...of our proper response to the amazing greatness of God’s POWER at work in us...

Scripture reveals that the very same POWER which God “...worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand...” [Ephesians 1vv19-20] is the POWER that is “...at work in us...” [Ephesians 3v20, cp.v16].

This truth is often employed, quite appropriately, to encourage believers who are struggling in their walk with Christ and their growth (or, lack of growth) in Christlikeness by either informing them, or reminding them, of the amazing magnitude of true divine POWER available to them as a resource...true divine POWER which they may avail themselves of.

It can, however, sometimes assume the likeness of a cheerleading exercise, leading to a sense of “Wow!” “Look at what ‘you’ can do with this great POWER!”  Jesus, Himself, warned His disciples against such a response.  In Luke 10, the disciples returned from the mission Jesus had sent them on and they were filled with amazement at the POWER made available to them as they ministered in Jesus’ Name.  Jesus, however, says to them “Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”  In effect, Jesus says, Yes...I have given you use of (My) AUTHORITY and POWER...BUT!!!  Don’t rejoice in what you were able to do with that POWER...but rather, rejoice in what God has graciously done for you by that same POWER...that which could only be accomplished by His AUTHORITY and His POWER.

So, another aspect of this truth about God’s POWER at work in us also needs to be carefully considered.  It is an aspect of this truth that moves us to conviction, rather than (self) confidence.  Specifically, this same truth should move us to awe over the POWER necessary...the POWER required...to overcome the deadness of our sin-sick souls...to overcome the stone-cold deadness of our rebellious hearts!  It should, and must, move us to awe and wonder, NOT at what we can do by His POWER, but to awe and wonder at the POWER required to do what He has done...to bring us from death to life...from cursed enemies to blessed children...from hopelessness to sure hope.

His (available) POWER is awesome!  But, not more awesome than His LOVE...the motivation behind the use of His awesome POWER...by His grace, and for His glory...to which our only proper response is unbounded and unending praise!

...of the need for caution and humility in confronting what you believe to be error...

Identifying, confronting and refuting error and false teaching within the Church is a Scriptural mandate for those gifted and called as shepherds with the task of leading, feeding and protecting the flock.  However, this mandate must be both cautiously and humbly considered when addressing error taught in a context outside of the Church, by those outside the Church, who make no pretense of speaking to, or for, the Church.

You would never ridicule a man who was physically blind because you find his articulated description of the world around him to be imprecise, inaccurate, or just plain wrong.  Further, you would certainly never consider the need to warn those around you, who are, themselves, sighted, against listening to and accepting this blind man’s words...fearing that they might be lead astray.

Why, then, would you ridicule a man who you believe to be spiritually blind because you find his articulated description of the spiritual realm to be imprecise, inaccurate, or even just plain wrong?  More than that, why would you feel the need to warn those around you, who are, themselves, spiritually sighted, against listening to and potentially accepting this man’s articulation of spiritual reality...fearing that they might be lead astray?

This, especially, when you, yourself were once spiritually blind, until you were graciously, even miraculously, given the gift of new eyes to see clearly what was once hidden from your sight.

Should you not, rather, empathize with this man’s plight...reach out, if possible, to lend a guiding hand...and, most of all, desire with all your heart that he too, like you, might be graciously...miraculously...healed...given the gift of new eyes to see what he now struggles to understand.

Moreover, if you would listen carefully to the articulated description of this blind man, rather than simply dismissing it out of hand, you just might find yourself amazed at what he has been able to “see.”  You might even learn something you, yourself, have missed, or forgotten.

...we hide IN the DARKNESS...yet, we hide FROM the LIGHT...

We hide IN the DARKNESS...yet,

We hide FROM the LIGHT...

In the darkness, we are frozen by our fear of the truth that is hidden from us...

In the light, we are frozen by our fear of the truth that is revealed about us...

We long for a place of rest in which we can see all things by a light that is powerful enough to dispel the deep darkness, and so, with it, our fears of its unknown threats...(both real and potential); and yet, simultaneously, personal enough to dispel our fear of the consequences of the truth we know it must inevitably reveal about us.

We long for the rest we find when we are graciously given eyes to see all things by the light of the knowledge of the glory of God, in the face of Jesus Christ...God’s holy truth, expressed in God’s perfect love...

...of seeing myself as an unworthy servant of my Lord...

Much is said and written about the importance of believers having a proper, healthy, self-image of who they are “in Christ.”

Certainly, Scripture presents a variety of very appealing pictures of our position as adopted children of the "King of Kings," and "Lord of Lords."

Yet, according to Jesus’ teaching in Luke 17:7-10, a proper, healthy, and Scriptural self-image of who we are in Christ must include, (though admittedly not be limited to), an understanding of our relationship to our Lord as that of a servant to his Master.

Clearly, the One Who knows us better than we know ourselves understands that as we might remember and reflect upon some act, or acts, we have performed out of our sincere and heartfelt desire to obey Him, and even to glorify Him, it is, nonetheless, likely that we would be moved to a truly inappropriate, and even dangerous, sense of pride. 

When considering our need for a proper, healthy, Scriptural understanding of who we are “in Christ,” we must not ignore the teaching of Our Lord, Jesus Christ, in Luke 17:7-10.

“Will any one of you who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and recline at table’? Will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, and dress properly, and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink’? Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.’”

...of expectations...before and after...

One who is dead in sin can never respond to God…
One who has new life in Christ must never fail to respond to God…


One who has a heart of stone is without sensation of divine love…
One who has been given a heart of flesh must always love God and others…


One who is bound in the shackles of sin struggles to walk…
One who has been freed from those shackles must learn to walk without stumbling…


One born blind by sin is incapable of seeing the beauty of the Lord,
One blessed with eyes to see must always respond in awe to His beauty…


One deaf due to sin can not hear and respond to God’s call and commands…
One blessed with ears to hear must never fail to obey His every Word…


One feeding only on bread that can never satisfy will fail to grow…
One invited to eat his fill of the bread of life must evidence healthy growth…


One drinking only tainted water from a broken cistern will know unquenchable thirst…
One invited to the fountain of living waters must, himself, drink and overflow.

...of the true torment of sin...

...a promising proposition, and a troubling corollary...

Truth: Its Source...Its Revelation...and Its Application...

...of rejecting truth and embracing slavery to unrighteousness...

Moses' heart... Paul's heart... Jesus' heart... My heart?

...of entering into the sufferings of Christ...

The heart of Moses...

The heart of Paul...

My heart?

...of Scriptural Brokenness and Fixing My Eyes on Jesus...

Speaking & Praying with Confident Boldness & Humble Tension

Those who know the Lord ought always to speak and pray with an appropriate and evident balance of confident boldness and humble tension.

"Iron sharpens iron"...it's true...but...

"Iron sharpens iron"...it's true..but, the best edge is achieved when the steel is wisely wielded by one who hones with humility and empathy.