Tuesday, June 02, 2015

Our Daily Bread -- Something New

Our Daily Bread -- Something New

June 3, 2015

Read: Ephesians 2:10-22
Bible in a Year: 2 Chronicles 19-20; John 13:21-38

We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. —Ephesians 2:10

It was only scrap wood, but Charles Hooper saw much more than that. Salvaging old timbers from a long-abandoned corncrib, he sketched some simple plans. Then he felled a few oak and poplar trees from his wooded property and painstakingly squared them with his grandfather’s broadax. Piece by piece, he began to fit together the old lumber with the new.

Today you can see Charles and Shirley Hooper’s postcard-perfect log cabin, tucked away in the trees on Tennessee Ridge. Part guesthouse, part museum for family heirlooms, the structure stands as an enduring tribute to Charles’ vision, skill, and patience.

Writing to a Gentile audience, Paul told the church at Ephesus how Jesus was creating something new by bringing together Jewish and non-Jewish believers as a single entity. “You who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ,” Paul wrote (Eph. 2:13). This new structure was “built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord” (vv. 20-21).

The work continues today. God takes the brokenness of our lives, artfully fits us together with other broken and rescued people, and patiently chips away our rough edges. He loves His work, you know. —Tim Gustafson

Lord, we can’t thank You enough for Your passionate love for us. Help us to see that You bring us together in this beautiful body of believers known as Your church.
Our rough edges must be chipped away to bring out the image of Christ.

INSIGHT: The Jews believed they alone were God’s favored people (Gen. 17:9-14), so God would never save the Gentiles (Eph. 3:4-8). Correcting this, Paul says that Christ through the cross has torn down the wall of hostility that separated Jews and Gentiles (2:12-14) and has brought them together into a new unified humanity—the church (vv. 15-18).

Share your thoughts on today’s devotional on Facebook or odb.org.

You can make a difference.

Even the smallest donation helps reach people around the world with the life-changing wisdom of the Bible.

DONATE
Share With Your Friends Featured Video
Our Daily Bread Ministries

Our mission is to make the life-changing wisdom of the Bible understandable and accessible to all.

Our vision is to see people of all nations experiencing a personal relationship with Christ, growing to be more like Him, and serving in a local body of His family.

To read today's Our Daily Bread online visit www.odb.org.

Copyright © 2015, Our Daily Bread Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI 49555 USA. Written permission must be obtained from Our Daily Bread Ministries for any further posting or distribution.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Unsubscribe

 

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home