God's Loving, Correction: Day 2

I recently realized an important thing about life after sharing the gospel with a loved one who was very angry at God.  After telling someone that God loved them and wanted to be with them, the guy replied that God shouldn't have made a faulty world that needed to be saved.  When I heard his reply I became sad and frustrated, but I realized that my reply wouldn't help him.  So instead of making things worse, I encouraged him to keep trying to discover who the God of the bible is, and then gave him some resources to help.  I continued thinking about his response after the conversation, though, and realized that he was starting from a non-biblical premise.

The bible shows that God made a perfect world and gave humans the choice to keep it that way.  Genesis 1:31 says that God made everything good.  God made a good world, He made good people, He made a good relationship between Him and man.  It wasn't until after Adam and Eve chose to disobey that the world became full of pain and corruption.  I believe God was testing humans in order to give them the choice to follow Him or be their own God, which bothered my friend.  Don't we all want the freedom to make choices in life?

Unlike my friend, I think we all have the choice to pursue or reject God, and I also believe choosing God is just the beginning.  I believe that we will continue to be tested once we choose God, because those tests will make us stronger in character and intellect.  Knowing that we be tested in life should prompt us to prepare for them, and Paul give us some tips for success in Ephesians 5.

Read about the light of Christ in Ephesians 5:10-20 (NLT):

Carefully determine what pleases the Lord. Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them. It is shameful even to talk about the things that ungodly people do in secret. But their evil intentions will be exposed when the light shines on them, for the light makes everything visible. This is why it is said,

“Awake, O sleeper, rise up from the dead, and Christ will give you light.”

So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do. Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts. And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Answer the following questions:

1. What does it mean to expose sin, and how do we do it?
2. What are Christians commanded to do in this passage?
3. Contrast the lifestyle of a foolish and wise person. Is your lifestyle more foolish or wise?
4. Think about a current difficulty in your life, and ask God how you can please Him in the midst of that situation?

Weekly Challenge:

Paul uses this passage to instructs us to make the most of opportunities we are given, and we read a similar command in 1 Peter 3:15. In that section, Peter instructs believers to be prepared to give a reason for the hope they have. This week, write a short statement explaining why you are hopeful, and what your hope consists of. Then pray for an opportunity to share that hope with another person.