12-Oct 2008
Sunday School class; Proverbs 29:2 Why do people rejoice when truly righteous people thrive?
Scripture
reading: #669
Vesper's Tonight @
5:00 in the Fellowship Hall - Spirituality:
the differences between spirituality, mysticism, piety, and religiosity.
Wednesday @ 7 p.m.: A study based on the book, "Desire
of the Everlasting Hills"
by Thomas Cahill.
"Praying with Paul"
Ephesians 1:15. For this reason, ever since I heard about
your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16. I have not
stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.
17. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that
you may know him better. 18. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be
enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the
riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,
19. and his incomparably great power for us who believe.
That power is like the working of his mighty strength, 20. which
he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his
right hand in the heavenly realms,
21. far above all rule and
authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in
the present age but also in the one to come. 22. And God placed all things
under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23.
which is his body, the fullness of him who fills
everything in every way.
Recently, as Jenise
and I were walking around Central Park in
We talked about how her dreams had changed over the past ten years. We talked of how there had been a constant revision of hopes and dreams because God continually was doing exceedingly, abundantly more than she could have asked or anticipated.
As we quoted that last sentence together, we looked at each other and I choked up. We were experiencing in that moment there on a 'walking path' in Central Park one of those "Spirit of wisdom and revelation" moments that Paul had written about a couple of chapters earlier in his letter to Ephesus before getting to the third chapter where he says in the twentieth verse that God "is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine..." (New International Version)
Why did Paul keep
asking God to give the folks at
Let’s look at some of
the specifics of Paul’s prayer for those in
Ephesians
1:17. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father,
may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him
better.
18. I
pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may
know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious
inheritance in the saints, 19. and his incomparably
great power for us –
Paul was writing to
the non-Jewish members of the church at
Paul wanted to assure
the non-Jewish members of the church that they could, through faith in him, approach
God with freedom and confidence. And, that He "is able to do
immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine..." (Ephesians 3:20)
It was an absolute imperative to Paul that those
'gentile' Christians be able to
·
perceive the reality
of the Gift that God, in His Love, had given the entire world - Jesus!
·
have the wisdom to understand that the
politics of race and creed have no place in the Kingdom
·
have revealed to them the sweet and
precious Presence of the Savior simply through faith - without the rules and
rituals that continued to bind some of the sectarian members of the
congregation
·
and to perceive
in their 'heart' that He had called each of them to Hope!
He has indeed given us the Hope and Promise that He is able to do for us exceedingly, abundantly more than we can ask or think - without regard to our race, or social status, or economic limitations or what others might have thought about us.