Committing Ephesians to Memory

I've posted on here before about the Scripture memory that I'm doing this year (if you haven't already checked out what I'm talking about: click here to go and find out) and I have just been blessed to pieces by God's Word! As a child (and let's face it: teenager and young adult too), I thought that "hiding God's Word in my heart" was kind of a routine thing to do just to make teachers, pastors, and parents happy. I have an easy time committing things to immediate memory, and so it was no big thing growing up to just recite a verse 5x's or so and then spit it back out.
But that's just it: I spit it back out.
Then one day, the Holy Spirit opened the eyes of my heart to his Word in Jeremiah 15:16 which says:

Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by your name, O LORD, God of Hosts.

The light bulb came on and I finally saw that what I was missing the whole point! I have the awesome, incredible privilege of holding my own copy of God's Word and being able to open it and find revelation upon revelation. Yet for so long, I was unlike Jeremiah: I did not eat them.
"I ate them"? You may be thinking, wait a second, what?
Jeremiah was chosen as a prophet; he was commissioned by the Almighty Himself! Look back to chapter one for a moment:

But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’; for to all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, declares the Lord.” Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth. And the Lord said to me, “Behold, I have put my words in your mouth." (Jeremiah 1:7-9 ESV)

Do you see it? God gave Jeremiah a choice when he put his words in Jeremiah's mouth. He could have ate the words that God put on his tongue or he could have spit them out. If he ate them, he would then have to digest them {think over them, be nourished by them, and be delighted by the strength in them} or he could skip all of that and just spit them out. God did not say "Behold, I have put my words in your heart and I've made the decision for you to treasure them." No, God chose Jeremiah, and then Jeremiah had to respond.
Where does Ephesians fit into all of this?
Well, for the second half of this year I will be choosing passages from Ephesians or about the Ephesian church (from: the Acts of the Apostles, letters to Timothy, Revelation, John's epistles) for my scripture memory. {2 each month for a year; 14 down, 10 to go}
And my verse for the second half of July was Ephesians 2:14 ESV "For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility." What a merciful peace he is!
Now my verse for August 1st is: Ephesians 1:17-19 ESV

"that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might"

Oh Heavenly Father, please bless the reading and memorizing of your Word. Amen.

{Please note that if you found this post through facebook, you may want to enter your email address to receive further posts:: I may be taking leave of facebook in the near future}

Ephesians 1:1a

A thought that has stuck with me from God's Ultimate Purpose by D. Martin Lloyd Jones on the First chapter of the book of Ephesians is this: when I approach God, think about God, or attempt to serve God whom do I think of first? Do I start with myself and move upwards to heaven and seek God or do I start with my eyes toward heaven and descend upon myself?
What's the difference?
The difference is also the main theme of the Epistle; it is the majesty and glory of God. It is seeing God as sovereign.
Ephesians 1:1a ESV

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,

Paul has barely begun to write and he is acknowledging that he is writing not of his own will but "by the will of God."
Lloyd-Jones' God's Ultimate Purpose was copyrighted back in 1978 and what he had to say about the importance of how one comes to the reading of God's Word is just as significant today. He says,

The Bible is God's book, it is a revelation of God, and our thinking must always start with God. Much of the trouble in the Church today is due to the fact that we are so subjective, so interested in ourselves, so egocentric (Lloyd-Jones 13).

And further on he says,

We must not start with ourselves and then ascend to God; we must start with the sovereignty of God, God over all, and then come down to ourselves (Lloyd-Jones 14 {emphasis mine}).

Seeing God as sovereign means that I also accept that there is a mystery to the ways of God. In verse 9, Paul spells out that Jews and Gentiles being united under the redemptive work of Christ was a mystery to them for ages. Even though it was revealed to the prophets and apostles by the Spirit, Paul was now at liberty to proclaim that this mystery was now known!
So why is this mystery important in how I view God?
Again, it is because I must view God as majestic and sovereign. God's ways are still a mystery to me, and I must start with my eyes on Him and His greatness. I must recognize that He alone is God over all and I should not dare to think that with my finite, sinful mind I could ever fully understand the will and ways of God.

But take heart and be comforted with me as I unpack this, that starting with a view of God and His sovereignty is a fertile ground for faith and trust to grow...and soon we read {verse 7} of the "riches of his grace."

Face to face with Ephesians

I've had to come face-to-face with Ephesians over the past couple of months. I didn't realize it for a long time that God was leading me to this point of deeper study. He is such a gentleman. I hope you know that quality of His love for you too.
So a brief history of how I came to this point and then a purpose statement:
It is difficult for me to pinpoint the very first encounter with Ephesians {and by encounter I mean, indicators/desires for this deeper study}, but the first that I remember was when I picked up this book:  I love the Church of Jesus Christ. The bride. I want to do anything and everything I can to build up the body of Christ.
So I dig into the letters to Timothy.
Then I stumble upon this message by Matt Chandler On church in Ephesus which I actually posted here back in June. After listening to this teaching, I couldn't stop marveling at the wonderful interlacing of the New Testament. Paul at Ephesus in Acts, his letter to the Ephesians, his letters to Timothy {pastor of the Ephesian church}, and John's letters {elder in the Ephesian church} with a major mention of the church in Revelation. I mean wow that is a lot of the New Testament focus. I began to realize that I wanted to know and understand more and more about this church. What was God trying to say to that church? How is church today similar to this church in both good and bad ways?
Another encounter, or encouragement if you will, with this book came from my dear mentor and friend Joe Ann Shelton. She challenged me to find D.M. Lloyd-Jones' Exposition of Ephesians.
And the very next day another dear friend and mentor said the Lord pressed Ephesians into her heart with regards to sharing some specific encouragement to me.
By this time my eyes were opened wide and I still find myself in wonder and awe at the love of God in how He is directing me so clearly.
Now, all that being said, I do not know what the end of this journey looks like. I do not have a 6 part goal in mind. And I don't know why I feel like I should include you {other than to be a possible encouragement, and for the accountability}. So there in lies the purpose: it is simply to deeply study God's Word & the Ephesian church.
And so begins the journey...

WARNING:: I'm Preparing to Make a Change

To whom it may concern:
I'm writing to inform you that I will soon be deleting my facebook account and to encourage you to follow my blog here if you've enjoyed it in the past. Also, if you are following this blog, I hope you will soon be encouraged by more consistent posts on a project I'm working on...I haven't decided on what to officially call it yet...so I will leave you with a little suspense.
Sincerely,
Cara Thompson

Matt Chandler on the church in Ephesus

Greetings and 2011 Scripture Memory Team: Verse 6!

I don't think I've blogged about this yet, but I've set a goal for myself this year of memorizing 24 verses. 2 verses a month. But I'm not the only one - check out the club! We are on verse six!

Greetings and 2011 Scripture Memory Team: Verse 6!

So far these are the verses I've chosen (please test me anytime!):
Psalm 119:41-42
Romans 8:1
Romans 12:9-13
Philippians 4:19
Exodus 4:12
Psalm 119:50

These verses have ministered to me in such powerful ways, and I look forward to reading the Living Proof Ministries blog every 2 weeks. I need community in order to be admonished and encouraged!

Living the Lyric

I heard once that a song is just a song until you've lived the lyric. But when what you are singing is actually real in your life then that is when the heart engages and a song becomes worship. The Holy Spirit can use a song to convict, break, heal, admonish, instruct, and motivate.
One song He has used in my life over and over lately is "You Are For Me." I hope you will be ministered to by this lyric as I have been.