"Meditation – 60 Days of Prayer" for Sunday, 15 May 2016 from The Upper Room in Nashville, Tennessee, United States

"Meditation – 60 Days of Prayer" for Sunday, 15 May 2016 from The Upper Room in Nashville, Tennessee, United States


SUNDAY, MAY 15
READ EPHESIANS 4:25–5:2
EPHESIANS 4:25 Therefore, stripping off falsehood, let everyone speak truth with his neighbor,[Ephesians 4:25 Zechariah 8:16] because we are intimately related to each other as parts of a body. 26 Be angry, but don’t sin[Ephesians 4:26 Psalm 4:5(4)] — don’t let the sun go down before you have dealt with the cause of your anger; 27 otherwise you leave room for the Adversary.

28 The thief must stop stealing; instead, he should make an honest living by his own efforts. This way he will be able to share with those in need.

29 Let no harmful language come from your mouth, only good words that are helpful in meeting the need, words that will benefit those who hear them. 30 Don’t cause grief to God’s Ruach HaKodesh, for he has stamped you as his property until the day of final redemption. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, violent assertiveness and slander, along with all spitefulness. 32 Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted; and forgive each other, just as in the Messiah God has also forgiven you.

5 So imitate God, as his dear children; 2 and live a life of love, just as also the Messiah loved us, indeed, on our behalf gave himself up as an offering, as a slaughtered sacrifice to God with a pleasing fragrance.

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The book of Ephesians is a “circular” letter, meaning it wasn’t directed to one particular church but was passed from one congregation to another. In chapters 1–3, the writer deals with some great truths of the Christian faith, and in chapter 4 the author explores how we can live out those truths. Ephesians 4:25-32 (TheMessage) says this:

• No more lies
• Be angry—but don’t use your anger as fuel for revenge
• Watch the way you talk
• Don’t break God’s heart
• Forgive one another

These rules make sense on one level, but we still have trouble living by them. Too often we distrust those who disagree with us and choose to believe that we alone have the answers. We fear those who are different. We care for ourselves and our passions first. And yet . . . listen:
“Watch what God does, and then you do it. . . . Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with [God] and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn’t love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that.” (Ephesians 5:1-2)
Our call is to live an extravagant life of love that exceeds the rational limits of our society, our culture, and our world. A love so simple, yet so profound. A love so extravagant that we willingly give ourselves away for the sake of God, for the sake of Christ, and for the sake of the world.
Loving God, give us hearts for love alone so that when our day is done and our work complete, it is you who is glorified. Amen.[Deborah L. Kiesey]
Bishop Deborah Lieder Kiesey was elected to the episcopacy in 2004 by the North Central Jurisdictional Conference and appointed to the Dakotas Area. In 2012, Bishop Kiesey was assigned to the Michigan Area, where she currently serves. Prior to the episcopacy, she pastored several churches in Iowa.

Our mailing address is:
The Upper Room Strategic Initiatives
PO Box 340007

Nashville, Tennessee 37203, United States
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