, I smelled good. I graduated to other fragrances over the years, some more expensive than others. But no amount of cologne could effectively cover up stink. It would always leak through and spoil the real fragrance of that cologne.

I love the imagery here that Paul uses. He tells us to “walk in love” but not in just any way. We are to walk “just as Christ also loved” us. He was a “fragrant aroma” in the nostrils of His Father. We will also give off that same aroma if we walk in love as He did. Our sacrificial living wafts up to heaven where the Lord looks down and smiles. Remember, a sacrifice was burned on the altar. Those blood sacrifices required a death. We also must die to ourselves to become that “fragrant aroma.”

APPLICATION

Since that Greek word for “fragrant” is only use two other times in the New Testament, let’s take a look at them. In 2 Corinthians 2:15 we find, “For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing:” You see, our “fragrance” is noticed by others. Just as when I go outside for a second, my wife can smell it on me, I want others to smell it when I have been with Jesus. Amen?

The other time the word is used is in Philippians 4:18 where it says, “But I have received everything in full and have an abundance; I am amply supplied, having received from Epaphroditus what you have sent, a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God.” Even our gift giving, if given with the right motive, can be a fragrant aroma.

So, how are you smelling today? Are you giving off the fragrance of Christ around you? Do others smell Jesus on you? When we walk in a room His fragrance should be coming out of our pores in order to draw people to Him. Try freshening up today. Spend a little more time with Him to get fully immersed in His fragrance.

Lord, I want to smell like You. I want everything I do to give off a fragrant aroma of Christ.

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Abiding, Bible, Forgiveness, Holy, Imitation, Righteousness, Scripture

IMITATE

EPHESIANS 5:1

“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children;” 

Isn’t it cute when you see a small child imitating their parent? When we lived in South Carolina, my son when he was three or four years old would follow behind me as I mowed the lawn with his little bubble mower. Do you remember those? They would blow out tiny little bubbles as you pushed it. He loved that thing and would pretend to be cutting the grass with me. (Don’t worry, we had him following a safe distance.) And now, guess what he does for a living. Yep, he has his own lawncare and landscaping business.

Paul begins chapter five (there really weren’t any chapters in the original) with a continuation of the idea he was writing in the previous verses. The word “therefore” ties these two chapters together. Then he says, “be imitators of God.” Okay, Paul, let’s keep that bar high. Imitate God? It’s not possible, right? God does not expect us to be just like Him, only to strive to be like Him. We will not reach perfection until we receive our glorified bodies in heaven. Until then we imitate Him.

APPLICATION

The word used by Paul here for “imitators” is mimētḗs. It is used five other times in the New Testament (1 Corinthians 4:16; 11:1; 1 Thessalonians 1:6; 2:14 and Hebrews 6:12) and each time in a positive manner. It means to act like or mimic someone. In fact, we get our English word “mimic” from the root of the word. It refers to emulating someone worthy of it. And certainly, God is worthy. Amen? So, mimic Him. But what does that mean?

In Gill’s Exposition we read, “Be ye therefore followers of God,…. Not in his works of infinite wisdom and almighty power, which is impossible; but in acts of righteousness and holiness, and particularly in acts of mercy, goodness, and beneficence; as in forgiving injuries and offences, and in freely distributing to the necessities of the saints; as the connection of the words with the preceding chapter, and the instance and example in the following verse show: and this should be done by the saints,.”

Can you be righteous and holy? Yes! Can you show mercy and goodness and be benevolent? Yes! Can you forgive someone? Yes! Can you provide for the needy? Yes! So, we can all mimic or imitate God, if we want to. Do you want to?

Father, help me follow Your example each and every day.

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