Ephesians 3:12 "...in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him."
"Excuse me, Mr. Brown, are you busy?" I hear that a lot. I don't think
it's a questioning of my work ethic. Translated, it is more like, "Do
you have time for me?" I usually leave my office door open. I want to
be accessible to staff and students. It occasionally hinders my
concentration, but it also demonstrates that my priority is people
rather than paperwork.
It's that way with God. The door to His throne room is always open to
His children. Unlike Queen Esther, who feared for her life when she
entered uninvited into the king's presence, our Heavenly Father waits
expectantly for us to drop by.
That the Almighty, the Creator, the King of the Universe would make
Himself available to me is mind-boggling. I can't comprehend it, yet I
rejoice in that relationship. It's not because I deserve it. It's
because one day His Son, Jesus, personally introduced me to Him.
Through my Savior, I became part of the family!
The other day, when I stopped by to ask a favor, my Father greeted me
with, "Hello, it's been awhile since you were here.. Where have you
been? I've missed you!" How is it that I take this amazing privilege
of fellowship with God for granted?
Lord, I come to You this morning grateful and ashamed. Please forgive
me for not spending more time with You. It seems that the only time we
talk is when I want or need something from You. Thank You for Your
patience and grace. I'm not asking anything from You right now. I just
wanted to say hello and tell You that I love You. Amen.
Friday, January 11, 2013
Thursday, January 10, 2013
I know something you don't know...
Ephesians 3:10 "...so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be
made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the
heavenly places."
I used to hate it when, as a child, a friend would flaunt the fact that he possessed some secret knowledge, something I desperately wanted to know. I loved it when the shoe was on the other foot! Holding a secret brings with it a sense of power, of privilege. There's a rush of excitement when we finally "spill the beans."
Paul declares that we (the church) are in that position. For ages the angels ("rulers and authorities in the heavenly places") longed to know God's plan for His people. One translator says they were "standing on tiptoe trying to see". When the time was right to reveal His secret, God chose us to make it known.
I find it humbling, yet empowering, to realize that angelic beings are watching us as we demonstrate God's plan to bring all people together (Jews and Gentiles) through His Son. In us they are seeing His blueprint unfold. I don't want to mess that up! This knowledge drives me back to His Word to make sure I get the message right, and it brings me to my knees in prayer as I seek God's direction, wisdom, discernment and power. As always, with privilege comes responsibility.
Lord, I am amazed that You would use me to reveal Your secrets to angels! I feel privileged, yet inadequate, for the job. Please help me to "get it right" today. Let my choices, my words and attitudes reflect Your grace and mercy and love today. Amen.
I used to hate it when, as a child, a friend would flaunt the fact that he possessed some secret knowledge, something I desperately wanted to know. I loved it when the shoe was on the other foot! Holding a secret brings with it a sense of power, of privilege. There's a rush of excitement when we finally "spill the beans."
Paul declares that we (the church) are in that position. For ages the angels ("rulers and authorities in the heavenly places") longed to know God's plan for His people. One translator says they were "standing on tiptoe trying to see". When the time was right to reveal His secret, God chose us to make it known.
I find it humbling, yet empowering, to realize that angelic beings are watching us as we demonstrate God's plan to bring all people together (Jews and Gentiles) through His Son. In us they are seeing His blueprint unfold. I don't want to mess that up! This knowledge drives me back to His Word to make sure I get the message right, and it brings me to my knees in prayer as I seek God's direction, wisdom, discernment and power. As always, with privilege comes responsibility.
Lord, I am amazed that You would use me to reveal Your secrets to angels! I feel privileged, yet inadequate, for the job. Please help me to "get it right" today. Let my choices, my words and attitudes reflect Your grace and mercy and love today. Amen.
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Seeing through other eyes...
Ephesians 3:8 "To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was
given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ..."
Romans 11:33 "Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!"
I am intrigued by some of the crime shows on TV. It always amazes me how detectives and forensic scientists are able, with the tiniest of clues, to reconstruct a murder and apprehend the perpetrator. It seems that no matter how careful the criminal, he inevitably leaves something that will trace the deed back to him.
The gist of the Paul's words in these two verses is that no matter how hard we try, we cannot search out, fully understand the blessings we have in Christ. The English word "unfathomable" refers to the concept of being unable to measure the depth, to get to the bottom. The Greek word has the idea of not being able to track, to find the footprints.
My ability to comprehend the resources available to me in Christ is woefully inadequate. I feel like Gehazi, Elisha's servant, when he was despairing their apparent fate at the hands of the Syrians (2 Kings 6:16-17). All he could see was the vast army arrayed against them. Then, after Elisha's prayer, his eyes were opened to the reality of God's fierce host of Heavenly soldiers in chariots of fire poised to attack their human enemy.
I need to take my eyes off of what is seemingly obvious and shift my focus to what is real. I long to see more clearly through eyes of faith, to realize more fully the incomparable resources God has at my disposal. I want to see angels rather than armies!
Lord, I confess that I don't trust You enough. My vision is so short-sided. I continue to perceive the obvious as being reality when, in truth, You have such a bigger plan behind the curtain, ready to be revealed. Please give me eyes of faith today, give me a glimpse of what You have in mind for me. Thank You! Amen.
Romans 11:33 "Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!"
I am intrigued by some of the crime shows on TV. It always amazes me how detectives and forensic scientists are able, with the tiniest of clues, to reconstruct a murder and apprehend the perpetrator. It seems that no matter how careful the criminal, he inevitably leaves something that will trace the deed back to him.
The gist of the Paul's words in these two verses is that no matter how hard we try, we cannot search out, fully understand the blessings we have in Christ. The English word "unfathomable" refers to the concept of being unable to measure the depth, to get to the bottom. The Greek word has the idea of not being able to track, to find the footprints.
My ability to comprehend the resources available to me in Christ is woefully inadequate. I feel like Gehazi, Elisha's servant, when he was despairing their apparent fate at the hands of the Syrians (2 Kings 6:16-17). All he could see was the vast army arrayed against them. Then, after Elisha's prayer, his eyes were opened to the reality of God's fierce host of Heavenly soldiers in chariots of fire poised to attack their human enemy.
I need to take my eyes off of what is seemingly obvious and shift my focus to what is real. I long to see more clearly through eyes of faith, to realize more fully the incomparable resources God has at my disposal. I want to see angels rather than armies!
Lord, I confess that I don't trust You enough. My vision is so short-sided. I continue to perceive the obvious as being reality when, in truth, You have such a bigger plan behind the curtain, ready to be revealed. Please give me eyes of faith today, give me a glimpse of what You have in mind for me. Thank You! Amen.
Monday, January 7, 2013
Fitting in...
Ephesians 2:21-22 "...in whom the whole building, being fitted
together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also
are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit."
Ephesians 4:16 "...from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love."
Like many couples, my wife and I are opposites. She is, by nature, neat and tidy, highly organized, structured, and usually sees things "black and white". I, on the other hand, tend to be a slob, loosely organized, spontaneous, and I perceive things more flexibly. Needless to say, in our 46+ years of marriage, there have been occasions when we frustrated each other.
God knows us both intimately -- He created us with these tendencies -- and He knew that we needed each other. I can't imagine my life without her. I would be a mess! Over the years He has used our differences to temper one another and to "complete" us. Together we are better; the sum is greater than the two parts. We've known each other since we were 15 and we are still in the process of becoming who God wants us to be, both as individuals and as a couple. He is smoothing off the rough spots, is "fitting us together" and, as He does, our love for each other grows deeper and stronger.
God's Word describes the church in similar terms, both as a building and as a body. In both pictures He is in the process of "fitting together" the individual pieces. Paul, in describing the body of Christ (Romans 12,1 Corinthians 12), points out that each of us is uniquely designed and gifted by the Holy Spirit, and He has a specific function for each of us to perform. Our differences,when controlled by Him, instead of tearing the body apart, make us stronger, more complete, able to function as He intends.
Just as I would be incomplete without my wife, so the church is lacking when members of the body merely "attend" or worse, withdraw and isolate themselves. God designed us to be interdependent and, as Christians, we cannot fully become Who He intended us to be if we don't allow Him to "fit us in" to the body.
Lord, I recognize that You did not design me to be alone. Thank You for my lovely wife and for using her in your process of shaping me into Your image. Thank you also for fitting us into Your body of believers and for using that relationship for Your glory. Please help me today to show my gratitude so that others can see You in me. Amen.
Ephesians 4:16 "...from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love."
Like many couples, my wife and I are opposites. She is, by nature, neat and tidy, highly organized, structured, and usually sees things "black and white". I, on the other hand, tend to be a slob, loosely organized, spontaneous, and I perceive things more flexibly. Needless to say, in our 46+ years of marriage, there have been occasions when we frustrated each other.
God knows us both intimately -- He created us with these tendencies -- and He knew that we needed each other. I can't imagine my life without her. I would be a mess! Over the years He has used our differences to temper one another and to "complete" us. Together we are better; the sum is greater than the two parts. We've known each other since we were 15 and we are still in the process of becoming who God wants us to be, both as individuals and as a couple. He is smoothing off the rough spots, is "fitting us together" and, as He does, our love for each other grows deeper and stronger.
God's Word describes the church in similar terms, both as a building and as a body. In both pictures He is in the process of "fitting together" the individual pieces. Paul, in describing the body of Christ (Romans 12,1 Corinthians 12), points out that each of us is uniquely designed and gifted by the Holy Spirit, and He has a specific function for each of us to perform. Our differences,when controlled by Him, instead of tearing the body apart, make us stronger, more complete, able to function as He intends.
Just as I would be incomplete without my wife, so the church is lacking when members of the body merely "attend" or worse, withdraw and isolate themselves. God designed us to be interdependent and, as Christians, we cannot fully become Who He intended us to be if we don't allow Him to "fit us in" to the body.
Lord, I recognize that You did not design me to be alone. Thank You for my lovely wife and for using her in your process of shaping me into Your image. Thank you also for fitting us into Your body of believers and for using that relationship for Your glory. Please help me today to show my gratitude so that others can see You in me. Amen.
Friday, January 4, 2013
Are you a little "off"?...
Ephesians 2:20 "... Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone, in
whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy
temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit."
I'm not a mason. I usually work with wood instead of stone, but I have occasionally tried my hand at laying brick. In one of our remodels, I had to raise the height of the chimney to correspond with the increased pitch of the roof. I did a fair job, but a trained eye would immediately notice the difference between the old and new. I learned the importance of carefully following the angles and position of the the bricks upon which I built.
Paul, in describing the foundation upon which the church (and our individual lives) is built, calls Jesus the cornerstone. The term refers to the most important stone in the building. The cornerstone is set at the top of the foundation, in a critical corner. Its position and angles must be perfect because the rest of the building is keyed to it. If the cornerstone is imperfect, if its angles are not square, the walls will be "off".
So it is with us, so it is with the church. If we align ourselves with a cornerstone other than Jesus Christ, everything else will be skewed, misshapen. I must be careful in what I believe, in the choices I make, in the paths I follow, to constantly be checking the Cornerstone. I must align myself with Who He is, what He says, and what He does. I want Jesus to determine the shape of my building.
Dear Lord, I am grateful that You are my Cornerstone. Please keep me focused on You. Holy Spirit, thank You for being my "building inspector". Please warn me when I am not properly aligned. I want to build according to Your code today. I want to pass the final inspection when I stand before my Savior. Amen.
I'm not a mason. I usually work with wood instead of stone, but I have occasionally tried my hand at laying brick. In one of our remodels, I had to raise the height of the chimney to correspond with the increased pitch of the roof. I did a fair job, but a trained eye would immediately notice the difference between the old and new. I learned the importance of carefully following the angles and position of the the bricks upon which I built.
Paul, in describing the foundation upon which the church (and our individual lives) is built, calls Jesus the cornerstone. The term refers to the most important stone in the building. The cornerstone is set at the top of the foundation, in a critical corner. Its position and angles must be perfect because the rest of the building is keyed to it. If the cornerstone is imperfect, if its angles are not square, the walls will be "off".
So it is with us, so it is with the church. If we align ourselves with a cornerstone other than Jesus Christ, everything else will be skewed, misshapen. I must be careful in what I believe, in the choices I make, in the paths I follow, to constantly be checking the Cornerstone. I must align myself with Who He is, what He says, and what He does. I want Jesus to determine the shape of my building.
Dear Lord, I am grateful that You are my Cornerstone. Please keep me focused on You. Holy Spirit, thank You for being my "building inspector". Please warn me when I am not properly aligned. I want to build according to Your code today. I want to pass the final inspection when I stand before my Savior. Amen.
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Faulty foundations....
Ephesians 2:20 "...having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets..."
Looks can be deceiving. The house we purchased in 1979 was a "fixer-upper", but after a couple of year's hard work, it looked quite presentable. Little did we know that it was structurally unsound. When it was constructed in 1965, the builders cut corners with the foundation and slab. The dairy soil was not properly prepared and compacted, and the concrete was inferior and not poured to the correct thickness. To top it off, many of the interior bearing walls had no foundation at all.
More than 100 homes in our tract were "rebuilt" in 1986. The "shell" of each house was left intact, but the slabs were jack-hammered out, soil replaced and compacted, new slabs poured, and the interiors remodeled. What a process! We were in temporary housing for 11 months.
Many churches and many Christians are like my house. They look good from the outside, but are really unstable, built on inferior foundations. They attract crowds, do good works, claim to be God's house, but their foundations consist of false teaching, an amalgamation of God's Word and man's "wisdom". Their words and teaching may sound familiar, but as you dig deeper a faulty foundation is revealed.
God is the architect and engineer of His church, and Paul reveals the plans. He tells us that the foundation for God's house is His Truth ("the apostles and prophets"). Anything more or less produces an unsound structure that will not survive the scrutiny of Christ's judgement.
Thank You, Lord, for revealing Your "building plans" so clearly. Thank You for leading me to a church with a solid foundation. Please help me to continue building my life on Your Word. Anchor me securely to Your foundation. Amen.
Looks can be deceiving. The house we purchased in 1979 was a "fixer-upper", but after a couple of year's hard work, it looked quite presentable. Little did we know that it was structurally unsound. When it was constructed in 1965, the builders cut corners with the foundation and slab. The dairy soil was not properly prepared and compacted, and the concrete was inferior and not poured to the correct thickness. To top it off, many of the interior bearing walls had no foundation at all.
More than 100 homes in our tract were "rebuilt" in 1986. The "shell" of each house was left intact, but the slabs were jack-hammered out, soil replaced and compacted, new slabs poured, and the interiors remodeled. What a process! We were in temporary housing for 11 months.
Many churches and many Christians are like my house. They look good from the outside, but are really unstable, built on inferior foundations. They attract crowds, do good works, claim to be God's house, but their foundations consist of false teaching, an amalgamation of God's Word and man's "wisdom". Their words and teaching may sound familiar, but as you dig deeper a faulty foundation is revealed.
God is the architect and engineer of His church, and Paul reveals the plans. He tells us that the foundation for God's house is His Truth ("the apostles and prophets"). Anything more or less produces an unsound structure that will not survive the scrutiny of Christ's judgement.
Thank You, Lord, for revealing Your "building plans" so clearly. Thank You for leading me to a church with a solid foundation. Please help me to continue building my life on Your Word. Anchor me securely to Your foundation. Amen.
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Tear down this wall!...
Ephesians 2:14 "For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall..."
Somewhere in my desk drawer is a nickel-size piece of concrete. It is irregularly shaped, having been been chipped off a large wall. Not just any wall. It is a souvenir a friend gave me from a trip to Germany in the early 1990's, a small remnant of the Berlin Wall.
For decades the Berlin Wall stood as a formidable barrier, a death-if-you-dare-cross-it divider between East and West Germany, between Communism and Democracy. On June 12, 1987, President Ronald Reagan stood before the Brandenburg Gate and issued the now-famous challenge to the leader of the Soviet Union, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall..." Two years later, in November of 1989, the wall came down.
Jesus is the ultimate destroyer of dividing walls. By means of His death, He fulfilled all the demands of the Law and made it possible for all people to find peace with God and with each other. Paul refers to the barrier between Jew and Gentile, but the ramifications are much more extensive. Jesus is our peace in every situation, in every relationship.
We inevitably find ourselves in occasional conflict with one another. Satan, the wall-builder, uses misunderstandings and hurts, sin and suspicion, anger and frustration, to erect seemingly insurmountable barriers between us. But Jesus is the "barrier-buster". Because we are His children, His Spirit - the "Spirit of Peace" - lives in us and relentlessly urges us to dismantle the walls. Forgiveness, given and received, is His wrecking ball. If we allow His grace and mercy to live in us, no wall can stand forever.
Lord, please shine Your light of truth in every corner of my heart this morning. Examine me thoroughly. Reveal any walls, any barriers that I have erected and help me to tear them down. Remind me of unresolved conflicts and give me the courage to confront and resolve them. I need Your Peace. Amen.
Somewhere in my desk drawer is a nickel-size piece of concrete. It is irregularly shaped, having been been chipped off a large wall. Not just any wall. It is a souvenir a friend gave me from a trip to Germany in the early 1990's, a small remnant of the Berlin Wall.
For decades the Berlin Wall stood as a formidable barrier, a death-if-you-dare-cross-it divider between East and West Germany, between Communism and Democracy. On June 12, 1987, President Ronald Reagan stood before the Brandenburg Gate and issued the now-famous challenge to the leader of the Soviet Union, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall..." Two years later, in November of 1989, the wall came down.
Jesus is the ultimate destroyer of dividing walls. By means of His death, He fulfilled all the demands of the Law and made it possible for all people to find peace with God and with each other. Paul refers to the barrier between Jew and Gentile, but the ramifications are much more extensive. Jesus is our peace in every situation, in every relationship.
We inevitably find ourselves in occasional conflict with one another. Satan, the wall-builder, uses misunderstandings and hurts, sin and suspicion, anger and frustration, to erect seemingly insurmountable barriers between us. But Jesus is the "barrier-buster". Because we are His children, His Spirit - the "Spirit of Peace" - lives in us and relentlessly urges us to dismantle the walls. Forgiveness, given and received, is His wrecking ball. If we allow His grace and mercy to live in us, no wall can stand forever.
Lord, please shine Your light of truth in every corner of my heart this morning. Examine me thoroughly. Reveal any walls, any barriers that I have erected and help me to tear them down. Remind me of unresolved conflicts and give me the courage to confront and resolve them. I need Your Peace. Amen.
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