Reading from the Bible:
Therefore
I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the
saints, 16 Do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my
prayers: 17 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of Glory, may
give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18 The
eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the
hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the
saints, 19 And what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who
believe, according to the working of His mighty power 20 Which he worked in
Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the
heavenly places, 21 Far above all principality and power and might and domination,
and every name that is named, not only in this age but also I that which is to
come. EPHESIANS 1:15-21
Summary :
A
prisoner who survived 14 years in Cuban jail told how he kept his spirits up
and hope alive: “I had no window in my cell, and so I mentally constructed one
on the door. I ‘saw’ in my mind a beautiful scene from the mountains, with
water tumbling down a ravine over rocks. It became so real to me that I would
visualize it without effort every time I looked at the cell door.”
Ironically, some of the most
hopeful books of the Bible---Philippians , Colossians and Ephesians---come out
of Paul’s house arrest in Rome. The letter to the Ephesians gives a hint as to
what the apostle Paul saw when he thought about life beyond his place of
confinement.
First he saw the
spiritual growth in the churches he left behind. This book opens with a burst
of thanksgiving for the vitality of the Ephesian church (Eph. 1;15-16). Then he
sought to open the eyes of their hearts to even more exalted sights: the
“exceeding riches” of God’s grace (2:7). When Paul cranks up the volume to
express God’s plan of love, not one low,
mournful note sneaks in.
If you feel discouraged or question
whether the Christian life is worth it, Ephesians proves to be a great tonic.
It prescribes the riches in Christ available to all. ---Philip Yancey
Heavenly Father, thank you for the staggering
good
news of the riches of your infinite grace.
Thank
you for the encouragement and hope
We find in Ephesians. Amen.
No one is hopeless
whose hope is in God and His word.
