The War that does not end

Ephesians 3:14

If you grew-up in the fifties and lived at 3738 Liberty Drive, in Corpus Christi, Texas, you would be a close relative of mine, and you would have been taught from a very young age to respect and obey authority.  If the person was an adult you were to be respectful and do as you were told, and that meant any and all, especially neighbors, teachers, preachers, and the police.  It would have been a death wish to speak back to my mother in a tone that was disrespectful, dad would have killed us and buried us in the backyard and told God we died, but the Rice kids were not that dumb.  Let me speak for myself, I was not that stupid, but at the early age of ten, I began to rebel against authority, but never in your face, it was out of sight and I was free to do it my way.  Do it my way became the model, and it was not a good model, often my way came out into the light and dad’s authority also came to light, that was always painful.

The little confession above is called my flesh, it shows how it got programmed and you could call it the DNA of my flesh, it likes to be in charge, it prefers to make it own rules and not to obey authority.  It can be referred to as independent living!  That is the kind of flesh that I brought into my relationship with Jesus Christ.  It was by His grace, through faith in what Christ Jesus did to redeem me from the control of sin, by shedding His blood for my sins.  The very moment He invaded my life, I was a new creation, but with that came that old flesh that had learned over 27 years how to suck the life out of others to get my needs met, that flesh did not get saved.  Jesus never claimed it did, in fact, He told us that the flesh would war against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh.  “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.” (Galatians 5:16-17)

A Christian has the same battle that I had as a young boy, I wanted to please my mother and dad, but there was a strong voice inside of me that told me to do it my way.  I now understand that voice was Satan and he was at that time the master of my soul, but when Christ invaded my life, Jesus change my desires, and the war began, who would I listen to?  Our answer should be found in Ephesians 3:14-17, “For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith - . . .”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

The value of your prayer

 

Ephesians 3:11-13

Do you pray with boldness, and do you go before the Father with confidence?  Why is it that many who have put their faith in Christ place little are no value in their prayers?  I have talked with enough people to know that I am not the only one who has experienced the lack of faith in my prayers, at some point in my life in Christ. 

In my search to find some understanding I turned to a man after God’s own heart, the Psalmist David, “Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?  And who shall stand in his holy place?  He who has clean hands and a pure heart; who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully.  He will receive blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation.  Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob.” (Psalm 24:3-6)  I believe king David nailed this one, it is a heart problem, I want God to do what I want, and that will not work.  Jesus told us to pray in this manner; “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.  Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:9-10)

Often, it has been my lack of understanding of my place in the family of God, I did not understand that it was not my performance but my position in Christ, the apostle Paul states, “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.  For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba Father!” (Romans 8:14-15)  It may be helpful to have kept reading because in verse 16, is states that we who are in Christ are children of God, and 17 says, we are heirs – heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ.  From my own experience it is clear that the normal Christian will never seek first the kingdom of God, they are too full of self, it is only when we come to the understanding that in Christ is fullness, in the world is tribulation.

We will come to the understanding of this truth when Ephesians 2:18 opens our heart to the understanding that through Christ Jesus we have access to the Father by the Holy Spirit.  It also will become clear that in Christ Jesus we have a relationship with the Father, we are his children, and we are greatly loved. “In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.” (Ephesians 3:12)

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Does the Church have a mission?

Ephesians 3:8-13

Does the Church have a mission?  You may reply that the Church has many missions, but its main purpose is proclaiming the gospel of Christ Jesus.  And when we make that statement, our thoughts are on people all around the world who need to find life in Christ Jesus.  But look at what the apostle Paul has written, “And to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things, so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 3: 9-10)

Our God and our Father had us in His thoughts before time began, before God created the earth, before man was formed out of the dust of the ground and God breathed life into Adam.  He also knew that we would sin, that we would choose to live independent of Him and that it would require His only Son to shed His blood to redeem us out of sin’s control.  When we think of the Church, our minds should go to Christ Jesus, He is the builder of the church, see (Matthew 16:18), He is the Cornerstone, (Ephesians 2:19,20) He is the head of the Church, (Colossians 2:19), and He is the Shepherd of the Church (John 10:11). 

It seems that God kept the Church a mystery from the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. Paul tells us that when God raised Christ from the dead and set 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 1:21-23)  If there is any doubt as to the authority of Christ Jesus, Colossians 1:15-17, “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.  For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities – all things were created through him and for him.  And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”

When it comes to the ways of God, I have so little understanding, but it is clear that His Son, Jesus Christ is the Creator, that God kept the church a mystery from the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.  That we who were not Jews received the grace of God and for the time God has prearranged, His church will be a light to the lost world. 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

The best of Mysteries

 

Ephesians 3:3-6

I have always enjoyed a good mystery, and if the author is skilled at writing he will weave into the story many characters that have a motive and opportunity to be the suspect in the mystery.  If you grew-up as a Jew, there was no mystery, you were the chosen of God.  Not only were you chosen, you were not to have anything to do with the uncircumcised Gentiles, they were no better than dogs, and at that time in history dogs were not pets, and most references to them were demeaning.

So as we look at this new thing, “the Church” that was ushered in to being after Christ ascended to heaven to sit down at the right hand of His Father, it is a very Jewish organization.  Then the apostle Peter had a dream, and in that dream he was told to go with some Gentiles to a Gentile home and share the gospel with them.  And then the Holy Spirit sent the apostle Paul to the Gentiles and the Church was growing rapidly.    

Many of us have a hard time understanding what was taking place in the early Church, but being raised a Baptist, and growing up in a very small Baptist Church, where you found a few very mean-spirited people who wanted all the others to live by their requirements, and traditions; it is easy to understand what is happening with this new Church.  What if a person came from a Lutheran background and joined that little Baptist church and at the church picnic they offered to bring the drinks and along with the cokes and tea he had some beer, they would get treated worse than Steven.  Or what if a person with a Methodist background joined that church and was in charge of the young peoples social and they let the kids dance, we would have had a called meeting of the deacons and after they fired the pastor, they would have had to withdraw fellowship from that evil person who caused our children to sin.

Do you understand what Paul is up against? The little Baptist church I grew-up in could not hold a light to the traditions of the Jews.  In fact, the Jews would sit on one side of the church building and the Gentiles on the other, it was not unity, and God was not pleased with them anymore than He is with how we have divided the church in our day. 

Paul tells them about a mystery, it was made known to him by revelation, and it is the mystery of Christ.  “This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.” (Ephesians 3:6)  This is what I’ve learned, the ground at the cross is level, no one is elevated; not pastors, not teachers, not Billy Graham nor Sister Theresa, it is level, we are all in Christ.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Whose prisoner are you?

Ephesians 3:1

Whose prisoner are you, or maybe it would be better stated, who has imprisoned you?  Your attitude might be I’ve never spent even one day in jail, I am not a prisoner, but the apostle Paul, is not talking about jail.  Paul tells us that he is a prisoner for Christ Jesus on behalf of the Gentiles.  Paul begins this part of his letter to the churches in Ephesus in this manner, “For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles” what is the reason he is referring to?  If we look back at the letter, the reason becomes clear; “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”

Often the Holy Spirit will use symbolism to give us understanding of the Scriptures; like in Romans 11:17-18, “But if some of the branches were broken off, (referring to Israel) and you, (referring to the Gentiles) although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you.”  If we drop down to verses 24-25, “For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree.  Lest you be wise in your own conceits, I want you to understand this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.” (Emphasis added)

Paul is proud to state that he is a prisoner of Christ Jesus, in fact he states that truth at least ten times in the Scriptures, and in 2 Timothy 2:9, he declares this; “for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal.  But the word of God is not bound!”   But the question still remains, “Whose prisoner are you; are you imprisoned by the lust of the flesh, is your goal to obtain stuff that has value only for this world, but has no eternal value?  Are we not all someone’s prisoner, Paul was an ambassador in chains because of the reality of the gospel of grace.

Each and everyone of us is a prisoner to someone or something, all who enter into Christ have entered into a combat zone, a violent clash of kingdoms, it is a war with not only cosmic powers, but the flesh warring against the Spirit.  Jesus tells us in John 15:4, “Abide in me, and I in you.  As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

I needed a heart transplant

Ephesians 2:19-20

As a Jr. High student a light began to turn on for me about my status in life, I was not poor in that we always had food and clothing, but my family was not in the same financial league as the neighborhood behind our house.  One street over were much larger houses with brick veneer and nice cars, and some had people to take care of their yards, many of them gave their children ten dollars a month for doing nothing; I was a stranger and alien to that way of life.  I had no understanding of how a person could obtain that way of life, unless they worked hard and were smart enough to go to college and maybe they would be able to have that life-style.   

As I stated before, I was a Baptist before I was born, my mother had sighed me up in what was called cradle roll, before I came into this world, and I, like many others my age who had Baptist parents, had gold stars for perfect attendance.  We walked to church on Sundays, both morning and evening services, and to Wednesday night prayer meeting, and anytime there was a revival meeting or a workday, we were there.  From our house on Liberty drive, to that little Baptist church in Ebony Acres, it was over two and a half miles. My mother made that walk with three small children both ways, unless someone took mercy on us.  I do remember the dread of making that walk in bad weather and at night. 

I was Baptist, in fact at the age of thirteen, I walked down the aisle of Ebony Acres Baptist Church and it was my passageway to becoming an official member of the Baptist Church, I was no longer an outsider, I had my name on the roll and I was sure that God was very impressed, my mother surely was, now she could sleep better, all of her children were Baptist.  One small problem, I was a Baptist that was on my way to hell, I was not a new creation in Christ nor had my sins been forgiven. 

At the age of 27, it became clear that nothing had changed in my life, and I needed a heart transplant, I was still on the outside looking in at people whose life had been transformed by the blood of Christ.  God used five men in a Wednesday Bible study to open my eyes to the fact that I was a stranger and alien and was not in the household of God.  One night in Victoria, Texas, I ask Jesus Christ to forgive me for trying to take His place, and acknowledged that He was my only hope of finding a new heart, my only hope of having abundant life,  By His grace and the faith He gave me to believe, I entered into Christ, He became my cornerstone, His Spirit entered into my heart and I found membership in the household of God.  That is what these verses are all about; I am a work in progress, a dwelling place for God by His Spirit.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Peace

 

Ephesians 2:17-18

I sometimes wonder if we have any understanding of the word “Peace” in our haste to live life with all the demands we put on ourselves an our families. This morning, as Jan and I discussed peace, it became clear that we are like most American Christians; we are in a hurry an even in retirement, it seems we are in a rush.  What is going on?  Has someone, or maybe some cosmic power sold us on the rat race, but is the rat race for us or for rats?

My old friend Tommy Martin gave me this council a few years back, when in doubt about the meaning of a word, go to the dictionary, and that is what I did on the meaning of peace: “freedom from disturbance; quiet and tranquility”, how are you doing on the free from disturbance, with a cell phone on your person at all times, always texting, or getting texts, and what about face book, just to list a few of the things that have taken away our peace.  Peace was not taken from us, we bought into a better way of life, and now those items are in control.  When it comes to “quiet and tranquility,” it would frighten so many of us, we love noise, but where did the love of noise come from?  Just think, for so many of us, the first thing we do is turn on the radio, the I-Pod, the television, we do not have a tolerance for quiet.  Where did that come from, is someone or some power trying to keep us from connecting with our soul?

 I was hoping by now that the dictionary was finished with defining peace, but it goes on to say: free from anxiety or distress.  I have read that the principal cause of heart failure is anxiety or stress that we put on our body.  Now, why would anyone do that to himself or herself, unless, just maybe, we can believe Jesus when He said; “The thief comes (Satan) only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”  (John 10:10 emphasis added) 

Often I ask this question: has God spoken on this subject?  The answer is yes, when it comes to being still and quiet, listen to the words of God in Psalm 46:10a, “Be still, and know that I am God.”  Could it be that the enemy of your soul, the thief that comes to steal, and kill, and destroy, understands that it is in being still and quiet, the absence of noise, that you will find God and enter into His peace.  If only we learned from our Lord, Luke 5:16, “But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.”  In Mark 1:35 we have the account of Jesus rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.  Jesus, being God in the flesh, never used His own power, but always went to His Father for His approval and His power and his authority, before He acted. He totally understood the game plan, and as someone once told me, “a word to the wise is sufficient”.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Is Peace the Absence of War?

 

Ephesians 2:14-16

What value do you put on peace, is peace the absence of war, or can you have peace in the middle of war?  What if the war is not going well, what if all around you is the loss of life?  Most American Christians have not been in the arm services, some have and some of them understand the horrors of war, the cost of life, the destruction to people and property.  Can a person who is experiencing this trauma have peace?

Each of us who are in Christ have a war going on for our hearts, it should not come as a surprise, but the normal Christian who goes to church on Sunday live their life as if they do not live in a war zone.  We are told in Ephesians chapter six to keep alert, what are we to be alert to; the schemes of the devil.  Jesus tells us in John 10:10, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”  When Jesus came into your life, it was an invasion of your flesh, he changed your heart, and if your heart did not change, He did not invade you, He did not give you a new heart.

John Eldridge states in “Waking the Dead” the following, Jesus said to them in the same breath, God meant life in the full for each of His kids, but it has to be fought for.  There is a thief and he comes to steal and kill and destroy.  We are at War.  The world in which we live is a combat zone, a violent clash of kingdoms, a bitter struggle unto the death.  You and I will live all our days in the midst of a great battle, involving all the force of heaven and hell and played out here on earth.”  The war is real, and it is not with two spirits living inside of you, that would be a civil war and Jesus made it clear in Matthew 12:25, that a person could not survive that.  The battle is against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.  Many in the church have no understanding of this battle, or the power of being in Christ.

Paul states in Ephesians 2:14-16, “For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.”  Our peace will not be found in any of the gods we have run to, but Jesus tells us over and over that He is our peace, John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.  Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”  Before returning to the Father, Jesus prayed; “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.”  The answer my brother and sister is not blowing in the wind, the answer is Jesus Christ, His peace sustains us in the middle of this war.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

No Understanding

 

Ephesians 2:13

“But now in Christ Jesus,” what amazing words, what truth, and I’m sad to say that a large part of the population of the church has no understanding of “Who they are in Christ Jesus.  I am not writing as one who has lived the victorious Christian life since entering into Christ Jesus some 43 years ago, in a hotel room in Victoria, Texas.  I was taken captive by the enemy of my soul, captive by ignorance of God’s word, and by a bad case of the flesh.  But God, who loves me, kept sending messengers to tell me about life in Christ, and about already being eternal.  It may come as a shock to many who are in Christ that the “But now in Christ Jesus,” means the very moment Jesus entered into your life, it was an exchanged life, it was life in the fullness of Christ Jesus.

This life finds us in a body of many, “But as it is God who arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose.”  The first day, the moment, the “But now in Christ Jesus” happens in your life, you enter into the body of Christ, and He calls it the Church.  It does not happen by joining a group that meets in a building, that we wrongly call, a church.  It happens the moment the “But now in Christ Jesus” happened in your life, and God the Father who knows you has placed you in His Church to fill the spot only you can fill.  When the “But now in Christ Jesus” happens to you, the apostle Paul tells us, “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16)

“But now in Christ Jesus,” we are more than conquerors!  The apostle Paul asks this question, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?  Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?” (Romans 8:35) Paul answered his question in verse 37-38, “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” 

The message is so clear, for all who enter into Christ Jesus are part of His body, the Church, and many will see tribulation, and distress, even persecution and famine, but none of those things can separate us from the “But now in Christ Jesus.”  Jesus said, “The thief comes to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”  (John 10:10)   Jesus is not talking about in heaven, but now!

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

But now in Christ

Ephesians 2:11-13

If you were not born a Jew, then you fall into a very large group called Gentiles and to be a Jew meant that Jacob/Israel was your father and you were called the circumcised and all others were called the Uncircumcised.  Most of us do not think of ourselves in that way, today, many are circumcised not because they are Jewish, but because it is a good medical practice.  We tend to think more of being White or Black, French or English, and the list can be very long on how we see ourselves, but few would see themselves as Gentiles.

It is clear that God sees the Jewish people as His chosen people, and people of promise, and He has made covenants with them and Jesus Christ came as their Messiah.  But there was a problem, Jesus did not fit in the box that many, including the religious folks had for the Messiah; in their box the Messiah was to come as a mighty Warrior, not a teacher who often seemed more like a gentle lamb.  The Messiah in their box would come and free them from the Romans; He would have an army of angels, and yet in all of God’s wisdom Jesus was introduced to this world, as a baby in a manger.

We Gentiles were not invited to the party, “we were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the World.”  (Ephesians 2:12)  Because Jesus did not fit into the box of many of the Jews, Romans 11 tells us that all but the elect were hardened, “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that would not see and ears that would not hear, down to this very day,” (Romans 11:8) We the Gentiles were Grafted into where some of the Jews were broken off, but never forget that what God has broken off He can replace, and it was Christ who has by His blood made you in right standing with the Father.  This is how the apostle Paul states that true in verse 13, “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Seven things God want us to Know

Ephesians 2:5-10

God wants you and I to understand a few things, and these few things will change our eternal destiny, only if we come to an understanding of them and then act with the faith God has given us.  First and foremost, you are very special to God, and He desires a personal relationship with you.  Second, you had no thirst for God, and in fact you wanted a god that you could manage, but Creator God is not like you, His ways are not your ways, and His thoughts are higher than yours.  Third, God is full of mercy and if you are not in Christ, you will only grasp this truth by asking God’s Spirit to open your mind and the eyes of your heart to it.  Before God created the world, (so you were not yet in the picture) He chose to send His only Son, Jesus Christ, to buy you out of the control of Satan and sin. God became a redeemer before He became the Creator!

Fourth, it was by grace you have been saved; listen to the apostle Paul, “For by grace you have been saved through faith.  And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)  How often we miss the kindness of God, and it does not seem kind when He is removing the false and worthless gods that we are putting our hope in.  In the book of Romans 2:4, “Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you toward repentance?”   The fifth thing God would have us know from this passage of Scripture that goes along with His kindness is; “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.” (Ephesians 1:7) 

The sixth thing you should know is that Christ not only entered into you, but you now live in Christ.  Ephesians 2:6, “And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.”  Many teach this is a positional truth, meaning it’s true but it will not happen till after you die.  There is more ink in Scripture on you being in Christ, than there is that Christ is living in you.  If you are in Christ, you are seated with Christ in heaven.

The seventh thing God wants you to understand from this passage is you are a new creation in Christ, your desires have changed; you will have a desire for worship, to meet with God in His Word, to fellowship with others who have placed their hope in Christ and Christ alone.  You will not be without troubles and life will not be perfect, but as you renew your mind in His word, God will begin to show you the foolishness of the world and the joy of having fellowship with your Creator.  He will also open your eyes to see that He has a plan for you and it is to do good works, which God prepared in advance for you.  If you walk an aisle of a church or join a church and yet you are still the same and nothing has changed, you better examine yourself, because when Christ invades your life; change happens.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice http://fromourbackporch.blogspot.com/

Are you an "as you go" Christian?

Ephesians 2:4-7

What a blessing to live in the United States and to have always had freedom; freedom of movement, speech, and religion, but are the masses free?  We, who are called by the name of Christ, have moved from death to life, we have both our identity and our freedom, but what about the millions who live in the United States, that have no understanding of Christ and only use His name as a curse word?  What is our responsibility to them?  The apostle Paul gives this insight;  “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.  The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.  All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.  Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us.”(2 Corinthians 5:17-20)

If you are a follower of Christ, you have been given the ministry of reconciliation, and who are we to reconcile?  Our place to begin is with family and friends.  If we understand our call, it is the call to be ambassadors for Christ, and that means to stay on message, to go in the authority and power of the one who sent you. Jesus reconciled you to himself, not counting your trespasses against you and entrusted you with the message of reconciliation.  “But How,” are you and I going to even start such an enormous task.  The only way is, as we go, with those God has brought into our circle of influence. 

My dear friend Hoke Smith was a banker, and when he came into Christ and understood that God had called him to reconcile those who were in his circle of influence, he began with bankers, but his circle was very sizeable so he invited judges, lawyers, politicians and doctors to a Christian business men’s luncheon, to hear how they could know Christ.  At the first luncheon he invited and paid for 110 men to hear this message; that Christ had the answer to life, out of that 110 men eleven of them ask Christ into their life that day.  Hoke was an as you go Ambassador for Christ till God took him home, Hoke stayed on message and in the authority of his Christ.

Johnny Anderson, a dear brother in Christ and one of the men who God used to reconcile me to Christ, is an “as you go” ambassador of Christ.  He was Mr. Texas and Mr. Southern USA in bodybuilding back before steroids and then a coach and teacher, later he entered into sales, but this can be said about Johnny Anderson, he is a messenger of reconciliation.  And I could tell you about Carroll Ray Jr. and Ken Ryan, Greg Hood, and many others who were just guys like you, who “as the went” they shared how Jesus Christ had changed their lives, how he had made them a new creation. 

The reason many of us are not “as you go” followers of Christ, is that we do not understand, we are at war, and the enemy of our soul has rendered us powerless.  If we grasp what Jesus was telling us in John 10:10, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”  The answer is first, understand who’s you are, and second, each day look, abide, obey the voice of your Lord, never forgetting that Jesus promised you life in all of its fullness, never forgetting that Satan is trying to render you powerless.  And third, as you go, be an Ambassador of Christ.

Form the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Are you enjoying God's riches?

Ephesians 2:4

How rich is God?  A question like that seems absurd to foster any response, but let me attempt to answer from the Scriptures on the riches of God’s mercy.  A young girl in her teens got a lot of ink in the Bible because she was a virgin who became pregnant by the Holy Spirit, and this is her statement on God’s mercy; “For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name.  And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.” (Luke 1: 48-50) Micah a prophet during the reign of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, had this to say about God; “Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever, but delight to show mercy.” (Micah 7: 18)  The apostle Paul writes this in a letter to Titus, whom Paul address as his true child in a common faith; “But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” (Titus 3:4-7)

If you have entered into Christ by faith, and received grace, and mercy, then you are justified by His grace, and the blood of Christ covers all your offences before God, and He sees you as if you have not sinned.  King David, the man after God’s own heart has this to say; “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” (Psalm 103:2-5)

Our Father is merciful and it is a wise man that seeks Him, abides in Him and obeys His Commandments.  A wise man will desire not the gods that he has fashioned like himself, but the only true God who fashioned man after His own likeness.  I need mercy, and I also desire and need to be renewed like the eagle.  Isaiah the prophet tells us that the eternal God, the Creator of all that is, does not faint or grow weary, and He will give power to the weak.  We are living in such troubled times, we have many antichrists; our only hope is prayer and waiting on the Lord.  “But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31)

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Ladder on the wrong Wall

 

Ephesians 2:1-3

I’ve thought often, that we who have been blessed to live in the United States, and have freedom of worship and go by the name of Christian, often have our ladders on the wrong wall.  Last night my friend and mentor Ken Ryan and his wife Anita spent the night with us and Ken was sharing how his parents raised him and his siblings.  They were Methodist, they grew-up being taught the gospel and were trained to be good and moral in how they lived, and to treat others in the same way they wanted to be cared for.  This model of living was not bad; in fact, Ken was very successful in his business ventures.  Ken loved his wife and was respected by his neighbors and his peers, but at the age of 38 he came to understand that his ladder was on the wrong wall.  He came to the understanding that he had a void in his life that only Jesus Christ could fill, but up to this time he was totally satisfied with being the good man he was.

Many in the church are like Ken, they are morally good, and they give to support the church, are kind to neighbors and the ones they work with.   A person with that mind set would not expect to understand what the apostle Paul is sharing with us in these three verses; “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience – among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.”

A person like I described above, must come to understand that the ladder of their life is on the wrong wall, and come to agreement that they are sons of disobedience, that they are children of wrath, and there in lies an enormous problem for one who is morally good in their own eyes.  The moral person has no understanding of Genesis 2:17, “but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.”  The moral person does not understand that they died spiritually in Adam, that they by the nature of that fall, show-up on planet earth with a live earthsuit, but a dead spirit to God. 

It is important to understand Paul is addressing this to the saints in Ephesus, they are in agreement with and they have an understanding of these truths, it is evident because Paul states; “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked,” and he goes on to state; the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience – among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.”  This letter was to a people who by grace through faith came to the same understanding as Ken, they needed a new heart, they had a void, their ladder was on the wrong wall, and only the blood of Jesus Christ could atone for sin and give them the Spirit of life.

Jesus tells us that many good folks who are church members will come to Him in judgment and tell of all the great things they did in the name of Jesus; “And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.” (Matthew 7:23)  My dear friend Ken has testified to this fact, Jesus put the ladder of his life on the right wall, and God is always faithful, verses 8-10 of chapter two of Ephesians, tells the good moral person that it is by grace you can be saved through faith.  It is not your doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one can boast.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

The seat of Honor

Ephesians 1:20-23

Have you ever had the seat of honor at a very special place or banquet or as a speaker, someone in authority has said come sit in this place of honor?  Jan and I were given that honor at the funeral of our friend Laverne Hunt.  Laverne’s husband, T.W. ask Jan and I to sit with the family, what an honor; it was not expected and was a very humbling experience.  That was not the case with our Lord Jesus Christ, and it might be of interest what the angels, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders are saying about Jesus Christ’s place of honor; “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.” (Revelation 5: 9)  That is what the apostle John saw happening in heaven and he also reports that he heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand, encircled the throne an in a loud voice they sang: “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!”  (Revelation 5:12)

The Scriptures give this account of our Lord’s attitude: “Who, being in the very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.  And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross!  Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” 

The name of Jesus is above every name and who besides humans will bow at the name of Jesus?   The apostle Peter gives this insight, he tells us that Jesus at his resurrection has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.  (1 Peter 3:22)  Who are these powers and authorities; they are both heavenly beings, such as the twenty-four elders, and the four living creatures, they are also demons of darkness and the devil. The apostle Paul tells us they are rulers, authorities and cosmic powers over this present darkness, that they are spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

Let me leave you with these thoughts; Jesus is worthy of all honors, and all rule and authority and power and dominion will bow a knee and confess that Jesus is Lord.  It is also of great importance that you and I understand that we, the created, are to have the same attitude as Christ, when He found himself in the form of a man.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice 

My hearts desire

Ephesians 1:15-20

My prayers are so shallow, I pray for your health, or your family that you will have the joy of fellowship with God and be open to His direction.  Today I am going to piggyback on the apostle Paul’s prayer for each of you.  I like Paul have you in my thoughts because the love you have shown to me, and others, in this vast family of God.  But unlike Paul, I often forget to pray for you, but this prayer of Paul’s, is the prayer I desire for each of you who are in the faith.

“I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.  I pray also that the eyes of your hearts be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he as called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.  That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, . . .” (Ephesians 1:17-30

I’ve known very few people who when you shared that you were praying for them, it was as if you were insulting them.  Prayer is the most unselfish and the hardest work a person can do for another.  If otherwise the Lord would not have given us the example of the eleven disciples who loved Jesus and left all to be His disciples, yet could not or did not pray for Him in the garden at a time of his greatest need.  They were followers of Christ, they were under His protection, but they did not have the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, it was at Pentecost that they became new creations in Christ, it was there where they were filled with the Holy Spirit.  And all who are in Christ have that filling of the Holy Spirit and like them, we can stand and proclaim what God is doing in the last days.  We also have the power of prayer, but without the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, without spiritual eyes that are enlightened, we will not understand the riches of his glorious inheritance to us, or the great power for us who believe. 

Our prayers will be no different than the eleven disciples who followed Jesus into that garden.  I’m sure they loved Him, and I’m sure they wanted the very best for Him but they did not have the Spirit of God living in them, it was not needed they had Jesus, but they did not ask Jesus to give them the power they needed that night, to stand before the Father in prayer, but after Pentecost they learn to pray in the Spirit. 

My prayer for you is the same one I’m praying for me, I need the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that I may know Jesus better.  In Jesus, in His divine power, He has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him.  We have become partakers of His divine nature, and when the eyes of our hearts are enlightened we will be mighty in our prayers.  We are the light of the world, and the apostle Paul gives us this insight, “for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:13)

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Guarantee

Ephesians 1:13-14

Growing up in the fifties, the word guarantee was not used often, if you bought a refrigerator or washing machine it was expected to work well for many years but that is not the case today.  It seems that almost everything you purchase, they want to sell you a guarantee, and from what I’ve read and experienced, they are not a good gamble, it is very similar to Vegas the house has the odds.  In Paul’s letter to the churches at Ephesus he talks about a guarantee, not like the one you get from American Home Shield to cover the items in your home, often these have little or no value, but the guarantee Paul is proclaiming is backed up by none other than Creator God.

Verse 13, 14, “In him you also when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believe in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.”

I worked for 3M Company for 40 years and am blessed to receive a pension, and I’ve been given a guarantee that 3M will fund that pension for the rest of my life.  The guarantor of that fund has every intention to fulfill the promises made to it’s employees, but its guarantee is based on 3M Company staying in business and funding the pension. 

When you entered into Christ by an act of faith, God the Holy Spirit, sealed you into Christ and at that moment in what we call time, the Holy Spirit became your guarantor.  The church at Corinth was infected by the evil of the city and it’s life style of immorality and that is why Paul wrote these words to them.  “Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ.  He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.”  (2 Corinthians 1:21-22)  Many are taught they can lose what they did not earn; it is God who makes you stand firm in Christ, it is God who anointed us, it is God who set his seal of ownership on us, it is God who put his Spirit in our hearts, God is our depositor of guaranteeing what is to come.  Our actions were not mentioned, because the blood of Jesus Christ has covered sin, yours and mine.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

How big is your Inheritance?

Ephesians 1:11-12

I grew-up in a 900 square foot house, the son of L.S. and Lily Rice, and they had little of the world’s goods; they both came from families with very little in the way of material things, yet they were looking for an inheritance.  The inheritance was not based on some rich relative but on a promise from Jesus Christ.  My dad understood that the blood Jesus shed on the cross, covered sin, and that his sins were forgiven by an act of faith (not his faith, but faith that God gave him) he received a free gift of faith and entered into a personal relationship with God, the Father.  My dad searched the Scriptures about his promised inheritance, and I also have done likewise, and the following is what I’ve been able to ascertain.

Because of that act of faith, I, like many before me, entered into Christ and He entered into me, and I was adopted into the family of God.  The same Jesus, who redeemed me, became my Savior, Lord and brother.  He has gone to the right hand of our Father, and He is busy preparing a place for me, the apostle Peter says the following; “to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”  (1 Peter 1:4-5) 

That means all who have entered into Christ have much to look forward to but do we have to wait until we leave this world to benefit from being a part of this marvelous family of God?  Surely not, but often it may seem that way, because Peter also told us in 1 Peter 1:6-7, that you may have various trials, and they may shake your faith, but in the end you will pass the test.  We are now living in a time of testing, so prepare your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ, the apostle Peter gave us that counsel.

We have become sons/daughters of the light; we are no longer part of darkness!  As children of the light, our life should be dispelling darkness, because darkness is the absence of light, light can be measured and it only takes a spark to disperse darkness.  I have come to understand that my light is measured by my abiding in Christ, by renewing my mind, by keeping my eyes on Christ. To my shame, my light is not as bright as it should be, and it is not always a guide to the lost, and in fact it often seems to have an electrical short that flickers on and off.  I have searched for the reason, and each time it is because I remove my dependence on the Holy Spirit; He is the power grid, He is the only source of light.  If you believe in your abilities, then you have some source of light other than the Spirit of God, that light will not penetrate the darkness it will only lead others into darkness.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

The Mystery of His will

 

Ephesians 1:7-10

In Him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, the things in heaven and things on earth.”

My precious wife often tells me your sentence structure is too long, I wonder if someone was telling Paul the same thing?  Verse seven begins “In him” and the sentence before that ended in “the Beloved.”  How little real understanding do we have of the unbelievable price the Father paid to redeem you and I, He gave His beloved, His One and only Son.  I am overcome with the value God the Father placed on you and me!  It was not as if we were longing for or looking to the Father for anything.  Jesus the Beloved, states that we were as sheep without a shepherd, (Matthew 9:36) and sheep without a shepherd are open to any and all predators.  Our redemption came through Jesus, giving His blood, to cover your sin and mine; in fact from the original sin of Adam God has shed blood to cover sin.  “In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleaned with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”  (Hebrews 9:22)

God in his great wisdom knew we needed boundaries, so He gave us the Law, but we were like a trespasser, who did not ask permission to do and go on the property.   We did not ask God’s permission, in fact we broke God’s law, and then we added rules to live by hoping God would forgive our independent living.

In Scripture this is written, “According to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will.” It should be clear to each of us that grace is something you cannot earn, nor deserve, but is freely given by the Father.  It also should be understood that the Father has it in abundance and His desire is to lavish it upon us, with wisdom and insight.  That is the good news, but the bad news is, He only lavishes it on those who by faith have believed in the One He sent.  Now Paul tells us that the mystery was made known to him by revelation, it was not made known to sons of men in other generations, but has been revealed to the apostles and prophets by the Spirit.  This is the mystery of Christ; “This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. (Ephesians 3:6)  We who are in Christ, were called to this truth, “Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

This mystery is you and I who are Christ’s hands and feet are to be salt and light, by abiding in Christ, by walking by the Spirit, by not submitting to the flesh, and this is what the Bible refers to as the Church.  “so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 3:10)

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Who did the Choosing?

Ephesians 1:4-5

When Jan and I began to date, she was still in high school and I was back from the army; I was working nights at a place called Corn Products and attending Del Mar College.  I viewed myself as the more experienced one and Jan as the sweet high school girl who was helping me pass English.  One night, she told me “I’m going to chase you till you catch me,” and I thought to myself, what is that all about?  I often wonder who chose whom; I did ask her to be my wife, but in the scheme of things, who did the selecting?  When it comes to our relationship with Jesus Christ, it should be very clear about who did the selecting, verse four states, “even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.”

When I ask Jan to be my wife I had already chosen her, but it was by her choice to reject or receive my invitation, and that same thing is true when it comes to Christ.  Before He created the world, He had you in His mind, and being God he was not limited by space or time, and though He had not spoke the world into being, He saw you and He chose you.  The Psalmist David had this to say, “Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there were none of them.” (Psalm 139:16)  (Note: You and I should be guarded of anyone who tells us they totally understand this truth, to say so is to state you understand the majesty of God.  The bottom line is that only the Holy Spirit will give you the faith and insights to understand this truth, to a non-believer, this makes no sense. )

Psalm 139:16 as our setting, has help me understand Ephesians 1:5, “In love he predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.”  The word predestined has caused some who are in Christ to become arrogant, prideful and very judgmental, with an attitude of “I was chosen, sorry about you.”  I would like to make the case that the “us” in verse four is everyone, His will was to redeem man, and often I go back to this; God became my Redeemer, before He became my Creator. 

In John 3:16, it states that God so loved the world, it does not say the predestined ones, and if only we would keep reading, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believed stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” (John 3:17-18)  The Creator God, who saw your unformed substance and numbered your days before one of them happened, also saw down through time, in what we time critters call future, and knew if we would accept or reject Jesus.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice