2 Kings 2:1-5 Listen to today’s devotional The prophets knew something we didn’t. As 2 Kings 2 opens, the idea that Elijah will be taken up by a whirlwind seems assumed. As a reader, that idea falls out of the sky. But a transition is about to happen, and everyone knows it. The Lord had already told Elijah to appoint Elisha as his successor. Now, the time for that transfer of prophetic power had come. For whatever reasons we might imagine, the younger Elisha does not seem ready. He follows Elijah as far as he can. He tells him three times, “As the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” Along the way, other prophets keep reminding Elisha of what is coming. “Do you know that today the Lord will take your master away from you?” Each time, Elisha answers the same way: “Yes, I know; keep silent.” It's not like Elisha is in denial or unaware or unwilling to face reality. If anything, he feels the weight of it more deeply than anyone else. He doesn't need commen...
Ephesians 1:15-23 Listen to today’s devotional I love the book of Ephesians. It is an entire invitation to a new way of life. In the first chapter, Paul prays that the eyes of our hearts would be enlightened so that we might know "the hope to which he has called" us. Paul doesn't want us just to understand this hope or admire it. He wants us to know it, live it, and become it! When I first learned about John Wesley's understanding of Christian perfection, I wondered why I had never heard much about it before. I think, too often, the phrase scares people before they ever hear what it means. Wesley was not describing a flawless or sinless life performance. He certainly would not expect anyone to carry a spiritual arrogance. He was talking about a heart so filled with the love of God that love becomes the ruling desire of our lives. A life being made whole in grace. Do we not hear more about Christian perfection because we don't believe God can truly transform a hu...