Tag Archives: Ephesians 5:1-2

Be Imitators Of God

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Discipleship Devotional Study Guide - 365 Days Of Guidance - Day 19 - Ephesians 5:1-2 - Be Imitators Of God - Growing As Disciples

Discipleship Devotional Study Guide – 365 Days Of Guidance – Day 19 – Ephesians 5:1-2 – Be Imitators Of God – Growing As Disciples

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. Ephesians 5:1-2 (ESV)

Like You

I know that I am your child. You called me to come to you. You rescued me from a life without you. I was headed in completely the wrong direction. I was on a path that led away from you. I was living and walking in darkness. You turned my life around. You set me on firm ground. You made it so I could live in a relationship with you. Now, I can hear your voice. You are calling me to go deeper. You are asking me to walk closer to you. Yes, I am. I welcome your call on my life. I want what you want. I know that I have said that many times. It is true. I want to know you intimately. I want to become like you. Then we both want the same thing. Yes, I know. I yearn to be like you. There is nothing I want more. I invite you to do your work in my life. I have taken you up on that invitation. You have given me this invitation many times. Yes, I know. I don’t mind saying it over and over again. I don’t mind hearing you say it again and again. Your wholehearted invitation for me to work in your life gives me great joy. I am very glad about that.  In every way I want to do what pleases you. Yes, I know.

You do know who you will become like? You do know who is your example and role model? Yes, I know. Your son, Jesus Christ, is my example and role model. As I love, follow, and serve you, I will become like Him. He was a fragrant and sacrificial offering to you. I also want my life to be a fragrant and sacrificial offering to you. He lived His life motivated by His love for you. Yes, He did. I also will live my life motivated by my love for you. I love you with all my heart, and soul, and mind, and strength. Sometimes, I feel like I am going to burst because I feel so full of love for you. That is very good. I want to love like He loved. I want to give like He gave. I want to live as He lived. That is why I am here now in this quiet place. As I draw near to you, I know that you will draw near to me. Yes, I will. That is a certainty. I know that you will make me more and more like you as I am in your presence and near to you. Yes, I will. You cannot remain unchanged as you draw near to me. That is what I will keep on doing as I love, follow, and serve you. That will be very good.

God, as your child I want to become like you. I want to know you. I want to walk in your ways. With your help, I will follow your son Jesus Christ as my example. I will love like He loved. I will give like He gave. I want my life to be a fragrant offering to you. Amen

Key Question…  How are you following Jesus Christ as your example of how to imitate God and walk in His love?

Living It Out… Imitate God by living and walking in the love of Christ as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Seeing It Happen… Have faith that you will become like God as you imitate Him and walk in love just as Jesus Christ walked in love.

Get Ready To Share… Share with another person or your small group how God is helping you to imitate Him as you walk in Christ’s love.

Prayer To Bless Others…  May you, as a child of God, imitate Him by walking in love as Christ walked in love and gave himself to others.

For today’s complete 4 page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide click here:

365 Days Of Guidance – Day 19 – Ephesians 5-1-2 – Be Imitators Of God – 4 Page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide

Please consider sharing these devotionals with others through the social media you use.

Individual users may save the Discipleship Devotional Study Guide to their desktop for private use. All the blanks in the study guides are fields that allow typed responses. To use the fields on the study guide you may need to open the guide with a free version of adobe reader.

By Jon Ulrich © All rights reserved                   Copying not permitted                      www.GrowingAsDisciples.com

Imitators Of God

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Discipleship Devotional Study Guide - Becoming Like Christ - Day 195 - Ephesians 5:1-2 - Imitators Of God - Growing As Disciples Devotional Study Guide - Becoming Like Christ - Day 195 - Ephesians 5:1-2 - Be Imitators Of God - Growing As Disciples

Discipleship Devotional Study Guide – Becoming Like Christ – Day 195 – Ephesians 5:1-2 – Imitators Of God – Growing As Disciples

Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. Ephesians 5:1-2 (NIV)  

An Example

That is what I want my life to be. What’s that? I want my life to be a living and fragrant sacrifice to you. What does that mean? I want to go and do what you ask of me. I want to be at your service. I want to know and do your will. I want to accomplish your purposes and fulfill your plans. Will that be very difficult for you? Will going and doing my will be demanding of you? Will serving me require giving your all and very best effort? Yes and no. How can your answer be both yes and no? Serving you with all my heart and mind and soul and strength will never be easy. Giving myself to you as a living sacrifice and fragrant offering will always require my very best. This is the yes part of my answer. But giving my all and best effort to serve you is the desire of my heart. There is nothing I want more than to be a fragrant offering to you. So, how difficult and demanding can it be to do what is the desire of heart? I have great joy in loving and following and serving you. That is the no part of my answer. No, it will not be difficult to serve you because I love you. Yes, it is difficult to serve you because it will require my all and very best effort. Your answers are very good. 

What has helped you in giving your all and very best effort to me? I have had an example to follow. I want to think and speak and act like Christ. I want to follow His example. I want to love like He loved. I want to give like He gave. I want to serve like He served. I want to go and do what He did. That is very good. How is it that you are coming to know and live out Christ’s example? Your word has shown me what He thought, what He said, and what He did. Your Holy Spirit has taken your word and applied it to my life. So, as I have listened to your word and followed the guidance of your Holy Spirit I have been coming to know and live out the example that Christ has set before me. That is very good. Keep on meeting with me in my word. Keep on listening to my Holy Spirit speaking to you. Then you will keep on offering yourself to me as a fragrant offering and living sacrifice to me. That is what I want. That is what I will do. That is very good. 

Lord, thank you for giving me an example to follow. I want to become like you in all I think, say and do. Help me to live like you lived. Help me to live as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. Help me to go and do what you did. Help me to love like you loved. Amen

Key Question… What have you gone and done for God as a fragrant offering to Him?

Living It Out…  Imitate the life of Christ as you offer yourself as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Seeing It Happen… Have faith that the Lord will help you to imitate Him as you offer yourself as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Get Ready To Share… Share with another person or your small group how you are imitating Christ and offering yourself to God.

Prayer To Bless Others… May you live as an imitator of God in all you think, say and do.

For today’s complete 4 page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide click here:

Becoming Like Christ – Day 195 – Ephesians 5-1-2 – Imitators Of God – 4 Page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide

Please consider sharing these devotionals with others through the social media you use.

Individual users may save the Discipleship Devotional Study Guide to their desktop for private use. All the blanks in the study guides are fields that allow typed responses. To use the fields on the study guide you may need to open the guide with a free version of adobe reader.

By Jon Ulrich © All rights reserved                   Copying not permitted                      www.GrowingAsDisciples.com

Imitators Of God

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Discipleship Devotional Study Guide - Identity - Ephesians 5:1-2 - Imitators Of God - Growing As Disciples

Discipleship Devotional Study Guide – Identity – Ephesians 5:1-2 – Imitators Of God – Growing As Disciples

Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. Ephesians 5:1-2 (NIV)

A Fragrant Offering

What would you do if you wanted to imitate me? How would your life look different if you went and did what I did? How would your thoughts and words and deeds change if you followed my example? Let me start of by emphatically saying one thing. What’s that? There is no “if” involved in my answer. I thought so. I want to imitate you. I want to go and do what you did. I want my life to be changed. I want to think your thoughts. I want to speak your words, I want to do your deeds. I know this to be true about you. Hearing you say that, encourages my heart. That’s good. I want you to be encouraged and strengthened in your desire to imitate me.

Now, I will attempt to answer your question about how I will start imitating you. There is only one way to start imitating you. What do you mean by that? My focus should start off with why you did what you did and not on what you did. Explain that. You gave yourself up as a fragrant offering to God. You poured yourself out in service to others. Yes, I did. But your giving yourself as a fragrant offering to God and pouring yourself out in service to others started with your love for Him. You loved God with all your heart and mind and soul and strength. Yes, that is true. You lived in a close and intimate relationship with God. You drew near to Him as He drew near to you. You hungered and thirsted for Him. You lived and dwelt in His presence. You lived your life in a constant dialogue with Him. You listened to His voice. You followed His guidance. You fulfilled His purposes and accomplished His plans. Yes, I did. That is what I will imitate. That is what I want. That is the desire of my heart. That is what I hunger and thirst for. I want to live in the same intimate relationship with the Heavenly Father that you lived and walked in. I want to know Him. I want Him to know me. I want to love Him with all my heart and mind and soul and strength. Then I want to go wherever he guides me to do whatever He asks of me. Then I will fulfill His purposes and accomplish His plans. Then I will offer myself as a fragrant offering to Him. Then I will pour myself out in service to others. Yes, you will and that will be very good.

Father, thank you that I am your child. Your love has changed me. No longer do I want to live for myself. Instead I want to live as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to you as I give your love and my life to others just as Christ did. Amen

Key Question…  What example has Jesus Christ set forward for you to imitate?

Living It Out…  Be an imitator of Christ by giving yourself as a fragrant offering to God as you love and serve others.

Seeing It Happen… Have faith that the Lord will help you to imitate Him by offering yourself to God as a fragrant offering.

Get Ready To Share…  Share with another person or your small group how God has guided you to give your love and life to others.

Prayer To Bless Others…  May you imitate Christ by loving God and giving your life in service to Him.

For today’s complete 4 page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide click here:

Identity – Ephesians 5-1-2 – Imitators Of God – 4 Page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide

Please consider sharing these devotionals with others through the social media you use.

Individual users may save the Discipleship Devotional Study Guide to their desktop for private use. All the blanks in the study guides are fields that allow typed responses. To use the fields on the study guide you may need to open the guide with a free version of adobe reader.

By Jon Ulrich © All rights reserved                   Copying not permitted                      www.GrowingAsDisciples.com

Imitators Of God

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Discipleship Devotional Study Guide - Becoming Like Christ - Day 195 - Ephesians 5:1-2 - Imitators Of God - Growing As Disciples

Discipleship Devotional Study Guide – Becoming Like Christ – Day 195 – Ephesians 5:1-2 – Imitators Of God – Growing As Disciples

Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. Ephesians 5:1-2 (NIV)  

An Example

That is what I want my life to be. What’s that? I want my life to be a living and fragrant sacrifice to you. What does that mean? I want to go and do what you ask of me. I want to be at your service. I want to know and do your will. I want to accomplish your purposes and fulfill your plans. Will that be very difficult for you? Will going and doing my will be demanding of you? Will serving me require giving your all and very best effort? Yes and no. How can your answer be both yes and no? Serving you with all my heart and mind and soul and strength will never be easy. Giving myself to you as a living sacrifice and fragrant offering will always require my very best. This is the yes part of my answer. But giving my all and best effort to serve you is the desire of my heart. There is nothing I want more than to be a fragrant offering to you. So, how difficult and demanding can it be to do what is the desire of heart? I have great joy in loving and following and serving you. That is the no part of my answer. No, it will not be difficult to serve you because I love you. Yes, it is difficult to serve you because it will require my all and very best effort. Your answers are very good. 

What has helped you in giving your all and very best effort to me? I have had an example to follow. I want to think and speak and act like Christ. I want to follow His example. I want to love like He loved. I want to give like He gave. I want to serve like He served. I want to go and do what He did. That is very good. How is it that you are coming to know and live out Christ’s example? Your word has shown me what He thought, what He said, and what He did. Your Holy Spirit has taken your word and applied it to my life. So, as I have listened to your word and followed the guidance of your Holy Spirit I have been coming to know and live out the example that Christ has set before me. That is very good. Keep on meeting with me in my word. Keep on listening to my Holy Spirit speaking to you. Then you will keep on offering yourself to me as a fragrant offering and living sacrifice to me. That is what I want. That is what I will do. That is very good. 

Lord, thank you for giving me an example to follow. I want to become like you in all I think, say and do. Help me to live like you lived. Help me to live as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. Help me to go and do what you did. Help me to love like you loved. Amen

For today’s complete 4 page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide click here:

Becoming Like Christ – Day 195 – Ephesians 5-1-2 – Imitators Of God – 4 Page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide

Please consider sharing these devotionals with others through the social media you use.

Individual users may save the Discipleship Devotional Study Guide to their desktop for private use. All the blanks in the study guides are fields that allow typed responses. To use the fields on the study guide you may need to open the guide with a free version of adobe reader.

By Jon Ulrich © All rights reserved                   Copying not permitted                      www.GrowingAsDisciples.com

Be Imitators Of God

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Discipleship Devotional Study Guide- Love - Ephesians 5:1-2 -Be Imitators Of God - Growing As Disciples

Discipleship Devotional Study Guide – Love – Ephesians 5:1-2 – Be Imitators Of God – Growing As Disciples

Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. Ephesians 5:1-2 (NIV)

A Fragrant Offering

Do you want to be like me? Yes, of course I want to be like you. What child does not want to be like his father? You are my Heavenly Father there is no reason that I would not want to be like you. Is that an option? Is there really some way in which I can be like you? Yes, you can be like me in many ways. How, is that possible? Do what a child does. What’s that? Imitate me. That doesn’t sound like something that is easy to do. Did you want something that was easy to do? No, I really would like to imitate you and become like you. How can I get started?

If you want to imitate me then you must come to know me. How do I do that? Meet with me in prayer. Meet with me in my word. Listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit. Carry on a conversation with me throughout your day. How do you get to know anyone? I get to know another person by spending time with them. It’s no different with me. How well do you want to know me? I want to know you intimately. Then spend a lot of time with me. You will never know me well if we don’t spend time together. Maybe you should make spending time with me a priority in your life. How would I do that? Set a time and a place where we can meet together everyday. Draw near to me and I will draw near to you. Have you ever heard that before? Yes, many times. Do you know it to be true? Yes, without a doubt.

How will I know that I am beginning to become like you? You will start doing what I have done. What have you done? I’m going to let you answer that. I’ll try. I’m sure that you will do just fine. You have been a giver. How so? You gave your one and only Son to die on the cross so that I could be forgiven and cleansed of my sins. Yes, I did. That was a real and powerful demonstration of your love. Yes, it was. So, when I start to love others and give of myself to them will I be becoming like you? Yes, you will.

Let’s talk about my Son. What about Him? Imitate Him. Do what He did and you will become like me. What did He do? That’s another question that I will let you answer. He gave himself to you. He gave himself to others. Yes, He did. He went where you sent Him to do what you asked of Him. Yes, He did. His sacrificial giving of himself was like a fragrant offering to you. Yes, it was. Can I be a fragrant offering to you? What do you think? Yes, I can. When I obey you and do what you ask will I become like you? Yes, you will. When I love others with your love will I become like you? Yes, you will. Will you help me to become a fragrant offering to you? Yes, I will, you can count on it. This is all that I have ever wanted.

Heavenly Father, just as a child wants to be like his father so I also want to be like you. Help me to imitate you by living a life filled with your love. Use my life as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to you as I love others with your love. Amen

For today’s complete 4 page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide click here:

Love – Ephesians 5-1-2 – Be Imitators Of God – 4 Page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide

Please consider sharing these devotionals with others through the social media you use.

Individual users may save the Discipleship Devotional Study Guide to their desktop for private use. All the blanks in the study guides are fields that allow typed responses. To use the fields on the study guide you may need to open the guide with a free version of adobe reader.

By Jon Ulrich © All rights reserved                   Copying not permitted                      www.GrowingAsDisciples.com