Verse of the Day 5/7

 

Ephesians 2:13-14  But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. ¹⁴ For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility     English Standard Version (ESV)

Yesterday we considered how God can lift us out of the anxieties that we face by crying out to Him and waiting expectantly upon Him.  These anxieties can come from upon us from two fronts.  Outside circumstances and pressures can bring these on but perhaps more often we face pressures that come from within ourselves.

I read the following quote in Ray Ortlund's blog which speaks to this.  "Each of us tends to be, not a single self, but a whole committee of selves. There is the civic self, the parental self, the financial self, the religious self, the society self, the professional self, the literary self. And each of our selves is in turn a rank individualist, not cooperative but shouting out his vote loudly for himself when the voting time comes. . . . We are not integrated. We are distraught. We feel honestly the pull of many obligations and try to fulfill them all. And we are unhappy, uneasy, strained, oppressed, and fearful we shall be shallow. For over the margins of life comes a whisper, a faint call, a premonition of richer living which we know we are passing by."  Thomas R. Kelly, A Testament of Devotion (New York, 1941), pages 114-115.

It is quite a list.  Reading it and stepping back to take a look at ourselves, I'm sure that we can see members of the "committee" within us that bring anxiety.   Today's verses describe how Jesus breaks down the walls of hostility between Jews and Gentiles to create one body of believers.  He can also break down those divisions within ourselves by listening to His call, which may seem "faint" in the midst of the business of our lives.  May we heed His call, submit and realize His will in our circumstances and let Him be "our peace".  We will still face pressures but may we also see through them to the "richer living."  Appreciating and counting your many blessings would be a good start.

 

In Christ,
Mike

 

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Eph 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace  NIV

Ephesians 2:11-15

New Living Translation (NLT)

Oneness and Peace in Christ

¹¹ Don't 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. ¹² 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. ¹³ 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.

¹⁴ 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. ¹⁵ 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.