Wednesday, 9/4/19 – Pressing on…

Back to School: homework!

At the close of our service last Sunday Elder Don Longworth led in a prayer right out of scripture: Paul’s prayer for the believers in Ephesus and indeed for all believers. He prayed,

“That [God] would grant
[You] be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man
That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith
That [you] be rooted and grounded in love,
[That you would] be able to comprehend the breadth, and length, and depth, and height [of Christ]
[That you would] know the love of Christ, which passes knowledge
[That you would] be filled with all the fullness of God.

He reminds his audience that our God “is able to do far, far more than anything we could possibly ask or think…” And that He will do so “according to the power [His Power] that is at work within us” (see Eph. 3:16-21)

Fittingly, this week being the start of “back-to-school” week, Don asked that we make this prayer our ‘homework assignment’ this week. He challenged each of us to go to the Lord in prayer substituting our own name for each of the pronouns in the prayer, then contemplate what that prayer fulfilled would look like in our individual lives.

Paul reminds us in Philippians that each of us must “work out our salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil. 2:12). God does not just plop virtues or spiritual growth into our lives and ‘poof’ suddenly we are super Christians! No, we must work in cooperation with God if we are to grow more in Christ-likeness. There is ‘homework’ for each of us to do with the lessons God gives us. Solomon noted, “correction and instruction are the way to life” (Prov. 6:23)

So, what is your part in strengthening your inner man? How can you grant Christ more freedom to dwell in your heart? What can you do to make sure that love is not just an occasional activity, but something “rooted and grounded” in your heart? How can you add more to your comprehension of the very Being, Love and Fullness of Christ?

So, before you go out to play today, do your homework. Pray about these things. Ask God to show you your part in at least one of these areas today.

Press on…