by Steve McCranie | Dec 13, 2019
The verses we are looking at for the next couple of days are another one of Paul’s blessed digressions. It is his style of writing, his way of making sure we understand the past, present, and future aspects of our relationship with Christ. It is the Holy Spirit’s way of taking nothing for granted and making sure each of us is fully equipped with what we need to know about His church. Let me show you how this works.
Paul ends Ephesians 2 by describing who we are in Christ as fellow citizens, saints, and members of the household of God (Eph. 2:19). He then goes on to say the church, now revealed to be made of both Jews and Gentiles, is like a temple of God built on the foundation of Christ and each of us, regardless of our backgrounds, are perfectly “fitted together” into a growing entity for a “dwelling place of God in the Spirit” (Eph. 2:20-22). This is an amazing revelation about His church. And it seems natural, after making this proclamation, that Paul would continue in prayer as he does in Ephesians 3:14:
For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God (Eph. 3:14-19).
But he doesn’t. He can’t. Why? Because there is still more to be said about this great “mystery” he only spoke about briefly in Ephesians 1:9-10.
Having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth— in Him (Eph. 1:9-10).
Paul knew, through the Holy Spirit, he needed to spend more time letting the church at Ephesus, and each of us today, know about this great “mystery” we call the church and God’s design behind its creation. Hence, we have the wonderful and blessed digression of Paul in Ephesians 3:2-13.
The Church— the Great Mystery
What is this mystery? And what does the word “mystery” mean?
The word “mystery” is used four times in this chapter alone and, therefore, seems to be an extremely important concept for believers to understand. The Greek word translated “mystery” is mustḗrion and means “something hidden or not fully manifest.” But you must understand the original use of this word in order to grasp what the passage is saying. In contemporary English, we use the word mystery to speak of something unknown or something unknowable. “I don’t know how that happened. It is a mystery to me.” But in New Testament times the Greek word refers to something that is known or knowable but not to everyone. It is some truth or knowledge known only to the initiate, or only to those it was meant to be revealed. When the word is used in Ephesians, it is meant to describe something that was unknown before Christ came, but is now fully revealed. It is a mystery to some, but to us, the church, it is revealed truth given to us at this time.
We will speak more about this word tomorrow, but for now, let’s close by looking at how mustḗrion is used in Ephesians. Hopefully, this will give you a deeper appreciation for the digression of Paul (Eph. 3:2-13).
Having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself – Ephesians 1:9.
How that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) – Ephesians 3:3-4.
And to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ – Ephesians 3:9.
This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church – Ephesians 5:32.
Time to Pray
There is much about the Christian life that is a mystery. And God’s ways and His wisdom are called a mystery to those who don’t understand, to those who are outside of the family of faith.
But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory – 1 Corinthians 2:7-8.
But for you and me, they are not a mystery. We have been granted, by grace alone, the privilege of having these truths revealed to us through the Spirit of God.
But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God – 1 Corinthians 2:9-10.
So what do you lack in Him? Nothing. What do you not know or what knowledge is being deliberately kept from you by God? Nothing. And where do you find your source of belonging and illumination in the things of God? Exactly, through the Spirit who dwells in you. The only thing holding you back from being all that God wants you to be, is you.
When you pray today, remember what you already have in Christ and thank Him for it. And do not fret about what you think you don’t have. After all, you are complete, not in yourself, but in Him (Col. 2:9-10).
Until tomorrow,
by Steve McCranie | Jun 24, 2019
Now, even FOX News is covering the inevitable. The following is from Doug MacKinnon and was posted on the FOX website on Sunday, June 23, 2019.
We will speak much more about this on our website beginning in mid-July. But for now, read this and consider what Doug says.
Will You Survive the Coming Blackout?
There are many never-ending debates between Republicans and Democrats. Impeach vs. don’t impeach; capital punishment vs. life in prison; wall vs. no wall; legalizing marijuana vs. not; self-driving cars vs. human drivers; Red Sox vs. Yankees; takeout vs. home-cooked; or Gone With the Wind vs. any other movie.
All of these issues are stunningly important, right up to the second where cataclysm falls and creates a nightmare scenario that so many fear.
That cataclysm is a complete loss of electricity and every mode of convenience and survival we take for granted.
The largest red flag on this issue in years just waved in South America. Last weekend, tens of millions of people in Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay found themselves in a complete blackout. In one moment, they had electricity. The next moment, they had none, and they were catapulted back to the 1800s.
Only much worse.
People in the 1800s were not dependent upon electricity for their jobs, money, communication, Internet, transportation, education, security, medical services, prescriptions, water, and very lives.
The national power grid of the United States is truly a mess held together with, as the joke goes, by not much more than “baling wire and chewing gum.”
The average age of large power transformers in the United States is 40 years. Seventy percent of all large power transformers are at least 25 years old. It’s little wonder that, according to data from the Department of Energy, the United States suffers more blackouts than any other nation in the developed world.
The overall system is so weak, so taxed, and so vulnerable that in 2003, over 50 million people in the United States and Canada were hit with cascading blackouts simply because a tree branch fell on a power line in Ohio.
Because the infrastructure is so antiquated, weather triggers multiple blackouts per year in the U.S. Blackouts which collectively cost the nation upwards of $30 billion in spoiled inventory, lost wages, and repair of the grid.
Unfortunately, weather is becoming the least feared trigger of a blackout. In the age of terrorism and increasing cyber-threats, our power-grid getting taken down by a hack is no longer seen as a question of “If it will happen,” but rather, “When it will happen?”
The U.S. government is so rightfully fearful of this, that last November, it ordered DARPA (the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) to war-game a complete cyber take-down of the U.S. power grid.
An exercise they are now wisely running on a regular basis.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, just last year, hackers – strongly suspected to be Russian – gained access to a number of utility control rooms in the United States and got to the point where “they could have thrown switches.”
The DHS report further stressed: “Russian government cyber actors targeted government entities and multiple U.S. critical infrastructure sectors, including the energy, nuclear, commercial facilities, water, aviation, and critical manufacturing sectors.”
Aside from the Russians, the Chinese, North Koreans, other terrorist states, and even cyber-extortionists, are targeting our power grid on a daily basis.
That clock is ticking.
Unfortunately, much like any large terrorist attack, when an extended regional or national blackout hits, you and your family will be on your own. No one is going to ride to the rescue.
How will you survive?
In the blink of an eye, you will lose access to money, food, gasoline, communication, medicine, medical attention, heat, air conditioning, and security.
Gone.
Even though most don’t do it, residents of California and Florida are reminded every year to assemble their “two-week” survival kit. In California, it’s because of earthquakes. In Florida, it’s because of hurricanes.
Survival kits which include water, non-perishable food, medicine, first-aid kits, batteries, a radio, flashlights, candles, cash, a hand-crank charger, with smaller versions of all for your vehicle and office.
The federal and state governments should be issuing that same reminder to every citizen in the nation about the coming blackout. It truly is not a question of “if,” but of “when.”
A night on the town for a movie, dinner, a sporting event or a political debate is great fun until none of it matters and your survival is literally at stake.
Make a plan, because you will be on your own.
by Steve McCranie | Jul 27, 2015
To totally commit our lives to the Lord Jesus Christ is the first thing we must do to spiritually prepare for the coming persecution in this country. And, as we said last week, the way to do that is found in the words of John the Baptist. John said, when comparing his ministry with that of his Lord:
“He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30).
The first statement, the “I must decrease” part is easy to understand yet difficult to apply. But what about the second statement, the “He must increase” part? What does that mean? How can I, a mere mortal, make Jesus more than He already is? Or, what can I give Him, who created everything, that He doesn’t already possess?
Keep listening as we begin to answer this all-important question that will give us practical steps to total commitment.
The following is a study on Total Commitment.
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by Steve McCranie | Jul 20, 2015
As we face coming persecution in this country, one of the most important preparations we can make is to totally commit our lives to the living Lord Jesus. But that raises a few questions.
What does total commitment look like?
And what does total commitment really mean?
How can I be totally committed to Jesus?
Where do I start?
What do I do?
The answer is two-fold and is crystallized in the words of John the Baptist. He said, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30). Ah, that’s it. First, Jesus must increase and, second, I must decrease. Or is it the other way around?
These are vital questions that need to be answered, and answered now. Keep listening to find out more.
The following is a study on Total Commitment.
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by Steve McCranie | Jul 13, 2015
With the winds of the coming persecution beginning to blow our way, we must ask ourselves this all important question: Is there something we can do now, before the persecution begins in earnest, to prepare for what is soon to happen?
And we discovered the answer is, yes. We can do the following:
One, we can totally commit our life to the living Lord Jesus.
Two, we can begin to disengage from the world’s system and begin to live in His kingdom.
Three, we can embrace persecution as a means of furthering the Gospel by looking beyond ourselves and looking only at Him.
Which sadly, leads to a few more questions that each of us struggle with.
How can I totally commit my life to the living Lord Jesus? Is that even possible?
Is He trustworthy?
Will He keep His promises and Word to me like He said?
Does He really love me that much?
To find out the answers to these question, keep listening.
The following is a study on Colossians 1:19-23.
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