Thanksgiving from the Elders

From the Elders:

 

What a great blessing, joy, and privilege it is to serve among you all in Christ’s work at RCG!  Our thanks to God for you, and prayers to Him on your behalf, follow the example of Paul:


15 For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, 16 I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18 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, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might… (Eph. 1:15-19)

 

May God continually be glorified as His grace and truth in Jesus Christ abounds in all of us, and overflows through us to more and more people!

 

Happy Thanksgiving,

 

Greg, Chuck, Gary, and Smokey

Indispensable Prayer

Prayer is indispensably central to the fulfilling of God’s purposes for His people.  This truth is passionately modeled by Paul twice in his letter to the Ephesians (1:15-23; 3:14-21).  Paul’s own example adds meaning and weight to his explicit exhortation at the end of the letter:

“…praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.” (Eph. 6:18-20)

Beloved, in view of this, I encourage you to read The Importance of Prayer in Ephesians (also here), by Dr. James Rosscup, retired faculty member at The Master’s Seminary.  This 15-page article is not a quick read – give yourself at least an hour.  But it will revolutionize your prayer life, for your joy and God’s glory, if you lay hold of these powerful truths.  Highlighting lessons from Paul’s two prayers for the Ephesians, Dr. Rosscup observes:

“Each intercessory labor exhibits features that Paul pled for before God. They are key items on his ‘prayer list.’ Both prayers reveal facets of paramount import for Christian living. They are also examples of how all Christians can make their prayers relevant in spiritual matters, whether for personal needs or for other Christians.  The intercessions exemplify a passionate concern for spiritual progress…His burden is for them to be vitally concerned over spiritual matters. It is not for a physical relief from a broken arm, a new job, or sleep as a solution to insomnia. Though the latter burdens are also very important…the life-shaping issues that Paul makes prominent should gain the pervasive place in their prayers.”

Amen – may it be so increasingly for all of us!

Praying for you and with you, with much thankfulness,
Greg

A Worthy Walk is a Worshipful Walk

At the beginning of his letter to the Ephesians, Paul declares and demonstrates that a “worthy walk” (Eph. 4:1) is first and foremost a walk of worship.  His anthem of doxology in Eph. 1:3-14 is a call to all believers to join him in praising the God of all grace.  As John Calvin has observed, ““The lofty terms in which he extols the grace of God toward the Ephesians, are intended to rouse their hearts to gratitude, to set them all on flame, to fill them even to overflowing with this thought” (from Calvin’s Commentary on Eph. 1:3).  So gripped is Paul by the weight and wonder of the glories he heralds, he then pleads with God to help all believers know the fullness of these lavish blessings (Eph. 1:15-23).

 

Later in his letter, Paul exhorts believers to address “…one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart…” (Eph. 5:19).  One recent song that richly fulfills this exhortation is Come Praise and Glorify (see the lyrics here).  As you’ll hear, the song is based fully on the truths of Eph. 1:3-14.  Lord willing, we’ll be singing it corporately at RCG in the near future.

 

Beloved, the wealth, riches, and power of all that God has blessed us with in Christ is far more abundant than all we could ask or think (see Eph. 3:20-21).  Together as His people, by faith, may we keep feasting upon, praying, singing, and walking in light of His glorious grace in Jesus Christ!

 

Because He lives, and is returning,

Greg

Certainty of God’s Sovereignty

And just like that, another significant mid-term election has come and gone.  The outcome was overall encouraging for conservatives.  As usual, Dr. Albert Mohler’s observations are worth considering:  What the Election Reveals about Us and Why We Vote as We Do.  Whatever else the consequences from Tuesday’s election, as Dr. Mohler suggests, no doubt the next couple years leading up to the next presidential election will be politically interesting (should the Lord Jesus tarry)!

 

Beyond all the political maneuvering and shifting that constantly takes place – not only in America, but around the world – we can be absolutely certain that God is sovereignly working through everything to unite all things in heaven and on earth in Christ (Eph. 1:9-10).  This truth means that our hope as God’s people transcends the current social and political climate in which we live.  Ours is to embrace by faith the glories of God’s calling of us in Christ, and to “walk worthy” of that calling in the nitty-gritty details of our lives (Eph. 4:1).

 

Beloved, the more we understand and embrace the heavenly/spiritual realities God has called us to in Christ, the better equipped we are to serve others in this world for His glory.  This truth is central to the book of Ephesians.  May it be every more central in our lives, both individually, and corporately as His people!

 

Because Christ lives, and is returning,

Greg