Author: admin

4.18.22 | Ephesians 3:14-21

By

TUESDAY PRAYER ROOMS

*In-person at 12 Bassett St, Providence RI

Prayer Guide

14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom every family[a] in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Ephesians 3:14-21

When I was younger, I used to plant trees with my dad. The newspaper called him Dr. Appleseed – because he went around our hometown planting flowering fruit trees for free to beautify the city. If anyone wanted a flowering pear tree on their parking strip, he would go plant it. Planting a tree is hard work…I knew because I helped Dad dig the holes. You would have to dig a hole larger than the root ball of the tree so that the roots had room to reach out and grow. Then you had to fill the hole with water, so that when the roots came out of the root ball they didn’t go into shock. It was important, from the minute the tree roots hit the new hole, that they got a signal – there are nutrients here. That helped the roots to stay open and to absorb water and to grow and spread. Then, you needed to fill the hole with good soil. Soil that was properly amended for acidity and soil that had enough organic matter to retain moisture and feed the tree.

Basically, all the growth and life and flowering and survival of the tree depended on one thing. Could it become rooted and established in the new soil? If the tree rooted and established itself, it would grow and flower and thrive and produce fruit and beautify the neighborhood. If the tree didn’t take root and didn’t establish itself, it would wither and eventually die.

Paul prays for the Ephesian church and prays for us, that we will become rooted and established in love. In particular, in God’s love. When we are saved and adopted, we are transferred from the dominion of darkness into the Kingdom of light (Colossians 1). Like trees, we are planted in the soil of God’s love. But the thing that must happen for us to flourish and thrive is for the roots of our souls to establish themselves in the love of God. For the love of God to become the sure and certain foundation of our lives. For the roots of our souls to open and receive the love of God, at the core level of our being, in an ongoing way – just like those flowering pears needed to receive water in their roots. 

The reality is that many of us have rooted ourselves in other things besides God. We find our core identity in our work, or in the opinions of others, the approval of others. We find it in our success, or our accomplishments, or in our net worth. We find it on social media. We have rooted ourselves in things other than God and his love. The reality is that none of these things can sustain us spiritually…they are poor soil. Soil that holds no water. Soil that will not ultimately nurture our spiritual lives. We need to become rooted and established in God at the core level of our identity. Be honest with yourself. What is your identity rooted in today? Is it working?

Others of us are positionally in God’s love…but we are not, at a core level, rooted and established in God’s love. Deep down we do not know we are loved. Have not received God’s love. We are hiding things. We are walking in shame. We have not tasted and seen (or haven’t recently at least) at an experiential level, the unconditional love and acceptance of God for us just as we are. God loves us unconditionally. This does not mean he is content to leave us exactly as he finds us…but he welcomes us just as he finds us. And in order to grow in holiness, it is essential for us to know the love of God. And for our core identity to be rooted and established, deeply in this love…revealed in Jesus, who died for us on the cross. He laid down his life for us, so that we could be his friends. 

For Reflection/Prayer:

  • What are you rooted and established in? Where are you tempted to find your core identity, if not in Jesus? Can you renounce these things this morning? Pray for the wider church to be uprooted from false sources of identity and value and to be rooted in God’s love alone.
  • What is hindering or blocking you this morning from receiving the love of God for you. The unconditional, reckless, pursuing love of God who died for you on the cross? Where is shame? Guilt? Unconfessed sin? Blocking you from his love? What makes it hard for you to receive love in general? Invite Jesus to remove your blockages?
  • Pray for the church to experience and taste the love of God – meeting us in even our dark places…and healing us from the inside out.

4.11.23 | Ephesians 3:14-21

By

TUESDAY PRAYER ROOMS

*In-person at 12 Bassett St, Providence RI

Prayer Guide

14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom every family[a] in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Ephesians 3:14-21

Paul has just finished spending the past two and a half chapters of his general epistle to the Ephesians talking about who we are in Christ. In chapter 1, he points out we are blessed with every spiritual blessing, adoption, forgiveness, inheritance, the Spirit, etc.. In chapter 2, he points out that we are saved by grace and raised up and seated with Christ. The dividing wall of hostility between Jew and Gentiles has been removed in Jesus and we who were aliens and strangers have become members of God’s house. 

One of the primary challenges that concerns Paul as he writes to and prays for the Ephesians is that we who have been included in Christ do not fully understand who we are. It was true in Ephesus and it is still true today. We do not understand what it means that he has loved us and adopted us. That we are heirs to the glorious riches of God, and that everything he has is ours. All this is true and so often, we don’t know it. 

One of my favorite old school Disney movies is the Lion King. Simba (who is the true King) runs away from home and forgets who he is…and because of this, the entire ecosystem goes out of whack. Rafiki the monkey has to come find him and provoke him with a series of questions. Who are you? Ultimately, Simba sees a vision of his dead father, Mufasa…who reminds him that he is, first and foremost, the son of a King…and therefore, he is called to rule and bring restoration to his realm. It is only when he grasps his identity as a child of the King that he begins to live like a child of the King. 

If we are to rule and reign with Jesus, we have to understand who we are. Before Paul goes on in Ephesians to spend several chapters talking about the question of “how then, shall we live?” he pauses to pray for them, that they would know and understand God’s love for them.

Over the next weeks, we will spend time praying Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians. But for now…a few prompts to pray. 

For Prayer:

  • Pray for a deeper understanding and revelation of God’s love to ground your identity.
  • Pray for the church in our city and region to have a revelation of our identity and status as God’s loved, adopted children that informs how we live our lives.

4.4.23 | Fixing Our Eyes Upon Jesus: Hebrews 12: 1-3

By

TUESDAY PRAYER ROOMS

*In-person at 12 Bassett St, Providence RI

Prayer Guide:

One of the most difficult races I ever ran was the Brooklyn half marathon. It was a sweltering day in late June. Not only was the temperature in the 90s early in the morning, but it was humid. It was very hard to stay hydrated on a day like that, even if you weren’t trying to run 13 miles. The race involved two loops around Prospect Park, which at least had some shade. But then it was followed by a long straight shot 5 miles down Ocean Avenue. The sun was directly overhead. No shade whatsoever. I remember at multiple times on that journey, I wanted nothing more than to give up. 

But I couldn’t stop running because my wife, Sarah, had my keys…and my wallet…and my phone. And she was waiting for me at the finish line, at the Coney Island boardwalk. If I had stopped, like everything in me wanted to, I would have no way home. No subway fair. No nothing. 

The fact that Sarah was there, waiting for me at the finish line, is what enabled me to finish the race. It was thinking of her…both practically (I needed a wallet and a phone)…and emotionally. She was WAITING for me, to cheer me on, to celebrate with me, to kiss me and give me a sweaty hug at the finish line, to tell me how proud she was of me. And that is what kept me going.

The scripture says that Jesus, for the joy set before him, endured the cross, despising its shame. Jesus ran and finished his race, which was brutal. He suffered such evil and injustice, culminating on the cross, for the joy set before him. What was that joy? It was the same as mine. It was for his bride. He endured the shame for us, so that we could be cleansed, made holy by his blood and body broken for us. So that we could become a radiant bride, and so that we could be united with him. 

And now, Jesus is waiting at the finish line for us to finish the race. The reason we run the race is not just because Jesus set us an example. Not just because he showed us how to run. But because HE himself is our prize. He is the one we run for, the one we run to be with. And if we keep running the race, despising the shame and suffering that comes with it, we will be with him. He has our wallet, he has our keys, he has our phone. He is waiting to embrace us. To welcome us into our eternal inheritance. 

The key to continuing to run when it is hot and humid and exhausting and discouraging is to fix our eyes on Jesus. To think of Him. To know that in addition to the cheers of the cloud of witnesses, Jesus Himself is cheering us on, and he is waiting for us to cross the finish line. So that we can be one with him. 

For Reflection/Prayer:

How aware are you of God’s love and longing for you? That he is waiting for you at the finish line? That Jesus ran and finished his race so he could be with you?

Pray for your eyes to be fixed on Jesus and your longing for, and devotion to him, to grow deeper and more profound. Pray for a greater awareness of the joy that is set before you at the end of the race marked out for you. 

Extend this prayer over the rest of the church…that the church would be marked by a profound longing…the longing of the betrothed for her bridegroom.