The following Puritanesque prayer was part of the worship service last Sunday. Several have asked for it so here it is. I hope your somewhere quiet where you can read it, prayit, out loud. May your sould be filled and your prayer answered...
Lord, high and holy, meek and lowly,
Thou hast brought me to the valley of vision,
where I live in the depths but see Thee in the heights;
hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold Thy glory.
Let me learn by paradox that the way down is the way up,
that to be low is to be high,
that the broken heart is the healed heart,
that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit,
that the repenting soul is the victorious soul,
that to have nothing is to possess all,
that to bear the cross is to wear the crown,
that to give is to receive,
that the valley is the place of vision.
Lord, in the daytime stars can be seen from deepest wells,
and the deeper the wells the brighter Thy stars shine;
let me find Thy light in my darkness,
Thy life in my death,
Thy joy in my sorrow,
Thy grace in my sin,
Thy riches in my poverty,
Thy glory in my valley.
part of something BIGGER ephesians 3
I was thinking this morning about how I respond when things don't go as I wanted. I tried to do good and yet it was thrown back at me. You gave yourself for someone, and yet it wasn't good enough, your kindness was rejected. We give ourselves for the best of reasons and yet at times bad comes from it. Where is God? Right there. What is He doing? Hmmmm.
The old, and not so satisfying, saying goes something like, "God works in mysterious ways." Its not so much a mystery to be solved as a mystery to wait and see, like a street artist whose initial splashes of paint look like chaos, but in the end, when what we thought was the central part of the image is covered over and something else, much grander, like Christ Himself, is seen instead.
Paul is in prison, his friends feel badly for it, but he wants them to know it is not by chance, but fro God, who is working His plan. And that pan is much more than just leading events on the world stage to His intended end, it is working His intending end in each of us, His children, saints, set apart ones. His greatest, above and beyond power is not just working around us, or even for us, but is working in us, for and to His glory, in the misdt of whatever "stuff" is happening.
The old, and not so satisfying, saying goes something like, "God works in mysterious ways." Its not so much a mystery to be solved as a mystery to wait and see, like a street artist whose initial splashes of paint look like chaos, but in the end, when what we thought was the central part of the image is covered over and something else, much grander, like Christ Himself, is seen instead.
Paul is in prison, his friends feel badly for it, but he wants them to know it is not by chance, but fro God, who is working His plan. And that pan is much more than just leading events on the world stage to His intended end, it is working His intending end in each of us, His children, saints, set apart ones. His greatest, above and beyond power is not just working around us, or even for us, but is working in us, for and to His glory, in the misdt of whatever "stuff" is happening.
Christ-centered community, Ephesians 2:11-22
Remember - the only command given in the first three chapters of Ephesians. We're not told to fix anything, but to fix this thing in our minds. What thing? Grace.
It is by grace that we, who were far away from God and without any hope, have been brought near, boldly before the throne, as if we belong there - and we do - in Christ. Grace in Christ made peace between people and between people and God. All have the same access into His temple, through the torn veil, by faith in Christ's death for us.
If we continue remembering that we began by grace, we are more likely to continue in grace (2:19-22). We continue together as the family He has made us: I belong and I'm needed. We continue founded on His word, that that is centered in Christ himself - its all about Him. Together, by His word, we are formed into a growing temple.
The thing that joins us together and which together we must join in is God's grace in Christ!Trophimus was denied access to the temple (Acts 26), but by grace he is now not only in, he is actually part of the true temple, where God dwells.
And by grace, so are we.
Don't forget it.
It is by grace that we, who were far away from God and without any hope, have been brought near, boldly before the throne, as if we belong there - and we do - in Christ. Grace in Christ made peace between people and between people and God. All have the same access into His temple, through the torn veil, by faith in Christ's death for us.
If we continue remembering that we began by grace, we are more likely to continue in grace (2:19-22). We continue together as the family He has made us: I belong and I'm needed. We continue founded on His word, that that is centered in Christ himself - its all about Him. Together, by His word, we are formed into a growing temple.
The thing that joins us together and which together we must join in is God's grace in Christ!Trophimus was denied access to the temple (Acts 26), but by grace he is now not only in, he is actually part of the true temple, where God dwells.
And by grace, so are we.
Don't forget it.
grace changes everything, ephesians 2:1-10
What's so amazing about grace is how far it reaches: in reaches down to us in whatever pit we have fallen into or dug for ourselves (2:1-3), and grace reaches so far as to set us in the presence of God in heaven in Christ (2:4-6). From where I was to where God intends to take me. That's true in God's rescuing us from sin and guilt,and also for His continuing work in us, His special project, His workmanship (2:10).
We each need God's grace, whether to receive spiritual life, for spiritual growth as "His workmanship" (God working in us), or for fulfilling our mission in doing His work (God working through us).
A friend reminded me today that the essence of Christianity has always been missional. Each person relates to the church either as one who is called by God to receive and believe the gospel or as one who is used by God to extend the gospel. If we have believed, than God is best working in us when He is working through us to show His grace to others. That's what "Christ in us" would look like.
We each need God's grace, whether to receive spiritual life, for spiritual growth as "His workmanship" (God working in us), or for fulfilling our mission in doing His work (God working through us).
A friend reminded me today that the essence of Christianity has always been missional. Each person relates to the church either as one who is called by God to receive and believe the gospel or as one who is used by God to extend the gospel. If we have believed, than God is best working in us when He is working through us to show His grace to others. That's what "Christ in us" would look like.
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