Ephesians 2:20-21 NLT Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. [21] We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord.

The cornerstone is a guide to the structure.

Since ancient times, builders have used cornerstones in their construction projects. A cornerstone was the principal stone, usually placed at the corner of a building, to guide the workers in their course. The cornerstone was usually one of the largest, the most solid, and the most carefully constructed of any in the building. The Bible describes Jesus as the cornerstone that His church would be built upon. He is foundational. Matthew 16:15-18 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. “I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. Once the cornerstone was set, it became the basis for determining every measurement in the remaining construction; everything was aligned to it. As the cornerstone of the building of the church, Jesus is our standard of measure and alignment.

Jesus, as our cornerstone, is a guide for our lives.

As we come to Jesus and begin to build our lives according to the orientation of the Christ Cornerstone, we will be a strong well equipped Christian growing in the faith and power of the Holy Spirit. There may be areas of your life that need to be torn down because they do not align with the cornerstone. A building with only part of the construction aligned with the cornerstone of Christ will fall just as surely as one without any cornerstone.

A Precious and proven cornerstone. Safe to build on.

Isaiah 28:16 (1Peter 2:26) Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: “Look! I am placing a foundation stone in Jerusalem, a firm and tested stone. It is a precious cornerstone that is safe to build on. Whoever believes need never be shaken.” God was speaking of His only Son who would come to earth to give direction and provide an escape from sin and death if they had faith in Him. 

Rejected by men but chosen by God

1 Peter 2:4 You are coming to Christ, who is the living cornerstone of God’s temple. He was rejected by people, but he was chosen by God for great honor.

Mark 12:12 ‘The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone. This is the Lord’s doing, and it is wonderful to see. ”

Read Bible daily, pray, go to a church that preaches the truth of sin and eternity, rather than very soft sermons.

Build your life on the precious cornerstone of Jesus Christ. Allow your life to be carefully joined together on this rock. Test everything against the cornerstone. If it does not line up with the cornerstone, remove it. Your life will be blessed and will never be shaken.

Build your lightnside on the precious cornerstone of Christ Jesus; It is safe to build on.

Ephesians 2:11-12 Don’t forget that you Gentiles used to be outsiders. You were called “uncircumcised heathens” by the Jews, who were proud of their circumcision, even though it affected only their bodies and not their hearts. 12 In those days you were living apart from Christ. You were excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel, and you did not know the covenant promises God had made to them. You lived in this world without God and without hope. 

Racism has always been a part of the fallen world. 

There was arrogance and name-calling from a class of people who felt superior to a “heathen” class of people. There were the outsiders and the in-crowd. Hostility, anger, abuse, privilege, shunned could all be wrapped up in the verses above.  

Brought near to him through the blood of Christ. 

Ephesians 2:13 But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ. 

The death of Christ on the cross released a supernatural power to overcome division. On the cross, the enemy thought he had destroyed Jesus. But because of Jesus’ sacrifice (not destruction) on the cross, a mighty power over sin, separation, and death was birthed. It all points to the cross and the blood of Jesus. 

Christ’s perfect sacrifice and resurrection opened a world of hope to many who would die in their sins. It is the supernatural power of Christ’s blood that dripped off the cross and is still dripping on those lost, separated, abused, shunned to bring them to hope through Christ. The supernatural work of Christ’s blood goes out to the world of the lost and calls them to draw near to Christ and other Christians.

Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death on the cross

Ephesians 2:14-16 For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us. 15 He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations. He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new person from the two groups. 16 Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death on the cross, and our hostility toward each other was put to death.

Christ broke down the wall of hostility between us. Jesus ended the regulations the Jews were required to keep in the Old Testament. Rules like circumcision, animal sacrifice, sabbath, and dietary restrictions. Now there is no more separation between the Jews and Gentiles. Jesus died for all on the cross, and through His death, He can put to death our hostility toward each other through the power of Christ’s blood.  

All of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit

Ephesians 2:17-18 He brought this Good News of peace to you Gentiles who were far away from him, and peace to the Jews who were near. 18 Now, all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us.

Let us call upon the power of Christ’s blood over our personal lives and conversations about other races and other beliefs that are causing pain and division. Let us share a message of hope and breaking down walls of separation as we share the news of Christ to a lost world.  

Let your lightnside shine hope and peace to people outside your own circles.

NOVA VENTO ENTERTAINMENT SET TO RELEASE MILITARY FAITH-BASED MOVIE The Award-Winning Feature, COUNTER COLUMN Will Open May 21, 2021 (Montana) Nova Vento Entertainment has acquired the theatrical rights to the new award-winning faith based film, Counter Column and will be releasing the film in theaters nationwide on May 21, 2021.

Counter Column follows the lives of two young men from very different worlds that clash hard and fast when they meet in basic training. Anthony Mendoza (played by Chris Gonzales) is a hard hitting drug dealer who grew up fighting everyone and everything in the inner city. He has no idea what to do with Chris Wright (Nathan-Andrew Hight), a quiet man of faith who grew up in the rural farmlands of Indiana. Mendoza learns quickly that his violent life lessons haven’t prepared him for what life outside the inner city, let alone in the military, is like. When tragedy strikes, both young men need to dig deep and find out what’s truly going to carry them through.

This fast-paced, emotional drama is already changing lives and opening people’s hearts in a big way. Says lead actor Chris Gonzales, “I took risks making myself vulnerable in front of camera and crew every day, but there was no other way to make it real. I loved the experience, and I could not be prouder of this movie, and the message it brings.” Brandon Smith of Nova Vento Entertainment feels that the time is right for the powerful message of hope that this film brings. “Everyone right now is searching for the uplifting stories and even the smallest glimpses of hope. Counter Column brings with it a beautiful story of redemption, hope, and reconciliation at a time when people need it most.”

Find the movie in a theater or rental when available. I’m sure your lightnside will be blessed.

There was a movie in the 80s called “Weekend at Bernie’s”. The plot was about a man who was the key person for a deal, and he was to have a party at his house this weekend. His name was Bernie. Before the weekend, Bernie died. Some decided to have a party at Bernie’s house anyway and pretend Bernie was “alive” when he was dead. They would prop Bernie up and pretend to wave. Bernie was dead all along, but he looked alive.  

Ephesians 2:1 And you, He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins.  

We are not talking about physical death but spiritual death. Our spirit is what should be able to connect with God. But if that spirit is dead, it cannot become alive on its own. Only God can breathe life into something dead. God is life. All living things come from the original life source, God.   

People who are dead cannot connect with God. That does not mean they don’t go to church. It does not mean there is no desire to live a righteous life. On the contrary, they are constantly seeking something to bring peace and hope. But since they have no communication with God, they search for hope through self accomplishments, money, addiction, pleasure, and escape. These people always ask the pastor or someone else to pray for them. They cannot pray for themselves. Their spirit cannot connect with God because they are dead. What can the dead do? Nothing. There is no power to change their path in life. They have no defense to the forces of temptation and the demonic powers of Satan.  They have no control over the desires of their heart. They follow them to their harm.  

Trespasses and sin

Remember what God told Adam in Genesis about eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil; Genesis 2:17 NKJV “but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” Adam and Eve did eat, and the spirit that communicated with God died as God cast them out of the garden. From that time, everyone was born with a dead soul. It is sometimes called ‘original sin.’ Psalm 51:5 NIV Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. We start with sin, and the sins accumulate. The only way to get rid of sin is through faith and repentance to Jesus Christ.

Trespasses are the choices we made that we know are sinful. Our own decisions to steal, hate, hurt, cheat. These are our own choices against what we know is right. We trespass over God’s laws that we know are true. The Bible says we were dead in our trespasses and sins.

You do not have to teach babies to be selfish or to say no. They were born in sin. One illustration I found of a dead spirit. A man was walking through the forest in the fall. He came upon a stream. In the stream were dead leaves floating down the river. The leaves could not choose where to go. The dead leaves were at the mercy of the river. Also in the river were fish that were swimming upstream. They were looking for food. So they could choose their course. The leaves were dead, but the fish were alive.

Ephesians 2:2 NIV “in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience,

The people with a dead spirit follow the ways of the world. They follow the darkened Godless beliefs of a lost world. They also are ruled by the “Prince of the power of the air!” Where ever there is air, Satan’s kingdom is there. Air is everywhere! You cannot get away from the enemy’s influence. The dead find themselves more and more resistant to following God. Instead, they become hardened, rebellious, and disobedient.

Ephesians 2:3 “among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.”

The influence of Satan’s kingdom is to have people focus on their lust and desires. As a result, they are developing an emotion of wrath and violence.

Ephesians 2:4-10 But God…

4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

Call upon Christ.

So, are you dead? Do you identify with the poor souls who cannot talk with God? Are you following the ways of the world and cannot stop seeking your lusts. Do you feel controlled by evil forces that are everywhere? There is a way out.  Call upon Christ to save you. Tell him you repent of your sins. Tell Him you will follow Him and begin to go to a passionate church. The most excellent words listed in the first ten verses of Ephesians chapter two are “He made alive., you once walked, But God., made us alive together with Christ, by grace, and ‘it is the gift of God.’

Allow the truth of Ephesians to brighten your lightnside as you become more and more alive in Christ.