Tag: Mike Ryan

That’s not baking; That’s cooking!!

I love to cook. I love to bake. Did you know there is a difference?

I love to cook because in cooking there is more freedom. I can throw this and that together and create something new. I can play with flavors and herbs and spices. I will admit that not everything I create is a winning dish. In fact there have been a couple of times that I have had to throw the dish away and order pizza. I have created some awesome dishes, and some awful dishes. But that is cooking. The only way to create wonderful things is to experiment and dare to fail.

I love to bake because it is an exercise in perfection. Just because you can read the directions, does not guarantee that perfection. There are rules to baking and you dare not violate them. I have forgotten to add baking soda, and well…..not so good. I have done things like add too much water, forgot the salt, and dare I say that making waffles with fat free milk instead of buttermilk changes the flavor more than one would think. Timing, have you ever taken a soufflé out before it was done. There are rules, and they need to be followed or you do not have the finished product you want.

I find that life is like cooking. People experiment all the time. We enjoy life because there are very little rules. And even for the ones that exist, we can break them and usually see little consequence. Most of the time, it is a lot of fun. Sometimes we make that choice that we wish we hadn’t. But when you balance it out, the good times outweigh the bad.

I find that serving God is like baking. That beautiful cake, that wonderful soufflé, that tender loaf of bread, these things cannot be attained if we do not follow the instructions.

Key Verse
James 1- 22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

James is the half-brother of Christ. He was the first head of the church of Jerusalem. He was dealing with Christians who believed that Christ was coming back immediately and so they were sitting idle waiting and hoping not to be persecuted for believing. Many of the Christians James was writing to had already been scattered across the land as a result of persecution. But James was saying, look, we all want the cake, but there are directions that we must follow until it is done. James was not saying that works is what makes the cake. I can work throwing this in and that in all day long. That’s not baking, that’s cooking! Only you can know what you will end up with. Baking God’s cake is specific, and the author of the directions is the LORD. If you want HIS cake, you will follow HIS directions.

A lot of people want to say that Paul and James write at odds with each other. I believe those who say that they write in harmony. Faith without works is not faith at all. What are you having faith in? Yourself?

John 14- 15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.

This is not a command for all people to keep God’s commandments. This is a requirement to your decision to partake of God’s cake. This is ingredient number one. If you want God’s Cake, you will follow His ordinances. If you do not want God’s cake, if you do not love Jesus Christ, you will not have the cake. After all, God does not send his creation to hell, they chose to send themselves to hell. They chose to eat their own cake. In other words, if you have faith, you will do the work. If you want the cake, you will want to follow the instructions. It is your choice to want God’s cake, or your own.

One great example is the parable of the rich man. Mark 10- 17 And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? 18 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God. 19 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother. 20 And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth. 21 Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me. 22 And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions.

This man wanted Jesus’s cake, but wanted to follow his own recipe. He held on to his earthly possessions, and lost salvation. You desire God, but hold on to your earthly possessions. You want a godly relationship with a man or woman, but engage in sexual sin. You engage in sexual immorality outside the bonds of marriage and expect a blessing. Is that the directions in God cake? We want obedient children, but we either abuse or neglect “spare the rod spoil the child”. We want eternal life, but we want to be drunk even more. We want eternal life, but we want to disobey our parents, engage in the darkness of the world, be entertained by sinful movies and music. We want to have eternal life with a loving God but we want to hate people because of the color of their skin or their politics. We all have that thing, or more accurately THOSE THINGS, which is equal to the rich man’s possessions and we will not let go of them. Make no mistake; you can cry LORD, LORD all you want, you can believe you have great faith all you want but if you are holding on to what God is telling you to let go of, you will walk away sad and grieved and without eternal life, just like the rich man. After all, this parable is not here for you to say that it doesn’t apply to you. The ingredient here that the man did not like, the direction he wanted to skip was that God must come first. In all the examples I cited above, in each one of them we say that we come first. That is why we will suffer the same consequence as the rich man unless we follow God’s recipe and deny our own.

So if we say yes, “I want to eat the cake, so I will commit to following the directions” what do we do when we get to a direction that we don’t like? I do not like mushrooms. So if you hand me a recipe for stuffed mushrooms, I am going to change that recipe. Is it the same recipe that you handed me? No! So God says, through His Holy word, this is my cake, here are my ingredients, and here are my directions. I do not want to insult anyone, so I will speak for myself (but I know a vast majority of you will relate with me). I said to God, I don’t like this ingredient, forgiveness. I want to hate those who hurt me. I also don’t like this direction to abstain from sexual activity until after I am married. I am going to change those two things. Believe me, I have and do change much more than that. But let’s just keep it to these two very common changes. My question is now this. Is this still God’s cake, or is it Mike’s cake? If it is Mike’s cake, then what am I saying? What I am saying is I do not want God’s cake. That is just putting it very plain. I am saying, “I don’t like God’s cake” “I can make a better cake than God” “God does not know how to bake!” Listen, we do this all day long. It is too hard to love my wife; I am going to divorce her. My husband is not worthy of my submission, I am going to do what I want. My parents are insignificant to me; I will not obey their rules. I will not act like a Christian in the world because the world makes me angry and it must feel my wrath because God’s wrath is not good enough. They must know how I feel because I am more important than God. I am the ruler of morals. I decide what is morally right because I want to be happy and so I need to follow my own moral law and not God’s because He does not know how to make me happy. All of us are baking our own cakes.

At this point, I want to point out that the cake I am speaking of here is eternal life. God’s cake is eternal life with Him in heaven. That is the cake He wants us to have. He has given us the recipe, and the directions to have eternal life and we keep telling Him NO!! Even though we say we believe, we keep trying to make God fit into our box. We keep telling Him “I don’t want to go to hell, but I don’t want to live according to your direction”. We keep on baking our own cake. Since there are only two tables to eat off of, the table of the Lamb and the table of Satan, do I really have to define which table our cakes are set on? We cannot come up with such a recipe; we cannot create such a cake. There is only one cookbook for heaven, and it is the bible.

If you stand in the mirror, what will the reflection tell you about your relationship with God, and what are you going to do about it? May the peace of God be abundantly heaped upon you and your home, straight from the cross to the Christian!

Are You ‘Declared’ to Receive a Crown?

I was in a bible study just a couple weeks ago and the preacher teaching the class directed us to the book of Romans, and proceeded to teach the first seven verses. My attention was grabbed by the beautiful words in verse 4.

4 And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:

I am drawn to the word declared. Sometimes the idea of God being both man and God can confuse a person. It is certainly a piece of our faith that non-believers point to and say, “How can that be?” As man, as flesh, I understand how that can be a distraction. This particular idea is more meat than milk, and if you are looking for ways to disprove or dilute the word of God by way of confusion, this is a useful idea that will bewilder a babe on the milk. But I ask, “Are you ‘declared’ to receive a crown?”

First let’s look at the word ‘DECLARE’. If you are to read this verse like you read a novel, or the newspaper, you will read right over the word and attach the meaning regarding speech. To most of us, ‘declare’ means I said something. However that is not what it means here.

The Greek word here is Horizo. It means to define, mark-out, appoint, and determine.

Adam Clark writes of this word, “The word ορισθεντος, which we render declared, comes from οριζω, to bound, define, determine, or limit, and hence our word horizon, the line that determines the farthest visible part of the earth, in reference to the heavens. In this place the word signifies such a manifest and complete exhibition of the subject as to render it indubitable. The resurrection of Christ from the dead was such a manifest proof of our Lord’s innocence, the truth of his doctrine, and the fulfillment of all that the prophets had spoken, as to leave no doubt on any considerate and candid mind.”

The son of God has always existed, just as the spirit has. The trinity was in existence at the time earth and man was created. This is the reason for the pluralism, ‘our’, when we hear that man was made in ‘our’ image. Jesus was not defined the ‘Son of God’ during his life on earth, but long ago. However, the resurrection, an activity that only ever happened once (Lazarus was resurrected by Christ, Christ resurrected himself) is undeniable proof that Christ is who he says he is, and was ‘declared’ to be. If you go back to verse 3 you see Paul describing Jesus as flesh when he refers to him as the ‘seed of David’. Paul points to his humanness at a period of time, life of David, when Jesus was not yet born from the virgin Mary. But yet Jesus ‘was made from the seed of David’. Christ has always been as he was prophesied to be since the old testament. This is important to observe because we as man need to fully understand and believe that Jesus was man and is our example as to living according to the Father’s will and not our own. Jesus had to be man, he had to be just like us so that we could not say, “yeah well he was God and I am not”. He was tempted like we are, hungry like we are, thirsty like we are, hurt and alone like we are, and if anyone reads about his walk to the cross with any amount of sincerity, you have to admit that his body was broken like ours are.

To this point, Charles Surgeon said, “He is as much the Son of God as he was the Son of man. The humanity is as true as the divinity, the divinity as true as the humanity.”

Why is this so important to understand? Because just like Christ was flesh, so are you. Christ is God, and you are not. You and I, we are sinners. We are the children of man, and a creation of God. We have no power and authority over our flesh, and to ward off satan. However, because Christ came and sacrificed himself on the cross, we have the opportunity to accept the spirit into our flesh. At that moment, this part of Paul’s teaching becomes paramount in our faith. It is a teaching to the difference of being a man open to the sin of the world without Christ and being a redeemed soul in Christ living in our flesh. The difference between being alive in flesh, and being dead in flesh. With the acceptance of the spirit, we become appointed, marked out for heaven. Man is broken and needy. We are poor and sinful. We have no hope, just the coming of death. In the spirit we are rich. We have hope in the promise of Christ. We have the coming of a transition to eternity. We are the called of Jesus, because we saw the flesh and warred with it, losing every time. Until that day we called on Jesus, the son of God, and requested to be filled with the spirit so that, as the war against the flesh continues, we may turn that war over to Him, for He already has be victorious.

The proof of this meaning is noted in verse 6 of Romans 1, “Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ:”

Calling on the LORD with the sincere repenting mind, we too become a child of God. Reflecting back to verse one Paul said that he is, “separated unto the Gospel of God.” There is a pattern here. Christ was always marked-out as the son of God, Paul received the spirit and was therefore “separated”, or marked out, unto the Gospel. Our flesh is not to be held onto. Understand that this part of your body is not the priority. The soul is. It is not what we are that should drive us, but rather what we are defined and determined and marked-out to be that drives us. We are marked-out to have fellowship, a true relationship, with God the father. We cannot do that when we allow our flesh to get in the way. We cannot do that when we do not see ourselves as marked-out, as different from the rest of the unredeemed world. We are not better than anyone, we are separated because we know how weak we are, how defenseless we are, and how much we need Christ. We separate ourselves because that is the example of Christ, and the apostles.

I am grateful that Jesus came in the flesh to show me being in the flesh alone is not good. I must have a power inside me, His power. I am glad that Paul recorded this message, that I might see the importance of knowing that I am appointed for something greater than just living in sinful flesh, so that I can understand, and help others understand, that the flesh is broken and useless, that I can doing nothing to save myself but confess to the Father that I want to be marked-out for His Glory and His plan.

If you stand in the mirror what will the reflection tell you about yourself, and what are you going to do about it? May the peace of God be abundantly heaped upon you and your house, straight from the cross to the Christian!

 

 

 

 

 

Are you ‘dependent on’ or ‘independent of’ your Shepherd?

I heard a Sermon the other day that really interested me, and stirred up my soul. The pastor was preaching on Psalm 23. This is a famous psalm in that even non-believers are familiar with it.

Psalm 23- 23 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. 3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. 5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Now the pastor preached about the whole psalm, but I am focused on one word, “Shepherd”. Why is the King of Kings, LORD of LORDS, Host of Hosts, the Great I AM, also referred to as The Good Shepherd? And why are we as individuals referred to as a sheep, and collectively as a “flock” of sheep. I wanted to tear this apart and break it down.

In order to understand, fully, the great Shepherd, we need to understand fully the sheep. Do you know that sheep have poor eye sight? They have excellent hearing, discerning the sounds distinct to their mother. Did you know that they do not have sharp teeth? In fact, they only have teeth on the bottom front for pinching vegetation, like grass, and 30 or so back teeth for grinding. There is certainly no defense mechanism in the teeth of sheep. Did you know that a sheep has no nails or claws to defend itself? Did you know that, if a sheep is not sheared and its fleece is allowed to grow, a sheep cannot get up if it falls down and could die? A sheep sounds like a pretty defenseless animal. If you are a sheep herder, and you have even a few sheep, and they are important enough to a farmer, that herder will employ the services of a sheep dog to protect the flock from foxes, wolves, and coyotes, as well as other predators. Why? Because a sheep is pretty defenseless!

So let’s look at the shepherd of a flock of sheep. What does a shepherd do for his sheep? He has to make sure he leads the sheep to pastures for food, to water for drink. Because of the big fleece a sheep produces, there is grooming involved to prevent disease in the sheep and in the flock. Sometimes they help bring new lambs into the world. They protect the flock from predators. They lead the flock from one area to another. And to a good shepherd, when one sheep goes astray, he goes and gets that sheep. Again, most shepherds do employ the service of a sheep dog to help with the herding. One interesting observation I have made is, as I looked into shepherding, I saw many photos of shepherds “driving” the flock from behind the flock. An interesting note as we continue.

When we read the bible we have to remember that a lot of the analogies written therein are about activities that the people knew of, were a way of life, and could relate to. Today, sheep herding is still going on, but probably not in the same way, and not as a way of life. There are many city folk who probably never saw a ewe or ram, let alone know how defenseless they are. That is why I chose to write about this. I think we forget the true meaning of biblical stories and how they identify God’s will for us in our present day.

Jesus Christ is our Shepherd. That means we are his sheep. Do you fully understand just how vulnerable you are to the great predator, who walks to and fro seeking out those who he may devour? Do you fully understand that you have no defense of your own? I often think that as we get saved, and grow in our faith that we get to thinking that, somehow, we no longer need the shepherd. When I go to church, and I go to many different churches, on a Wednesday night there are so many programs and activities going on independent of but at the same time of the Shepherd’s teaching, or as I would say, his leading/feeding the flock. I cannot help but wonder, every once in a while, do these people not need prayer? Is there no one for them to pray for? Since there is a Wednesday night bible study, I also wonder, do they already know the whole bible and all of God’s will that they do not need to be in with the shepherd? On Sunday, I see people out in the hallways talking casually to one another and some running in and out of offices tending to “business” matters of the church while the Shepherd feeds his flock. Do you not need to hear the sermon? Are you that secure? Is it because you are an officer or elder in the church that you no longer need a shepherd? According to what I understand, according to what this Psalm teaches, you are a sheep and you have no defense against the devil. Either you are a wondering sheep or you are of His flock. Which one is it?

Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

I think this verse; along with the soothing sound of the shepherd leading me to green pastures, sometimes gives us a misleading sense that we are not susceptible to sin. That somehow it is you who is doing the miracles and not the Holy Spirit; that it is you who wards off evil, and not the Holy Spirit. You alone are not the strength; you alone are not the power. You alone are not the safe sheep. You can do all things WITH Christ. The SHEPHERD leads you. You are a follower, and you are to be obedient to the leader. You cannot act divinely independent of Christ. If you recall, satan tried that once, it didn’t work out all that great for him and he was the most powerful and beautiful angel. You cannot fight satan without the blood of Christ. In fact, you don’t fight satan, you call on the Spirit, and it is the Spirit that fights satan, not you. Not any part of you.

Matthew 9:36  But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.

You are helpless. Being a follower of Christ, being obedient to His will, is totally and completely incumbent upon you humbling yourself as to understand that you are nothing. You cannot do anything on your own. You are totally dependent on your shepherd. The sinful world believes that believers in Christ think we are better than everyone else. Quite the opposite!! We true believers know and accept that what we really are is broken useless vessels without Christ. We are doomed, insufficient, incapable, deficient, and destined for hell.

Many people say, “I don’t have to go to Church to have a relationship with God.” You’re right, you don’t. But do you realize that as Christ is the shepherd of His flock, meaning all followers- the universal body/universal church of Christ, and, in the same regard, shepherds are anointed by God to be shepherds of the local churches. Look at what he told Peter. If you are at home, how do you enjoy the benefits of a flock? How do you benefit from being fed by the Shepherd Christ appointed to feed you?

John 21:15-17 15 So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. 16 He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. 17 He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.

Now there are particular meanings to using ‘Lamb’ and then ‘Sheep’ twice. That is a lesson for another day. Here, for my purpose of writing, we need to focus on the fact that Christ sends to the sheep, shepherds. You cannot be your own Shepherd!! Even the shepherds need shepherds. I know that there are “Pastors to the Pastors” “Ministers to the Ministers”. We all need to be fed and groomed and led and protected. I made an observation earlier that the pictures of shepherds that I saw as I studied this showed shepherds “driving” the flock from the rear. Our Shepherd leads from the front of the flock. Following Him is a choice made from free will. How then can a man who made a choice to follow act independently of the leader? Is that true following? I don’t think it is; I think you are leading yourself in your own direction. We need Jesus Christ for our salvation. Stop standing in the halls during church service and go into the sanctuary (the green pasture) and be led by the shepherd anointed and appointed by the Good Shepherd. We are to be so humble as to admit that we are in need. You cannot be truly saved if you don’t think you need to be saved. How then can you claim a Shepherd if you think you are the shepherd? Let’s look more on this subject in the continuing verses regarding the lesson of being a shepherd in John 21.

6 This parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them. 7 Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. 9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. 10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. 11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. 12 But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. 13 The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. 15 As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.

We have a great Shepherd in Jesus Christ. None other can lead to the rest of the green pasture that he leads us to. No other shepherd can protect us from the predator satan. No other can deliver on the promise that Christ has made for and to us. Are you a true sheep in His flock? Have you humbly admitted that you are defenseless, that you can do nothing, and that you are nothing without the Shepherd? That is where it all starts my brethren.

If you stand in the mirror what will the reflection tell you about yourself, and what are you going to do about it? May the peace of God be abundantly heaped upon you and your house, straight from the cross to the Christian!

Do You Care For The Inner Man As Much As You Do The Outer Man?

The pastor of a local church I attend gave a sermon recently on the wonderful verses in Ephesians 3:14-21. I found one bit of the sermon very interesting. So much so, that I could not help but think about studying it in more depth as soon as possible. By the grace of God I was able to do just that, and I share the results with you now.

Ephesians 3

14 For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

15 Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,

16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;

17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,

18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;

19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.

20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,

21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

The pastor spent a bit of time on this text. However, when he got to expound on verse 16, and talked more about the inner man, the spirit woke me up. I paid attention with great interest and walked away with the desire to learn more.

First let’s remember that the letter to the church of Ephesus was intended to encourage the church, to motivate them to be firm in their faith and in the purpose of the church. And that is what he means in his first three words, “for this cause”. Paul has spent some time talking about the unity of the church in Christ, the wonderful blessings of God, and praying for God to give wisdom and knowledge so that they, the church, can be enlightened. He talks to them about how we are made alive in Christ, that there is grace and mercy to be had from the hands of God. So Paul tells the church that it is for this cause that he prays for them.

Paul prays that God, according to His will, strengthens each of them by way of the might of the Holy Spirit that dwells in them. It is the “inner man” that amazes me in this verse.

Adam Clarke comments, “…Every man is a compound being; he has a body and a soul. The outward man is that alone which is seen and considered by men; the inward man is that which stands particularly in reference to God and eternity. The outward man is strengthened by earthly food, etc.; the inward man, by spiritual and heavenly influences. Knowledge, love, peace, and holiness, are the food of the inward man; or rather Jesus Christ, that bread of life which came down from heaven: he that eateth this bread shall live and be strengthened by it. The soul must be as truly fed and nourished by Divine food as the body by natural food…” I am absolutely in love with this, as it is the reason why I feel I need a church that has both, a morning Sunday school class, and a service. I thirst for the word and simply cannot understand any self-proclaimed Christian who is totally fine with one hour of soul feeding per week. I wonder what the outward man would do if it were to eat and drink for only one hour a week, hummmmmm!!!

Now in his sermon, the pastor spoke briefly about a practice that most believers engage in regularly. That is, we normally, and rightly, pray for external things. We pray for unbelievers to get saved and become believers. We pray for the sick to be healed. We pray for finances, children, households, jobs, political leaders, and so on. Most of us do pray that God strengthens the leaders of the church. But the question is this, “How often do we pray for the strengthening of the inner man of our brothers and sisters?” I pray for your situation because I know your struggling. That is NOT at all the same as praying that God, according to His will and according to His infinite supply, strengthen the spirit in you that you will be encouraged to press on through your own trials. In addition to praying for the desired outcome, we are reminded here by Paul of the importance to pray for the strengthening of the power of the spirit that is inside the brethren.

John Gill commented, “Believers in Christ need fresh supplies of strength to enable them to exercise grace, to perform duties, to resist Satan and his temptations, to oppose their corruptions, and to bear the cross, and undergo afflictions cheerfully, and to hold on and out to the end….” I highlighted ‘cheerfully’ because even I, most of the time, do not endure temptation and persecution cheerfully. I dislike it and let everyone know I dislike it. I am wrong about that, and need to work on that. Another lesson for another day, but I did have to stop for a second and give this very important Christian characteristic its due attention.

Henry Ironside commented, “Do you sometimes feel your limitations, your weakness, your lack of purpose, your powerlessness when it comes to living for God and witnessing for Him? Do you feel as though you might as well give up for the little you accomplish? Do you say, “If I only had more strength, how different it might be”? Listen! Then Excellency of the power is of God, not of us, and the Holy Spirit who dwells within us is ready to work in and through us to the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ…..”

I think we often forget that we are not the source of our own power. If there is one idea that kills this lesson, if there is one action of man that prevents the total understanding of this thought it is the idolatrous thought that we create our own power. It is idolatry to believe that it is our own workings that enable and empower us. It is Idolatry that causes us to believe that I can pray for your circumstances and that prayer will be effectual because of the power that I generate within me. This lesson works only when we realize that we are NOT the source of the power, that God is the source of the power and that it does our souls well to request replenishment from the divine storehouse of power. In my more common and blunt words, get out of your own way and let God do His thing!! I think that Ironside says it quite well here. If we remember that the power comes from God, then we will remember that we have to go to God to be replenished of that power. Then, as Gill points out, we are refreshed to battle satan and all his advances on the redeemed. We are refreshed to continue in our services to God. We are refreshed to have patience and give grace to those who persecute us. Only by the Grace of God are we empowered to do such things.

Albert Barnes comments, “…..Every Christian needs grace given each day to enable him to bear trials, to resist temptation, to discharge his duty, to live a life of faith…..”

Notice that Paul says, in the beginning of verse 16, “that He would grant you…” Paul indicates that it is well to pray for one another, but as saints it is important that you pray for your inner man. You need to request the power, and Paul states that he prays God will grant it. James 4:2 tells us we do not have because we do not ask. We must also pray for ourselves. When you are on the plane, you get the lecture about traveling with children and oxygen masks. Put yours on first. Take care of yourself first so that you are able to serve others. Pray for your inner man first. In the military the leaders are told they are no good to the troops if they are dead. There is a reason why generals are not on the front lines. Who will lead if the leader is dead? Take care of yourself first s that you may lead the fight, so that you may lead the troops. Pray for your inner man first! Plug into the power, refresh, replenish. Be at full strength before you pray for others.

Charles Ellicott comments, “….St. Paul emphasises this prayer very strikingly by asking that the gift may be “according to the riches of His glory,” unlimited as the illimitable glory of the Divine Nature itself. Moreover, a greater closeness of communion is clearly indicated here. For light is a gift from without; strength comes from an indwelling power, making itself perfect in weakness, and continually growing from grace to grace….”

My closing thought…. if you stand in the mirror what will the reflection tell you about yourself? Have you been truly seeking the replenishing power of almighty God, or have you been ignoring that thinking you are the source of the power? Perhaps your reflection is indicating that you never gave the source of our power much thought before. However, you now clearly understand what Paul was saying to the churches of Ephesus, and want to partake of riches, be empowered by His might, be rooted and grounded in His love, be able to comprehend the breadth, length, depth, and height of His love, and be filled with the fullness of God. What does the mirror say, and what are you going to do about it? May His divine peace be with you and your house!!!

I Am Broken, And My LORD Makes Me Whole!

Maybe not everyone will agree with me on this, but in some way, shape, or form, I believe we are all broken. I have never met one person who, for the entirety of their life, has never met opposition, abuse, depression, pain, long suffering, tragedy, emotional distress, and/or grief. Maybe there are some who cannot think of one time in their life when they wondered about the meaning of life, where they fit in, what they’re doing wrong, or why they are even alive. But as for me, I cannot imagine that this one person exists. Even my Lord, Jesus the Christ, was broken. I have often pictured his broken body as they nailed him to the cross. When I feel down, or in the deepest bowel of my struggle, I see the mental image of Him. I know that there is nothing that I am enduring that can begin to compare to the pain and suffering He endured. And yet, He overcame death. He is the Lilly that blooms every day. From the withered tree, a tree mal-nourished, dry, leafless, a flower blooms. Even from our own pitiful situations, we can shine like the North Star. Even in the pit of despair, we can light the way of another’s path. We wallow in our own sorrow, feeling so sorry for ourselves, missing the pain and suffering of others. I am so glad that my God uses broken people. I am so glad that in the midst of great sorrow, I can still have joy. The joy that comes from knowing I am not forgotten, I am not alone, and I am nowhere near as bad off as I believe I am. I see broken every day, or at least almost every day. I hear of burn out and the professional life expectancy of a person who deals with other broken people. But praise God, I have a counselor who hears my cries, who lifts me up when I need to be lifted, who has put the right people in my life who don’t mind if I call them and vent, and who are always willing to love and care for me. Maybe most people who read this think I am crazy, and maybe you do not believe in what I believe in, I am okay with that because it is your choice. But I have to tell you that I cannot imagine being burnt out; I cannot imagine having a life span in any field that is any shorter than the life span that God has intended for me to even walk the face of this earth. I cannot imagine it because He is where my strength comes from. If I burn out, I have lost my faith. I am not so foolish as to believe that I am in charge of anything; I do not believe that I have control over anything other than the choices I make. When I chose to have faith in my Lord, when I chose to drop all of my woes at the foot of the cross and walk away, I come away refreshed, more so than any man can refresh me, more so than any medication can refresh me, more so than any drink or drug can falsely refresh me. We are all withered trees. We all have endured, some of us continue to endure, and wonder why. Where are you getting your nourishment? We should understand that even in our brokenness, we can bloom, we have something to offer, and God has a purpose for us. Instead of asking why me, ask for the Lord to show you the next step. Let the flower bloom and let everybody see it. Lift your head, open your eyes, take that step, reach out that hand, shoulders back, back straight, and carry on. These are the flowers. Let them bloom! Move forward in spite of the withered tree that you are. That is the flower. Let it bloom!  The perseverance, the determination, the endurance, the plowing through, these are the flowers. Let them bloom! The experience that just taught you a lesson, the new knowledge you have, the new friends who found you in your time of despair, these are the flowers. Let them bloom! The testimony you now have to share with others, the compassion you have for other withered trees just like you, the journey that brought you through, these are the flowers. Let them bloom! Just when you think nothing good can come from where you are, a flower will bloom. That’s the Lilly, that’s the Lord. Let Him bloom in you! Just when you think you cannot take anymore, you carry on. That’s the Lilly, that’s the Lord, let Him bloom in you! I praise God this morning for all that He has carried me through. I praise God for the lessons, and the strength. I praise God because I know that today, I am going to rely on Him, and I will see a flower come from a withered tree. May the peace of God be with you all today!