This week, I wanted to dig into what our responsibilities as Christians really look like. Whether you just got saved and want to know what life changes you need to make, you’ve been saved for a while but your life doesn’t quite show Christ or you’re a Christian but you want Bible verses to back up these claims: I’m here to lead you, dig deep and shed a light on our callings as followers of Christ.
We are called to keep unity of the spirit. When it comes to the Holy Spirit, there is one thing that it thrives in, and that’s unity. He leads us, while we hold up the end of the bargain and keep peace. When we shift the focus off ourselves and onto God, we start naturally beginning to serve and respect others- forming peace!
“Make every effort to keep the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; One Lord, one faith, one baptism; One God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” Ephesians 4:3-6 We are called to use our gifts for the Church’s benefits. You might've read in Galatians chapter 3, “We are all one in Christ”. That “oneness” doesn’t mean that our spiritual gifts that we have been blessed with don’t matter or dissipate after you’re born again. Instead, you should use your God-given talents, gifts or strengths to build up the church and His kingdom. If you already know what your talents are, look for opportunities to serve, while using them. If you don’t know, ask God to reveal them to you, or even ask a mentor to tell you what they see in you! (I’ve done this before and God spoke through them to me by revealing mine!)
“So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and the teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up.” Ephesians 4:11-12 We are called to keep growing and maturing. We sometimes have an overwhelming fear that our mistakes or sins we have committed have tainted us as a follower of Christ. But what we need to learn is, when we make these mistakes not only do we turn to God for forgiveness but we also need to turn to a Church community. When we come up alongside other Christians, we are iron sharpening iron and we are committing to push each other to grow in love for God and mature in your faith. Paul goes on to describe the mature Christian as one who “speaks the truth in love.”. Notice how he doesnt say “reads his bible 6 times a week” or “goes to church every day they can”. Instead he names a fruit of the spirit, Love, which is also what God is. A mature Christian doesn’t go gossiping about a problem they have with a person, they go straight to them. A mature Christian doesn’t attack with the truth, but delivers it with love and support. A mature Christian starts to bear the fruit of the Spirit in their lives.
“Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth in the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of Him who is the head, that is, the Christ.” Ephesians 4:14-15 We are called to put away old, sinful ways. When we are born again, we should start to shift our desire from following our own desires to following His desires. When we bring in our excuses of why we can’t do something that pleases God or we bring in our pride of not wanting to be looked at differently, it causes a wedge and keeps us from developing a deep relationship with Him. If we are born-again, we are to leave not only our old habits and ways in the past, but we are to leave our old sins, shame and regret behind too. Because, if we hold onto that shame of our past, we will never be fully free enough to to share with others how Christ saved and transformed us! You shouldn’t be driven by your old worldly desires and impulses but instead be driven by your calling of the Great Commission. Transform your thoughts from worldly to Heavenly!
“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.” Ephesians 4:17-24 We are called to speak honestly and purely. By lying and speaking impurely, we are disrupting unity; creating conflicts and destroying trust. Paul starts to warn against using unwholesome language, bitterness, improper use of anger, harsh words, slander and bas attitudes towards others. WOW, right?? Are your words hurting others and stunting their growth in Christ or are they encouraging and sweet to the soul? We are to act & SPEAK in love towards everyone, as God did for us, sending Jesus to die for us… DROP THE MIC!!
“Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body.” & “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.” Ephesians 4:25, 29 We are called to imitate God & walk in love. I saw this graphic once, of a child following behind their parents, and beside it was the same child following behind God. It was proving the point that we should follow after God, as we follow after our parents as children. How do we do that?? By modeling our lives after Jesus’ life. No, i’m not talking about being perfect. I’m talking about the self-sacrifice part we sometimes tend to forget about. Walking in love only goes so far with our words, we should also love others in the self-sacrificing way Jesus did towards us.
“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.” Ephesians 5:1-2 We are called to know what is acceptable to the Lord. If you don’t know, our actions reflect our faith. Think about it!! How we treat others should immediately resemble how Christ would treat someone. When I think of the word “acceptable” i think: agrees. approves. encourages. Now take the way you treated that stranger at the mall or the family member you despise at Thanksgiving. Do you think God agrees with the way you acted? Do you think He approved of your language towards them? Do you think He encourages you to have hate in your heart for them? The same goes with ourselves. Do you think He agrees with the places you go? Do you think He approves of the language you use? Do you think He encourages you to be “too busy” with social media to spend time with Him? (ask yourself these questions so you can EXPOSE the answers & allow God to change your heart!)
“And find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.” Ephesians 5:10-11 We are called to make the most of our time. Paul talks about many times in the Bible the sense of urgency we should have as believers, and I never fully understood that until this past year. It wasn’t an urgency to fulfill your purpose or to pursue all the dreams you have before He gets back. Instead it’s an urgency to tell everyone about the ultimate sacrifice and to save the unsaved. It’s an “urgency” because our sole purpose should be making Heaven crowded. Helping the unhelped. Helping His name reach places it hasn’t reached yet. THAT is our purpose. Our purpose is urgent. The whole “Kingdom Minded” thing comes into play here as well!!
“be very careful, then, how you live - not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.” Ephesians 5:15-16 We are called to be filled with the spirit. While reading this verse in my study Bible, it says underneath that “getting drunk is a symptom of the old way of life and it’s selfish desires.” To move to the rest of that verse, He ends with INSTEAD of going back to your old ways, be filled with the Spirit. Being filled with the Holy Spirit is submitting to His authority. What does that mean?? It means when it comes to make a decision, it’s not about what benefits you, it’s about what God’s telling you will benefit His kingdom. It’s saying “my desires are meaningless” and taking on God’s tasks for your life. I used to think you are just a chosen, Spirit filled person. WRONG. You have to CHOOSE to be Spirit-filled; you have to want to be. (It’s a choice, not a process). Choosing to live by being filled with the Spirit does not mean you get a part-time, casual, when you feel like it relationship with Him. Instead, we have to invite cleansing into our lives so that, we can have a two-way street relationship with God!!
“Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead be filled with the Spirit.” Ephesians 5:18 We are called to submit to one another. DON’T GET CONFUSED HERE. A Lot of us hear “submit to one another” and often misunderstand it’s meaning. Submit doesn’t mean we become step stools or doormats for people. Instead as we are to be more Christ-like, Christ also lived a life of submission. He could have been born and told God, SEE YA. Instead, even when He knew pain and death was coming soon, He bowed in reverence to His father and submitted to His command. Submission in the Christian dictionary should mean putting others and their needs above ours.
“Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” Ephesians 5:21 We are called to have a marriage that honors God. These are a lot of verses so let’s unpack them one by one. Again, when the word submit comes up, women get defensive and think their husbands have the right to force them to do anything at anytime. WRONG. Submission here means, putting their husbands needs above their own, because He is the spiritual leader of the family. When women try to lead spiritually in a relationship/marriage it causes friction and disunity. Why? Because God designed men to be the ones to set the boundaries. To get the family to Church. To lead the family towards Christ and in every situation point back to the Word. Becoming “one” in a marriage doesn’t mean you lose your personality in that person or lose all your personal time. Instead, it means “submitting” your time, caring for your spouse’s needs as your own, and helping them flourish into the person God made them to be.
“Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing[a] her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church— for we are members of his body. “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.” Ephesians 5:22-33 We are called to honor god in family contexts. Children and parents have a responsibility to each other; it’s not just honoring your parents, it’s having your parents honor and respect you. It goes both ways. Obeying and honoring are two separate things: to obey means to do as one is told and to honor means to respect and love. When you are parenting, do you parent with patience? Do you treat your child with respect and kindness as you correct them for what they've done wrong? Some things to think about.
“Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother — which is the first commandment with a promise -- so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth. Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.” Ephesians 6:1-4 We are called to demonstrate integrity before those who have authority over us, including the workplace. In my Study Bible, it references that Christian emplpyees, wherever they work, should do their jobs as if Jesus Christ was their supervisor. WORDDD. Think about it! As members of the workplace, are we treating others with kindness and respect as we ourselves wish to be treated? The end of this verse gets me GOOD. “whether they are slave or free.” We aren’t meant to be just kind to fellow believers, and if that’s your mindset, I pray for a heart change. In order to show Christ to others, you must love and show love to His people. (If you have forgotten, His people are EVERYONE.)
“Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people, because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do, whether they are slave or free.” Ephesians 6:7-8 We are called to stand stong against the forces of evil. When we refuse to take up the armor of God, we put ourselves in a vulnerable spot to be attacked. Satan is constantly on the prowl looking for anuy weak spots we have, so he can try to magnify them to make them look bigger than they actually are. The phrase that keeps me going, is “tetelestai.” (It is finished) Even when the devil is on the prowl, when he is hungry for our weak spots and he’s looking to make us fall into temptations, we can stand strong in the fact that IT. IS. FINISHED. Now talking about prayer, I’ve started trying to pray all through out my day. As I have grown up, it was a “standard” that you should pray every morning and every night. In saying this, I believe 100% in the power of starting and ending your day in His presence. But while you're out running errands, at school, at your local coffee shop or simply on a drive, I challenge you to pray. Pray about what’s coming next in your day. Pray about the people you’re going to encounter. Pray for the unsaved and the saved. Pray for your friends and your fam. Pray for the person who cut you off while driving (yes, them too.)
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”
Ephesians 6:10-18
These are just some examples from the book of Ephesians, but there are so many other characteristics of Christians scattered all throughout the Bible!
With all of this being said, I love you girls & am always praying for you,
cassidy brown.
Reflection Questions:
What is one major event/thing/person/relationship/memory you want to leave behind in 2020?
Was there a time in 2020 where you felt hopeless? Where you felt too far from God’s grace? How did you handle it and have you talked to Him about it?
Ask God today to reveal to you ways in 2021 you can start living for Him. Be BOLD and expect Him to answer!!
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