Salty Zebra

  But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.   Ephesians 2:13  Have you ever felt like you were on the outside looking in? I don’t know about you, but in my experience, and in every Disney teen movie ever, there’s a group of kids at school that you are just not a part of, and clearly not welcome to be. I wonder if this is what the Gentiles felt like when they lived near or with the Jews.   You see, back in the day, the Jews were seen as God’s people. They were special, and other races weren’t. It’s not that the Jews were particularly good at being God’s people, they messed up A LOT. But God had chosen them on purpose, for a purpose. They were to demonstrate to the world God’s grace and usher in His kingdom. They got to demonstrate His grace by the fact that they messed up a lot and He loved them and used them anyways. Sound familiar? Yep, me too. And they got to usher in His kingdom because Jesus was born of ...

  For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.  Ephesians 2:8-9  Grace is undeserved favor. You don’t deserve it. You can’t deserve it. That’s grace. By faith in God we can accept this grace gift extended to us. So how do we get that faith? Boy, it turns out there’s a lot written on that subject! I learned new words today as I read about it like monergism and synergism. My own understanding of this subject has shifted over the last year or so as I learn more, and here’s where I’ve landed – though I do not claim any particular divine revelation and I’m totally open to other opinions.   We are saved by faith, and that faith itself comes from God. In Hebrews 12:2 the NKJV reads, “looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of [our] faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the th...

  But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions – it is by grace you have been saved. Ephesians 2:4-5  My son is a mechanic. When he comes home from work, he is covered in dirt and grease and brake dust. It is embedded in his eyebrows, streaked across his cheeks, and coating everything from the edge of his t-shirt to the beds under his finger nails. He doesn’t even notice it. He looks just like everyone else he works with. I often ask if he wants to wash up before dinner. He looks at me sideways, as if that is a very strange thing to say. He has no idea how filthy he is!   I think we are all very much like that. Before Christ, we thought we were pretty good people probably. At the very least, we weren’t as bad as some. We (mostly) obeyed the law. We opened doors for people with their arms full or let someone cut in front of us on the freeway when they clearly needed to exit. Really...

  I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.   Ephesians 1:17  That you may know Him better. I have known my husband for more than 32 years now. When we first met, we would spend hours on the phone together, well into the wee hours of the morning. We exchanged notes (we were in high school at the time) daily, most of which I still have. You would think that after those many, many hours of getting to know him, I would really know him inside and out. Hardly! If this was the case, then when we became adults and began to make our home together, things would have gone swimmingly. Instead, it was like I was living with a completely different person! As we progressed in marriage and children, new parts of him appeared, and old ones were emphasized. Each different challenge we faced in life brought out a different part of his personality. We continued those long cha...

  And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,   Ephesians 1:13  When you join a club, there are often markers that you gain to signify your membership. Take AAA for example, many people will end up with an AAA sticker on the back of their vehicle once they’ve signed up and paid their dues. A more permanent example would be a tattoo someone gets when they join a gang. These are outward signs that the world can see to identify you with a group or cause. When you accept Christ as your Savior and join the family of God, you don’t get a sign imprinted on your forehead telling everyone – but that doesn’t mean that people won’t know. You see, as a Christian, you now have the Holy Spirit living within you. That is your seal, your marker of belonging. While you may not be able to see Him in someone as markedly as a tattoo, you will still se...

  I’ve spoken to many people who think they are too far from God, too sinful, too dirty to accept Jesus as their LORD. Paul was one of those people, but he didn’t even know it. In fact, he thought he was serving God as he set out to arrest Christians and haul them back to Jerusalem for punishment ( Acts 9:1-2 ). He thought he was serving God as he stood watch over people’s coats as they stoned Stephen, an early leader in the church ( Acts 7:58 ). After meeting Jesus on the road to Damascus ( Acts 9:3-8 ), Paul went on to write much of the New Testament (13 out of 27 books) in the form of letters to the various churches in which he recognizes that he was a terrible sinner, even the worst of sinners, and that Jesus saved him anyways ( 1 Timothy 1:15 ).   This “worst of sinners” became an apostle of Christ. What is an apostle you might ask? This isn’t a word we use much today outside of religious history references, but it is a gifting of the Holy Spirit originally attached to ...

   Welcome to a new study! I always love the feeling of starting a new study or a new class! The possibilities are endless. I haven't messed up or fallen short yet - so maybe this time I won't 😂. And I'm so excited about the subject we're discussing, Secure in Christ . This study covers the book of Ephesians, one of my uncle's favorite books that he taught me once many years ago could be read in just 30 minutes! Who knew you could receive such a wealth of knowledge in such a short time, but I plan to spend a great deal more than 30 minutes diving into all that God has to teach me in Ephesians this summer.   We'll be focusing on one chapter a week for six weeks, but as always, my blog posts will span the two-week break as well, so they'll be more like 0.8 chapters per week. In Ephesians 1, we'll be looking at how we are chosen and redeemed. Chapter 2 teaches us about being alive in grace. Unified under Christ is the theme of chapter 3. Then in Ephesians ...