Kristi Burchfiel

What comes out of our mouth is a reflection of what is in our heart. In Ephesians chapter 5 verses 3 through 5, Paul explains this in detail. He talks through the fact that silliness, coarse jesting, filthiness, and immorality are never things that characterize the speech or conduct of someone who claims Jesus Christ is Lord. Everything we say and do, if we truly have Jesus at the center of our life, should be reflection of the characteristics of Jesus Christ. How would our words define us? Would we be embarrassed or offended for our preacher, our mother, or anyone else to overhear what we say on a regular…

Are we an imitator of God? In Ephesians 5:1-2 we are given a command and also the means by which to fulfill that command. First, Paul tells us that we are to be imitators of God. We are his beloved children and just as our small children try to imitate what we do, we are to imitate what God does. How do we do this? That is answered in verse 2. We are to walk in love. The love that is mentioned here is a sacrificial love. We see that Christ has sacrificed himself for us because of his love of the father, and because of our love for God…

Ephesians 4:17-32 has so much contained within it. We see in these verses our choice. Each and every moment of the day we have a choice. We decide whether we are going to choose to think and do the wrongs that are accepted by the world. Or, we are going to choose to do what is pleasing to God. Make no mistake, this choice sounds much easier to make now than in actuality when we are presented with it in the moment. No matter what we have been through and what is presented to us, we are responsible for putting on the new mind we have received in Christ and…

We’ve been talking about unity and purpose, but what are the point of these things? When we look at Ephesians chapter 4, we see in verses 14 through 16 that there is a definite reason behind why we are to be unified in our purpose for Jesus Christ. What is that reason? We are designed to grow. Growth does not just happen individually, it also happens as a body of Believers together. We grow together as we are unified in our purpose and using the gifts that God has given us. If a group of Believers is together, but not growing, then those believers are missing either their unity or…

Yesterday we saw the importance of unity. Today, in Ephesians 4:7-13, we see that unity is not just sameness. People can be very different from each other and still be unified. Unity here refers to unity of purpose. We are to be united in Christ Jesus. However we are all different and unique in the gifts that God has given us to fulfill that purpose. We are designed to equip the saints and to build up others for service to the Lord. Are we using our gifts and skills to do that? That purpose is the reason we were given the skills in the first place. The only way we…

Unity. In Ephesians 4:1-6 we see Paul discuss the importance of unity. We have been called to unity. We have been called to be like Christ and Christ is unified. Paul lists so many attributes in these 6 verses like patience and love. These descriptions of true unity are important to understand and to ensure that we truly know what unity is all about. Do we seek unity with other believers in Christ? Are we focused on all that we have and all that we need to do to continue to focus on unity? Unity does not just happen. Unity is the result of diligent focus on doing the things…

Do we pray for each other? Paul prayed for the other believers constantly. In Ephesians 3:14-21, we see a prayer that Paul eas praying for the people. This is a beautiful, heart-felt prayer that we can see so many people being touched by. Have you ever prayed this for others? What about for yourself? There is so much power in prayer and as we recognize that,  we will spend great time in prayer. Use these verses as a guide on what to pray for others. Take time to lift up each other to the Father. We all need prayer. Start by praying for others.

Paul had a purpose. God had given him a specific goal and mission. In Ephesians 3:1-13 Paul explains this mission. Paul was to preach the message of God’s love and grace to the Gentiles. This had not been done before. Not only that, it had not been thought of before. Paul indicated to the Ephesians that he was sent to explain that God is the same for all people. Do we treat people the same, no matter what? Regardless of skin color, intelligence, wealth, character, anything; God loves people and Jesus Christ came to die for them all. We are to share this message of good news to everyone!  

Jesus came to be the Prince of Peace. He came to bring reconciliation to people who believe in His name.  In Ephesians 2:11 going through the end of the chapter, we see Jesus’ role as the peacemaker. He takes the people and makes it possible for them to live together in peace. Are we at peace with others? Are we open to the peace that God brings in our lives or do we constantly strive against others? As followers of Jesus Christ we are to display His peace to others. Does His peace permeate our lives?

What does Christ do in our lives? Yesterday we saw the effect of sin in our lives. Today, as we look at Ephesians 2:4-10, we God’s grace clearly spelled out. We do not deserve grace, which is exactly the point. God gives us grace because of who He is, not because of who we are. Anything that God does for us or through us is all a result of God’s grace. We do not earn anything from God. As we consider our plans for today, do we recognize the grace that God has given us? Will we allow ourselves to experience His grace or keep trying to do it on…