“And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the Lord.” –Genesis 19:27, ESV Abraham, no doubt by curiosity, perhaps even by the sounds and shakes of judgment, takes his place on the high ridge where he “walked” with God (Gen 18:16) and pleaded his appeal (Gen 18:23). Here he […]

Main Reference: Ephesians 3:19 Paul ends his prayer for the Ephesians as he began, by praying for knowledge. He acknowledges, though, that God’s love ‘surpasses knowledge.’ So how can we know something that surpasses knowledge? Only by remembering that Paul doesn’t mean the kind of knowing that simply recalls a fact. He means the kind […]

Main Reference: Key verse: Ephesians 3:17b-19 When it comes to stability, everything depends on the base. Most trees extend their roots two or three times as wide as their foliage. The tallest skyscraper in the world has a foundation that goes down almost 200 feet. The root, the foundation, of the Christian life is God’s […]

Main Reference: Ephesians 3:17 Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians isn’t just for inner strength to endure when they suffer. The Spirit’s strengthening transforms them so that “Christ may dwell in [their] hearts through faith” (3:17). Notice that Paul isn’t praying for Christ to come into believers’ hearts, as He does at salvation. Instead, he prays […]

Main Reference: Ephesians 3:17 Paul wrote Ephesians while imprisoned in Rome. It wasn’t his first time suffering for the gospel, as the Ephesians knew. They knew his story and had seen some of the persecution first-hand. After taking time to remind his friends of who they were in the gospel, Paul picks up his prayer […]

Main Reference: Ephesians 1:18-19 If you’ve ever stumbled through your house in the dark, you know that even perfect vision is useless without light. Turn on the lights, and you see everything. That’s what Paul means when he prays ‘that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened’ (Ephesians 1:18). It’s not a prayer for […]

Main Reference: Ephesians 1:16, 17 A new year stretched before us promises endless opportunities to improve, to be better people. Many of our new year’s resolutions—read more, lose weight—express our inward focus. But what if we resolved to begin the year by turning our attention outward toward the good of others? We’d be imitating the […]

“Then he said to them, ‘My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.’”  Matthew 26:38, ESV Here we find Jesus, in the garden of the olive press, praying to the Father before He is to be “betrayed into the hands of sinners” (Mat 26:45). He pauses several times to […]

“At that time they made an idol in the form of a calf, brought a sacrifice to the idol, and began rejoicing in the works of their hands. But God turned away from them and gave them over to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets: ‘It […]

“If you seek it like silver,and search for it like hidden treasure,then you will understand how to fear the Lord,and you will discover knowledge about God.” Proverbs 2:4-5 In 2006 I heard Ray Vander Laan speak, and my supposed knowledge of scripture was tested and shown to be minuscule. I had arrogantly thought I had […]