Ephesians 1:18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, New American Standard Bible (NASB)
Yesterday we considered the firmly planted tree in Psalm 1 and Jeremiah 17 and how it represented God's people drawing upon His power day by day in season and out of season. This morning, before choosing Ephesians 1:18, I considered Matthew 7:7-8 for today's verse which reads:
7 "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Matthew 7:7-8 English Standard Version (ESV)
We've noted before that the verbs in these verses are all in the perfect tense, they are to be continual. The person that keeps asking, that keeps seeking, that keeps knocking is that "tree" and today's verse from Ephesians 1 is a prayer of Paul, asked for his readers, for us, that the eye's of our hearts may be enlightened. It is a prayer that we should ask continually of ourselves and of others. When we sing the song "Open the Eyes of My Heart" it is in keeping with this. Yes, we want to see His glory, but we also want to see what opportunities lie ahead, we want to have the hope, and we want His will to be done in our lives for His glory.
But we must call on, we must draw from Him. John Piper writes, "without omnipotent help now, we cannot feel the wonder of what we are to become. But if we are granted to feel is as it is, all our emotional reactions to this world will change for the better." Be one of those trees, ask, seek, knock continually that they eyes of your heart may be enlightened to see what God has planned for you, for His glory.
In Christ,
Mike
Follow the Verse of the Day blog at http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com
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 1:15-19
The Message (MSG)
15-19 That'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!
No comments:
Post a Comment