2002-01-01
Good Morning Fellow Believers,
It gives me great comfort to know that God loves each and every one of us, even through we are imperfect sinners. He knows the contents of our hearts and promises us in RO 8: 28, “We know that in all things God works for good with those who love Him, those whom He has called according to His purpose.” We also know that He has a plan for us. JER 29: 11-13, “I alone know the plans I have for you, plans to bring you prosperity and not disaster, plans to bring about the future you hope for. Then you will call to me. You will come and pray to Me, and I will answer you. You will seek Me, and you will find Me, because you will seek Me with all your heart.” This is particularly important for people who are going through painful challenges to remember, as Peter and I are right now. It is appropriate that God is prompting me through the Holy Spirit to write about the details of His plan that He has revealed to us in the Scriptures. It’s His plan to vanquish Satan and to carry out the promise He has made to the faithful, His promise to carry out our salvation and bring us to eternal life with Him.
EPH 3: 8-11, [Paul speaking] “I am less than the least of all God’s people; yet God gave me this privilege of taking to the Gentiles the Good News about the infinite riches of Christ, and of making all people see how God’s secret plan is to be put into effect. God, Who is the Creator of all things, kept His secret hidden through all the past ages, in order that at the present time, by means of the church, the angelic rulers and powers in the heavenly world might learn of His wisdom in all its different forms. God did this according to His eternal purpose, which He achieved through Christ Jesus our Lord.” I have so many times cited COL 1: 15-20 and 1 PET 1 : 20-21, which both confirm that God created His plan even before the world was created. This is the plan to send His Son to serve a three year ministry, be crucified as a sin-sacrifice, and then to be resurrected as “the first among many brothers” [RO 8: 29].
The Greek word, “oikonomia” [pronounced “oy-kon-om-ee-ah,” Strong’s number 3622], in a religious context, means stewardship of or administration of affairs. This word is found in the Greek translation of EPH 3: 8-11. It is also found in EPH 1:9-10, “God did what He purposed, and made known to us the secret plan He had already decided to complete by means of Christ. This plan, which God will complete when the time is right, is to bring all creation together, everything in heaven and on earth, with Christ as Head.” I am prompted to mention that this word is different than the one for administration, “kubernetes” [pronounced “coober-nay-tace”, Strong’s number 2942], used for “administration” in EPH 4: 11-12 and 1 PET 4: 10, which refers to managing ones spiritual gifts and staying on course with God. From this, we can see the importance of doing word studies from the original language, so as to prevent misunderstanding of what God intends to say in a citation.
Because God had a plan, we can understand that He wasn’t caught by surprise when Eve and later Adam accepted the forbidden fruit after being tempted by the serpent in GN 3: 1-6. When we put this together with the judgment God delivers in the Protevangelium, GN 3: 15, it is clear that God has a plan already in place from the beginning. [God speaking to the serpent], “I will make you and the woman hate each other; her offspring and yours will always be enemies. Her offspring will crush your head, and you will bite their heel.” As I have said before, “biting one’s heel” causes pain and suffering, but “crushing one’s head” is fatal. We must understand that while God is omniscient (all-knowing), Satan is not. That’s important as it point out God’s supremacy. Pastor Dean Nadasdy has said that he believes that ordinary people are the targets of Satan’s evil angels, of which there are many. There are enough to deliver the pain, suffering, and loss that they do. Our pastor thinks that Satan’s direct sting is reserved for important people. The point here is that Satan can’t be everywhere and know everything. The amazing and comforting truth is that God can. When we learn the details of God’s plan through study of the Scriptures and get to know God intimately through both prayer and study, we give ourselves a huge advantage in dealing with spiritual warfare. It is for this reason that God is prompting me to write about the details of His plan in the next few messages. Hang on for the ride, because you will enjoy the amazing detail that He gives us. In the meanwhile, we should all meditate on how the truths of God’s plan impact our thinking, and our lives individually and as functioning parts of the Body of Christ.
PRAYER: O Lord, You have commanded us to lean on Your understanding of what we see happening in our lives. PR 3: 5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Never rely on what you think you know. Remember the Lord in everything you do, and He will show the right way.” Later in PR 14: 11, You tell us through Solomon, “A good man’s house will still be standing after an evil man’s house has been destroyed.” Lord, You are telling us that You will be there for us and that we will one day revel in our joy and fellowship with You eternally. Through Christ’s promise of JN 14: 2, You want us to know that “there are many mansions in heaven and that He is preparing one for each of us.” What precious truths these are upon which we should dwell, even when anger strikes us or we groan in pain from Satan’s dirty work. Our lives are a spiritual adventure in which You have called upon us to place our trust in You. When we do, and we obey Your commands when and how You give them, You have shown us over and over again, that You will protect us and provide for us. You have loved us from the beginning, which is why You sent Christ to serve His earthly ministry and then to die on the cross for us. As many times as we acknowledge that amazing sacrifice and its importance to us, You are pleased. Our desire is to dedicate our lives to listening to the Holy Spirit, obeying Your commands, and living the love-filled lives that Christ modeled for us. To us, doing this sometimes feels like a walk on the wild side. That is because You ask us to use talents we didn’t know we have, and You take us to places in which we don’t expect to be. Dearest Abba, we pledge in humility to confess our sin, to repeatedly ask the Holy Spirit to fill us, and to obey His directives. We offer You much-deserved praise for Who You are and thanks for what You do for us every day of our lives. Our trust and faith is in You, Lord. In Christ’s name, we pray. Amen.
As promised above, tomorrow’s message will be about the details of God’s plan as revealed in the Scriptures. The details given are numerous and wonderful. Studying this and getting to share it with you is a privilege, because of the discernment, perspective, and comfort it brings to our lives. As with all other good things, this plan has it origin with the One True God Who loves each of us with all of His magnificent heart. Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn