Thoughts for the Day

I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love towards all the saints, and for this reason I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power. God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

We started to look at Paul’s letter to the Ephesians yesterday. It is different to some of his other New Testament letters, which is why many scholars think it was written by one of his followers. Unlike Romans, Ephesians was not written so much to address problems in a particular church it was written to explain some of the great themes and doctrines of Christianity, so we looked at the theme of Adoption yesterday, and today we look at the author's prayer that they may know Jesus with the "eyes of their heart enlightened".

I have just bought a 'Baby Bible' produced by SPCK for a friend who works with toddler's in her church. Years ago I too worked with this age group, telling the stories of the Old and New Testament in a very simple way to extremely young children and their parents. We start as youngsters listening to the scriptures and as we mature as Christians we learn more about our faith, as God enlightens us through His Holy Spirit.

Too many Christians though have eyes to see (and ears to hear) but their heart's are not engaged. They listen to scripture, they see the state of our world, but the connection between them is lost. The word "heart" in the bible in the first century concerns the very core of life - where we store what we see, and where experiences are stored. As we mature as Christians and learn more about our faith we should begin to apply this learning to our church and our world. After all we are not passengers, rather we are bus drivers!

Lord Jesus Christ,
we thank You that You have nurtured us from our birth,
sending Your Spirit to guide us.
When we forget to involve You in our life forgive us.
When we take steps forward in faith guide us.
When we forget to take any action forgive us.
When we take practical steps to help others help us.
Amen.