“For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering your in my prayers, 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, 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, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked 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 one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.”  Ephesians 1:15:23

Imagine getting a letter from a brother and sister in Christ, and the above verse is the entire letter, and signed – With much love and prayers, your sister/brother (NAME)

Don’t you love when you chat with your friends, and the conversation is totally honoring and pleasing to the Lord? Many mornings I will get up to an early text from a very dear sister in Lord, encouraging both Steve and I for the day. That really blesses me because that person thought about us with love. I have said this time and time again how much I love the saints at Grace Bible Church, even the unbelievers who attend our church. Steve and I couldn’t ask to be in a better place, we are always being told how they are praying for us. We pray for each person in our congregation by name and even those who have left, you see, it doesn’t matter if one leaves to go another church, we are still the body of Christ.

Paul said, he never ceases to give thanks for each of them and always remembered each one of them in his prayers. I had the opportunity to speak at a Women’s Retreat this past weekend and the outpouring of email that I got from some of my church family and others telling me that they are praying for me were incredible. I received a text from my grandkids saying they prayed for me. Knowing that the saints were going before the throne of grace for me was very comforting.

When someone tells you that they pray for you because of your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, I am sure it brings great joy to your heart. I think of the missionaries that are preaching the gospel to the ends of this earth and what joy it is to them when the people deep in the jungle repented of their sins and surrendered to Jesus Christ.  Notice Paul is not praying for material things but for spiritual blessings and that is more important than anything else.  No one would be able to understand wisdom and knowledge from above without the Holy Spirit.  We can’t have spiritual wisdom without knowing God personally and that is only through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.  Friends, Paul loved the saints so deeply that he wanted God’s best for them. Are we loving the saints deeply that we want to see them grow spiritually, are we helping each other by influencing them how to live a life in Christ? Of course we know that no one can grow in Christ unless the Spirit of God is in the individual’s life.

I love our weekly Bible studies because we encourage each other, build up each other, pray for each other and grow with each other. The most important part of it is growing in God’s word together. None of us is perfect but praise God for His wonderful grace that we can take one day at a time. I believe that the Spirit of God wants to teach us and if we are not learning is because we are depending on our flesh.

Verses 19-23, teaches on the resurrection and enthronement of Jesus Christ. It is the same power that raised Jesus from the dead and seated Him at the right hand of God the Father. It is the same power that works in the hearts of the believers. In Paul’s letter to the Philippians, he wrote “that he may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and may share in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, that by any means he may attain the resurrection from the dead” Phil 3:10-11.  Christianity is our calling because God called us to it. Jesus Christ is in authority over all, everything is being made subject to Him.  He is seated in the heavenly places. How wonderful to know that we the believers who are the church is the body of Christ.  God gave Christ the authority as the head of the church. Believers in Jesus Christ, we need to remember it is the power of Christ that has brought us from death to life and reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross so we are no longer enemies of God.

May we have the same love for the saints, thanking God for each of them, praying for them at all times and encouraging them daily.  May we plead for those to know nothing else but Jesus Christ crucified.

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