You know how awesome of a privilege it can be, living in the western world? I want to hear a sermon on power, and oh hey, there's a podcast for that. :) So cool. And that teaching was probably the best.... I can't remember the last time I've heard anything so incredible. (And that's coming from someone who's had a pretttty amazing week!)
"To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ." 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12
Satan does not give ground easily. This prayer addresses little things we may be tempted to get caught up in in our journey with God. The teaching I just finished listening to is called "By His Power," delivered by Josh Harris to Covenant Life Church. Josh starts off by delving into that last line: according to his grace. From my notes:
We are always praying according to something. My own righteousness? It’ll fall apart in the next 10 minutes. Will you feel like praying then? If you live like this prayer will be a dry, condemning, lifeless, dead thing that you never want to do. If you pray for others according to their worthiness, you’ll never pray for them. No faith left to pray for your enemies ‘cause it’s all about human performance. When the gospel becomes the basis that’s when you begin to pray without ceasing.
God has called you. And only God can make you worthy of that calling. It's not about my performance or my guilt because in the end they'll both amount to nothing. "Grace doesn’t leave us prisoners on the treadmill of religious performance, but neither does it leave us prisoners of our old sinful habits." Everything-absolutely everything-must be seeped in prayer. Prayer that not only guards us from sin but finds our greatest joy in doing good. Because knowing the right answers and living them are two totally different ballgames. I wish I could emphasize it like Josh does in this sermon but he does it so much more eloquently. You've just gotta listen!
http://www.covlife.org/resources/3779329-By_His_Power
School is hectic and it's actually 4 AM right now! I've been so crazy busy writing papers and all that jazz--but I haven't forgotten about you, I promise! Ideally I'll be back tomorrow because there's so much I want to say on the subject of power. That'll more likely happen on, oh, Saturday, but here's hoping :)
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