What is Abide? | Listen to this Episode 

This week’s Abide episode comes from the passage in the Our Daily Bread devotional from Monday the 23rd of September, which is Ephesians 2:8-13, 17-22.

We’ve probably all felt like a stranger or an outsider before; someone on the fringe. But it’s through this passage today that we’ll see how we are no longer separate from God, and how it’s through His incredible gift of His son that we are now part of His household. The passage is Ephesians chapter 2, verses 8 to 13, and 17 to 22.

There is so much to this passage, and it’s easy to get caught up in trying to wrap our heads around all of the truth contained within, and how that impacts us in our everyday life. When we’re faced with a passage like that, sometimes we can lean into its complexity and read and re-read it over and over, trying to glean all of the insight from it. But sometimes, in being so busy to ingest the Word, we forget to digest the Word. And that’s what we’re going to do today.

So if you’re in a time and place where you can, let’s spend the next few minutes meditating on God’s Word together, speaking to Him about it, and allow space for the Holy Spirit to bring insight to us.

Let’s start by taking a deep, calming breath, and closing our eyes. Let’s invite God to speak to us through His Word as we dwell on it.

Father God, thank you that you speak to us through the Bible. We ask you that you will give us insight, encouragement, and sustenance from Your Word, and that you reveal your truth to us. Please give us ears to hear your Word. Amen.

Let’s focus on the first part, verses 8 to 10:

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. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

As you sit quietly, what does it mean for you to think of yourself as the recipient of a gift from God? That the creator of the universe, whose voice speaks earth and stars into being, has also created you – and has given you the gift of salvation?

It might bring to mind for you a sense of thankfulness for that gift, or even a sense of unworthiness – what have I done to deserve this? Whatever it may be, take a moment to thank God for this incredibly gracious gift.

Next, verses 11 to 13 speak of how we were once separate from Christ, without God, and without hope. But now, through the blood of Christ, we have been brought near. Let’s meditate on this word:

Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (which is done in the body by human hands)— remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

Again, let’s pause and think through these verses. There may be certain parts of it that resonate more with you than others. It may be a certain word or phrase that stands out to you, or a new concept. Whatever it is, bring it to God now, thanking him for what images or thoughts it invokes in your mind.

Finally, we read in verses 17 to 22:

He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

One last time, let’s stop for a moment and dwell on this, sitting in the truth that we were once strangers to God, but now He has made us part of His family. What does that sense of belonging mean to you? It might clash with your experience of your earthly family, but you can be reminded that God is dwelling in you, right now, inviting you to be part of His.

Abiding in God’s Word can be as simple as taking a few extra moments when we read a passage to let our minds ponder, think, and reflect on Him. There are times where we won’t always feel like it’s been as easy to dwell on a certain passage, or that we “didn’t get as much out of it”. But there will be other times when we draw far more from a passage than we might expect.

This week, why not spend a few minutes each day reflecting further on the truths that we saw in these passages? And as you sit in that space, with these verses, ask God what it is He might be wanting you to do that day.