The church is not the place to have our needs met.

The church is not the place to have our needs met. It is the place where we council each other to stop looking to other things to satisfy and remind each other that our needs are only met in the work and worth of Jesus.

Segregation in the Church

One of the things that hurts me is the segregation that is found in the Church. There is a group for young children. A group for adolescents. A group for college students. A group for young single adults. A group for young married couples. A group for middle aged people. And a group for the elderly.

This is not God's heart for the church. He has knit us together as a body and we need all the parts coming together. There may be a time and place to separate into these groups, but separation into these groups should be a rarity and not something that is common. If you hang out, make sure you invite people of all ages. Make sure that you seek to be involved as a body in the church and not a segregated group. This takes hard work and its a different thinking for this modern age (and this is more of a modern thing). But segregation in the church has never meant to be the norm.

So older people invest in and seek out younger folks. Younger folks pursue the wisdom and encouragement of older people. When you hang out work hard at this and don't just give into the easy standards of modern thinking.

Assumptions causing loss of friendships

Lately, I have seen friendships lost because of assumptions. One are both parties have chosen to believe a lie and have already determined in their heart where the other party is wrong and they have already determined they are right. Without listening, they become irrational in their thinking, but tend to package it in away that at least seems rational to them. And so even though they are wrong, they think they are right and have hearts that are hard to hearing the truth. Friendships are often loss. And all this because of an assumption. This is evil and contentious. God hates this. And when we do this we are self righteous fools.

Instead of having hearts that make assumptions. Our hearts should be broken, quick to listen and ready to love, even when we are being wronged. We should be patient with others faults, listening to find out where they are at, and speaking the truth in love. . .

God knows us. He does not make assumptions. And yet He treats us with such grace.

A reason to believe in the gifts of the Holy Spirit

“. . . The temptation to want to have signs and wanders, the temptation to want to have gifts of healings are gifts of miracles because they sound neat because they sound like they might make goose bumps go up and down your back, because they might make you real as a Christian is a deadly desire. . . .” - - John Piper

Paul wrote the Christians in Corinth, who practiced the gifts of the spirit and were passionate about those things, and said that they were “carnal”. He also said that they were nothing, no matter how great they practiced those gifts, without love. And in there seeking to do things by their wisdom and experience, he called them “puffed up” and asked them “was it from you that the word of God came” and told them to put away their childish thinking. I think this is a powerful message, both for those who do not believe in the gifts of the Holy Spirit and for those who do.

For those who don’t believe in the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, I think the message here is just because the person who is practicing the gifts of the Holy Spirit (are even the majority of people one encounters) is carnal, it doesn’t make the work of God less real or less important. I know; it has caused me to struggle with what I believe in this area, but my heart and mind are not bound by my experiences or what I see, instead they are bound by the word of God. I should not disbelieve the scripture because of men. And here we see Paul dealing with these same issues as he writes a church who is strong in practicing the gifts of the Holy Spirit, but weak in maturity and faith. So in this letter, I find that it should not shock me, when I see that in my own life, but like Paul instead of running away from these things, I should run to the truth of God’s word, in love. And in love run to build up my brothers and sisters in Christ. Paul instead of rebuking them for practicing the spiritual gifts calls them to bring there focus not on the spiritual gifts, but on love and building each other up in the maturity of the faith; to come closer together to Christ in whose image we are being transformed into from one glory to another. The “love chapter”, 1 Corinthians 13, is about this, to show the more excellent way. And as a warning to those who might despise the gifts, Paul says that we are to earnestly desire spiritual gifts. This is a command for the children of God. “Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts”. I cannot harden my hearts, but must be tender to the word of God and what it has to say about the gifts of the Holy Spirit. This is especially the case for those who know the word of God and have sound doctrine. For those who know the scripture and have solid, sound doctrine, have a responsibility to be leading out in these things and teaching about the gifts of the Holy Spirit, so that the church might be built up by them.

This message is also for those who do believe in the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The gifts of the Holy Spirit do not make you mature on their own, you must press into the authority of scripture with love and not your experiences. Do not be “puffed up” with pride thinking you are something because you say that you are “spirit filled”. Do not hold it as the highest thing to be attained. Do not be proud, and say this church is great because it is “spirit filled” Or say that being “spirit filled” makes you more mature. You can be very “spirit filled” and yet be rebuked by God for being carnal and unspiritual. The most spirit filled people, the most passionate, the most victorious, the most used by God people, I know are those who submit to God’s authority and to the scripture in love, who know God’s character deeply and have sound doctrine and a strong character from beholding Jesus and who love others deeply and with their lives. And this is regardless of whether or not they have believed in the gifts of the Holy Spirit. These are the great men and women of God. No matter how often the gifts of the Spirit are used, they should never surpass the use of the scriptures, sound doctrine, or love, these are the things that make one mature in the Lord. And without them the person is carnal, no matter how much of the gifts of the Holy Spirit are seen in them. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are good and wonderful, beautiful, and amazing, and they should not be quenched, but they are not the center of who the church is. The Gospel is the center or another way of saying it is Christ, who is the Gospel, is the Center of the church. The gifts are not to glorify themselves or to get us focused on them. They are to glorify Christ, and Christ alone.

What ever side we are on this (sometimes I think I can fall in either), we can base our actions on our experiences, or we can base our actions on the scriptures and sound doctrine, having faith in the word of God. The scripture teaches us to pursue the most excellent way and that is to build one another up in Christ through our love for one another by the word, and the gifts of the Holy Spirit are a part that. And so let us press into those things build the body Christ.

Here is a link to a sermon series preached by John Piper. I think he does a wonderful job at giving a good beginning glimpse into this issue.
http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/BySeries/36/

Women

9Likewise, I want women to adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly and discreetly, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly garments, 10but rather by means of good works, as is proper for women making a claim to godliness. 11A woman must quietly receive instruction with entire submissiveness. 12But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet. 13For it was Adam who was first created, and then Eve. 14And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression. 15But women will be preserved through the bearing of children if they continue in faith and love and sanctity with self-restraint.

-----------------1 Timothy 2:7-15

1Timothy 2:10 rather by means of good works, as is proper for women

I think it is important to realize that Paul here is fighting against the oppression of women. They have a valued role in the church that only they can fill. No man can fill it. And if it is taken away, it is taken away at great loss to the church, who needs women to be strong. If you read Paul's writings and the rest of the scripture it is very clear that it not Paul's heart nor the heart of God to restrict women. Paul knows that there is a strength and power that God has given women and he is fighting for that. He does not want to see them stripped away of their strength, power, dignity, and influence. He is fighting for Womanhood, something that is vital for the church to be strong. Their strength is being striped away from them, when we don't believe God. It is like stripping the pedals off a flower and telling it that it must be a tree to have worth. Don't underestimate the power of a flower and don't underestimate a woman who is godly, she has the strength to capture hearts and to change the world. God is very clear that He intends a woman to have strength and dignity and influence. When we try to do this in our own wisdom we hinder the beauty that God has given women. In walking in our own wisdom we oppress women and embrace the world, instead of trusting in a God who loves us and cares for us and knows us best. Often these scriptures are approached with such a fear of loosing ones rights that all objectivity is lost, instead of aproaching God's word with confidence that He is trustworthy and what He says is for our good, and that its ok to take an honest and objective look at these scriptures. It is really ok, God is safe. God turns the strength and wisdom of this world over and destroys it with something far greater and more beautiful. He is an amazing God. And His dreams for us are so much bigger than our own. He is truly worthy of our trust.

And as a church we should be at the forefront of defending the honor and dignity of people, and this includes women. As a church we should also be encouraging people to trust and fear God and to believe His word.

For me, I have a huge longing to see women have more of a role and influence in the church and society, and my heart breaks to see the high standing that God has for women being torn down by our doubt and fear and by the oppression of the wisdom of this world. I for one believe in women and what they have to give to the church and society.

Here a site on this:
http://manhoodandwomanhood.googlepages.com/womeninthechurch

Written Sunday, October 28, 2007 and Sunday, December 30, 2007

The Christian life is not "now that we are kings and princes, we walk out in our strength and work to see God's Kingdome come." It is Grace from first to last. We are not kings and priests of our own strength our righteousness and we never will be. We stand and press into the kingdom not by our works, but by His word that makes it so.

revival

A leter written to my sister seeral years ago

----True revival is a sovereign act of God in which He moves and acts in the hearts of His people to renew them and bring them closer to Himself. The work of the Holy Spirit is intensified in the lives of believers, both individually and corporately. It is God initiated and God controlled. It is not brought about by man or his desires, or works. It is God moving as He pleases.

---- In 1734, God brought about a revival under the preaching of a man named, Jonathan Edwards, a man of sound doctrine and whose preaching focused on the glory of God and not man. Lives were changed and many came to know Christ. Those in the church became passionate about God. Their praising became intense. Their emotions were intense and they freely expressed these emotions in church. They hungered for God and desired to live lives to His honor. The community was changed. And the Gospel was preached everywhere. This was called the Great Awakening.

----Yet there were some who were opposed to this in the church. They said an act of God would not make people so emotional. To this Jonathan Edwards wrote Religious Affections to explain the difference between true and false revival, and to show that it is right to have emotions in a true revival.

----There were other revivals in America in 1727, 1798, 1857, and 1905. After 1800, though a false revival began to be forming. Many began to believe that revival could come about at any time; you just had to have the right “formula”. These preachers believed that if they could bring about the emotional intensity that was marked in the Great Awakening and the other revivals and mass decisions for Christ, that surely this was revival. This came to be known as New School or New Measures. Preachers sought to bring about revival through methodology and techniques that would incite the emotions and “convince men to make a decision for Christ”. They would have a “revival meeting” or a “tent meetings”, in which they would prey on the emotions of men. Charles Finney was one of the leaders in this movement. There came to be an orientation toward the person instead of God. Where as Jonathan Edwards preached about the character and glory of God and sound doctrine, this new methodology focused on convincing man to make a decision and to have an emotional experience. And so many “mass decisions” were made. Yet the community was not affected, it was still as worldly as before and many who made “decisions” turned away from Christ, very few changed their lives, and very few had any discipleship. Evangelism came to mean decisions and numbers, rather than an act of God in some ones life, where they accept Him as Lord and Savior in a radical way.

----And so today, some continue to try to convince men to come to Christ by focusing on man rather than proclaiming God. And now we are in a state of decline where it is hard to tell the difference between a believer and a non-believer. In doing this we have become friends with the world, something the Bible says ought not to be done.

----Now that I have said this, I do believe that some who preach in revival do sincerely desire to obey God. And I would fight side by side with them. And they are truly my brothers and joy. God is bigger than our foolishness. And I do believe that God does work at these “revival meetings”. I also believe that there are some who truly follow sound doctrine and focus on God and not men, yet I would not call this “revival” but merely witnessing. And so you ask if “revivals” are ok. Well, if they are witnessing and discipling and preaching sound doctrine with a focus on the glory of God, then, yes, they are ok, yet this is actually merely witnessing as God has called us to witness. But if they compromise the character of God as many of these “revivals” do, than it is very evil. We are not God and should not presume to be.


P.S.
Yes, like Paul. We plead with men and strive that they might know Christ, but we plead as ambassadors of a King, not as ones who move the King or gives way to men.


Also about the Holy Spirit. Much of it is focussed on emotionalism rather than maturity. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are real and true and good, but it is the fruit of the Holy Spirit that makes one mature. The gifts will pass away, but love will always remain. It is a matter of people focusing on the wrong thing.

Someone made a good point about what I said earlier, so let me clarify. I talked earlier about running down the aisle for my bride. I think some might have got the picture of a foolish mad dash toward the bride. When I said this I did not mean a frantic blundering pursuit. Christ is waiting for the time His Father has set and He is strong in His trust of the Father. But I do think he longs for us. I do think His desires are set toward His Bride and He does long to come for us. And I don't think His desires are small. When I said this I was talking more about desire than action.

And I am not saying that I would run down the aisle. I was describing what I felt, not nessessarily what I would do. I think there is something amazingly beautiful about the father giving away his daughter. And I would not want to take anything away from that. I would not take her till her father has given her to me. But my desire and my love for her, will not be small, and I would not pretend that I don't desire and long for her.

Also there is some truth in this. One in Jewish tradition where the bridegroom did come for his wife after the father said it was time. And also in the fact that Christ will be coming for His bride. And the picture that I had when I wrote that was this, Christ coming for His bride.

I think what I am understanding is that Christ longs for us and that as His bride we can long for Him as well and cry out, "Come, Lord Jesus".

I went to a wedding October 13th. As I was thinking about the wedding and the groomsman standing there waiting for his bride, my heart stirred and cried out, "I don't know if I could stand there and wait for her to make it all the way down the aisle, I'd want to run passionately for her." That thought came and then the thought came of Christ coming for His bride.

Written Thursday, September 6, 2007

I wouldn’t stay inside the warmth of a cozy home and leave my pinky finger outside in the freezing weather. And yet this is what often happens in the church. We neglect the outsider, the person who is different, or the person who is a burden. We leave them outside in the cold instead of bringing them into the warmth and love of fellowship. They are part of our body and we need them. They are a vital part of the body. God is not neglectful in His design.

Lord, help me to be a place of warmth and love for others and to pursue them with Your love.

fads

Written Thursday, September 6, 2007

There are many fads and methodologies in the church. There are fads on what a church is to look like, how it is to be run, what methods are to be used in ministry, how we are to witness, how we are to reach people in other countries, how we are to pray, how we are to worship, how we are to council others, and many more. I know I personally think many of these are good and wise and I plan on using them. But there is a great danger in these fads and methodologies. We are in danger of Idolatry and Pride. We don’t follow a methodology or fad. We follow a person, Jesus. Christ is the center, not a fad. And when we loose that center, we loose objectivity and soundness in the scriptures, in life and in ministry. Our site is skewed and we loose our focus and solid foundation. Our walk with God is God centered. It is about Him and being known by Him. We are not to follow fads, but are to walk with Him and to get to know Him through the scriptures and obedience. We are to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him. Oh, what great joy it is to follow Christ! In Christ alone will I stand! “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

“He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and walk humbly with your God.”

"But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ."

Doctrine of brothers and sisters

Written August 15 and September 2 and 13, 2007

-----My heart is broken when in upholding truth; we walk away from our brothers and sisters. We should guard truth and sound doctrine with all that we have. I believe this strongly and with all my heart. These are the words of Jesus, himself. Unity, truth, and doctrine are never separated in the Bible. And the Bible is very clear that those men who lead must have sound doctrine. But in upholding truth, we must not exclude believers. If we believe God’s word in all things, we must believe what it says about loving our brothers and sisters. We cannot neglect the doctrine of “brothers and sisters”, in order to uphold another doctrine. We must hold all of God’s word. And if one believes and obeys the Gospel, then they are our brother or sister and we must love them dearly (1 Corinthians 13). It is an unconditional acceptance along with a love that does not settle for less. If they are Christian, they are part of who we are. They are part of our body and we must not cut them off, but instead must nurture them and love them. We must pour into their lives. We must also remember that they too are part of the body and we need them. We must not let pride keep us from learning from them. I need them to be a part of my life and to pour into my life. They are there for my good. I often have told others, I need you, because you are part of my body; you are a part of who I am; you have to be a part of my life.
----- “Iron sharpens iron.” This is messy; I know in my struggle I have often felt like leaving my brothers and sisters. But it is good and sweet to walk with them. And I know for me, I often feel, how could anything part me from those I love so much and are so much a part of who I am in the Body of Christ. We are a part of this body by grace alone and have nothing to boast or be proud of.

Written Sunday, December 17, 2006

It is not my purpose to be great, but instead to make others great. This is my treasure. This is my reward in the Lord.

the Groom

Written September 2006

-----I have picked up an odd habit, or maybe not so odd, I do not know. At weddings, the music plays its interlude, and the doors are opened, and the bride comes into view and begins to walk down the aisle. --- I like the verse in Song of Songs, “Who is she that looketh forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners?” --- Everyone stands up to behold this bride walking toward the groom in her wedding dress full of beauty, her eyes excited, and her heart ready to become the wife of the man standing waiting for her. When this happens, I stand up with everyone, but my gaze is not toward the bride coming in beauty, but instead it is toward the groom. I love to see his face as he watches her coming toward him. His eyes full of passion and love. He is totally ravished by this women coming toward him. His delight is her. (Song of Songs 4:9) I look to the groom because I want to get a glimpse of what I know I will one day see in Christ as He comes for His bride. He too will have exhilaration and love in His eyes and will be fully ravished by His bride and be taken back by her beauty. God being taken back in awe of the beauty of His bride!
-----Have ever watched a father look at his child in his arms or at play? I think it is one of the wonders of the world. Can it compare to a sunset, a dew drop on a bloom, or a waterfall? What song could recount the melody? And yet I like what Jesus said when he called the fathers that have shown us love, wicked. In all its beauty it falls short of the love that the Father has for His children. His gaze of love is beyond description and fills our heart more than all the beauty of the world. And as a father’s heart is taken by his child, so His heart is taken by us. God delights in us! How can this be?


“I have loved you with everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving kindness.”


“ For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith: that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height – to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be the glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever.”
--- Ephesians 3:14-21

The Romance

Written 2004 or 2005

-----In life group (I am sending this to others outside of life group as well), I said that the Romance of God is greater than the romance story often told. As I have been meditating on God’s act of salvation, I have been amazed at the beauty and wonder of the tale. I hope, by God’s grace to give a glimpse into the enravished heart of God. (I have not even come close in this letter to what God is showing me nor have I abundantly filled it with Scriptures, but here it is:) The story is often told of God rescuing us from the throws of the devil, as a prince rescues a princes held captive in a castle. Though there is some truth in this, the tale of the adventure of God is greater and the act of love more breathtaking.
-----The tale begins before the foundation of the world. His love for His bride is deep, existing before the foundations of the world. History is the tale of Jesus pursuing His bride. He loved her, knowing her fully. Knowing she would reject Him. Knowing the depth of her depravity, He still loved her, for He determined that before time began. He had chosen her as His bride.In love, He created mankind and began the story of His bride. Soon after her creation, her heart quickly became hardened by the deceitfulness of sin, to which she gave her will and her desires becoming ensnared by its lusts and evil desires, enslaved and mastered by sin. Not only was she ensnared, but she gave her love to sin and desired it above all else, longing after it. And even though she could not be satisfied by it, in her spiritual madness, she abandoned herself to its desires, which were now her own as well. She hated the Beloved, and even though it was evident that His love was true, she suppressed this truth, and determined to be His enemy. Her heart became stone, she died, hating God, hating her Beloved, so much that when He came she crucified Him.
-----You see God did not come to rescue a beautiful princess captured by sin or the devil, He came to rescue one who was an enemy, one who hated Him and had chosen to hate Him. Nor did He risk His love for her hoping she would choose Him, she had already made her choice, she despised Him and murdered Him. No instead, He came in grace and power and extravagantly determined love. He gave everything for a bride whom He loved and found a way to rescue her, to change her heart of stone to flesh, to give her life from the dead.We were slaves to sin and enemies of God with hearts of stone, hardened by sin, dead. When Christ’s blood touched our hearts, our hearts became flesh and we were able to love God, so much so that the Scripture says Jesus can hardly handle a glimpse from His Bride, the Church, she is so beautiful to Him. He broke the spell that held us captive to which we had given our will and made us beautiful. God is not timid he is a passionate lover in pursuit of our hearts, the hounds of Heaven, not allowing sin or death to keep Him away from His love or keep us away from Him.
-----It is a tale not of a prince loving a princes, but a tale of a prince loving an adulteress woman, and making her a princes.Picture a princess held in castle, well what seems a castle to her, but is truly a prison. She is held their by her own choosing because she loves the men in the castle and gives her love to all who ask. She has become lovers with the enemies of the King, and despises Him in the deepest parts of her heart. She is overcome by the spell of sin. The prince, who loved her before she was born and had chosen her to be His bride, knows there is only one way the spell can be broken. When He comes to her she spits on Him and ridicules Him, but He loves her and allows her to crucify Him, so He can take upon himself the destruction, that the King has decreed. As He dies, His blood purchases her, when it touches her heart the spell is broken and His blood washes her, transforms her heart of stone to flesh, and opens her blind eyes, so she can love Him in return. And as He lives again, she too comes from death to life into a passionate Romance. And they live happily ever after.
-----God’s work of salvation is greater than any tale we could tell, a mere glimpse of it, is the Song of Songs is the greatest of all songs. This tale is a tale that comes from the imagination of the Almighty, and from the romance of the Beloved. If it were a tale we could fathom, it would not be His own, and it would not satisfy our hearts, but it is a tale that He invites us to become intimately involved in. And one day we will see our Beloved face to face and know Him, as we are known.

Here are a few scriptures:

And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach-- Colossians 1:21,22

and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high -- Hebrews 1:318

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, 21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things. 24 Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, 25 who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. – Romans 1:18-2528

And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; 29 being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, 30 backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31 undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; 32 who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them. - Romans 1:28-3210

As it is written:
“ There is none righteous, no, not one;
11 There is none who understands;
There is none who seeks after God.
12 They have all turned aside;
They have together become unprofitable;
There is none who does good, no, not one.”
13 “ Their throat is an open tomb;
With their tongues they have practiced deceit”;
“ The poison of asps is under their lips”;
14 “ Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.”
15 “ Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16 Destruction and misery are in their ways;
17 And the way of peace they have not known.”
18 “ There is no fear of God before their eyes.”- Romans 3:10-18

4just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him In love 5He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, 6to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. 7In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace 8which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight – Ephesians 1:4-7

1And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, 2in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience . . . . 4But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. – Ephesians 2:1-10