Never allow this to deceive you!

Ephesians 5:6 instructs us to not allow anyone to deceive us with vain words. The meaning of the word vain is quite revealing. It means: Undue or excessive pride, futility or ineffectualness, unsuccessful, useless, no real value, idle, worthless, to no end, without success or result, in an irreverent or blasphemous manner”.  The scriptures teach us that we are not  to take the name of the Lord our God in vainDeuteronomy 5:11 (RSV).  Vain words are illusory in nature, but they lack any real substance, and in most cases involve foolish pride. Even much of today’s commercials and marketing involve vain words. This week, pay special attention to words that people speak. You will find a lot of vain words being tossed around with no respect or regard to truth or righteousness. 

Ephesians 5:6 “Let no man deceive you with vain words…”

Your focus determines your advancement!

Paul was a man of wisdom. His focus was on taking the gospel message and discipling everywhere he could, and discipling and to as many as he could. He refused to get involved in petty disputes or issues. His mission was too important to waste any time in trivialities. And because of this, he was able to  reach many regions with the gospel of Jesus Christ. He once wrote to the Corinthian church about that. 1 Corinthians 2:2 (Amplified version) says: “for I made the decision to know nothing [that is, to forego philosophical or theological discussions regarding inconsequential things and opinions while] among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified [and the meaning of His redemptive, substitutionary death and His resurrection].” I find that most people are continuously involved in inconsequential discussions, arguments, disagreements and issues, and because of this much of their time is wasted. The end result is that nothing important ever gets done, important projects are never finished, and they never accomplish what God called them to do. Jesus was displeased with the fig tree that bore no fruit (Matthew 21:19). He seeks fruit from our lives. How about you? Are you bearing fruit, or are you too busy with inconsequential things that are always getting in the way? When Jesus looks at you, will he find a fruitful tree, or an unfruitful anemic tree? Paul realized that his time was precious, so he purposefully lived life in such a way that he consciously focused on God’s will for his life. Where is your focus today?

1 Corinthians 2:2 (Amplified version) “for I made the decision to know nothing [that is, to forego philosophical or theological discussions regarding inconsequential things and opinions while] among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified [and the meaning of His redemptive, substitutionary death and His resurrection].”