Well, today, it is texts and emails or some other messenger. However, imagine the day without instant messaging when the apostle John received a revelation from God, a letter to pass on to the churches in Asia (western Turkey). The letters in The book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ, chapters 2 and 3, were written to churches that John knew and had visited. Think about what it would mean to get this letter and hear it read to your group of followers of Jesus. The letter was a mixture of helping see Jesus in a new and fantastic way, hearing from Him praise, and a cutting rebuke for your group. They were powerful and challenging words, straight from God. The days in which we live are not easy. Followers of Christ are not famous people; many hate us and the premises for which we stand. But Jesus is calling you to change, know Him like you never have, and fulfill His purpose for the church to which you belong. The letter was special for those churches, but it is also very much for us. It has been preserved for two thousand years and is as relevant to us as it was to them. So how do we receive this letter? In her book on Revelation, Blessed, Nancy Guthrie says: “We want to welcome whatever it is He has to say to us. What a blessing to hear the powerful, penetrating, and perfectly reliable voice of Jesus speaking into our lives.”

For a few years now, post-apocalyptic stories have been told in literature, movies, and games. They picture a world that has come apart. Those that survive are left to piece their lives together out of the wreckage of the old world. These worlds are often hopeless. And what once was good and true about the world is now irrelevant. I wonder what this says about our culture’s current state of mind about the future. Are we headed toward a hopeless future? Are the old truths and values no longer applicable in our new world? The book of Revelations is filled with blessings and hope, but maybe not in the way you think. It’s not primarily about crazy events, cataclysmic judgments, weird creatures, and undecipherable symbols but about blessings and hopes for today. The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near. - Revelation 1:1-3 (ESV)

Martin Luther has long been one of my spiritual heroes. His rediscovery and brave proclamation of ‘grace alone through faith alone’ was the spark that lit the protestant reformation. Throughout his life, he was harassed, threatened, and in danger because of the truth he taught. So it’s not surprising that he referenced this struggle when he penned a hymn for the church. But he doesn’t point at the popes or kings that were his earthly adversaries; he looks beyond them. ‘And though this world with devils filled, should threaten to undo us...’ We might be tempted to see him as a pre-modern man whose understanding of the world was more magic than science. But I believe he saw the world more clearly than many of us. He better understood his true foe, the nature of the struggle, and the surety of his hope than we do. In the last half of Ephesians 6, Paul paints a picture of the Christian life as a battle. He wants us to be aware, ready, and equipped to fight. Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly place s. - Ephesians 6:10-12 (ESV)

The pandemic accelerated the trend of remote work. This new gig economy means people are working from anywhere at any time. It means you may have co-workers in DC, Brussels, or Okinawa. But over the last few months, I’ve heard of multiple businesses pulling away from this wave of virtual office places. There seems to be something to those in-person human office water cooler interactions that encourage comradery and effectiveness. But I also wonder if the digital office means workers aren’t effectively completing tasks. In Ephesians 6, Paul discusses the interaction between the gospel and the ancient household by looking at slaves and masters. In some ways, this is a cultural distance and even an offensive section. Paul does not condemn the person-robbing institution of slavery. How does the passage challenge you in your dealing with others at work? Bondservants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or is free. Masters, do the same to them, and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no partiality with him. - Ephesians 6:5-9 (ESV) 

I’ve recently seen some news headlines about states debating bills or even passing laws regarding parental custody in cases where the child wants or has received “gender affirming care.” Some fear that in a state like Minnesota, a parent might lose custody for preventing their child from receiving hormones or surgeries. Others fear that in a state like Florida, a parent might lose custody for allowing their child to receive such hormones and surgeries. Division isn’t new in this country, but this situation struck me as a poignant example of the competing visions of the family and the parent-child relationship that are promulgated in our world. This isn’t new, though. The ancient Mediterranean area that Paul and the Ephesian saints inhabited was culturally and religiously diverse, meaning that they, too, faced competing understandings of the family and how parents should raise their children. Since God had graciously called the Ephesians saints out from among “the sons of disobedience,” it was fitting that the apostle Paul taught them a new way to live in Christ. And what Paul taught challenged the often-abusive paternal authority of the cultures in the ancient Mediterranean, even as it challenges the often-rebellious individualism of our day. Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. - Ephesians 6:4 (ESV)

A young man and woman meet. She appreciates his sharp features. He enjoys her engagement and conversion. Over a few months, they grow closer. And about a year later, they decide to get married. The lead-up to the day is both frantic and beautiful. The day is filled with words of love and commitment. The immediate days that follow include enjoyment, discovery, and deepening connection. As the days turn into years, the relationship evolves. Jobs and houses bring new levels of responsibilities and stress. When children are added to the picture, the joy covers the strain for a time. But the stress fractures are beginning to form. The connection and fun are no longer easy to come by. And the once-happy couple is stuck in the doldrums of middle age. The conversations are silenced until they live as if the relationship is dissolved. And now, where once there were friends and partners, there are only enemies. A few years later, they take the legal step of pronouncing the death of their marriage that had happened years before. What happened? Did they fall out of love? What happened to the spark? In Ephesians 5 , Paul applies the gospel to our relationships. He wants us to see the intersection between Christ’s work and our lives. You might think Christ’s actions in his life, death, and resurrection are theological concepts. But he won’t let us leave them in dusty theology books. Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. - Ephesians 5:25 (ESV)

Around the time of Christ, there was a common prayer in Judaism - ‘Blessed art thou, O God, for not making me a Gentile, woman, or a slave.’ It was backhanded worship that exalted the status of men in the first century. But many today would read this prayer and the above verses similarly. They could be seen as suppressing women and enhancing the power of men. But are they the same? Ephesians 5:18 starts a section often called the ‘household codes.’ The book's opening chapters rehearsed God’s great gift of salvation, but the later chapters call us to live out the implications of that salvation. After giving us a variety of individual applications, Paul now invades our homes and the relationships they contain. Wives, submit to your own husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. - Ephesians 5:22-24 (ESV)

There is a wide gap between our world and the biblical world. Paul could not have conceived of cars, the internet, the printing press, flush toilets, AI, or modern medicine. Some have looked at this gap and used it to confirm the irrelevance of our ancient faith. How can words written almost 2000 years ago connect or apply to the modern world? It seems improbable. In Ephesians chapter 5, Paul outlines the implications of salvation, he provides helpful instruction in relating scripture to our time. He even points us to Divine resources in doing so. Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time because the days are evil. - Ephesians 5:15-16 (ESV)

When I was fourteen, my mom bought me a nice suit for a wedding I needed to attend. Like, really nice. I’ve kept it all these years, just in case I ever need to dress formally. There’s a problem, though. I’m several inches taller and about forty pounds heavier than I was as a freshman in high school. The sleeves are too short. The pants are too tight. The transformation from scrawny teenager to fully-grown man meant that certain clothes just won’t fit anymore. Likewise, our spiritual transformation in Christ means that certain things just don’t fit us anymore. As Paul says in Ephesians 5, we once were darkness, but now we are light in the Lord. Consequently, the works of darkness aren’t fitting or proper for us as saints. We must walk as children in the light. ...for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light... - Ephesians 4:22-24 (ESV)