Covenant Grove Daily Devotionals

With the Lords authority I say this: Live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused. Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him. They have no sense of shame. They live for lustful pleasure and eagerly practice every kind of impurity. But that isnt what you learned about Christ. Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like Godtruly righteous and holy. So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body. And dont sin by letting anger control you. Dont let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a foothold to the devil. If you are a thief, quit stealing. Instead, use your hands for good hard work, and then give generously to others in need. Dont use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them. And do not bring sorrow to Gods Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭4‬:‭17‬-‭32‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Everyone is invited to the love of Jesus, and everyone is challenged to change. Earlier in this letter, Paul wrote how Jesus tore down the wall between Jews and Gentiles. This didnt mean that the sinful parts of the Gentile lifestyle (including lies, lust, and impurity) are what God wants. Our world confuses love and acceptance. Love does not accept everything in the loved one; true love always works for the best in the other, even when it includes conflict. Love is active and strong; it does not passively accept everything in others but works for what is good. Who are the people you love enough to challenge?God wants a good life for every person. In Christ we have the motivation and power to throw off our destructive habits and live out the good life God has for us. Through the death and resurrection of Christ, the Holy Spirit lives inside of us, transforming our thoughts and attitudes. We can respond to God's love and want to changegetting rid of lying, gossip, anger, bitterness, stealing, and laziness. These are selfish actions we think will make us happy, but they only leave us empty and hollow outour souls. The Spirit fills us and leads us to true life.What are the old habits that God wants you to throw off?

Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each others faults because of your love. Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all, in all, and living through all. However, he has given each one of us a special gift through the generosity of Christ. That is why the Scriptures say, When he ascended to the heights, he led a crowd of captives and gave gifts to his people. Notice that it says he ascended. This clearly means that Christ also descended to our lowly world. And the same one who descended is the one who ascended higher than all the heavens, so that he might fill the entire universe with himself. Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip Gods people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of Gods Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. Then we will no longer be immature like children. We wont be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭4‬:‭1‬-‭16‬ ‭NLT‬‬

The Church is not made to work like a business, sports team, or any other group. The Church is the Body of Christ. The Church is made up of God's childrenthose called by Him and filled with His Spirit. There should be humility and unity with peace and love. We have been forgiven and so we forgive. The Church is not perfect; if forgiveness is to happen, there must be something to forgive. Gods Family is where we speak the truth in love, growing the courage to confront what needs to be dealt with, the patience to deal with the minor differences, and the wisdom to know the difference. This is unity full of variety and personality. Our unity is not in uniformity but in our love for Christ and our commitment to follow Him.

Christ has come and given gifts of leadership to His Churchgifts to proclaim and build unity and grow maturity. Every part of the Body is empowered to work together so that the Body grows and is full of love. The Church is not about our power but about His power through us. It is not about our talents but about His gifts in us to unify His Body. It is not about our ambition or pride but about His missionto bring the whole world into His love.What are your thoughts about the Churchthe good and the bad? Reading these Bible verses, how does God want you to be involved in your local church?

When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into Gods love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all Gods people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭3‬:‭14‬-‭21‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Only Christ can fill the emptiness and longing of the human heart. These verses show that Christ can live in our hearts and fill us with His power and love. Through His power we begin to understand God's infinite love for us. Because our LORD possesses unlimited resources; He never tires of us asking for more of Him. We can ask God for physical, emotional, and moral strength. Increasing our dependency on Christ, we grow in a greater awareness of Him working in all areas of our life. The result our emptiness is filled with God's presence and His love. The result, our longings are fulfilled as we live out our purpose in Him mission with His mightypower.Christ is the fulfillment of every human longing. Think about your desires and longingshow can you find ultimate fulfillment in Jesus? In what way have you experienced Jesus renewing your strength? How can you share your experience with others?

When I think of all this, I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus for the benefit of you Gentiles... assuming, by the way, that you know God gave me the special responsibility of extending his grace to you Gentiles. As I briefly wrote earlier, God himself revealed his mysterious plan to me. As you read what I have written, you will understand my insight into this plan regarding Christ. God did not reveal it to previous generations, but now by his Spirit he has revealed it to his holy apostles and prophets. And this is Gods plan: Both Gentiles and Jews who believe the Good News share equally in the riches inherited by Gods children. Both are part of the same body, and both enjoy the promise of blessings because they belong to Christ Jesus. By Gods grace and mighty power, I have been given the privilege of serving him by spreading this Good News. Though I am the least deserving of all Gods people, he graciously gave me the privilege of telling the Gentiles about the endless treasures available to them in Christ. I was chosen to explain to everyone this mysterious plan that God, the Creator of all things, had kept secret from the beginning. Gods purpose in all this was to use the church to display his wisdom in its rich variety to all the unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was his eternal plan, which he carried out through Christ Jesus our Lord. Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come boldly and confidently into Gods presence. So please dont lose heart because of my trials here. I am suffering for you, so you should feel honored.‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭3‬:‭1‬-‭13‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Paul saw it as his mission to share God's Good News. Something new had happened in Christ: Gentiles could be part of the people of God without first becoming Jewish. In Christ, Jews and Gentiles could be part of the promises and blessings of God's people. Through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, the old covenant was fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God had come; the new covenant is now available to all cultures. In God's mercy, He saved Paul, and Paul understood that it was his purpose in life to share God's mercy and Good News to the ends of the earth.

All Christians are called by God to share the gospel (Matt 28:19-20). Sadly, many Christians ignore the command of Christ and miss out on the joy of sharing His hope. Some of us are scared because our world has taught us to keep silent about Jesus. An easy way to start sharing Christ is to listen. Ask people questions, and genuinely be interested in the answers. People like to share about themselves. Secondly, dont give advice but take the time to pray; this invites God into the conversation. From there, it is easier to invite someone to church, a Bible study, or a deeper faith conversation. Our world is longing for listeners. Listening shows love.Can you give God 10 minutes a day to listen to someone? God has given us mercy so that we can share His mercy with the world. How can you extend Gods mercy to others today?

Dont forget that you Gentiles used to be outsiders. You were called uncircumcised heathens by the Jews, who were proud of their circumcision, even though it affected only their bodies and not their hearts. In those days you were living apart from Christ. You were excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel, and you did not know the covenant promises God had made to them. You lived in this world without God and without hope. But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ. For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us. He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations. He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new people from the two groups. Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death on the cross, and our hostility toward each other was put to death. He brought this Good News of peace to you Gentiles who were far away from him, and peace to the Jews who were near. Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us. So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of Gods holy people. You are members of Gods family. Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. Through him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit.‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭2‬:‭11‬-‭22‬ ‭NLT‬‬

All our divisions can end at the cross. In Paul's day, there was a huge division between Jews and Gentiles. This division had lots of history and hate behind it. The death of Jesus ends the divide between humans and God, and it tears down the walls that humans build between each other. Through the death of Jesus there can be peace. Christ destroyed the wall that divided Jews and Gentilesthe old covenant has been fulfilled, and all people can now come to the Father through the Spirit. The Gentiles are invited into the promises of Israel. The Lord is making one new, united people.

Our world is still divided: economic disparity, age differences, racial tensions, politics, social issues, and more. Christ can end all our divisions. This doesn't mean we ignore problems or injustices; it means we seek to see all people they way Jesus does. It starts with forgiveness. We have been forgiven, and in gratitude, we forgive others. It is hard to forgive your enemies, but we can do it with Jesus. In Christ, there is no us and themit is just us. The cross ends all divisions if we will follow Christ.Are there any people you struggle to forgive? How can you live out these verses today?

Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devilthe commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to Gods anger, just like everyone else. But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by Gods grace that you have been saved!) For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus. God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you cant take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are Gods masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭2‬:‭1‬-‭10‬ ‭NLT‬‬

We are united with Christ, who is seated in heaven. We have His power to overcome the selfishness and sin that corrupt and bring death. We have His strength because Christ overcame death. We are saved by God's grace. This means there is nothing we can do to earn or deserve His forgiveness and salvation. Let that sink in. There is no one so bad that they cant be saved; there is no one so good that they dont need Gods forgiveness. We are saved by grace.

We cant earn salvation, but we can respond to it. To put it in Pauls words: we arent saved by good works, but we are made to do good works. As we receive salvation (Christ living in us), we live it outand this includes action. As we grow closer and closer to Him, we are able to do more and more goodwhich is what God had planned for us. These verses paint a picture of us being united with Christ, and Christ is in heaven, so we are with Him in heaven. We are united with Christ who overcame sin and death, so we can overcome sin and will overcome death. We can leave our old lives and live new livesdoing good, blessing this world, and living out His mission with Him.Reflect on the phrase saved by grace through faith. Why is this important to you? Where do you need His power to overcome sin, laziness, or wrong thinking?

Ever since I first heard of your strong faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for Gods people everywhere, I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God. I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he calledhis holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance. I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of Gods power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at Gods right hand in the heavenly realms. Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything elsenot only in this world but also in the world to come. God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church. And the church is his body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with himself.‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭1‬:‭15‬-‭23‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Jesus saved all of who we areincluding our minds. What we think matters. Paul prayed that the Ephesians would be given wisdom so they would grow in their knowledge of God. He prayed they would have God's light so they could understand God's hope. He also prayed they would understand God's powerthe power that raised Christ from the dead and now lives in us.

We don't just need knowledge; we need the spiritual understanding that comes from the presence of God's Spirit in our lives. Knowledge takes time: to read books, do devotions, and get advice from godly mentors. True understanding goes beyond knowledge; it includes reflection and action. Only when we experience God's presence and power in life do we gain wisdom for life. We are God's people, and He wants us to know Him and experience His power.What is your plan to learn more about God? How can you make sure you live out what you have learned?

This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus. I am writing to Gods holy people in Ephesus, who are faithful followers of Christ Jesus. May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace. All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding. God has now revealed to us his mysterious will regarding Christwhich is to fulfill his own good plan. And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christeverything in heaven and on earth. Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan. Gods purpose was that we Jews who were the first to trust in Christ would bring praise and glory to God. And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. The Spirit is Gods guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him.‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭1‬:‭1‬-‭14‬ ‭NLT‬‬

You are chosen and part of God's plan. These verses teach us that we are part of something bigger. God's plan is to bring this world back to His willwith all authority given to Christ and every heart coming home to the Creator. When we trust in Christ, we receive the Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing the inheritance of God's promise. We are God's children and part of God's plan; it is His pleasure and good will to bring us into His plan. All of this brings Him praise and glory. Even though human hearts have rebelled against God, He loves us and has a plan to bring us back.

Do you realize that you are chosen? Accept that you are special and let that soak into your self-worth.

Do you know that you have the Holy Spirit? Then don't accept that you are powerless. You have the power of God living inside of you, changing you.Do you realize you are part of God's bigger plan? Then see your life with gratitude and praise the Lord. Even the struggles we havewhich are realcan't thwart the will of God. He can make everythingeven the bad thingswork for our good. Praise Him!

Versus 17 through 28:

Three days after Pauls arrival, he called together the local Jewish leaders. He said to them, Brothers, I was arrested in Jerusalem and handed over to the Roman government, even though I had done nothing against our people or the customs of our ancestors. The Romans tried me and wanted to release me, because they found no cause for the death sentence. But when the Jewish leaders protested the decision, I felt it necessary to appeal to Caesar, even though I had no desire to press charges against my own people. I asked you to come here today so we could get acquainted and so I could explain to you that I am bound with this chain because I believe that the hope of Israelthe Messiahhas already come. They replied, We have had no letters from Judea or reports against you from anyone who has come here. But we want to hear what you believe, for the only thing we know about this movement is that it is denounced everywhere. So a time was set, and on that day a large number of people came to Pauls lodging. He explained and testified about the Kingdom of God and tried to persuade them about Jesus from the Scriptures. Using the law of Moses and the books of the prophets, he spoke to them from morning until evening. Some were persuaded by the things he said, but others did not believe. And after they had argued back and forth among themselves, they left with this final word from Paul: The Holy Spirit was right when he said to your ancestors through Isaiah the prophet, Go and say to this people: When you hear what I say, you will not understand. When you see what I do, you will not comprehend. For the hearts of these people are hardened, and their ears cannot hear, and they have closed their eyes so their eyes cannot see, and their ears cannot hear, and their hearts cannot understand, and they cannot turn to me and let me heal them. So I want you to know that this salvation from God has also been offered to the Gentiles, and they will accept it.

(Editors note:)

The verse 29 in modern translations have been redacted because it has not been founded in the most earliest manuscripts that a large percentage of scholars have agreed to be dated around the time of the events of the book of acts. As well, they believe that it couldve been added in towards the middle ages as a foot note. A lot of more updated modern translations of the holy text has put the scripture in the footnotes as not to totally take it away from the more contemporary scripture versions.

Here is verse 29: And when he had said these words, the Jews departed, greatly disagreeing with each other

Verses 30 and 31:

For the next two years, Paul lived in Rome at his own expense. He welcomed all who visited him, boldly proclaiming the Kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ. And no one tried to stop himThe Acts of the Apostles: 28:17-31 (with editors now)

The mission of our lives is to be witnesses to the love of Christ. Stop and absorb that for a minute. Do your goals line up with this calling? Acts 1:8 lays out the Great Commission we are to be witnesses for Jesus where we live and to the ends of the earth. Throughout the book of Acts, person after person has been shown obeying that mission, and there are countless others we never hear about who spread the gospel everywhere. There was hardship and opposition, but they did not stop, and neither can we.

The book ends with Paul in chains, preaching the gospel in Rome. What happened to Paul? He was eventually executed in Rome by the emperor. Some think he was released and traveled again before he was executed. The book of Acts doesnt tell us because the book is not about Paul; it is about being witnesses for Jesus. Paul had made it to Rome not the ends of the earth but the center of the Empire. The book ends as an invitation to continue the mission of Jesus, paying the price to be witnesses to the ends of the earth. This is our mission and purpose in life. Understand your call, be filled with the love of Christ, and share His love and truth with everyone you know!

How can you be a witness for Jesus? How will you live His mission this week?

Once we were safe on shore, we learned that we were on the island of Malta. The people of the island were very kind to us. It was cold and rainy, so they built a fire on the shore to welcome us. As Paul gathered an armful of sticks and was laying them on the fire, a poisonous snake, driven out by the heat, bit him on the hand. The people of the island saw it hanging from his hand and said to each other, A murderer, no doubt! Though he escaped the sea, justice will not permit him to live. But Paul shook off the snake into the fire and was unharmed. The people waited for him to swell up or suddenly drop dead. But when they had waited a long time and saw that he wasnt harmed, they changed their minds and decided he was a god. Near the shore where we landed was an estate belonging to Publius, the chief official of the island. He welcomed us and treated us kindly for three days. As it happened, Publiuss father was ill with fever and dysentery. Paul went in and prayed for him, and laying his hands on him, he healed him. Then all the other sick people on the island came and were healed. As a result we were showered with honors, and when the time came to sail, people supplied us with everything we would need for the trip. It was three months after the shipwreck that we set sail on another ship that had wintered at the islandan Alexandrian ship with the twin gods as its figurehead. Our first stop was Syracuse, where we stayed three days. From there we sailed across to Rhegium. A day later a south wind began blowing, so the following day we sailed up the coast to Puteoli. There we found some believers, who invited us to spend a week with them. And so we came to Rome. The brothers and sisters in Rome had heard we were coming, and they came to meet us at the Forum on the Appian Way. Others joined us at The Three Taverns. When Paul saw them, he was encouraged and thanked God. When we arrived in Rome, Paul was permitted to have his own private lodging, though he was guarded by a soldier.‭‭Acts of the Apostles‬ ‭28‬:‭1‬-‭16‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Having the presence of other strong Christians in our lives is a source of great strength and comfort. Paul had two Christian brothers traveling with him. They were not under arrest but stood by his side through trials, storms, and the shipwreck. Paul was single but rarely alone he stayed in community and surrounded himself with believers throughout his whole ministry. Even on the way to Rome, two different groups of Christians came to greet him, which greatly encouraged him.

We need to have other Christians in our lives for support and encouragement. We are also supposed to be friends with non-Christians, sharing life (and Jesus) with others. But we deeply need the connection of Christians. We also need to pay attention to the needs of our brothers and sisters. We need to be a source of encouragement and support, being present and praying for people. Life is not meant to be walked alone.What does it take to have deep, Christ-centered friendships? Who has God put in your life to encourage you, and how can you be intentional about spending time with them?