By Diana Rose  (WITHIN Devotional Writer) 

​“Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.” (Ephesians 4:29 )

“Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths.” This is a pretty straightforward command. When you open your mouth to talk, do not allow corruption to come out. The nuance of the command is in the word corrupt. My go-to definition for corrupt talk is name calling, foul language, or lewd comments. But that is not all that this verse is addressing. We need the whole verse to get the full meaning of corrupt speech. 

“But only such [talk] as is good for building up.” This sharpens the definition of corrupt speech. Not only are we to use words that are clean and righteous, but we are to use words that encourage and build up. When I correct my husband's grammar or critique the way he executed a task I am not building him up. I am building myself up and making him feel inadequate. When I use sarcasm with my children I am not using speech for their good. I am being passive-aggressive, jabbing them instead of supporting them. Criticism, sarcasm, and unnecessary correction are also a form of corrupt communication. 

“[And] as fits the occasion.” Here is where the rubber meets the road for me. I am the queen of making it awkward. I stick my foot in my mouth on the regular. There’s a slight pivot here in the verse. Now we go from intentions and motives behind our speech in general to actively paying attention to the specific conversation we are engaged in and the unique circumstances 

surrounding it. In order to do this we must engage our minds, we cannot make haphazard comments or speak freely, we must think about what we are about to say. For me this requires that I slow down. That I employ what my grandmother used to teach me, to think before I speak. Think about what though? Here are simple questions to ask yourself before you speak. 
Is what I’m about to say true? 
Is what I want to say necessary? 
Is now a good time for me to say this? 
Is this going to be helpful for the person I’m speaking to? 
Will what I say show love for the other person? 
Will what I am about to say give grace to those who hear? 

“That it may give grace to those who hear.” This final clarification of how we are to talk with one another is the heart of the verse. It is the part of the verse that gives me greatest conviction. I am to give grace when I speak? Give grace? Give grace! Give. When I talk it is not about me, it is about giving a gift to the one who I am speaking to. Grace. When I speak, grace ought to be the focus, both the grace I have received and the grace I intend to give. Take the grace you have been given and give it to others.I must confess I like to talk so I can take credit. I speak so I can receive glory. I talk to others so I can take charge.
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Oh Father forgive my great and many sins, for abusing and misusing the gift of communication. Praise be to God for the forgiveness of the true grace giver! Jesus is the only one who faithfully and mercifully gives good grace. I need him to help me give the good grace that he has given me to others.
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The weekly devotionals seek to encourage you to dig deeper into Scripture as you take the time to daily read, meditate, and internalize the verses in the devotional, along with the passages provided below to give greater context. Take the time to read them throughout the week (repetition is important) and ask the Holy Spirit to help you grasp what God is showing you about Himself, about you, and how to live in light of these truths. 
Passages to read/memorize/meditate:

Read & ponder Ephesians 4


Questions to Reflect on:
1.What is your motive when you speak? 
2. What struggles do you have with your speech? 
3. Confess and receive God’s good grace!

By Anna Prempeh  (WITHIN Devotional Writer) 

“So then, brothers and sisters, we are not obligated to the flesh to live according to the flesh, because if you live according to the flesh, you are going to die. But if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all those led by God’s Spirit are God’s sons. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear. Instead you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, Abba , Father!” Romans 8: 12 - 15 (CSB)
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Recently my psychiatrist dropped a bomb or rather revealed one during our therapy session. We were discussing how to break the biological effects of stress on the body even when we have mentally overcome the stressor. Her questions uncovered a great deal of emotional (and spiritual) work ahead of me to uncover some things that I am sowing to that are unhealthy and not God honoring attitudes. 
Quite frankly the word bondage comes to mind when I think of my tendency to respond to fears and anxieties in my own strength and will power. I left our session quite familiarly encumbered by this reality, but more importantly convicted and encouraged that the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead gives me power to respond differently because of who I am in Christ - chosen, and adopted (a “coheir with Christ” Romans 8:17).  
My pastor often says, “your identity informs your obedience.” This means that as people who believe in and live for Christ our confidence to live for Him must be rooted in awareness of our union with Him. Romans 8 boasts of life in the Spirit. Christ’s saving work on the cross has purchased a new life and an eternal inheritance for us ! The part of this passage that shakes me to the core is verse 12 which echoes verse 1 in Chapter 8. It says “we are not obligated to the flesh to live according to the flesh.” This word “obligated” is translated “debtors” in the English Standard Version. As believers the Spirit has set us free! We do not owe anything to who we were in the past. We do not have to respond to temptation with justification which leads to sin because the Spirit gives us the power to overcome! Sisters, we do not owe a single thing to who we were before we came to know Christ. 
For me, this means I do not have to respond anxiously to fears in my heart although I have been prone to do so. I do not have to hold back affection and love out of fear of being hurt. Just because I may be prone to these things or have been in the past does not mean I am obligated to do them. In fact thinking these responses are inevitable is giving power to my flesh & living obligated to it.This is a big killer of confidence in Christ! 
So where do we find the anchor of our identity that propels us forward, our real weapon to sustain us in the fight ? Verses 13 - 15 lay it out beautifully : “But if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all those led by God’s Spirit are God’s sons. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear. Instead you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, Abba , Father!”  We did not receive a spirit of slavery, of obligation or debtedness to our sinful flesh, but we have received sonship ! This means our heavenly Father has adopted us by sending His Son and is leading us by His Holy Spirit (Romans 8:3). As His children God is our confidant and helper. The Holy Spirit helps us in our weaknesses and intercedes for us (Romans 8:26-27).
Let us fight to “put to death the deeds of the body,” by the power of the Spirit (Romans 8:13). We are called not just to put off the deeds of our flesh, but to put on that which we are called to as God’s holy and dearly beloved children (Ephesians 4:24-32; Colossians 3:12-15). One Scripture that has been immensely life giving is Colossians 3:14 which says “He erased the certificate of debt, with its obligations, that was against us and opposed to us, and has taken it away by nailing it to the cross.” 
Sisters, let us set our minds on the power of the resurrection and God’s grace that we might not miss the freedom from obligation to our flesh, which has been nailed to the cross and carried away! 
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The weekly devotionals seek to encourage you to dig deeper into Scripture as you take the time to daily read, meditate, and internalize the verses in the devotional, along with the passages provided below to give greater context. Take the time to read them throughout the week (repetition is important) and ask the Holy Spirit to help you grasp what God is showing you about Himself, about you, and how to live in light of these truths. 
Passages to read/memorize/meditate:

Romans 8
Galatians 5
Ephesians 4
Ephesians 1:3-14
Colossians 3
1 Thessalonians 5 : 8-9

Questions to Reflect on:

1. Are there any lies that you believe about your identity ? What are they ? Take them to the Lord in prayer that He may uproot them and replace them with His truth. 
2. It is easy to fight with will power out of convenience, neglecting the real power that God has given us in the Spirit. What ways can you more intentionally center your fight on His power? 

By Meron Asnake (WITHIN Devotional Writer) 
​There is a vision board I created back in 2019 that still hangs in my 2021 bedroom. Right in the middle of it, there are nicely cut out words from magazine pages that read — Love is Family and HOME. This simple sentence catapults me back to childhood memories with my family back in Ethiopia. It forces me to reminisce on memories every time I fix my gaze on those words. So, I always stop and whisper a pray to the Lord, so I can visit home soon.

To be honest, home feels distant nowadays. I have begun to experience the effects of the separation that are caused by several years spent away.

I had hoped that distance will not get in the way of the emotional connections with my loved ones.

I had hoped phone calls will be enough to sustain my relationships.

I had hoped my inquiries about their lives will keep us going until my next visit. However, my visit has not come yet; it has been eight years and counting.

So, the inevitable began to happen. The intrigue of each other’s lives began to dwindle, and our exchanges became brief. We replaced our greeting to mundane responses of the “same old”, and “the nothing new.”  We sometimes experience awkward pauses that echo the very ocean that separates the continents. I wonder if there will ever be a comeback from these moments. The truth of the matter is, though we said there was nothing new in each other’s lives, everything was new. Sadly, we have become foreigners to one another.

As a result, I question my citizenship in the hearts of my family. As an immigrant, this is a reality I am too familiar with in the physical realm. I am currently waiting for my work-visa to be selected as my work permit inches to expire this summer. In short, I am in a season of life, where I have more questions about my physical and spiritual home.

But by the grace of God and an impromptu dinner with a friend, my perspective is re-centered on the truth.  After listening intently to my concerns, she unwaveringly addressed the issues of my heart. She said, “Meron, Jesus is Home.” It was a redirection I never saw coming on numerous detours I have made to get to my destination. I was awakened to the true location of my identity; my spiritual zip code will always triumph over my physical address. In refocusing my gaze on God, I will forever find home in and with Him as His daughter, and co-heir with Christ (Romans 8:17).  

My desire to be fully known— cared for, seen, understood, supported, comforted, and accepted – is only found in Christ.  Though our earthly relationships intend to fulfill some aspects of our needs; they will forever fall too short from the fullness that is found in Jesus. The home, I desperately seek is found in Him.

In sharing my story, my intentions for this devotional are to encourage and challenge you to reflect upon Jesus— And that is all. Sit with the reflection questions and allow the Holy Spirit to reveal areas that you found security outside of God. Remember that the Lord is not afraid of your questions neither is He surprised.
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The weekly devotionals seek to encourage you to dig deeper into Scripture as you take the time to daily read, meditate, and internalize the verses in the devotional, along with the passages provided below to give greater context. Take the time to read them throughout the week (repetition is important) and ask the Holy Spirit to help you grasp what God is showing you about Himself, about you, and how to live in light of these truths. 
Passages to read/memorize/meditate:

Psalm 139:15-16
Jeremiah 1: 5
1 Corinthians 8:3
Ephesians 1: 4-14
Romans 8:29


Questions to Reflect on:

1. Is He your ultimate home? Where is your spiritual citizenship?
2. Do you find safety in Him?
3. Are your desires fulfilled in Him?
4. Are you a foreigner in your own mind, body, and soul? How do you plan to get back home to Jesus?

​By Saron Tadesse (WITHIN Devotional Writer) 

These past few weeks, I have been more stressed than usual about the future. My mind would wonder about what could happen or how things would work out. This was not the first time that I was faced with uncertainty in my life, so I could not make sense why my mind would not let go of the worry and stress. The pandemic showed me more than anything that I am not really in control of my own life as much as I thought I was. I thought I learned the lesson of surrendering my future in God’s hands, but why was I still dealing with these kinds of thoughts?
 
I like the Amplified version of Colossians 3:2. It reads, “Set your minds and keep focused habitually on the things above [the heavenly things], not on things that are on the earth [which have only temporal value]”.
 
See, it is not enough to just set our minds on the things above once. What is set can easily be displaced. It is not enough to just clean our house once. We have to continually and habitually clean it if we want a neat house. It is not enough to just water a plant once, we have to continually and habitually water it so that it can blossom into its most beautiful form. In the same way, we have to continually meditate on God’s word and habitually set our minds on the things above if we want our lives to be fruitful.
 
I used to think that if I learned a lesson on something, I would not face a temptation in that area. However, that is far from the truth. As long as we live on this earth, we are constantly faced with temptations and struggles. That is why it is important to set our minds and keep them set on God’s word and the things above so that we can fight and conquer the temptations we face daily.
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The weekly devotionals seek to encourage you to dig deeper into Scripture as you take the time to daily read, meditate, and internalize the verses in the devotional, along with the passages provided below to give greater context. Take the time to read them throughout the week (repetition is important) and ask the Holy Spirit to help you grasp what God is showing you about Himself, about you, and how to live in light of these truths. 
Passages to read/memorize/meditate:
Colossians 3:2
Philippians 4:8
Psalms 119:6
2 Corinthians 4:18
Is 26: 3

Questions to Reflect on:

1. What has been on your mind lately? Do your thoughts reflect your trust in God or worries of the present day?
2. How do you normally deal with unwanted thoughts? Do you entertain them or replace them with the word of God?