Come Boldly to the Father

Scripture-
This was in accordance to the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, in Whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him.  Therefore I ask you not to lose heart at my tribulations on your behalf, for they are for your glory.

Observation-
God's eternal purpose has been carried out in Christ.
In Christ we can come boldly and confidently to God- we have been given access to the Almighty!
Paul does not want the Ephesians to lose heart- he reminds them again that his suffering, his imprisonment is in accordance with God's will- even in prison his life is meant for their glory, for their good.

Application-
Everything we have read leads us up to this point-in Christ we have bold and confident access to the Father.
What keeps me away?  Do I think I am too wretched?  Have I spent too much time going my own way?  Simple faith in Jesus has granted me access- I am a new person, even though I still struggle with sin everyday, God says, come.  Come.  There should be no fear.  Come boldly, come confidently, because I belong to God. He has poured out the riches of His grace on me.  Is there anything that I cannot bring to Him? Absolutely not! I am reminded of a time when Jesus asked the twelve disciples what they were thinking.
"From there they went out and began to go through Galilee, and He did not want anyone to know about it.  For He was teaching His disciples and telling them, 'The Son of Man is to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him; and when He has been killed, He will rise three days later.'  But they did not understand this statement, and they were afraid to ask Him.  They came to Capernaum; and when He was in the house, he began to question them, 'What were you discussing on the way?'  But they kept silent, for on the way they had discussed with one another which of them was the greatest.  Sitting down, He called the twelve and said to them, 'If anyone wants to be first, he shall be last and servant of all."  Mark 9:30-35, NASB
The disciples were afraid to ask. We do not need to be afraid.  Through Jesus we get to come boldly and confidently.  That is the application I am going to make for my Mary heart.

Be Blessed,
Deb

Faith and Love

"For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists in you and your love for all the saints, do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers;

That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of  Him." (Eph. 1:15-17, NASB)

Paul had heard of the faith of these saints in Ephesus.  I just read in Matthew this morning how disappointed Jesus was in the lack of faith exhibited by the disciples.  He tells them in Matthew 17:20 (NLT), “You don’t have enough faith, I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move.  Nothing would be impossible.”
I wonder what their faith must have been like.  Were the saints at Ephesus mountain movers?  I sometimes wonder if my lack of faith hinders the work God wants to do.  Do I really believe that nothing is impossible with God?  And if such a small amount of faith can allow God to move mountains than what would happen if I begin right now to ask God to increase my faith?

There was another aspect of the Ephesians that Paul commended them for; their love for one another.  That is something that is supposed to set us apart as followers of Christ.  They will know us by our love.  We have the supreme example in Christ's sacrifice for us-For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.  I am challenged by that thought.  If I really want my life to be a reflection of God, than love for others has got to be a driving force in my life.  Rather convicting to think about how many times I am unwilling to lay down my life for others.  Not as in actually sacrificing my physical existence, but in placing others ahead of myself.  Dropping my goals for the day, my "best laid plans" to love on those who cross my path.  In my rush to get through the checkout line do I stop to think what even a smile could do for the others in line, for the harried cashier?  Do I have the right attitude when I am doing the laundry and cleaning toilets for my family?  Am I willing to rearrange my day, with a joyful heart, when someone calls on me for help, or to talk?  Am I willing to take time out of my day to pray for others in earnest?

In my ever growing desire to learn how to pray I have here a wonderful model of how to pray for the believer's in my life, and myself as well.   Above all else we need a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him.  We need God to continually reveal Himself to us so that we can grow in our knowledge of Him.  Do you want to know God more?  Then pray for Him to reveal Himself to you and He will do it.


Be Blessed,
Deb