Word@Work Eph30 - Ephesians 3:7
Published: Thu, 11/06/08
Word@Work from BeaconLight
POWER TO WIN THROUGH
Read Ephesians 3:7 I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God's grace given me through the working of his power. (NIV)
A job description that included extremely hard work, imprisonment, flogging, stoning, shipwreck, hunger sleep deprivation and hypothermia (cf 2 Cor 11:23-28) - would not attract many applicants. Paul's devotion to his work was no ascetic exercise to purify the soul. It was obedience to the call of Jesus Christ to preach the gospel. Paul had known the immense change that came to his own life, when he submitted to Jesus; and so he was willing to sacrifice everything, in order that others could hear the gospel too.
But altruism was never enough. When Paul received God's grace in Christ, (and chose to work with Him instead of fighting against the Lord), that grace become a motivator to serve his new Master. It was a powerful life-change, and one which was repeatedly proved as the apostle encountered one difficulty after another. Those trials are the test of servant-heartedness. And Paul passed with distinction. It is one thing to talk about the power of God, but it is only seen for real when you are willing to keep serving the truth in the face of severe opposition.
Without persecution, some Christians become self-centred and self-serving. Church can become either a club or spiritual tourism; witness translates as being nice; and ministry is confined to the times when it is convenient. Much talk about power in worship, but little evidence of endurance in difficulty. The power of God is not an exciting add-on for the good times but a combination of guts and grace for the rough patches. Keeping a gospel look-out at all times will stretch us almost to breaking point in the storm ... but that is when the promised power of God wins through.
Prayer: Dear Lord. Help me to be willing to serve Your gospel in my workplace as well as community; trusting in Your grace and always relying on Your power, whatever the challenges. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
You can read the verses around this Bible passage from the Internet Bible: - in English, and Spanish
A job description that included extremely hard work, imprisonment, flogging, stoning, shipwreck, hunger sleep deprivation and hypothermia (cf 2 Cor 11:23-28) - would not attract many applicants. Paul's devotion to his work was no ascetic exercise to purify the soul. It was obedience to the call of Jesus Christ to preach the gospel. Paul had known the immense change that came to his own life, when he submitted to Jesus; and so he was willing to sacrifice everything, in order that others could hear the gospel too.
But altruism was never enough. When Paul received God's grace in Christ, (and chose to work with Him instead of fighting against the Lord), that grace become a motivator to serve his new Master. It was a powerful life-change, and one which was repeatedly proved as the apostle encountered one difficulty after another. Those trials are the test of servant-heartedness. And Paul passed with distinction. It is one thing to talk about the power of God, but it is only seen for real when you are willing to keep serving the truth in the face of severe opposition.
Without persecution, some Christians become self-centred and self-serving. Church can become either a club or spiritual tourism; witness translates as being nice; and ministry is confined to the times when it is convenient. Much talk about power in worship, but little evidence of endurance in difficulty. The power of God is not an exciting add-on for the good times but a combination of guts and grace for the rough patches. Keeping a gospel look-out at all times will stretch us almost to breaking point in the storm ... but that is when the promised power of God wins through.
Prayer: Dear Lord. Help me to be willing to serve Your gospel in my workplace as well as community; trusting in Your grace and always relying on Your power, whatever the challenges. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
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