Paul says to the Ephesians, In conclusion, be strong in the Lord [be empowered through your union with Him]; draw your strength from Him [that strength which His boundless might provides]. (Eph 6:10).
As he closes his letter to the brethren he admonishes them to be "strong in the Lord." Most people want God to make them strong, but Jesus did not come to make us strong in ourselves but rather He came to become for us our strength. It is our "UNION" with Him that provides us strength. It is our relationship with Him that ultimately produces the strength (the very JOY) that is needed to live this earth bound life. We are to draw our strength from His Love.
In the face of the battle of life "what are we to do?" BE STRONG IN THE LORD! Rely upon our union our, oneness with the ONE who has "chosen us before the foundation of the world," who "made us alive," who "has seated us together with Him."
Our strength comes from Love. A love that the world had never known before. A love that was furiously focused on restoring His union with us. Into the midst of our weakness He came and rescued us with His Divine Embrace. Within that Embrace all Embarrassment disappears. All our weaknesses and fears are destroyed and we are empowered to receive all that He is and has.
Be Strong! Be Courageous! Put on the whole armor of God. The very Presence of the One who has come not only once as the son of Mary but also He has come to live within our hearts. Yes the Holy Spirit longs to make His home within us. We must allow the ONE who walked the shores and the waves of Galilee to live within us.
To be filled with the Spirit of the Lord is the very hope of every individual and the essence of the church. We are a people who are in need of the very Presence of the Lord who is a "Spirit" and who desires to fill us with Himself.
Eph 3:14-16
14 For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 from 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 through His Spirit in the inner man,
NKJV
The Church is in need of a Spiritual Strengthening. A reconditioning of long forgotten muscles. A recovering of abilities that were given to us in the new birth. We need to "RE-THINK" what it means to be the church. The Church is the body of the Christ. We are his family, we are the continuation of His ministry. A ministry that was full of the power of the Holy Spirit. I am truly convinced that we have allowed the rationality of our times to rob us of the potential and possibility of the manifestation of the supernatural realities of the Holy Spirit.
This is a cry! This is a shout to the Church! BE STRONG IN THE LORD. Rather thaN chasing to find or build strength in ourselves we must rely upon the Holy Spirit. It is He who was sent to empower us to be the sons and daughters of the Most High.
So today... Put on the armor of the Lord. and Pray ... Pray in the Spirit ... ALWAYS!!!!!
Monday, August 31, 2009
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
ReThink Church
The early Christians discovered that telling the story of Jesus carried a power which they continually associated with the Holy Spirit. The book of Acts makes these references often: "Filled with the Holy Spirit, they spoke God's word with boldness." "The Word of God continued to spread." "The word of God continued to advance and gain adherents." The Word of God grew mightily and prevailed" (Acts 4:31; 6:7; 12:24: 19:20).
Paul said it like this, "When you received the word of God from us, you accepted it not as human word, but as what it really is, God's word, which is also at work in you beleivers." "The word of truth, the gospel which has come to you....bearing fruit and growing in the whole world" (1 Thessalonians 2:13; Colossians 1:5-6).
They were using old language with a new intent. "Bearing fruit and growing," is a direct connection to the language of the first creation, of Genesis chapter one. "By the word of YHWH were the heavens made, and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth," (Psalm 33:6).
The early Christians were now saying the very same word is now at work in you through the good news, the "gospel," the message that declares Jesus as the risen Lord.
"The Word is near you, on your lips and in your heart: because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." (Romans 10:8-9).
In other words, when you announce the good news that the risen Jesus is Lord, that very word is the word of God, (who created the first creation), is now the carrier or agent of God's Spirit, the means by which, (as Isaiah had prophesied), new life (everlasting, abundant life), from God's dimension comes to bring new creation with in our life (Isaiah 40:8; 55:10-13).
That is how the church is to carry forward the work of Jesus! Luke said, “all that Jesus began to do and teach.” The implication is clear: that the story of the church, led and energized by the power of the Holy Spirit, is the story of Jesus continuing to do and teach — through His Spirit-led people. That is why we pray “Thy Kingdom come thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.”
Together as we are filled with and empowered by the Holy Spirit we are the hands, the feet, the very continuation of the ministry of Jesus. Empowered by His Spirit we can love each other and the world around us in such a way that the very Presence of the Lord is revealed to all. We must “Re-Think” what it means to be the church.
We are so much more than an institution, an organization or a building. We are so much more than a group of people gathered around some sort of common vision or a set of values. The Church is spiritually and literally the "body of the Christ." We are the "house of the Lord." We are the "dwelling place, the temple of the Holy Spirit."
When we "unite" together in love for the Lord and in love with each other we become the very "living organism" of the Christ. He Himself lives in us! (Col. 1:27). The reality of His Presence is to be found and encountered in the very midst of our loving God and each other.
Our unity, our worship, our relationship with each other is absolutely essential for the ministry of Christ to continue on the earth. We must Re-think ..... what it means to be the church.
Paul said it like this, "When you received the word of God from us, you accepted it not as human word, but as what it really is, God's word, which is also at work in you beleivers." "The word of truth, the gospel which has come to you....bearing fruit and growing in the whole world" (1 Thessalonians 2:13; Colossians 1:5-6).
They were using old language with a new intent. "Bearing fruit and growing," is a direct connection to the language of the first creation, of Genesis chapter one. "By the word of YHWH were the heavens made, and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth," (Psalm 33:6).
The early Christians were now saying the very same word is now at work in you through the good news, the "gospel," the message that declares Jesus as the risen Lord.
"The Word is near you, on your lips and in your heart: because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." (Romans 10:8-9).
In other words, when you announce the good news that the risen Jesus is Lord, that very word is the word of God, (who created the first creation), is now the carrier or agent of God's Spirit, the means by which, (as Isaiah had prophesied), new life (everlasting, abundant life), from God's dimension comes to bring new creation with in our life (Isaiah 40:8; 55:10-13).
That is how the church is to carry forward the work of Jesus! Luke said, “all that Jesus began to do and teach.” The implication is clear: that the story of the church, led and energized by the power of the Holy Spirit, is the story of Jesus continuing to do and teach — through His Spirit-led people. That is why we pray “Thy Kingdom come thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.”
Together as we are filled with and empowered by the Holy Spirit we are the hands, the feet, the very continuation of the ministry of Jesus. Empowered by His Spirit we can love each other and the world around us in such a way that the very Presence of the Lord is revealed to all. We must “Re-Think” what it means to be the church.
We are so much more than an institution, an organization or a building. We are so much more than a group of people gathered around some sort of common vision or a set of values. The Church is spiritually and literally the "body of the Christ." We are the "house of the Lord." We are the "dwelling place, the temple of the Holy Spirit."
When we "unite" together in love for the Lord and in love with each other we become the very "living organism" of the Christ. He Himself lives in us! (Col. 1:27). The reality of His Presence is to be found and encountered in the very midst of our loving God and each other.
Our unity, our worship, our relationship with each other is absolutely essential for the ministry of Christ to continue on the earth. We must Re-think ..... what it means to be the church.
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