- Joined
- Feb 9, 2004
- Messages
- 17,078
No Batteries?
- C. P. Hia
My 2-year-old grandson was fascinated by the bubbling mud pool, the result of geothermal activity in Rotorua, New Zealand. On moving to another spot and seeing no bubbles there, he remarked, “No batteries?” He was so accustomed to his elec- tronic toys that he attributed even natural phenomena to battery power!
Christians can make a similar mistake—they look to their own puny power to live righteous lives. But the high moral and ethical standards of a holy God prove impossible to live up to. The result is joyless Christians, hopelessly burdened and defeated.
Paul’s prayer for the believers in Ephesus was that “the eyes of your understanding [be] enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling . . . and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe” (Eph. 1:18-19). He wanted them to see that the power available to help them live God-honoring lives is the same power that “raised [Christ] from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places” (v.20).
The power to live according to God’s standards comes only when we plug into His inexhaustible power. How do we do that? By daily seeking His face and asking Him to fill us with His Holy Spirit.
Fill each heart and reign alone,
Break the idols we have known;
Lead us to confession true,
Give us strength Thy will to do.
—Peterson
The Light of the World knows no power failure.
“For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.”
Ephesians 1:15-23
- C. P. Hia
My 2-year-old grandson was fascinated by the bubbling mud pool, the result of geothermal activity in Rotorua, New Zealand. On moving to another spot and seeing no bubbles there, he remarked, “No batteries?” He was so accustomed to his elec- tronic toys that he attributed even natural phenomena to battery power!
Christians can make a similar mistake—they look to their own puny power to live righteous lives. But the high moral and ethical standards of a holy God prove impossible to live up to. The result is joyless Christians, hopelessly burdened and defeated.
Paul’s prayer for the believers in Ephesus was that “the eyes of your understanding [be] enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling . . . and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe” (Eph. 1:18-19). He wanted them to see that the power available to help them live God-honoring lives is the same power that “raised [Christ] from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places” (v.20).
The power to live according to God’s standards comes only when we plug into His inexhaustible power. How do we do that? By daily seeking His face and asking Him to fill us with His Holy Spirit.
Fill each heart and reign alone,
Break the idols we have known;
Lead us to confession true,
Give us strength Thy will to do.
—Peterson
The Light of the World knows no power failure.
“For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.”
Ephesians 1:15-23
