Ephesians 3:4 (NKJV) "By which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ."Paul describes the mystery of Christ. Jesus came, and He was a mystery to those who saw Him in the first century. He comes to us today from the pages of the written Word, and we still do not quite know what to make of Him, Who He is, what He means to us.Remember, when Paul uses the word "myster...  Read More

Ephesians 3:1-2 (NKJV) "For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles, if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you." Paul knew he was called and equipped to share the gospel. But notice, it was not a general calling. It was specific. He says in 3:1, "the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles." In 3:2, "given to me for ...  Read More

Ephesians 3:1, 13 (NKJV) "For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles... Therefore I ask that you do not lose heart at my tribulations for you, which is your glory."Paul writes Ephesians from prison, not from an ivory tower somewhere. He is in a hard place... I can imagine him being kind of confused in prison, asking, "Why am I still locked up? There is a hunger inside o...  Read More

"Therefore I ask that you do not lose heart at my tribulations for you, which is your glory." (Ephesians 3:13)Paul finishes this section by telling the Ephesians not to lose heart over his tribulations, difficulties, pressure, and pain. But when he says "for you, Gentiles" in Ephesians 3:1 and again in Ephesians 3:13, he isn't trying to guilt them into feeling sorry for him. He's actually saying s...  Read More

"To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ." (Ephesians 3:8)Paul was in prison, and anybody could have looked at him and said, "He's wasting his life in there." But Paul knew not only who he was, he knew his purpose, and that gave him confidence. Not arrogance, but confidence that God was usi...  Read More

"For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich." (2 Corinthians 8:9)Ephesians 3:1-13 actually reads like an unplanned detour. He was headed somewhere else entirely in chapter two, and you can see where he picks back up in Ephesians 3:14. However, here he pulls back the curtain on something...  Read More

"And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." (Romans 12:2)I don't have to remind you that ours is a negative, pessimistic society. We live with negativity all around us. All you have to do is turn on the news and you see negative programming, negative journalism, negative event...  Read More

"Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!" (Philippians 4:4)You might think being positive or negative is just built into you. "Well, I'm just a negative person." Or, "I'm just a positive person." There was a set of twin boys. One was super negative, always looking at the dark side of life, and the other was super positive. Their parents didn't know what to do with them, so they took...  Read More

1 Peter 2:13a (NKJV) - Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake…There was a Christian businessman in North Carolina who told me something I will never forget. He was in retirement at the time and had managed all kinds of people in his life. He had been a great church leader as well for decades. He said, "Followers are simply leaders who have chosen to let someone e...  Read More

1 Peter 2:11–12 (NKJV)  11 Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul,  12 having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.  We will never do anything great for the Lord until we decide, once and for all, th...  Read More

Whose image do we bear? How should that impact our lives?God said in Genesis 1:26 that He uniquely made men and women “in His image.” He didn’t say that about the plant life or the animal kingdom. Psalm 19:1 says, “The heavens declare the glory of God,” and we reflect on the goodness of God when we look around and the splendor of His creation. However, men and women are uniquely made in God’s imag...  Read More

Check out my book "Celebrating God's Design: God's Word on Marriage, Gender and Sexuality."God said in Genesis 1:26 that He uniquely made men and women “in His image.” He didn’t say that about the plant life or the animal kingdom. Psalm 19:1 says, “The heavens declare the glory of God,” and we reflect on the goodness of God when we look around and the splendor of His creation. However, men and wom...  Read More