August, 16, 2018 Thursday

“25  Therefore, putting away lying, “Let each one of you speak                                truth with his neighbor,” for we are members of one another. 26  “Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, 27  nor give place to the devil. 28  Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need. 29  Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. 30  And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31  Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. 32  And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you. 5:1 ¶  Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. 2  And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.” (Ephesians 4:25-5:2 NKJV)

            This passage in Ephesians is a wonderful summation of how we are to live the Christian life but also a description of what it means to be in community!

            Prayer is a necessary part of becoming a better Christian and a better congregation or community.  One reason it is so hard to live in community is we disagree about what community is.  Paul gives us a picture of people living together in community by God’s help and guidance.

            We must humbly admit we are not the most important, are not always right and must be guided by the Truth we find in the Bible. Community must have God as Truth rather than ourself or the community!

            If we are forgiven we must forgive and confess our lives belong to the God who created us and gave his life for us! If we walk in love we become to God “a sweet-smelling aroma” and strengthen our community.

            We need God’s help because if we are honest we are hopelessly unable to live like we should!  We become angry and sin, we hold onto grudges and begrudge forgiveness!  If we do not put away bitterness and malice our lives our families, congregations and communities explode or implode!

            We can be the destroyers of the very things we try to protect!  Rather than imitate God we imitate our enemies!  We forget the saying:

When fighting monsters be careful you do not become like the monsters!

            What is impossible for us is possible with God!  Verse 5:1 tells us we must see God by the example of Jesus how we should live! Only through God who first loved us are we able to love others. Paul recognizes how difficult this is for us by calling it “an offering and a sacrifice to God.”

            How do you think you smell to God? How do you think you smell to others? Are you willing to love as you have been loved and forgive as you have been forgiven being helped by God’s example?

We headed home for our week at the cabin.  The trip home was very painful but the week at the cabin made it worthwhile. It was a good time to be together and enjoy each other. I was able to experience God's re-creation as I enjoyed God’s creation! Some thought I didn’t do much but to me I did a lot. Lately I have been spending a lot of time in bed but there I spent a lot of time on the screened-in porch enjoying creation!