POWER
Twice in Ephesians 3:14-21 Paul prays for power for his friends in Ephesus.
That is an often neglected request but it sure is biblical. And it sure is needed in cross cultural work. The enemy would like to knock out our friends and send them packing. But not so fast my friend. The team is small and sometimes discouraged. They need power.
Thanks to Mike Bowers for this entry.
Previous Posts in this Series:
Intro
A Tale of Two Cities (Penguin Classics) by Charles Dickens
Prince Caspian by C. S. Lewis
Padi Open Water Diver Manual by DREW RICHARDSON
What Christ Thinks of the Church: An Exposition of Revelation 1-3 by John R. W. Stott
The Irrational Atheist: Dissecting the Unholy Trinity of Dawkins, Harris, and Hitchens by Vox Day
© 2006–2007 SQJ Taipei — Sitemap — Cutline by Chris Pearson. Modified by GPS Gazette
4 responses so far ↓
1 Josh Furnal // Feb 22, 2006 at 12:39 am
sqj,
this post is a great idea. i have been thinking about the notion of ‘power’ as it relates to the church. it is an interesting question: what is this ‘power’ and whose is it?
history is chalked-full of examples where the church has not used ‘power’ in ways that are God-honoring. The world tends to think of power as strength, or control, but when Jesus (or Paul) talks about power, it always involves a cross, which highlights our weakness and vulnerability.
I feel like power is something humans struggle to find and exploit, and in a religious sphere, it tends to get grotesquely (sp?) distorted. But there is something to finding His strength in our weaknesses, infact, its down-right humbling.
2 Naomi // Feb 22, 2006 at 2:24 am
I miss you guys.
Just wanted to drop a line. I know Mike Bowers and grew up with him. My home church and Clarence Church of Christ are sister churches. I was surprised to see his name.
3 Mr. SQJ // Feb 22, 2006 at 4:01 pm
Naomi!
Nice to hear from you… can you send me your email address? You can send it to the gmail address (over in the left column) if you don’t like posting public email addresses.
SQJ
4 leeshalou // Feb 22, 2006 at 11:54 pm
Dear Scott,
I so agree with your friend Josh. Society thinks of power as a control thing. I love the fact that Christ can still work in my weaknesses, because I am sooo not perfect. I was working on my Bible study yesterday and want to share this from it. “Even in your weakness and humanity, God wants to pour His abundance over your obedience.. Even when you are broken,even when you don’t think you are enough,even when you are persecuted, even then, your obedience brings His blessings.”Josh is so right on also on how it is so humbling to know God can still use me in all my imperfection and weakness. Thanks for sharing with us! I enjoy your thoughts so much.-Alecia
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