Wednesday, May 13, 2026

Opening Scripture

“I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble. You are my strength, I sing praise to you; you, God, are my fortress, my God on whom I can rely.”  Psalm 59:16-17

Opening Prayer

Gracious Heavenly Father, I praise you for your goodness and grace. By the power of your Spirit at work within me, help me to be fruitful and serve you well this day. Help me to embrace your will, obey your Word, and walk in your ways. In the name of Jesus Christ, my Lord, I pray. Amen.

Daily Bible Reading

Ephesians 4:17-5:2

So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed.

That, however, is not the way of life you learned when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. 

Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.

 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Reflection  

In today’s passage, Paul continues his explanation of what the “new humanity” that God has established should look like. He does this in part by first explaining what it shouldn’t look like. Again, Paul is concerned about the Christians’ “walk” (peripateó), that is, how they conduct themselves each day.

Sadly, Paul could just as easily have said, “I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as most Americans do.” Just as Ephesian society in the first century was “far from God,” so is American society in the twenty-first century! Unregenerate human nature remains consistent throughout history.

Paul condemns the “futility” of ungodly thinking. The word “futility” here (mataiotēti) means vanity, emptiness, without any useful aim or goal. Much of the unsaved Ephesians’ lives were occupied with meaningless thoughts, vain pursuits, and worthless distractions. Are we any different today?

Unbelievers are “darkened in their understanding.” The fact is, most people are morally and spiritually “blind.” They cannot see spiritual truth clearly; therefore, they do not grasp the things of God. “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Corinthians 4:4).

As such, they are “separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them.” This ignorance is not just a lack of information, but a total lack of awareness and appreciation for God’s goodness and glory. It is a willful neglect of spiritual matters and a disregard for the individual’s ultimate accountability to God.

This leads to “the hardening of their hearts.” Over time, ignoring God results in an ethical callousness, a seared conscience, and a loss of moral sensitivity. In that condition of spiritual numbness, “they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity.” The word for “full of greed” (pleonexia) can be translated “with a continual lust for more.”

Paul summarizes the desperate condition of most people in his letter to the Romans. “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools” (Romans 1:18-22).

The word translated “given themselves over” (paradidómi) denotes a surrender, a betrayal, even to put in prison. When people “give themselves up” to immorality, carnality, and impurity, they are “betraying” their souls and putting themselves in a prison of depravity.

Paul then contrasts that far-too-popular lifestyle with the way of life the Ephesian Christians had learned from him. Paul describes the process of sanctification as a “wardrobe change.” Believers are to “put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”

The “old self” (fallen nature) is corrupted by “deceitful desires” that promise fulfillment, but can never satisfy. Attempting to quench immoral cravings by sinful means is like trying to quench dehydration with salt water. It’s impossible!

The “new self” (divine nature) is created to be like God. When we “take off” the old self and “put on” the new self, we can be made new in the attitude of our mind. As we read in Romans 12:2, “do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

Paul then offers practical and tangible examples of what this looks like. Put off falsehood and speak truthfully. We’re all in this together! Don’t sleep on your anger or harbor bitterness in your heart because that provides fertile soil for Satan.

Don’t take anything that doesn’t belong to you. Instead, work hard. Be productive. Contribute! Don’t let anything rotten come out of your mouth. Instead, bless and encourage others with the things you say.

Don’t grieve the Holy Spirit by your attitudes or actions. Get rid of all bitterness, anger, fighting, slander, and meanness. Be kind and compassionate. Forgive each other, just as God has forgiven you. Follow Christ’s example. Walk in the way of love.

Flourishing Habit

Flourishing Christians

The wardrobe change Paul describes is part of our transformation as followers of Jesus. It is a series of daily decisions about what we will do and won’t do. Everyone is in the process of becoming. The question is, “Who are you becoming?”

Here are some insights from John Mark Comer in Practicing the Way.

“Spiritual formation is not optional. Every thought you think, every emotion you let shape your behavior, every attitude you let rest in your body, every decision you make, each word you speak, every relationship you enter into, the habits that make up your days, whether or not you have social media (if you do, how you use it), how you respond to pain and suffering, how you handle failure or success – all these things and more are forming us into a particular shape. Stasis is not on the menu. We are being either transformed into the love and beauty of Jesus or malformed by the entropy of sin and death. We become either agents of God’s healing and liberating grace, or carriers of the sickness of the world. To believe otherwise is an illusion; and to give no thought to this is to come dangerously close to wasting your life.”

As part of your intentional discipleship, what are you “taking off” and what are you “putting on”?

What is one area that you need God to help you with? Talk to Him about it.

Remember: Nothing changes until something changes!