The Eyes of Your Hearts

“For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated 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 1:15-23 ESV)

The apostle Paul addressed these words to the saints who were in Ephesus and who were faithful in Christ Jesus. And a saint is one who is being made holy by God, set apart by and for God, different (unlike) the world because “likeness of nature with the Lord.” For, by genuine God-persuaded faith in Jesus Christ we are crucified with Christ in death to sin, and raised with God to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but as slaves to God and to his righteousness (see Romans 6:1-23).

But they were not just the saints of God (God’s holy ones), but they were the faithful (trustworthy, reliable, loyalty to faith, fullness of faith). And that word “faith” means to be persuaded, in this case to be persuaded by God. And God persuades us as to his holiness and righteousness, and of our sinfulness, and of our need to deny self, to die with him to sin, not just once, but daily, and to walk in faithful obedience to his commands in holy living. For this faith is authored by God and is gifted of God and not of our flesh.

[Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:23-31; Hebrews 12:1-2]  

So, when the apostle Paul said that he had heard of their faith and their love toward all the saints, this is the faith he was speaking of, not a mere verbal profession of faith or a mere acknowledgement of who Jesus was and is and of what he did for us in dying on that cross and being resurrected from the dead. He was speaking of a faith that transforms our hearts and minds and behaviors to make us more like Jesus, separate (different) from the world. He was talking of self-denial, death to sin, and obedience to our Lord.

So his prayer was for their spiritual maturity, their spiritual growth in their walks of faith in the Lord Jesus. But it was also that they would hear the Spirit speaking truth to their hearts guiding them in the way that they should go. And it was that they would gain spiritual discernment so as to be able to discern truth from lies, and so that they would not end up following the liars and end up heading in the wrong direction instead of the direction that God had planned and purposed for their lives.

And we need this, too. For this included that they (and we) would know the hope to which our Lord called them and us. And it is not just the hope of forgiveness (salvation) from sin and eternal life with God. For Jesus took upon himself the sins of the entire world when he was crucified on that cross so that, by genuine faith in him, we will die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness in walks of obedience to our Lord in surrender to his will and purpose for our lives, which we are shown in the Scriptures.

We all have a choice to go the right way or the wrong way, but we need to know which is the right way and which is the wrong way, for if we go the wrong way, thinking that we are going the right way, it will end in death, not in life eternal. And many are those who are traveling that wrong pathway convinced that their sins are forgiven and that heaven is guaranteed them when they die, but without regard for why Jesus gave his life for them and what our Lord requires of all who profess his name.

So, just know that Jesus died so that we would die with him to sin and now walk with him in obedience to his commands and in surrender of our lives to do his will and purpose for our lives, to be pleasing to him. And please know that he taught and his NT apostles taught that if we choose not to die to sin, and not to walk in obedience to his commands, but to continue in deliberate and habitual sin, in direct defiance of his commands, that we will not inherit eternal life with God. If sin is what we obey, it ends in death, not life.

So, we cannot just make a profession of faith in Jesus Christ and then follow our own course, doing whatever it is we want to do with our lives. For if our faith is genuine, God now owns us. We are his possession. And our lives are now to be surrendered to him to do his will, not just what gives us pleasure. And we need to be so discerning about the people we believe and follow, too, for there are many “wolves in sheep’s clothing” out there leading professing Christians in the wrong direction. So pray for discernment!

And this isn’t just about discerning people who are preachers and teachers of the Scriptures, but this is about politicians and people in our governments and in the news media and in the educational system and the world of medicine, etc. Liars abound everywhere we look! So just because it looks good on the outside, it doesn’t mean that it is good. And please know that if you do not pray for discernment and you end up following the lies and not the truth, it can cost you your lives for eternity. And I weep over that!!

For Our Nation  

An Original Work / September 11, 2012

Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.

Jesus Christ is gently calling

You to follow Him in all ways.

Trust Him with your life today.

Make Him your Lord and your Savior.

Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.

He will forgive you of your sin;

Cleanse your heart, made new within.

Men betraying: Our trust fraying.

On our knees to God we’re praying,

Seeking God to give us answers

That are only found in Him.

God is sovereign over all things.

Nothing from His mind escaping.

He has all things under His command,

And will work all for good.

Jesus Christ is gently calling

You to follow Him in all ways.

Men deceiving: We’re believing

In our Lord, and interceding

For our nation and its people

To obey their God today.

He is our hope for our future.

For our wounds He offers suture.

He is all we need for this life.

Trust Him with your life today.

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