– Today’s Community Scripture – 9/5/2025

This is why I, Paul, am in jail for Christ, having taken up the cause of you outsiders, so-called. I take it that you’re familiar with the part I was given in God’s plan for including everybody. I got the inside story on this from God himself, as I just wrote you in brief. As you read over what I have written to you, you’ll be able to see for yourselves into the mystery of Christ. None of our ancestors understood this. Only in our time has it been made clear by God’s Spirit through his holy apostles and prophets of this new order. The mystery is that people who have never heard of God and those who have heard of him all their lives (what I’ve been calling outsiders and insiders) stand on the same ground before God. They get the same offer, same help, same promises in Christ Jesus. The Message is accessible and welcoming to everyone, across the board. This is my life work: helping people understand and respond to this Message. It came as a sheer gift to me, a real surprise, God handling all the details. When it came to presenting the Message to people who had no background in God’s way, I was the least qualified of any of the available Christians. God saw to it that I was equipped, but you can be sure that it had nothing to do with my natural abilities. And so here I am, preaching and writing about things that are way over my head, the inexhaustible riches and generosity of Christ. My task is to bring out in the open and make plain what God, who created all this in the first place, has been doing in secret and behind the scenes all along. Through followers of Jesus like yourselves gathered in churches, this extraordinary plan of God is becoming known and talked about even among the angels! All this is proceeding along lines planned all along by God and then executed in Christ Jesus. When we trust in him, we’re free to say whatever needs to be said, bold to go wherever we need to go. So don’t let my present trouble on your behalf get you down. Be proud! My response is to get down on my knees before the Father, this magnificent Father who parcels out all heaven and earth. I ask him to strengthen you by his Spirit—not a brute strength but a glorious inner strength—that Christ will live in you as you open the door and invite him in. And I ask him that with both feet planted firmly on love, you’ll be able to take in with all followers of Jesus the extravagant dimensions of Christ’s love. Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full in the fullness of God. God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us. Glory to God in the church! Glory to God in the Messiah, in Jesus! Glory down all the generations! Glory through all millennia! Oh, yes!

                            Ephesians 3:1-21 (MSG)

– Reflection:

Apologies for not creating yesterday, but it was my wife’s and my 20th anniversary. Our new year is probably what Paul felt as he began writing for Christ. New things bring on adventure. Paul was deeply aware that becoming a Christian wasn’t just about adopting a new belief system; it was stepping into a mystery that had been hidden for ages but was now revealed through Christ. In Ephesians 3, he speaks of a divine plan that includes all people, breaking down barriers and offering access to God in a way that was previously unimaginable. For Paul, this wasn’t just theological; it was personal. He saw himself as a steward of this grace, helping others walk into a new identity marked by unity, purpose, and spiritual depth. The “newness” he described wasn’t just about change; it was about transformation, about being rooted in love and empowered to live with boldness and confidence in God’s presence. It’s as if he were saying, “You’re not who you used to be, and that’s the point.”

– Where do we go from here?

Now that we’ve given our lives to Christ, Paul’s letter reminds us that the journey doesn’t stop at belief—it begins there. As the people of Ephesus were learning, following Jesus means stepping into a new way of living, one shaped by love, unity, and purpose. We’re called to grow together, to let go of old habits, and to live in a way that reflects God’s grace in our everyday relationships. Paul encourages us to walk worthy of this calling—not by striving alone, but by leaning into the Spirit’s power, building each other up, and staying rooted in truth. It’s about becoming more like Christ in how we think, speak, and treat others. So from here, we move forward with humility, patience, and a heart ready to serve—because this new life is not just for us, it’s meant to shine through us.

– Our Prayer for Today

Father God, thank You for the gift of new life in Christ. Help us to walk in this new way with humility, love, and purpose. Teach us to live in unity, to build one another up, and to reflect Your light in all that we do. Strengthen us by Your Spirit so that we may grow deeper in faith and live boldly for You. Guide our steps today and every day as we follow You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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