From the Kitchen Table

The Kitchen Table            Ephesians Day 35

“Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” ³² This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. ³³ However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.

Ephesians 5:31-33

Never underestimate the power of one.  It’s not about being autonomous or an authoritarian.  It’s about coming into agreement.  Where there is agreement there is authority.  The secret to success is in the power of one.  Where we become one with God and even self, there will be clarity, conviction, and certainty.  Jesus came and made the two into one (Eph 2:14)  In marriage the two are to become one.  We do that by coming into agreement about values, vision and volition. Where we come into agreement there is authority to live in peace, power and prosperity.  That is what happens when we come into agreement with God and then ourselves and then others.  Success is on the other side of faith (agreement with God) and failure is in the mix of fragmentation.

The Kitchen Table   Ephesians Day 34

Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, ²⁶ that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, ²⁷ so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. ²⁸ In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. ²⁹ For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, ³⁰ because we are members of his body.

Ephesians 5:25-30

When love lives in us, we live in love.  Love creates a world where there is forgiveness, favor, freedom, and a future.  And it’s good for us.  It’s good for our spirit, soul, and body.  All the fuss and frustration that attacks our head and our heart is broken off.  In love we find nourishment and cherishing and we all need to be nourished and cherished.  As we live loving, nourishing, and cherishing others the Holy Spirit creates a world around us that nourishes and cherishes us.  When we live in love, we create love to live in.

The Kitchen Table            Ephesians 5:22-24          Day 33

Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. ²³ For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. ²⁴ Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. Ephesians 5:22-24

Surrendering control is essential for any relationship to work physically and spiritually.  We must surrender control of our lives and over other’s lives.  When we came to Christ, we surrendered control to Him, believing in Him, on Him and for Him.  Submission doesn’t work without belief because submission involves a choice.  If we can’t submit to someone then there is a problem with belief.  We can obey but that doesn’t necessarily mean that we have submitted.  If there is no submission then there is a “belief” problem more than a “behavior” problem.  We submit to that which we believe in.  This Jesus life is about surrendering control to Jesus and we do that because we believe in Him.

The Kitchen Table   Eph 5:15-21  Day 32

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, ¹⁶ making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. ¹⁷ Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. ¹⁸ And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, ¹⁹ addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, ²⁰ giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, ²¹ submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Ephesians 5:15-21

Live your life being filled with the presence, power, passion, perspective, and purpose of the Holy Spirit.  Don’t just be a container, be a contender.  Don’t settle for a profession, have a practice.  Speak the word of God, praise the work of God and participate in the will of God.  This isn’t just about being nice and saying nice things or the right things, it’s about letting the Holy Spirit motivate you rather than using the vices of this world to medicate you.  Your enemy wants you silent, medicated to be mute.  The Holy Spirit wants you loud, speaking and serving with life.

The Kitchen Table   Ephesians 5:11-20   Day 31

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, ¹⁶ making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Ephesians 5:15-16

Be the Light!  Live in the love and you’ll be the light.  Understand this, light produces fruit and darkness creates work that is unfruitful.  You just read it.  The biggest waste of time is a life with no fruit.  It’s sad.  But man’s walk produces ruined lives while God’s way produces rewarding lives.  In the light of God’s love we find wisdom to redeem the time.  That means we take the moment captive for God and His will when we live in the wisdom of His light of love.  Be the light of God’s love and liberate the moment for what God loves.  It will be wonderful.

The Kitchen Table   Ephesians 5:5-10    Day 30

“And try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord”

  Eph 5:10

Live to be the light rather than to be the liked.  When we live to be liked rather than to be the light we put ourselves in a place to be deceived, distracted and even destroyed.  Seek the light and you’ll be liked for who you are, not who your with.  You’ll know the light, it consists of everything that is good and right and true.  But living in the light is about living to please God rather than to prove ourselves.  Live to please God and you’ll live in the light.

The Kitchen Table   Ephesians 5:1-4      Day 29

“Therefore be imitators of God as beloved children” 

Eph 5:1

An imitator is someone who follows someone else and lets that person determine who they as a person is going to be.  We become imitators of God by living as children loved by God who love like God. Being loved and being loving are the characteristics of the Christian life.  Immorality and impurity are signs of inefficiencies in love.  Those impure thoughts, words and acts are signs of our inability to accept and approve of God’s love.  We accept and approve God’s love by being appreciative of God’s love.  The Bible says, “let there be thanksgiving”.  We embrace God’s love by expressing thanksgiving for God’s love.

The Kitchen Table  Ephesians Day 28

“Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.  Eph 4:29

The best way to keep the devil from opportunity in our lives is to give the Holy Spirit opportunity in our lives.  He’s here and ready to move on and in our lives but we can grieve Him.  We can say “no” to His want, will and work.  God gives us that choice.  Don’t bite the hand that feeds you.  We must stop operating in the flesh and operate by faith in the compassion and commands of Christ.  Fall in love with Jesus by loving His presence, perspective, passion and plans.  We give the Holy Spirit opportunity by simply loving God.  Today, greet, don’t grieve the Holy Spirit!

The Kitchen Table   Ephesians Day 27

“give no opportunity to the devil”  Eph 4:26

Our enemy walks and works through what is false.  Jesus said that the devil was a liar.  He can’t live in the truth and he can’t survive in the truth.  The truth ends his reign of trouble and terror over people’s lives.  But he can’t achieve his ambitions with our agreement.  We give the devil an opportunity in our lives when we play with deception.  Want to triumph?  Love and live in the truth.

The Kitchen Table   Ephesians Day 26

Now, this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. Ephesians 4:17 The only life worth talking about is the life of love.  The life of anger, resentment, jealousy, impurity and offense is death.  Who really wants to talk about death?  Well, when that’s all we’ve got without Jesus it’s just a matter of a bigger badder story.  All those things just lead to greater impoverishment of the soul.  Only love frees the spirit and the mind to live life and bring life to the life we live.