S – Finally, be strengthened by the Lord and by his vast strength. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the schemes of the devil

Ephesians 6:10–11 CSB

O – 1.  We can tap into God’s strength and apply it to ourselves.  Why don’t we do this more often?  We don’t think we need it, feel undeserving of it or don’t think it is necessary.

2.  You can’t go into battle with just one or two pieces of armor.  God offers the whole array of weapons – use them.  Preparation is key.  You won’t know what weapons you need until you are in the battle.  Once you are in it, you can access the weapon you need if it is on your person. Have them all ready.

A – Preparing for the battle is our responsibility.  Before we get too far in our day, we should interact with God and put on his armor for each day’s assignment.  

R – Lord, I don’t know what I will face today, but you do.  I invite the Holy Spirit to go with me today in my words, thoughts and actions.  I put on all the armor that you put at my disposal.  I set my resolve to honor you to the best of my ability.  In all I do today, help me to love you, love others and help others take a step closer to you.

S – Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk—not as unwise people but as wise—¹⁶ making the most of the time,^, because the days are evil. ¹⁷

Ephesians  5:15–17 CSB

O – “making the most” –ĕxagŏrazō :   to buy up, i.e. ransom;  to rescue from loss (improve opportunity):— redeem

“time” – kairŏs:  an occasion, i.e. set or proper time:— × always, opportunity, (convenient, due) season, (due, short, while) time, a while. comp. 5550

 The New Strong’s Dictionary of Hebrew and Greek Words (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1996).

A – God wants us to rescue our time from loss.  That doesn’t mean we are busy from the moment we wake up till sleep.  We are intentional and productive.  Even things consider ungodly (brushing our teeth, taking a nap, etc) feed into our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health.  We must be aware and intentional in what we do in our daily lives.

R – God, help me to use the hours you give me today to be strong, courageous and healthy for you.  Let me push myself to grow and enjoy solid rest when both are appropriate.  Let curiosity be a healthy component of gaining new wisdom and understanding.  Let my relationships flourish because I genuinely care and value others.

S – And don’t grieve God’s Holy Spirit. You were sealed by him for the day of redemption

Ephesians 4:30 CSB

O – Commentaries:

The fact that the Holy Spirit may be grieved points to His personality. His seal of a believer remains until the day of redemption, the time that a believer receives his new body 

“Ephesians,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures

Believers must not alienate God’s Holy Spirit, who identifies them as belonging to God (cp. Mark 3:29; Acts 5:3–5, 9; 1 Thes 4:8; Heb 6:4–8). • has identified you as his own (or has put his seal on you)

 New Living Translation Study Bible 

Grieving” the *Spirit reflects a serious offense; in Isaiah 63:10 (one of only two Old Testament texts to use the title “holy spirit”), it refers to Israel’s rebellion in the wilderness, which led to their rejection by God. Similarly, Israel’s rebellion against the Spirit led Moses to sin with his mouth according to Psalm 106:33

The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament

A – The Holy Spirit is a person.  Grieving the Holy Spirit is similar to a parent who deeply loves their child. rebellion, insubordination, words, and actions that don’t honor or reflect the parent’s character, will bring distress and sorrow.  The parent will want the best and so much more for their child but knows the painful correction and growth that is necessary.

R – Lord, I know there are times when I bring grief to you because I want to do things my own way.  I don’t want to do this.  Instead of rebelling against you or doing things my way, help me to walk with your Holy Spirit and not against Him.

S – “I pray that he may grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with power in your inner being through his Spirit, ¹⁷ and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. I pray that you, being rooted and firmly established in love, ¹⁸ may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the length and width, height and depth of God’s love, ¹⁹ and to know Christ’s love that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God”

Ephesians 3:16–19 CSB

O – Fantastic prayer! In his prayer:

• Acknowledges the glory of God
• Development of your power in your soul
• The Holy Spirit is the conduit for growing our souls.
• Christ would be central to our lives.
• We must have faith.
• Love is essential to us.
• God’s love is unlimited.
• God’s love is incomprehensible.
• When we acknowledge God, and grow in our faith in Him, He takes our foundation of love and allows us to align with His – we experience relationship and fulfillment in Him.

A – Great checklist for us to spend time with God in each area.

R – Lord, I want all of this.  Where I lack, I ask for your help to grow in my faith in you.  Where I have momentum, help me to gain more growth that draws me closer to you.  I will never understand all of your love for me…help me to understand and be grateful for the measure of you that you give me today.

S – But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love that he had for us, ⁵ made us alive with Christ even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace

Ephesians 2:4–5 CSB

O – Great nuggets in the commentary:

• In the Greek text God immediately follows “but,” thus placing it in an emphatic position. “God” is the subject of the whole passage.
• He is described as rich in mercy.  In the New Testament eleos means “undeserved kindness” toward sinners. Thus God, who is rich in exhibiting this undeserved kindness, acts on behalf of sinners because of His great love for us.
• The noun for “love” (agapē) comes from the verb agapaō that means “to seek the highest good in the one loved.” Since sinners are spiritually dead toward God, they have nothing to commend them to God. This is why Paul described this love as being “great.
•  God’s love has done three things: (a) made us alive with Christ, (b) “raised us up with Christ” (2:6), and (c) “seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus” (v. 6). An unbeliever, spiritually dead, is “made … alive” by God “with (in association with) Christ” (cf. Col. 2:13).
• The “us” includes both Jews and Gentiles (cf. “us” in Eph. 2:3–4). The only way a spiritually dead person can communicate with God is to be made alive, and that must be done by the One who is Himself alive. He is the living God, “who gives life to the dead” (Rom. 4:17).
• God is fully aware of the unbelievers’ state. It was clearly described in Ephesians 2:1–3 and is repeated here: even when we were dead in transgressions (cf. v. 1).
• This act of God in making the unregenerate alive is an act of grace: it is by grace you have been saved. Paul elaborated on this last statement, which is actually parenthetical, in verse 8. The verb “have been saved” is in the perfect tense which expresses the present permanent state as a result of a past action. 

     “Ephesians,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures

A – Love the richness of the commentary.  It breaks down each component. It brings me to a place of gratitude.  Christ in his love for me, went to the cross, was resurrected and ascended to heaven to be with God.  He sent his Holy Spirit to make his presence known in my life each day. Why?  He loved me before I loved him. 

R – Lord, thank you for all that you have done for me. Your love built a bridge of relationship through Jesus.  Your love empowers me daily with your presence through the Holy Spirit.  Let my life be a reflection of all that you have done for me as I grow with you and with people today.

S – In him you also were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and when you believed

Ephesians 1:13 CSB

O – Commentary:  The last part of verse 13 is literally, “They were sealed in Him [Christ] with the Holy Spirit of promise.” The word “seal” indicates security (Matt. 27:66; Eph. 4:30), authentication and approval (John 6:27), certification of genuineness (John 3:33), and identification of ownership (2 Cor. 1:22; Rev. 7:2; 9:4). God is the One who seals, Christ is the sphere in which the seal is done, and the Holy Spirit is the instrument of the seal. “The promised Holy Spirit” refers to Christ’s promise to His disciples that He would send the Spirit 

 “Ephesians,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures

A – I love this breakdown of the “seal” and how it relates to each part of the Trinity.  This gives a great foundation to understand how a believer can interact with the different facets of who God is.  The Holy Spirit is the “conduit” to interact with God on a daily basis.

R – Heavenly Father, thank you for the salvation that comes from the resurrection of Christ Jesus.  I invite the Holy Spirit to be in every part of my day through my thoughts, words and actions.  I ask for your wisdom, discernment and empathy so that I may love you and love people.  Thank you for loving me and having relationship with me today.

S – Paul stayed two whole years in his own rented house. And he welcomed all who visited him, ³¹ proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance. 

Acts  28:30–31 CSB

O –  Commentary: Despite being under house arrest (28:16), Paul boldly proclaimed the Kingdom message. • And no one tried to stop him (Greek akōloutōs, “without hindrance”): This single word in Greek is the last word of the book of Acts and one of the keys to its meaning: God’s word cannot be chained, even when its messengers are (2 Tim 2:9; see Phil 1:12–14). Acts is the story of an unhindered message of Good News, available to all people throughout the world, whether Jew, Gentile, proselyte, rich, or poor. The mission of proclaiming this message is accomplished in the power of the Spirit (1:8); it embraces Jews (3:1–5:42), Samaritans (8:1–25), converts to Judaism (2:11; 13:43), “God-fearers” (8:26–40; 9:32–11:18), and Gentiles (13:1–28:28)

 New Living Translation Study Bible 

A – Paul’s entire journey of sharing with Jews, then Gentiles, arrests, and trials all culminate in two years of house arrest.  He is never proven guilty.  Yet, it is the vehicle for which a huge swath of the gospel was shared and a large amount of his writing in the NT was done.  God uses it all to accomplish his purpose.

R – Lord, when I focus on my journey, it doesn’t make sense sometimes.  Help me to focus on growing in our relationship, inviting the Holy Spirit to lead me and to submit to your will.  You will get all the glory for all of this.

S – But the centurion kept them from carrying out their plan because he wanted to save Paul, and so he ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to land

Acts 27:43 CSB

O – God continually preserves Paul’s life through others, personal vision and practical steps.

A – God will use everything at his disposal to accomplish his will.  

R – Lord, help me to stay surrendered to you and your purposes for my life.  Let me see your workings and give you glory for all that you do.

S – Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could have been released if he had not appealed to Caesar.” 

Acts 26:32 CSB

O – Commentary:  This appeal had earlier saved Paul’s life (25:3), and now it provides him free passage to Rome (cf. 19:21) and a public forum for the *gospel there.

The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament

Interesting that the appeal that saved his life would ultimately lead Paul to the largest stage to share.  Also, his appeal that saved his life will send him to the place where he would die.  

A – When God has a plan, it will have good and bad.  It will also accomplish its purpose.  It is our responsibility to be faithful and available in the journey.

R – Lord, help me to be faithful and available for you today.  I desire to do your will and purpose today.  

S – Then Paul made his defense: “Neither against the Jewish law, nor against the temple, nor against Caesar have I sinned in any way.” 

Acts 25:8 CSB

O – Similar to Jesus, the accusations by the Jewish leaders have no basis.  Paul is only guilty of sharing the gospel of Jesus.

Paul is leading from the context of yesterday’s lesson – He strives not to sin against God or man.  Even in accomplishing this (to the best of his ability), others take offense.  Paul cannot control their actions and deals with the consequences of their actions.

A – This part of Acts gives a lot of context of the political and religious organizations.  You see that power and control are central to their structure.  There is a healthy aspect of both of these in any organization.  It can get unhealthy when they supercede the organization and personal gain is involved.  

R – Lord, I can only control me.  I surrender to your will and purposes today.  I exalt you as my Lord and Savior.  I cannot control others.  Help me to walk with wisdom and empathy as I lead today.