A BIGGER STORY Week 1 Devotions (with Scripture)

Monday, June 23, 2025  - Read Ephesians 1:1-2 – This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus. I am writing to God’s holy people in Ephesus, who are faithful followers of Christ Jesus. 2 May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.

Being a part of God’s BIGGER STORY means patterning our lives after the example set by Jesus. “God’s holy people in Ephesus” were “faithful followers of Christ Jesus.” This is what set them apart from everyone else in their community and this is what sets us a part as we strive to “impact Caroline County and beyond with the love of Christ for eternal gain.” Is there any area in your life where you could do a better job of following in Jesus’ steps?

Tuesday, June 24, 2025 - Read Ephesians 1:3-6 - 3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. 4 Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. 5 God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.

Before God spoke the world in existence, before He knit you together in your mother’s womb, He chose you to be adopted into His family and to become an instrumental part of His BIGGER STORY. God has a purpose and a plan for your life, and He wants you to experience the joy and satisfaction that comes from a life well-lived. Take a moment today to reflect on how it feels to be chosen and give thanks to God for choosing you.

Wednesday, June 25, 2025 - Read Ephesians 1:6-8 - 6 So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. 7 He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. 8 He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.

With any great story, there is both a protagonist - the main character whose journey and actions drive the plot forward – and an antagonist - a character or force that opposes the protagonist and creates conflict and tension. Jesus is the protagonist of God’s BIGGER STORY and Satan is the antagonist. Through Satan’s temptation of the first couple, sin entered the world. But thanks be to God, through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus our freedom from sin and death has been purchased and we have been forgiven. Rejoice in the grace that God has poured out on you today because you belong to Jesus.

Thursday, June 26, 2025 - Read Ephesians 1:9-11 – 9 God has now revealed to us his mysterious will regarding Christ—which is to fulfill his own good plan. 10 And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth. 11 Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan.

The plot of God’s BIGGER STORY is that one day, “at the right time” God “will bring everything together under the authority of Christ – everything in heaven and on earth.” And since we are a part of God’s Story through faith in Jesus Christ, the mystery of His plan has now been revealed to us so that we can join Jesus in inviting men and women, boys and girls to become a part of this BIGGER STORY. What will you do or say today to help someone better understand the mystery of God’s Story?

Friday, June 27, 2025 - Read Ephesians 1:13-14 - And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. 14 The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him.

When we enter God’s BIGGER STORY through faith in Jesus Christ, we are guaranteed that the Author of our life, the One who began a good work in us will provide everything we need to make it to the very end where we will receive our inheritance – eternal life. And this guarantee comes in the third person of the Trinity – the Holy Spirit. It is God’s Spirit that convinces us of sin, that comforts us in sorrow, that encourages us to persevere, that counsels, guides, and grants us the wisdom to live lives that bring glory and honor to God and help others join the BIGGER STORY.