A post from Jon Courson - http://www.joncourson.com/

August 15

I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you ...
Ephesians 4:1

The word ‘therefore’ being such a pivotal word in Scripture, whenever you come across it in the Word, it’s good to stop and ask what it is there for. In this case, as Paul begins the second half of his letter, launching into the practical aspects of our life in Christ, he refers to the doctrinal foundation he laid in Chapters 1-3. In other words, before telling us how we are to walk, he reminds us we must first understand where we sit.

In Chapters 1-3, Paul told us we were adopted into God’s family, elected before the foundation of the world, redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, sealed with the Holy Spirit — all while we were dead in our sin. And this is where so many Christians stumble. They try and walk before they sit. Sermons are preached; seminars are given; books are published on the way husbands should love their wives and the way wives should submit to their husbands; or the way we should live in purity; or what we should do as a Church Body — all without acknowledging what God has already done for us, all without factoring in the fact that there’s nothing we can do to make God love us any more than He loves us right now.

I have found that most Christians believe they are the initiators in spiritual life, feeling that if they can just pray enough, do enough, be enough, God will love them and bless them. So they try to walk worthy — but sooner or later, they fail and throw in the towel.

Our Christian walk is not something we do to try to earn God’s favor or merit His love. Rather, it is a response to how He loves us, what He’s done for us, how good He’s been to us. 'We love Him,' the Apostle John said, 'because He first loved us' (I John 4:19). He is the Initiator, we the responders. We don’t love Him so He’ll love us. We love Him because He first loved us.

This Daily Devotional is an excerpt from the book "A Days Journey" by Pastor Jon. "A Days Journey" is a collection of 365 short devotions from the New Testatment. If you would like your own copy of "A Days Journey" you may go to his web and obtain it from there.