Ephesians is where I started in the Bible. I had a class, but mostly the story kept me so excited that I found several support teachers to really pull me forward. Mostly it is the powerful sermon and classes offered by Priscilla Schirer - I shared her great video below.

Ephesians was a fabulous place to start Bible reading for me. It shared the power of the walk towards Holy with God and how to protect ourselves. Paul, writing from prison to the church in Ephesus (which I came to learn was the second largest city of the time, after Rome) was a powerful church set up, planted, by Paul. 

It is like Paul laid out the story of the entire New Testament in Ephesians and God's Mission Accomplished through Jesus.

Ephesians opens with a prayer:

praising God the Father for planning our salvation, (Ephesians 1:4-5)

praising God the Son for accomplishing our salvation (Ephesians 1:7-12)

praising God the Spirit for assuring us of that salvation (Ephesians 1:13)

This is the Gospel, right? The three-parts of our Story with God, the Plan, the Way God was to Save Sinners. I love this book, and probably will forever be a favorite as I re-entered my Being with Christ.

And Spiritual Warfare: I am alive in this Warfare - I am a Warrior of the Times for Jesus. It reaches me to learn to Walk Holy. It empowers me to know I can Suit up and Boot up for the war of souls. The fight for our souls is relentless. The devil never stops. Never stops.

And God never leaves us. Walk Holy.

Ephesians 6:10-18

"Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and sword of the Spirit which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions, with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.”

Oh, Walk Holy.

Everyone who experiences salvation through Jesus Christ is part of a community that forms a “new man”—a unified group of people called the church.

Ephesians 3:5  The “mystery” Paul talks about in Ephesians about the gospel is that God offers salvation even to non-Jews 

Ephesians 2:15 By grace, God saves both Jew and Gentile, “that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace”

Everyone who experiences salvation through Jesus Christ is part of a community that forms a “new man”—a unified group of people called the church.

Oh, Walk Worthy.

Ephesians 4:1-3 "Walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit”