Verse of the Day 1/23

Ephesians 1:17-19 (I pray)  that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,   RSV

In our men's Bible study group met this morning we studied about the "persistent widow" in Luke 18.  She received what she wanted from the unjust judge through persistence.  He may have responded to her so as not to get a black eye in public opinion.  Today's prayer from Paul for the Ephesian church and for us is one that we can consistently pray for.  We can be sure that God listens and that he will give us what we need as a just judge or loving father.

 

The RSV puts the word "spirit" in lower case.  John MacArthur notes that the word "spirit" here "refers to a disposition or attitude of humility, as in, "blessed are the poor in spirit" (Matt:. 5:3).  "Revelation" means knowledge  that God imparts through His Word.  "Wisdom" is the application of that knowledge to daily living.  The combined effect is a humble attitude toward God's Word that compels you to learn it and to integrate it into every aspect of our lives...... Paul's prayer is that you will understand as much as possible so that godly wisdom and revelation will govern all your attitudes and actions.  Let that be your goal today."

 

As we talked about the widow's prayer this morning, I quoted an old Doobie Brothers song that contained the line "tell me what you want and I'll give you what you need."  We need to be persistent in our prayers, while knowing that we may not always get what we want, but He will give us what we need.  I think it would be safe to say that this prayer of Paul's is something each of us need today, to have a spirit of wisdom and have the eyes of our hearts enlightened to know that hope to which He has called us.

 

In Christ,
Mike

 

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Eph 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace  NIV

Ephesians 1:15-22 The Message (MSG)

 ^15-19That's why, when I heard of the solid trust you have in the Master Jesus and your outpouring of love to all the followers of Jesus, I couldn't stop thanking God for you—every time I prayed, I'd think of you and give thanks. But I do more than thank. I ask—ask the God of our Master, Jesus Christ, the God of glory—to make you intelligent and discerning in knowing him personally, your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is he is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life he has for his followers, oh, the utter extravagance of his work in us who trust him—endless energy, boundless strength!

 ^20-23All this energy issues from Christ: God raised him from death and set him on a throne in deep heaven, in charge of running the universe, everything from galaxies to governments, no name and no power exempt from his rule. And not just for the time being, but forever. He is in charge of it all, has the final word on everything. At the center of all this, Christ rules the church. The church, you see, is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the church. The church is Christ's body, in which he speaks and acts, by which he fills everything with his presence.