04/11/2024
Encouraging Word – Ephesians 3:16-19
I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
If you get nothing from the Bible than this one thing, maybe it is worth it. Well, at least to start with. There is something to be said about support. One thing that all people need is support and love. If these basic needs are not met, nothing else in life seems to go right. This starts actually at birth, so just bear with me and I will try to bring it around. It’s called child attachment disorder. CAD for short, is caused by lack of attention to the child by the primary caregiver. Unfortunately, this kind of thing does happen and the outcome for the child is traumatic.
A child suffering with CAD often can’t control his/her anger, is anxious, depressed, or fearful, doesn’t interact well with others, and doesn’t do well in school. As a teen they will more than likely be in trouble with the law, and may have anxiety, depression, or phobias. In other words, CAD produces social dissonance in children that will last a lifetime if not addressed. Here is the great part. It can be addressed, it can be corrected, it can be overcome. The only action needed is consistent support. The earlier CAD is recognized, the easier the remedy. The later it is recognized, the longer before someone is able to elicit trust.
You may be wondering, “What does this have to do with the verse for this week?” The Christian walk, the Christian life, is not unlike the natural life we each encounter from day-to-day. New Christians are referred to as babes in Christ. As you are maturing in your understanding, you are feeding on the milk of the Word. Through that process you need support. Sometimes you are born into a family who is loving and supportive and very Christian. Other times there are those who do not have that privilege. They do not have the support to help them mature into healthy Christians. There are, of course, two extremes. And then there is everything in between.
My point is this, as Paul states in II Timothy 3:16, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:” and in the verse for this week we find that once again we can discover what we need in the Bible. From Ephesians 3 we see that we have the support we need to grow strong in the Lord even when we cannot find it where we live. This is in the Bible because it is true for all ages. This prayer of Paul to the Ephesians is still relevant today. Though prayed about 2000 years ago, to a people probably different from you, God had this letter preserved because this prayer from Paul is what Christ has prayed for you as well. Not only that you are empowered, but that you will also grasp God’s love for you.
God does wish to empower you; God does wish for you to understand His love. And so God put this in His Word. God wants you to know that even though you may not have all the support you would like from your surroundings, you have His support from His Word through Paul’s prayer for you; for you to be “rooted and grounded, and established in love…” this is one of the many ways God is able to share His support for us even when we are not yet able to see Him face-to-face.
PS. Please pray with me. Prayer: Tuesday at 6pm will be Open Arms. Wednesday at 6pm will be Crookston. and Thursday at 6pm will be Karlstad. I will be at each church on the respective day if anyone would like to pray together in person. Otherwise, take a few minutes out of your day and unite with me in prayer for our district, for God to raise up “workers for the harvest.” “The harvest is ready, but the workers are few.”
I pray God's richest blessing on you, that you in turn, may bless those who God places around you.