Ephesians 1:18-19 I pray that the eyes of your heart being enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the holy ones, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. There are three things that Paul wants us to see: 1. the hope of His calling 2. the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the holy ones 3. the surpassing greatness of His power towards those who believe To be honest, I’m not sure what any of these truly entail. The Greek word means vocation, but the Hebrew word means assemblies, readings, and convocations. A convocation is a group of people who are called together for a particular purpose. The root of the Greek word for hope means to anticipate. So it may mean closer to the anticipation of His calling of a group of people for a particular purpose (a vocation-like action). So, if my eyes of my heart are alive and aware, then I am anticipating my role as part of a group who have been called for a particular purpose. I am anticipating that time when we gather to act together. Ah, but what is that purpose? Perhaps to bring Him glory? To show His love? To worship Him? The riches of the glory of His inheritance in the holy ones is probably better translated: The abundance of the majesty and splendor of His kingdom with (or in) his holy ones. Perhaps this has to do with the awesomeness of who He is and the kingdom He brings and reigns over. Through His Holy Spirit in me, I have a share in this kingdom, as well as an obligation to live according to those kingdom rules. Perhaps it is by living according to His kingdom that I have the opportunity to actually see with my heart glimpses of His incredible splendor and majesty. The last part seems to be speaking of His power and how above and beyond imagination it is as it is directed towards those who believe. So, as one who believes, He directs His power, the greatness of His power, into and through me, as well as to me. That’s a lot to think about today!
Deuteronomy 30:1-6 1“So it shall be when all of these things have come upon you, the blessing and the curse which I have set before you, and you call them to mind in all nations where the LORD your God has banished you, and you return to the LORD your God and obey Him with all your heart and soul according to all that I command you today, you and your sons, then the LORD your God will restore you from captivity, and have compassion on you, and will gather you again from all the peoples where the LORD your God has scattered you. If your outcasts are at the ends of the earth, from there the LORD your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you back. The LORD your God will bring you into the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it; and He will prosper you and multiply you more than your fathers. Moreover the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, so that you may live.” A poster on Skip Moen’s site (Drew) wrote this: Look at the shift in matters: Moshe tells all Israel “to” love the Lord with all the heart, soul, etc. … however in the verse provided herein … G_D will be providing the necessary heart to actually comply with the mitzvot. G_D will be providing this to us all because of YESHUA! It is a fulfillment because despite Israel’s desire to abide within the covenant … we as people can’t on our own! But with Yeshua abiding on our behalf … we can do it … because it is HIM within us Who is doing it! As YESHUA taught us … without HIM we are powerless! My thought was that we are kind of like a terminal heart patient. We desperately need a heart transplant in order to live, and Yeshua willingly laid down His life – a perfectly healthy, perfectly matched donor – so that we could receive the new heart we require. His sacrifice allows us to live with a heart capable of loving God fully and obeying Him completely. However, until we sign the paperwork to allow the transplant to take place, we limp onwards, missing out on the fullness of life because our diseased, dying hearts are powerless to allow us to truly live. Are you ready for a transplant?
Ezekiel 36: 26-27 And I will give you a new heart with new and right desires, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony heart of sin and give you a new, obedient heart. And I will put my Spirit in you so you will obey my laws and do whatever I command. I love this verse. I love the fact that God loves His people so much that He refuses to totally abandon them. Granted, part of why He doesn’t abandon them and why He says He will do all these things is because the nations were mocking His name saying that He couldn’t protect His people. But whatever the motivation, He didn’t just say He’d rescue them, He says He will totally restore them and make them new inside and out! I love that God can give us a new heart, and a new spirit. He doesn’t just change our hearts, He completely replaces them, taking out the old! So, that old nasty heart is gone completely, and in its place is a new, obedient heart. That means all the old junk that went along with that old heart is also gone! And God gives us right desires along with our new, obedient heart. That’s pretty awesome! Another thing to note is that there is nothing that we do; it’s all God. He removes the old and replaces it with the new. He gives us right desires. He does all the work. The end result, after all His hard work, is our obedience and a new softness, a Spirit that is like His as we grow to be more like Christ. It’s not about us, it’s about Him. We can’t do it ourselves. That’s the beauty of salvation and change. It forces us to let go and trust that God is big enough and strong enough and loving enough to do all these things for us. Yeah God!