Ephesians 4:32-5:21

 ³² Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.¹ Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children ² and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. ³ But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people.⁴ Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. ⁵ For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. ⁶ Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. ⁷Therefore do not be partners with them. ⁸ For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light ⁹ (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) ¹⁰ and find out what pleases the Lord. ¹¹ Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. ¹² It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. ¹³ But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. ¹⁴ This is why it is said:

   “Wake up, sleeper, 

   rise from the dead, 

   and Christ will shine on you.”

 ¹⁵ Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, ¹⁶ making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. ¹⁷ Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. ¹⁸ Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, ¹⁹ speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, ²⁰ always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.  ²¹ Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. 

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   In Ephesians 4:32-5:21 we see Gods call for all of us to live a life identical to His own. We are called to live a life of compassion and understanding. We are supposed to forgive all the wrongs done to us and go the extra step further to love the person who has wrong us. Living a life as Christ did comes with massive responsibility and high expectations. We are called to live a life free from sinful actions of greed, lust, sexual impurities and obscenities.  All throughout the bible God gives us strict directions to steer clear of all of these evils and sinful acts of indulgences. If we are to live as Christ lived we must be a shinning light to His image. How can we expect to enter into an eternal union in heaven with the Lord with such sins in our lives? 

   Just as we are called to live such a life style we are also told to stay away from those who may lead us astray. There is an uplifting side to it all though! It is that the Son of God has came to earth to die for all of our sins! He came to show us the light and lead us out of the darkness. But we must work hard to stay of His path of righteousness. 

     Into todays day in age it is hard to go anywhere without being forced to view images of sex and debauchery. From television to movies children are viewing these images at younger and younger ages an developing a false sense of love, relationship and sexual identity. There is an attitude of defeat sweeping across the nations that children are going to have sexual relations anyway so let us prepare them for it, with sexual education being taught to kids as young as 7 years old. SEVEN YEARS OLD! If we do not have faith in children in the upcoming generations why would they have faith in themselves? We all need to lead by example and understanding that things such as the viewing of pornographic and sexual actions outside of marriage are sins against God and leading us further into the darkness and away from the light.  

    We must work hard to monitor our thoughts and speech. Christ tells us to refrain from inappropriate jokes and vulgar language. We are called to live as Christ did and as examples of Christ and His love and using such language is the opposite of our call. Instead we should greet one another with praise and thanks giving just as Christ did. We should show love to everybody we encounter! 

    To follow truly follow Christ we must be ready to live life on the wild side! It is a called to be the ultimate non-conformist. In today society sex, dirty jokes, swearing are all part of the norms of society and you are the outcast for not partaking in such actions. I to struggle with all of the things I have written about in this post. I stumble and fall all the time, the devils in today society make it easier to go back into the darkness. I swear, part take in inappropriate jokes, have struggled with pornography and have not always been the best example to my peers. I share this because I feel like to write a proper blog regarding scripture and faith that I should not hide my sins from those who may read this. We are told to confess our sinful nature to your brothers and sisters and to God and ask for forgiveness for falling. (Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. James 5:6). 

    The beautifully amazing thing about it all is the Christ is there to pick us up when we fall.  His hand is the first one reaching down to lift us and and with open embrace bring us back into His arms. We have a God of love......listen to that A GOD OF LOVE! A God that became human, walked amongst us! A God that that DIED TO SAVE US FROM SIN! Amazing! 

     I will end this this post challenging you to look at your lives. Do you struggles with any of these things? We all stumble and fall, but turn to Jesus and ask for forgiveness.  Try to find a partner, somebody you trust and that can hold you accountable. Meet weekly or as often you need and talk about your struggles for that week and pray with them for the guidance and strength to stay on the path and to be the light of Christ. 

I pray for you and your walk with Christ.