Ephesians 1:15-23

     I am very thankful to God for the faith that you have and that you not only have faith, but you also have love for the saints.
     There are many who say they have faith, but they do not have love for all the saints.
Paul saw that the testimony of the Ephesians was loving. Within them flowed the love of God that was kept alive in the body of Christ and others – including Paul – saw that that part of the body of Christ was living the life of Christ because of the love of God flowing between them.
     True love is like the blood that flows in the veins in our body. If a part of the body lacks the flow of blood, the skin appears pale or dead – there is no sensitivity to what is going on in or around it.
     In the spiritual body (the body of Christ) if someone lacks love, the person is not concerned about anything other than what is happening in their own life/things.
     Jesus Christ said, You shall love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:39).
     This practice begins in our homes, then in the church among the saints and the world will see this testimony and know that we are disciples of Christ, the people who truly are of God by the love that dwells in us which is God because God is Love.
     Paul was joyful and encouraged in the Lord when he saw the testimony of the Ephesians because their love was sincere. He kept them in his prayers....

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     So that their faith would be deeper, Paul prayed - that the Father of glory “give you... the spirit of wisdom. The beginning of wisdom is the fear of God and it is what helps us know what is right and what is not right in the eyes of God.
     When the spirit of wisdom, which is from God, is in us, it gives us the ability to see things from God’s perspective [actions, words, decisions, intentions of the heart, etc.] – as He sees things.     

     Because we are now His children - now we are clean, now we are called saints of God, now it is necessary to grow in holiness. It is imperative that we go deeper into understanding what it means to have Christ in us.
     Paul’s prayer has to be the prayer of all the saints, those who are called: children of God.
    - The spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him - 
     When we talk about “knowing the Lord”, many times, we are thinking/speaking of the first step – believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved; But, if we look further, or deeper, we would see that knowing the Lord is something in which we grow continually.
     Just as He revealed Himself to the children of Israel step by step on their journey from Egypt to the Promised Land, and even after. He revealed Himself as Jehovah (Exodus 3:14) the Deliverer. He revealed Himself as Jehovah-Jireh the Provider (Exodus 17:14-16), Jehovah-Raffa the Healer, when He healed the waters of Marah (Exodus 15:26), Jehovah-Rohi – the Good Shepherd when He led them through the wilderness (Psalm 77:11, 20), and Jehovah-Nissi – the Lord is my Banner, my victory (Exodus 17:14-16).
     We, spiritually, have the same story. We were in Egypt and the Lord delivered us. When we believed in the Lord, we made a covenant with Him like the Israelites on Mount Sinai.
     Do we know the Lord as Yahweh? The Great I Am, He Who WAS, He Who IS, and He Who is to come?
     If we do not know the Lord more deeply, it is necessary to pray for one another so that our understanding may be enlightened, so that we walk knowing and understanding without a doubt...
 

 

 

 

 

To us who believe - Jesus said: If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes. (Mark 9:23). When we grow in the Lord, in the fear of God, we learn wisdom, and when we grow in wisdom and in the knowledge of the Lord, we will understand more of what God's will is. When we understand what God's will is, we can understand more of how to pray/ask in agreement with God's will so that God's power will be seen/revealed when He answers; because we are asking and acting in agreement with Him.
Glory to God!!!That is how God worked in Christ and then raised Him from the dead and now He reigns forever. God has the same purpose for us when we come into agreement with Him

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Psalm 91:9-11, 14-16

Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge,

even the most High, thy habitation; 
There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. 
For He shall give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.

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This is the answer from the LORD

Psalm 91:14-16

     Because he hath set his love upon Me, therefore will I deliver him:

I will set him on high, because he hath known My name. 
He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him:

I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. 
With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him My salvation. 

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     It is of utmost importance that we remember these things, especially today, so that we have the strength and confidence in the Lord to say confidently:

As it says in Psalm 23:1 - The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.
And in Psalm 27:1 - Jehovah is my Helper - whom shall I fear? Jehovah is the strength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?