April 16, 2022: Day 82 – Ephesians 1-6

It is great to be able to read a complete book of the Bible.  Paul loved the Ephesian church and we know that he was the one who founded it.  You can read about the founding of the church in Acts 18:19.  I have to say that it is probably one of my favorite Epistles because of the history involved in it.  It is the church that it is thought that Mary attended.  It is thought to be the church where the Apostle John was buried and also attended.  Stacy and I were able to visit the church in Ephesus and it certainly felt like holy ground to me.

There is a lot in this book of the Bible but I wanted you to be familiar with a verse that I just discovered this morning which I am envisioning as being my own and which I am asking of you.  Look at Ephesians 6:19 and consider this my request from me to you: “Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains.  Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.”

You can also find the ecumenical verses of Paul in Ephesians 4:3-6 where he speaks about the unity of the body of Christ.  This is matched perfectly well with another call to unity in chapter 2:13-16.  Ephesians gives us a lot of ammunition to remind ourselves that we are called to be one church in Christ Jesus.