You Didn't Build That!

Our current president, in an unscripted moment on the campaign trail a few years ago, dealt himself a minor setback by telling a small business owner, "You didn't build that!"  (It is obvious that President Obama has never owned a small business or built anything of virtue, for that matter.  But, I digress.)

I thought of this bit of recent U.S. History when meditating on today's verses --- Ephesians 2:8-10.

8For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9it is not from works, so that no one can boast. 10For we are his workmanship, having been created in Christ Jesus for good works that God prepared beforehand so we may do them.

These are some of the most famous verses quoted by Protestant Christians, and for good reason. Within these three short verses, we see the following themes presented:  redemption, mercy, grace, sanctification, election.  Such a power-packed passage!

In these three short verses, Paul explains the relationship of our "good works" to our salvation.

1.  You didn't build that!
There was once a young man of high position who was told whom he would marry.  The designated bride was "suitable".  In order to do what was "right" and to please others, he followed through with the marriage.  He remained faithful to his wife over the years, coming to feel kindly toward her, although their love was a facade.  He also worked diligently to please her and to provide her with everything she could ever want in the hopes that it would be "enough".  And, as the years rolled on, he became a "success" in the eyes of others, often boasting of what he had done, even though his heart was empty.
Many people approach God this way.
Because of family upbringing or societal expectations, they "do what is expected".  They attend church somewhat regularly.  They slog through their church's requirements/regulations.  They behave in a moral way toward others.  They do everything they know to do to please God, in the hopes that He will be accept them ... yet their hearts are not in it.  They become successful in the eyes of those who surround them, but their souls are hungry for more.
The reason this approach is unfulfilling and often frustrating is because it is not what God intended. It's an approach in which the cart is pulling the horses, a strategy in which folks try to "build" their own salvation.
Paul tells us, by the inspiration of God's own Spirit, that only HE saves by gifting us with salvation. All we need to do is to ask for it, and it is ours!  The simplicity of this truth is stupefying to those who are weary from "working" to earn God's favor.  It can't be earned!  It can only be received; this receiving is our faith response.  We exercise saving faith when we receive what He has already accomplished.
He paid a debt He did not owe so that we could receive a salvation we did not earn.

2.  He built (and builds) us.
When we receive the salvation that God gives, that is, when His Spirit comes to live inside us and possesses us, we are forever made right with God ("justified") and simultaneously "set apart" - - (sanctified) - - to serve Him.  But, that "work", that service, is not to earn any extra favor with God!  I saw a meme on Twitter this morning which said it well..."Nothing you do today can make God love you any more and nothing you do can make Him love you less." 
Staggering, isn't it?
But, as our love grows, in response to His perfect love, "good works" billow out of us!  We then want to serve, to give witness, to love....as Jesus loved us.  We eagerly sign on to His mission as we live out our days!  This is the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit in our spirits, our souls, our lives.
"We are His workmanship..."  The Message version says it like this:

Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It’s God’s gift from start to finish! We don’t play the major role. If we did, we’d probably go around bragging that we’d done the whole thing! No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing.

Yes, HE built that...and it is glorious!  Praise His name forever!

Father God, I often get frustrated in my love offerings to You and sometimes think....if I were trying to earn my salvation by accumulating "good works", I'd be so busted.  There is absolutely no way .... But, because You did the saving, and because it is eternal, I can rest and trust in that certainty.  I love the joy those truths produce in my heart.  Such joy enables me to revel in the work of Your Holy Spirit .... to walk resplendent!  Thank you, thank you, LORD!  In Jesus' name, amen.

From Our Condition to His Position

Let's begin with a story of Hamid ben Abdullah, a Christian convert in Morocco, North Africa.1  He was asked to give testimony of his conversion to Christianity, and this is the way he explained it.

There was once a poor shepherd, barely scratching together enough sustenance to remain alive.  One day, he encountered the Sultan of the land, who was out in a caravan visiting various areas of his empire.  The lowly shepherd was able to point the group to a source of fresh, reviving water, there in the desert.  After being refreshed, the Sultan commanded that the shepherd be joined to his caravan and taken to the capitol.  Although he feared he had been singled out for punishment, upon arrival at the palace, the shepherd was not only given clean clothes, food and a room in which to live, he was also made one of the Sultan's most trusted advisors.  The other advisors were jealous that a "nobody" of such low standing would be afforded such an exalted position.  And, they made it their objective to destroy him.  They noticed that after the man had been in the Sultan's presence he would retire to his room and close the door.  Telling the Sultan that the man was plotting treason behind closed doors, the Sultan sent his officers to investigate.  Peering into the old man's room, they saw him kneeling on an old, tattered mat, near which a shepherd's crook was hanging on the wall, along with dirty, tattered clothing.  The Sultan arrived and asked the old man to explain.  He said, "My Lord, after I have been in your presence, I return here and kneel on this mat, and look at these remnants of my former life. And, I remind myself that this is what I WAS and that I would have died like that. Then, I look at my new clothes, this wonderful room and I think about how this is now what I AM, by the mercy of the Sultan.

What a wonderful allegory for the Christian!
Our verses this morning are Ephesians 2:4-7.

4But God, being rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us, 5even though we were dead in transgressions, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you are saved! – 6and he raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7to demonstrate in the coming ages the surpassing wealth of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

The last time we were here in Ephesians, we probed the depths of verses 1-3, which describe those dirty rags, that poverty of spiritual death.  We looked at the impossibility of a "corpse" raising itself from the dead.  Everything changes, though, at the beginning of verse 4 with the words, "But God..."

So, let's examine today what God does to make us spiritually alive and what gifts (new clothes, lodging, position) He gives us.  Since we were and are unable to resurrect ourselves, how does God make us alive spiritually?

1.  I used to believe that my salvation began when I accepted Jesus' offer of salvation.  But, I've come to realize that it began before Time even began.  In "eternity past" (which is a feeble attempt to understand "forever", backwards) God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit conceived the rebirth of fallen mankind. Because of unfathomable mercy and love, this was done!  In their conversations, their communion, Father gave to Jesus, His Son, a Bride, that same group Jesus prayed over in John 17:6, when He prayed about "those you have given to me", those millions upon millions of believers, beginning with the early disciples and continuing forward until Time is no more.  I was part of that group.  If you know Jesus Christ as your Savior, you were as well.  For practical purposes, because we exist in Time, our salvation began when we accepted Christ and continues on as we walk in the finality of that decision.  Did we still have to choose Christ, to accept Him as Savior?  Yes, but Father knew what our decisions would be.
Because of this we are "united with Christ", "made alive together with Christ".  Judgment for the child of God ends here.
"This is the great thing, utterly crucial and life transforming; every glorious blessing that happens to us occurs because of our being joined to Christ. God’s answer to the human predicament is not to send the church into the world with a great educational program, nor with a political agenda, nor with a stringent moral code, nor does God come with a mass of appeals and exhortations to turn over a new leaf. The church comes to the world primarily with this great possibility, that your lostness and alienation from God (and from other people) can be ended because of what God has achieved in Christ."1

2.  There is transformation that accompanies this union with Christ.  Because of our "position" now in Christ, we cannot remain in our carnal condition.  These two are often at odds with one another as we live our lives out, day by day.  The incredible Sprit power, which raised Christ from the dead, is at work in us, to the extent we surrender daily.  When we wallow in carnality, it is because we have forgotten our position.  Since we were spiritually with Christ during His death (our sins were laid on Him), and also in His resurrection (because He was raised bodily, we will be too), we are also with Him in transformation (into a heavenly body) and in glorification (seated in the heavenly realms). You see, these concepts are so difficult for us because our minds are so utterly constricted by Time. We must learn to walk in our future.  In other words, we must live as though we were "already there" with Christ, because truly, we are.  (Ok, I'm getting all existential on you this morning!)  This is the glory of the Christian - - - that we are the object of the great love of the incomparable God!
John 17:24 - - "Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am."
This is our present, and this is our future.  Both are glorious!
Can you understand that all the riches that were given to the Son of God were also given to you? Well, good, I'm happy for you if you can completely understand that because it staggers my imagination. Honestly, I don't believe that any of us can truly or fully comprehend this reality.

3.  One last thought about this marvelous truth.  This place is our "here and now", but it is also "reserved for us".  The apostle Peter, in 1 Peter 1:4 describes this inheritance, this position in Christ, as "undefiled, incorruptible, unfading, reserved in Heaven for you."
Isn't it marvelous to have a reservation?  Like when you know you are going to see a wonderful, classic musical play, and you have purchased the BEST seats?  You walk in, dressed to "the nines", ticket in hand.  You give your ticket to the usher and he shows you to your choice seats, reserved for you since you bought your ticket!  With our salvation, God bought our ticket, and He has reserved us seats in Heaven with Jesus, who because of His incredible, eternal love for us, wants us to be right there beside Him.

Well, what glory!  What rejoicing is ours today!  Eternal salvation - - past, present, future - - is the treasure of every true believer.

To God be the glory, great things He has done
So loved He the world that He gave us His son
Who yielded His life an atonement for sin,
And opened the life gate that all may go in.

Praise the Lord!  Praise the Lord!
Let the earth hear His voice!
Praise the Lord!  Praise the Lord!
Let the people rejoice!
O come to the Father, through Jesus the Son,
And give Him the glory, great things He has done!2


Sources:

1  http://www.alfredplacechurch.org.uk/index.php/sermons/ephesians/24-7-but-god/

2  https://www.hymnal.net/en/hymn/h/39

When Mothering is Nuts, Nuts, NUTS!

I've mentioned my sister in Christ, Leah Adams (leahadams.org), here in the the RDM blog. It's just a total treat to visit her The Loft, where she allows fellow bloggers to post once a week.  This week, however, the prompt stumped me. The topic is "Laughter".

Normally, what I do is to comb through prior RDM blog posts to find one that fits.  But, this time, I realized that no such beastie existed!  This hard, cold fact made me realize that my blog is in need of some more light-hearted content.  It also reminded me of one of the funniest incidents of my life, when Hubster and I were new parents.  Since Mother's Day is right around the corner, this will suffice as my Mother's Day post as well.

I guess some of you readers, those of you who do not know me well, think that I'm some "better-than-thou" Christian, merely because I write this blog.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  I heard that someone posted on Facebook a while back, "Lord, please make my life as wonderful as it looks on Facebook!"  The truth is that I'm just a sinner saved by grace, and like you, have to deal with bodily fluids more often than I'd like.

Enjoy this journal entry from May, 1995, with names obscured to protect the shy!  ;)  And Happy Mother's Day!

Last week, we took our first family "vacation".  We three  - - 2 brand-new parents and their less-than-2-month-old baby - - -went to St. Simon's Island in coastal Georgia.  I found out what an ordeal it is to travel with a formula-fed infant.  There is so much "equipment" to pack.  It took me an hour to get just J. packed!  So, we were about 45 minutes late leaving.  Hubster went to work for a little while on Thursday morning.  On the way down, we stopped near Barnesville for lunch at a buffet place called Buckner's.  It was delicious.  Bill was already dressed in his suit, for his appearance at the awards ceremony that night.  Unfortunately, when he was burping J at lunch, he forgot to use the burping cloth, and J adorned his suit jacket with a hefty amount of spit-up.  As we got ready to leave, I went to the restroom while Bill took Jesse out to the car.  He was changing our precious baby's diaper in the backseat, when J shot a stream of pee clear across the backseat to where Hubster's clothes were hanging.  Pee got all over his only other suit coat, which he was forced to wear to the awards presentations later that evening!

Pee was a prominent feature in the trip.  J slept almost the whole way down to the coast.  Therefore, the first night J slept very little; oh......but, his kidneys were active!  He peed through two sets of pajamas.  He slept little the second night too.  So, by the time we got home on Saturday, I was an absolute zombie!  Even though I took 8 or 9 changes of clothes for him, I came home with only one change left, and no sets of pajamas left.  J slept in his diaper and a tee shirt the second night!  I forgot to take a slip for my second dress and could not wear it because it was too sheer.  J peed on my only other dress that first night, during the awards ceremony. This means that I was a good "helpmeet" to Hubster - - - we both attended the event smelling like baby pee!  

(And, no, there was no in-hotel laundry service; this was an educators' event, held at a Holiday Inn! You know, there's such "big bucks" in the field of education...)

I also forgot to carry a can opener for the Isomil formula can.  We had to borrow one at the restaurant where we had lunch on Friday.

Whoever said that it is easy to travel with infants is nuts, nuts, nuts!

Well, I can laugh about it now.  And, "a joyful heart is good medicine"! (Proverbs 17:22)  If you don't think your mother had some similar escapades, think again.  Tell you love her this weekend!

Father God, thank you for the awesome privilege of having a godly mother and for the equally awesome privilege to be one to my two absolutely fabulous boys!  All of us are grossly imperfect, which, of course, gives your unearthly glory a chance to shine!  In Jesus' name, amen.

Frankensteinian Spirituality

You may be familiar with a fictional novel, Frankenstein, written in the early 1800s, by a young Englishwoman, Mary Shelley.  It was a short work of gothic horror and science fiction, one of the earliest, and has become an American classic1.  The story is of a young scientist, who is able to create a "living" man from the various parts of other dead humans - - - a brain here, a torso there, you get the picture.  Grotesque, isn't it?

The modern day parallel is the immensely popular television series, The Walking Dead.  Man has for centuries been fascinated with bringing the dead to life again, and has tried many different approaches to make this happen.  I'll spare you the gory historical and deeply-buried (if you'll pardon the heinous pun) details.

Since death is our enemy, we try to slay it in our own power.  And, especially in the realm of the spiritual, again, the results of such misguided attempts are grotesque.

1And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, 2in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. 3Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.

Ephesians 2:1-3 (NET)

Here, Paul describes what it is like to be spiritually dead, by using the analogy of physical death, something every human comes to understand, sooner or later.  Let's decompose it (sorry...my macabre humor is out of control).

• First of all, what killed the spirit of man?  Answer: trespasses and sins.  "Trespasses" or "transgressions" in some passages, means to "wander off the path" or "fall off the wagon". "Sins" is a word Paul uses in the general sense to mean "falling short of God's standard" or "missing the mark" (Benson)2  We are told in Romans 6:23 that the consequences of sin is spiritual death.
• Second, what does spiritual death mean?  It means that the human, although physically alive, is living under the control and rule of the evil one and/or his minions/demons.  Now, I predict that, at this point, some of you are going to "bow up", raise your hackles, and disagree with that last statement.  The Bible is plain, however.  Each person alive today is either serving and following Satan, OR he/she is serving and following Father God, Jesus Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit.  There's no other option given or allowed.  Serving the former leads to eternal spiritual death, the experiencing of God's wrath; serving the latter leads to an eternity of life and joy.
• Third, what does this "walking in death" look like?  It is demonstrated by a life disobedient to the ways of God, habitually, as one's custom, indulging the desires of the body and a dead, corrupted mind.  It is evidenced by rebellion, going one's own way, by a careless disregard or disdain for "the Way, the Truth, the Life", Jesus Christ.  Look how The Message version described that old, stagnant life-walk of spiritual death.  "You filled your lungs with polluted unbelief, and then exhaled disobedience.  We all did it, all of us doing what we felt like doing, whenever we felt like doing it, all of us in the same boat." 

Pretty damning, isn't it?

So damning that most people will not accept this truth, even though acknowledging it is a foundational prerequisite for becoming spiritually alive.  How can one be made alive, if he or she will not even accept that he or she is dead?!  It is impossible, just as impossible as it is for a person to make him or herself spiritually alive.

Oh, but we try.  We make our spirits Frankensteinian!  (I'm told that adjective is not a word; but, I'm ignoring....)  We put on masks to hide the depths of our sin and despair.  We use techniques like "self-improvement" or "social justice" or "charity" or "service leagues" - - - and we make of ourselves spiritually-dead zombies.  None of the "good works" mentioned are bad things, unless they are used in attempts to "raise the dead" soul. Properly used, these things are OUTWORKINGS from an alive spirit; they flow out of the abundance of the transformed, Christ-follower!  Look....

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away.  Behold!  All things have become new!"

2 Cor. 5:17 (NKJV)

In the original King James version, the word "creation" is "creature" - - a beautiful, new, alive creature, not a cobbled-together horror show.  Only the true, living Savior, Jesus Christ, can bring the dead spirit to life.  Only He can make this transformation. (John 14:6)

Lay down your bone saw and scalpels, Dr. Frankenstein, and open your arms to the Living One, the only One who gives eternal life!

Dear Father, I was bemused to see when I googled the word "Therefore", the first word in 2 Cor. 5:17, that verse immediately popped up.  Probably, it is the most important "therefore" in the entire Bible.  I praise You, the only One who can raise the dead, the only One who can give life eternal.  I thank You for giving it to me, and I pray for those reading this who may have seen themselves in a Frankensteinian state and who long to be re-born, made new, re-created, made alive by Your almighty hand.  I pray that they will put their hand in your outstretched hand today, Lord.  In Jesus' name, amen.

Sources:

1  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankenstein

2  http://biblehub.com/commentaries/ephesians/2-1.htm

Binding Up Broken Hearts

It is very late here at Casa del Hood.  The day ending has been long and arduous.  About 30 hours ago, I received an urgent call from an institution with which my church is affiliated.  A member of that group was dying, and the loved ones needed sustaining, loving care.  It was an honor to be asked to help in this time of intense sorrow.

The dear one has since passed on into the arms of God. Tomorrow, I will go again to share the love of Jesus Christ, this time with extended family as well as with friends.  I hope you will pardon my absence from this blog, in large part, while assisting in this critical situation.  There are opportunities to share the gospel and to comforting the hurting.  In other words, opportunities to "practice what I preach".  How blessed is that?

The irony was not lost on me that, in the last post, I wrote about death being the final enemy to be vanquished.  And then, a few hours later, this situation presented itself.  (Please forgive the lack of detail.  Many local people read my blog; for this reason, I must be sensitive to the needs of others.) Today, death claimed one more victim, although she was young, loyal, caring, sassy and determined.

But, death does not get the final word, nor the victory.

In just a moment, before heading to bed, I'm going to write the family a letter, to let them know what beautiful things I witnessed concerning their loved one today, what a privilege it was to grieve with their friends.  I pray that He will give me just the right words...words that will build a "caring bridge".

If you are reading this in "real time", please pray for me and for the others, connected heart-to-heart at this time.  Please pray that Jesus Christ will be glorified, that love will flow freely, that judgment will be banished, that memories will be shared, and finally, that hearts will find the beginnings of healing.  Thank you, friends.

He heals the broken-hearted and binds up their wounds.

Psalm 147:3

Hallelujah, what a Savior!

A Hob-nail Boot

Does that look like a boot to you?  Does to me.  It's a seashore scene from South Africa.  Do you know what a hob-nail boot is?  It's a boot with short nails inserted into the sole in a regular pattern. The primary purpose for these nails is to give the sole more durability, but they also serve to give traction to the boot.  No slippery soles with hob-nails.  You step on something with a hob-nail boot and whatever you step on isn't going anywhere.

I figure there are situations in most of our lives, Christians, which frustrate us.  In my case, I get very aggravated when I see .... well, let's just call it "evil prospering".  I do not like to see evil prosper. When the anti-God side wins, it makes me mad, especially when I've poured heart and soul into what "should" have been "the winning side".  Are you feelin' what I'm feelin' this morning?  Can you point to an area like this in your life and say, "uhm-hm, yeah...."

It SEEMS like God is oblivious, at times like that, doesn't it?  Paul must have felt this type of consternation because he often referenced it in his letters.  Today's text is Ephesians 1:20-23.

20which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church,23which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

In a moment I'm going to reference some other places Paul echoes this same theme.  But first, look at Psalm 110:1 - - 

Of David. A psalm. The LORD says to my lord: "Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet."

Yes, this verse has dual applicability, like a lot of OT prophetic scriptures.  It referred to David's reign, first of all, but also to God's speaking to Jesus, in one of those intra-Godhead conversations. You may recall that Jesus tied the Pharisees up in knots over this verse, in Matthew 22:41-46.  In that exchange, by the way, He was declaring his Messiahship to them; but, they were too obtuse to either see or embrace Him as such.  In Acts 2:34-35, Luke referenced this same verse from Psalms, recounting Peter's sermon on the Day of Pentecost, the very day the Holy Spirit was given.

Here, now, are the other Pauline references:

 For he "has put everything under his feet." Now when it says that "everything" has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself, who put everything under Christ.

1 Cor. 15:27

Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.

Ephesians 4:15

And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.

Colossians 1:18

12but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, SAT DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD, 13waiting from that time onward UNTIL HIS ENEMIES BE MADE A FOOTSTOOL FOR HIS FEET. 

Hebrews 10:12-13

The last enemy to be eliminated is death.  

1 Cor. 15:26

This plan of God's, to give Jesus Christ the spot of King Jesus, has been going on long before Jesus was ever born as a human baby.  The same Person of the Triune Godhead who was the Creator-of-all is the same One who put on flesh (Greek: sarx) and the same One who now sits at the right hand of God the Father, advocating for us, interceding for us ... and ruling over the Church as well as this entire world.  Death - - the last enemy to be destroyed.  Oh, He triumphed over death when He rose from the grave, but He will not totally destroy death (as it still serves His plan) until "the end of time", as described in Revelation.

So, why can't we see it?  We are not designed to see God's master plan, unfurled outside of the bounds of Time.  If we could, we would not need faith, would we?  But, even then, our humanity limits our understanding.  Even in those times when God peeled back a corner of Heaven and revealed to one of us His ways, we dealt with that knowledge in incredibly imbecilic fashion, generally speaking.  He is "beyond us" - - far past our limited understanding.

Still, He rules.  He reigns.  Even when it does not look like it around here.  Even when it appears as if evil is crowing triumphantly, evil is a pawn in God's mighty hand.  Ephesians 1:21 emphasizes that NO spiritual entity or power is superior to Christ Jesus, NO matter how things appear.  Christ's "hob-nail boot" is on Satan's neck.  It is finished, Satan.  You.Are.Done.

Seeing is not believing, unless you are looking with eyes of faith.  That's what I have resolved to do, today.  How about you?

Father, Son and Spirit, You rule over all.  I choose to trust You and even to praise You today, even in the face of discouragement, disappointment and fear.   Keeping my eyes fixed on my Head, Jesus, banishes those negative, incapacitating emotions.  King Jesus is on the throne!  He has it all in His hands.  Hallelujah for that.  What a truth worth praising!  What a King worth worshipping!  In Jesus' name, amen.

An Essential Work

15For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16I do not cease to give thanks for you when I remember you in my prayers. 17I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you spiritual wisdom and revelation in your growing knowledge of him,18– since the eyes of your heart have been enlightened – so that you may know what is the hope of his calling, what is the wealth of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19and what is the incomparable greatness of his power toward us who believe, as displayed in the exercise of his immense strength.

In verse 15, we see that Paul is commending the Ephesian church for, first of all, their faith in Jesus Christ and, second, for their love for their fellow believers.  This parallels the new "first and second commandments" Jesus enunciated in Matthew 22:38-39.  Paul is commending what he desires to see continue.  He issues similar commendations to the Colossian church (Col. 1:4, Philemon 1:5) and to Timothy (2 Timothy 1:13).

Paul goes on to say that he shows his love for the Ephesians by praying unceasingly for them.  What specifically does he pray?

• That God will give them wisdom as their knowledge of Him increases.  (They are not the same thing, you know -- - wisdom and knowledge.  You can know a lot about Jesus and not have Him in your heart.  You can have Him in your heart as Savior, and know a lot about Him and still not possess but a thimble-full of wisdom and discernment.)
• That they might have hope that His calling is steadfast, firm and sure.  (It's so easy to doubt that God is with us, isn't it?  So easy to doubt that He cares, at times?)
• That they might realize how very rich they are in Jesus Christ! 
• That, as believers, they might realize the extent of God's power (in their lives and in others')

I don't know about you, my readers, who are believers, but this has been my experience:  I don't pray for my fellow believers as much as I should.  There are about 1000 people who attend my church regularly, and while I pray for our church as a whole, I neglect to pray as much as I should for individuals with whom I minister, shoulder-to-shoulder.

See, Paul really believed that God would work, move, demonstrate His glory, in response to Paul's prayers.  Because he believed that so strongly, he prayed "unceasingly".  I have to question my own level of belief when confronted with my own comparative prayerlessness.  My prayers tend to be narrow and more "reactive" than "proactive".  In other words, if someone asks me to pray for them, I will.  But, do I pray for them "proactively", as Paul describes here?  Not so much.

Do you know what happens when we fail to pray for our brothers and sisters (our shoulder-buddies) in this fashion?  We run the risk of loving them poorly.

Let me give you a painful example, painful to me, at least.  I was confronted last week with the reality that I had failed a sister in Christ, one who was most definitely a "shoulder-buddy".  (Get the scene of two people hooked together like two oxen who bear the yoke on their backs in order to pull the wagon.)  She had given clues that she had unmet needs in our local Body of Christ, but I was oblivious.  (If you are now thinking, "This can't end well"....well, you are right.)

When we don't pray for each other, we are not "in tune" with one another.  We become like a wonderful orchestra whose instruments are slightly off-key.  And, as a result, instead of producing heavenly music, what's produced is a ghastly cacophony of sound.  Have you ever gone to hear a live symphony or band performance?  Before it begins, the instruments are all playing....whatever they want to.  Cacophony!  Then, the concertmaster, usually the first chair violin (orchestra) or first chair clarinet or oboe (band) silences the group by giving one long, clear note.  Immediately, the musicians tune their individual instruments to that one unifying note.  When they next start to play a beautiful piece of music it is just that....beautiful!

Prayer does that!  It unifies believers in the heavenly realms.  I don't understand prayer more than just a little tiny bit.  If you are an expert, then please enlighten me.  But, in my view, prayer is like looking through the keyhole....You can see a very limited view, and what you DO see is distorted! You have no idea what else is "out there", on the other side of the door.  Our perspective of prayer is like that! We pray, not being allowed to see all that our prayers accomplish!  That is God's way.
Sometimes, He allows us to see clear answers; a lot of the time, He does not.  Almost all the time, we have no clue as to the effectiveness of our prayers.  Accordingly, we tend to think prayer does not matter.  Many Christians view it as merely a Christian "convention", an archaic trapping of religious gatherings.

How sad, when the Bible makes clear that prayer is indispensable to the spiritual warfare in which we are engaged.

Luke 6:12 And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.
Luke 18:1 And he spoke a parable to them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;

The Happy Pastor says this:  "Prayer is the essential work – everything else flows out of it: worship, evangelism, ministry."1

You know, I've noticed that, when I blog about prayer, I don't get many hits.  Christians don't like to read about prayer because, like me today, it stirs their hearts with conviction.  Non-Christians view it as "talking to the sky".  Maybe you are like me and are convicted about your "prayer life".  If so, then let's take deliberate steps to go before God's throne of grace more often.  What a wonderful privilege it is!

Pray your own closing prayer here today.  :)


Source:

1   https://thehappypastor.wordpress.com/2013/09/02/the-centrality-of-prayer/