Ephesians 3:16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man.
Arise oh my beautiful Friends in Christ and greet the new morn with joy, thanksgiving and praise! Unfortunately it’s Monday and there’s work to be done, a living to be made. No time to cry the blues, just get yourselves together, gird your souls with your spiritual armour, then hit the battlefield of the new workweek and fight the enemy tooth and nail, even to the death. With the Lord’s help we shall certainly be victorious. Therefore, please put a smile on your face and a song in your heart so that all you come into contact with today will know that you’re a child of the Living God. Now, that inner or spiritual growth is exactly what Bruh Paul is praying for in our Bit, on behalf of the Ephesians. ‘For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named.’ (Eph.3:14-15) Friends, please note Bruh Paul’s affirmation that the entire Christian family, both alive and dead, get, or derive their spiritual power and life only from Almighty God. There is no other source from which that is available. ‘That he would grant you according to his riches in glory…’ Of that he sincerely assured the Philippians: ‘But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.’ (Phil.4:19) To the Corinthians, he said: ‘And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work. As it is written, He hath dispersed abroad; He hath given to the poor: His righteousness remaineth for ever.’ (2 Cor.9:8-9) Verse 9 is a quote of Psalm 112:9. But even long before Jesus and Bruh Paul came on the scene Friends, Bruh David had guaranteed that the Lord would look after His own in these immortal words: ‘The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want (lack any good thing).’ (Ps.23:1) Obviously the Gentiles; the Ephesians and all the other new believers weren’t familiar with the Old Testament, as we are. They were starting from scratch, so Bruh Paul had to boost both their knowledge of scripture and their spiritual understanding. Thus he continues: ‘to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man,’ meaning that they would be divinely inspired, enabled to successfully live the believer’s life. Meanwhile, he told the Colossians that since he heard they’d received Christ, mainly through the witness of Epaphras, he had not stopped praying for them; ‘and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God. Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and long-suffering with joyfulness. Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet (qualified us to) be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in (the) light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated (transferred) us into the kingdom of his dear Son (the Son of His LOVE).’ (Col.1:9-13) Oh Friends, I have to chuckle because I had not intended to quote all of that last section, but every time I looked at it, trying to decide what to put in and what to leave out, the Spirit sort of said; ‘You can’t separate it. It’s all one cohesive statement, and leaving out any would just diminish its effectiveness.’ And since the Spirit is there to lead and guide us, like the obedient believer I am, (smile) I included the whole section. But seriously though mih people, all those words I’ve quoted here today are applicable to us, as well as to the new believers for whom Bruh Paul wrote them. In fact they might even be more important to us today since we’re engulfed in such an ungodly, sinful world, with so much pressure, tension and haste, that unless we have a wise, calming influence, like the Spirit, leading and guiding us, we’re very likely to backslide, go astray, or just give up the fight altogether. And those are things we must NEVER do my people. It’s much harder to walk in faith today than it was back then because there weren’t as many worldly distractions or attractions that vied for their attention. Today though, we’re constantly bombarded with all kinds of stuff; both good and bad, worldly and spiritual, godly and ungodly, and when we add the ordinary needs of life to all that, it’s just so much to properly process. Then, given the speed at which life now moves, we’re forced to make hurried decisions on many things, leading to further aggravation and the increased possibility of serious mistakes. Consequently Friends, I’m imploring us to pray for each other, for believers all over the world, just like Bruh Paul did in the early days of the Church. Pray that we might all be filled with ‘the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man,’ so that we might walk worthy and victorious in the Lord. In Jesus’ name we pray this. Amen. Please stand strong my people. It’s not easy, especially with the enemy constantly trying to trap and/or trick us into some ungodly stuff. But if we hold on steadfastly to God’s promises, we’ll certainly defeat the enemy. Much LOVE!…remember…He who promised is faithful…and will deliver…so hold on strong…
SCRIP-BITS 