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"I am in them and You are in Me"

     In Ephesians 1:15-23 Paul is telling the believers in Ephesus that he is praying for them.  And in John 17:20-23 Jesus promises us that He will pray for us as well.
  

     Tomorrow, Saturday July 26^th, our Brothers and Sisters in Jesus that live in Mosul Iraq are facing their Day of Judgment or Glory depending upon how you view faith and eternity.  ISIS has given them a persecution ultimatum – to either deny Christ or face death.

     So, how do we pray for them?  Do we pray for ISIS to change their minds?  Well, we know God can intervene but if you have read any of the book of Revelation you already know the plan.  Paul gives us this example of how we should pray:

“This is why, since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I never stop giving thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, would give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him. I pray that the perception of your mind may be enlightened so you may know what the hope of His calling is, what are the glorious riches of His inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of His power to us who believe, according to the working of His vast strength. He demonstrated this power in the Messiah by raising Him from the dead and seating Him at His right hand in the heavens—  far above every ruler and authority, power and dominion, and every title given, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And He put everything under His feet and appointed Him as head over everything for the church, which is His body, the fullness of the One who fills all things in every way.”

      Ephesians 1:15-23 (HCSB)

Vs15 “giving thanks”:  we must thank God for their very existence.  To be a Christian is hard enough in today’s world but to be a Christian in Iraq is a miracle 

Vs17 “a spirit of wisdom and revelation”:  pray that in this darkest hour they still see the promise of their salvation and eternal life and find peace in that and peace in Christ.

Vs19 “immeasurable greatness of His power”:  The word translated “power” is the Greek word dunamis. From this word, we get our English word “dynamite.” So the power we have in us because of Christ is explosive in power. Despite what is likely to come pray that they feel this great power.

Vs22 “He put everything under His feet”:  Pray that they still know that Jesus is in control.
 
Vs23 “the fullness”:  Pray that in that final moment they feel the fullness of Christ within them.

And then the words of Jesus:

“I pray not only for these, but also for those who believe in Me through their message.

May they all be one, as You, Father, are in Me and I am in You.

May they also be one in Us, so the world may believe You sent Me.

I have given them the glory You have given Me.

May they be one as We are one.

I am in them and You are in Me.

May they be made completely one, so the world may know You have sent Me

and have loved them as You have loved Me”

   John 17:20-23 (HCSB)

 

     Powerful words to remind us to pray that in their pain and fear that we are one with them just as we are one with God.  We should submit ourselves spiritually to the very suffering they are being persecuted with.  Pray that as they stand fast to their faith in our Lord Jesus Christ that we also grow in our Faith, Trust and Love in Him who lives in us – all of us who have called Him Lord.

 

  At the beging of this post you probably noticed an Arabic letter.  This is the letter N and is being painted on the doors of Christians in Mosul to label them as "Nazarenes" - Christians. 

So that their homes will be targeted tomorrow

Offend a Believer or Shun a Sinner

 

  I’m sure that this is going to step on a few toes but this is how God has called me to act in my ministry – Bold and Unafraid

  I recently had this discussion with a gentlemen of, let’s say, a more stringent theological view point after he sat through a sermon I gave on how to live with our Freedom in Christ.  I had done a two part sermon starting on the Fourth of July weekend, first part being a close exegetical examination of Galatians 2.  (As a refresher; Paul is chastising Peter for withdrawing from his gentile ministry in Galatia when men of a more law based view come into town.  Peter would rather not offend these men and return to the law and in doing so he shuns the sinners.)

  In part one we looked at this passage and how we are now saved completely by grace and to return to the law would mean that Jesus died for nothing.  I closed that sermon with a note to Galatians 5 where Paul emphasizes that freedom from the law does not give us permission to sin freely.

  So, second week of this sermon, how to live in the Freedom of Christ;  we went through the life of Jesus and looked at Him blessing gentiles, eating with sinners, preparing food on the Sabbath and forgoing certain traditions of man that were interpreted from the law. I spoke of a narrow path between the law and sin that we must walk and why. 

  I closed with a story and compared it to Peter eating with the sinners of Galatia.  The story concerned having a beer with some of my Soldiers and how that simple act of not placing myself above them allowed them to be open to the Gospel message.

  Today we would not think twice about having a meal with a sinner, any sinner and say it was evangelism.  But are you willing to push the boundaries like Jesus did or will you withdraw from that shared experience like Peter? Are you willing to be seen going into certain establishments or will you hide in the alley?  The truth is simple, the Gospel message is clear and the command from Jesus is to GO into the world and make disciples. 

Are you willing to offend a believer in your Going so that you don’t shun a sinner?

 

The offense to this man was not just me having a cold one with some of my men, but the fact I would share this story in church.  Now, why would I hide something that is not a sin and was a direct act of loving my neighbor? 

Matthew 28:19

 Note: prayer, trust and following God’s calling to you is essential in the going