2002-01-01
Good Morning Fellow Believers,
Yesterday's message was a gift to me from the Holy Spirit. Too often we forget just how much our Lord loves us. We also forget that He has the ability to impart His power to us when He commands us to go to the front lines of spiritual warfare to help carry out His will. Our Abba should never be under rated or taken for granted. I have often said that there are two parallel truths in the universe: 1) God's sovereignty and 2) mankind's responsibility to respond to it. The approach we take to the practice of our faith should take both of them into consideration. We continue seeing the blessing of Christ's love for us which prepares us to do battle with the adversary in our lives from EPH 3: 14-21.
In view of the fact that Paul began his life as Saul of Tarsus, a traditional Jew who made it his business to work for the Sanhedrin [Jewish ruling council] persecuting Jews who had come to faith in Christ, the humility that God gave him after his own conversion is nothing short of amazing! That simply supports the assertion that Christ makes in MK 10: 27, "...This is impossible for a man, but not for God; everything is possible for God." We see a gorgeous expression of this God-given humility in Paul's words in EPH 3: 14-18, "For this reason I fall on my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth receives its true name. I ask God from the wealth of His glory to give you power through His Spirit to be strong in your inner selves, and I pray that Christ will make His home in your hearts through faith. I pray that you may have your roots and foundation in love, so that you, together with all God's people may have the power to understand how broad and long, how high and deep, is Christ's love."
We all know that a baby is totally consumed with its needs without any concern for the challenge its demands make on its parents. It is only with growing maturity, that the developing child begins to make progress taking the needs of others into consideration. Sadly, some people never mature this way. I mention this, because of the picture we get in this magnificent intercessory prayer of Paul's spiritual maturation. Seeing this gives us hope that God will enable us to mature the same way. Moses and Daniel also displayed this same kind of forward movement coming closer to God, for example [EX 32: 31-32; DN 10: 1-6, 11-12]. A believer first must decide that the status quo of his old life isn't acceptable. Then, he must seek God to find an alternative to it. Once he hears what God has to say, he must then come to the point where he decides if he will come to faith in it. Once he decides to come to faith, he must live "in Christ" and learn about God's will for him. God's will, when obeyed always takes us to the next level which is discipleship. Believers reach out to others by prayer, intercession, fellowship, living in the word daily (possibly teaching and preaching), and through ministries of service. The pattern here is the same one that all the OT prophets and NT apostles followed. All people of faith must follow it, using the talents that God gives them. When this is done, God showers His love upon all those who do this. 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." Since Christ is the second person of God, then this applies to Him as well.
Once again Paul reminds us of what God's power can do and of our need to give the credit for it where it is due in EPH 3: 19-21, "Yes, may you come to know His love-although it can never be fully known-and so be completely filled with the very nature of God. To Him who by means of His power working in us is able to do so much more than we can ever ask for, or even think of: to God be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus for all time, forever and ever! Amen." Imagine being "filled with the very nature of God!" What greater blessing can there be? What better preparation to face challenges to our faith from the adversary and his followers can we have? We should take time today to think about how that truth impact our individual lives. This is true no matter if its someone trying to force us to do something unethical in the workplace, or if it is a friend or relative who besets our lives with controversy and pain, or if we face illness, or any other way that Satan confronts us. With faith in God's blessings we are ready for it.
PRAYER: O Lord, You lead me once again to David's insight into Your remarkable power. PS 44: 4-8, "You are my King and my God; You give victory to Your people, and by Your power we defeat our enemies. I do not trust in my bow or in my sword to save me; but You have saved us from our enemies and defeated those who hate us. We will always praise You and give thanks to You forever." It is hard for us to conceive of what "eternal" means, because we are so used to measuring time. And yet, Dear Father, You have shown us over and over that Your love for us is eternal. Had it not been for that love, You wouldn't have sent Your only begotten Son to die on the cross for us. He is not only the perfect, once-for-all sin sacrifice who opened the way for us to salvation. He is also the Lamb of God Who takes away the sins of the world and Who will lead us to ultimate victory over evil. It is He, the One Who loves enough to have given His life for us, Who will eventually return dominion over the earth to You-having wrested it from the clutches of the devil. We stand in humility before You today to confess our sins and to take up Your full armor to carry out Your will. We ask that You fill our spiritual vessels with Your Spirit and pledge to relinquish our human agendas in favor of His leadership in our lives. We face the enemy's challenges knowing that You will impart Your power to us in doing Your will. We thank You and praise You eternally for bringing Christ's love and guidance into our lives. Indeed, to You belongs the honor and glory. We adore, worship, trust, and obey You. We pledge You our loyalty and diligence. In Christ's holy name, we pray. Amen.
Tomorrow, I'm led to begin discussing EPH 4: 16, the first section dealing with how we should use God's blessings. It deals with a crucial issue, the unity of the Body of Christ. This whole message has been about love. As a matter of fact, I believe the Bible is God's love letter to His children. Someone once asked me: what is the ultimate demonstration of love about which you know? I had to think about it and then came up with this answer: God wins, and Satan loses. That is the essential truth of the Scriptures. Of course, we need to take the time daily to see how God brings that about by studying the Bible and praying about what we learn. But the bottom line is that God wants eternal life for as many as will allow themselves to become His children. That eternal love should fuel us to obedience and trust in Him no matter what He asks us to do. I believe in it and pray that you do too. His love surrounds believers every day of their lives no matter where they are or what they are doing for the Father. Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn