Our Daily Bread

February 21 | Bible in a Year: Numbers 1-3; Mark 3

A Place of Belonging So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. Ephesians 3:17 READ EPHESIANS 3:14–21

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Some years after the tragic loss of their first spouses, Robbie and Sabrina fell in love, married, and combined their two families. They built a new home and named it Havilah (a Hebrew word meaning “writhing in pain” and “to bring forth”). It signifies the making of something beautiful through pain. The couple says they didn’t build the home to forget their past but “to bring life from the ashes, to celebrate hope.” For them, “it is a place of belonging, a place to celebrate life and where we all cling to the promise of a future.” That’s a beautiful picture of our life in Jesus. He pulls our lives from the ashes and becomes for us a place of belonging. When we receive Him, He makes His home in our hearts (Ephesians 3:17). God adopts us into His family through Jesus so that we belong to Him (1:5-6). Although we’ll go through painful times, He can use even those to bring good purposes in our lives. Daily we have opportunity to grow in our understanding of God as we enjoy His love and celebrate what He’s given us. In Him, there’s a fullness to life that we couldn’t have without Him (3:19). And we have the promise that this relationship will last forever. Jesus is our place of belonging, our reason to celebrate life, and our hope now and forever. By Anne Cetas REFLECT & PRAY I’m grateful that I belong to You, Jesus. Thank You for a life of hope for now and forever. In what ways has Jesus changed your life? What does it mean for you to belong to Jesus?

SCRIPTURE INSIGHT Because Paul led the Ephesian believers to faith (Acts 19:1-10), he considers them his spiritual children and is unwaveringly committed to pray fervently for their spiritual growth (see Philippians 1:3-6; 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12). Ephesians 3:14-21 is one of the few recorded prayers of Paul in the New Testament (see also Philippians 1:9-11; Colossians 1:9-12), and is the second of two prayers in Ephesians (also Ephesians 1:15-23). In these prayers, Paul doesn’t pray for their material well-being but focuses on their spiritual development and maturity. In the first prayer, which emphasizes knowledge, Paul prays they’ll have “the Spirit of wisdom and revelation” so that they may “know the hope to which [God] has called [them]” (1:17-18). In his second prayer (3:14-21), he focuses on love and prays that having been “rooted and established in love” they’ll “grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ” (vv. 17-18). K. T. Sim

source: obd.org

Our Daily Bread

The Reality of God The Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he [saw] chariots of fire all around Elisha. 2 Kings 6:17 READ 2 KINGS 6:8–17

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In C. S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, all of Narnia is thrilled when the mighty lion Aslan reappears after a long absence. Their joy turns to sorrow, however, when Aslan concedes to a demand made by the evil White Witch. Faced with Aslan’s apparent defeat, the Narnians experience his power when he emits an earsplitting roar that causes the witch to flee in terror. Although all seems to have been lost, Aslan ultimately proves to be greater than the villainous witch. Like Aslan’s followers in Lewis’ allegory, Elisha’s servant despaired when he got up one morning to see himself and Elisha surrounded by an enemy army. “Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?” he exclaimed (2 Kings 6:15). The prophet’s response was calm: “Don’t be afraid . . . . Those who are with us are more than those who are with them” (v. 16). Elisha then prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see” (v. 17). So, “the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha” (v. 17). Although things at first seemed bleak to the servant’s eye, God’s power ultimately proved greater than the enemy horde. Our difficult circumstances may lead us to believe all is lost, but God desires to open our eyes and reveal that He is greater. By Remi Oyedele REFLECT & PRAY Thank You, God, for Your faithfulness. What difficult times are you facing? How have you experienced that God is greater than any evil you face?

SCRIPTURE INSIGHT Although the two Old Testament prophets Elijah (whose name means “Yahweh is God”) and Elisha (whose name means “God is salvation”) had similar names and missions—to serve God and the people of Israel—they are two different people. Their prophetic exploits are found in 1 Kings 17 through 2 Kings 13. Elijah departed this earth dramatically—caught up in a whirlwind into heaven (2 Kings 2:11); Elisha succumbed to sickness and died (13:14). Arthur Jackson

source: ourdailybread