Can't do it on my own

Photo taken from The Vigilant Christian

If I had any question about getting good on my own, Ephesians 2:1-10 answers those questions once and for all.  Right there, in the first verse, under inspiration of the Holy Spirit Paul writes:

"As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins"

Dr. Wayne Barber explains that:

"The word dead in the Greek language is the word Nekros. It comes from the work nekus which means corpse".

The staff over at verse by verse ministries made a point that stirred my heart:

"Just as a corpse cannot revive itself to life, neither can an unbeliever revive his own spirit into new life." 

I could not bring salvation to myself.  Only God by His grace could bring life to my dead spirit that was separated from Him by my sinful condition. Then, I think about Colossians 1:6 that tells me:

"as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, walk in Him"

This brings me to what is stirring in my heart today.  The idea that, just as I could not bring my dead spirit to life in Christ, in daily life I continue to be unable to bring about God's goodness on my own.  I need Him.  It is only by His power that I can change.


What does this mean to me, specifically and practically, in my daily life?

I keep struggling to speak words of God's truth and faith over my work situation instead of the words of overwhelm, exhaustion, and don't-want-to-be-there that keep coming to me. Perhaps the whole struggle is because I'm trying to do this instead of asking God to teach me how to rely on His Holy Spirit within me.  I'm reminded of Jesus' words in Matthew 11:28-30, I'm especially fond of the way Peterson has paraphrased them:

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

Oh Heavenly Father, teach me how to walk with You and work with You.  Empower me to make time throughout my day to come to You. Teach me Your unforced rhythms of grace.

Endless Energey, Boundless Strength

This is an ebook by Rob Hayes (I've never read this book)

This passage that I'm focusing on today, Ephesians 1:15-23,  has long been a favorite of mine.  I'm especially
partial to the way it reads in The Message paraphrase:

^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!
^20-23 All 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.  

I've prayed this over my oldest son since 2006 when he entered into the US Army academy at West Point.  I'd heard how rigorous and difficult it was there so I started praying this over him and have continued to pray this over him periodically.  

What's captivated my attention so much about this passage is the phrase "endless energy, boundless strength".  I struggle in my life with being tired.  I don't know if it's because I have such high pressure jobs, a thyroid condition, or I'm just a less energy kind of person.  Whatever the reason, it's a huge struggle for me.  I want more energy and I want it bad. Yet somehow in my life there has been a disconnect; I know the Scriptures about God giving us energy and I want to live for Him, but I still find my self oh so tired on a daily basis - why? More importantly, how can I change this?

As I've been praying about this, reading, and researching I came across an interesting article by Barry Hall.  I found these statements of his insightful:

"For God to be your God, He knows He has to presence Himself with you intensely enough for you to be refreshed by it and be able to trust Him. He designed you with the needs you have because He wants you to depend on Him--He wants to prove He can be a better God to you than the little "gods" of this world. Repent by coming to the place where you can trust God as your adequacy. The apostle Paul wrote, "Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God" (2 Cor. 3:5). It is entirely realistic for you to experience the presence of God to such an extent that this verse becomes true for you—every moment of every day. "

"The Psalmist wrote, "...O Lord God, You are my confidence..." (Psa. 71:5). It also says, "The Lord is their strength, And He is a saving defense to His anointed." (Psa. 28:8). Repenting by trusting God to draw near and be your strength allows you to experience the anointing of God. 


" Your need can be what drives you to draw near to God and receive His presence. "

"Repentance is a process of humbling yourself from thinking you have to achieve His presence and simply receive it. Repentance will help you find it easier to believe you can draw near and receive."

So, what does all this mean to me?


I keep thinking about that passage from John 15, the 4th through the 8th verses:

⁴ “Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you. In the same way that a branch can’t bear grapes by itself but only by being joined to the vine, you can’t bear fruit unless you are joined with me.
^5-8 “I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you’re joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can’t produce a thing. Anyone who separates from me is deadwood, gathered up and thrown on the bonfire. But if you make yourselves at home with me and my words are at home in you, you can be sure that whatever you ask will be listened to and acted upon. This is how my Father shows who he is—when you produce grapes, when you mature as my disciples. (MSG)

Last week I looked at how I need to come closer to God, to spend more time in the Word.  I haven't done that. I haven't made myself get up earlier and I'm so exhausted by the time that I get home from work that it's a struggle to make myself walk a couple of miles on the Nordic track just so I can get some exercise into my day.  Then I crash; I eat dinner in front of the TV and go to bed early.

So it's got to be in the morning that spend more time with God.  To start my day with more than 3-5 minutes reading and thinking about a devotional.  I recognize that I need more.  Maybe other people don't need more, but I do.

Oh God, please help me.  You know how I have such a hard time getting up in the morning.  Please help me think about getting up to be with You instead of about getting up to go to work.  I'm going to take You at Your Word and, by Your strength and ability, try this.  I'm going to get up early daily for the next couple of weeks and dig into Your Word.  I need more energy - please teach me how to abide in You and receive Your presence and strength.  Thank You that You put up with me. Thank You that You want to be near me. 

Sealed by the Holy Spirit

Photo from The Sanctuary Church

I've finally moved on in Ephesians, a little bit. Today I'm pondering Ephesians 1:12-14 (NASb):


¹² to the end that we who were the first to hope in ^]Christ would be to the praise of His glory. ¹³ In ^]Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also ^]believed, you were sealed in Him with ⁾the Holy Spirit of promise, ¹⁴ who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the ⁾redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.

I notice that I see this same wording in Ephesians 4:30, 2 Corinthians 1:22, and 2 Corinthians 5:5.  All 4 of these references include wording about the Holy Spirit sealing us as God's followers.  Three of these references (Ephesians 1:13-14, 2 Corinthians 1:22, & 2 Corinthians 5:5) include the idea of the Holy Spirit being our guarantee of what God has for us to experience in the future.

As I read these verses I find myself asking what does it mean to be sealed with the Holy Spirit?

Bible Hermeneutics website notes:

The International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia suggests the intended meaning is a mark of ownership by God:

God by His Spirit indicates who are His, as the owner sets his seal on his property; and just as documents are sealed up until the proper time for opening them, so Christians are sealed up by the Holy Spirit “unto the day of redemption” (Eph. 1:13; Eph. 4:30; 2Co. 1:22).

John Piper explains being sealed with the Holy Spirit this way:

"contained in this word "sealed," it is a message of safety and security in God's love and power. God sends the Holy Spirit as a preserving seal to lock in our faith, as an authenticating seal to validate our sonship, and as a protecting seal to keep out destructive forces. The point is that God wants us to feel secure and safe in his love and power."

In this same article, John Piper makes this point:

"God's great desire for his people is that we feel secure in his love and in his power. Everything else in life may be unstable—our health, our family, our job, our education, our society, our world."

I know that there's so much in my life that is not stable right now.  I've got a DON at work who should be my partner in this business we're running for the owner. She's competent and can be very hands on and effective, but she lies and manipulates. Her lies and manipulation make life very difficult for me and sets a poor tone in our building.  I'm in the midst of a class action lawsuit at work. My youngest son is trying to get an internship for this summer and has faced many rejections.  My middle son has only been on the clean and sober road since April 2015. My oldest son is on a year long deployment in Korea until July 2016 - away from his wife and new baby. I have a course in which I'm currently enrolled that I have no idea how I'm going to complete all the required work prior to the deadlines. Life is just not stable.  Not my life.  Not anyone's life.

 What does the seal of the Holy Spirit mean to me in the midst of the instability of life?

1. The Holy Spirit teaches us God's truth - see John 15:26-27, John 14:15-17, 1 John 5:6.
In the midst of the instability of life I can know what is real and true.

2. The Holy Spirit gives us supernatural power - see Romans 5:13 & 19, 1 Corinthians 2:4, 1 Corinthians 4:20, 1 Thessalonians 1:5.
In the midst of the instability of life I am not left to deal with it all on my own power.   

3. The Holy Spirit changes us - see Galatians 5:16-26
In the midst of the instability of life I get frustrated with myself, but if I cooperate with God, His Spirit within me will produce changes.

Oh Father, I need You to change me.  Change my heart so that it will be completely Yours.  Convict me each day when I'm making myself and/or others things ahead of You.  Help me open up to You and Your Word and live my life according to Your ways.  Please bring to my mind Your truth. Please help me receive Your Power so I can deal with all that is before me.  Empower me so that I can see supernatural results and favor in my life.  May I always bring glory to You.