Weekly Message / Prayer Request

“For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” Ephesians 3:14-19

All of us in this world tend to live on the exterior, measuring everything based upon its outward appearance. Prejudices, based upon subconscious opinions, look at the surface of people and make judgment calls on superficial facts.

We live in a society which claims to have a deeper understanding of the human mind and soul, yet in reality never looks beyond visual facts of people, products, or ideals. Our eyes therefore tend to become the most corrupting part of the body, buying into the idea that it is all about image.

The Apostle Paul here speaks against this reality and type of existence by preaching that we must go beyond the exterior of people and dive into the where Christ searches the soul—our inner being. For in this passage of Ephesians, Paul’s prayer is focused on asking Christ to strengthen the inner being of those in Ephesus and that He may dwell in their hearts.

There is so much that we need to take from the Word here. Our focus in people needs to be beyond the visual. Our view of ourselves must go well beyond being skin deep. The health of our inner being is where we are rooted in unity with each other and where we are filled with the fullness of God.

It has been clear ever since the beginning of man where God has intended to do His work in all of us. For it is written:

“This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time," declares the Lord. "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.” Jeremiah 31:33

God never intended to write His covenant on His people with any outward appearance. He intended from the very beginning to make His covenant with our inner being in order to let His light shine out into the world.

Therefore we must grab hold of this truth and begin to look into the hearts of men. Our love must transcend any social, cultural, or ethnic makeup of a person to share the good news in order to make disciples. May the Lord help all of us find our inner being secure in the truth…

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It was great to see many of you this past Wednesday evening. It was a powerful study on prayer. All of you have been a tremendous blessing on my life. I pray that all of you feel the same…

Prayer request

Ernie – pray for continued health of wife, pray for continued strength and health for Ernie

Tim – pray for Tim’s mother who had a mild heart-attack this week and continued strengthening of her health

Carmine – pray for Sharon Hale and her recovery from brain surgery

Dick – pray for continued strength in seeking out job opportunities

David – pray that the Holy Spirit will reveal to us what we need to learn about our heavenly Father

Mark – pray for family in Ohio that they may be strengthened by the love of Christ, pray for stronger unity within family in Ohio, pray for hearing the voice of God through the daily reading of the Word

***Pray for relationship building throughout the Northshore Christian Church

Continued prayer needs

Kelcy – pray for family in the sudden death of his uncle

Norman – pray for daughter with clinical tests this week trying to determine cause of seizures

Chad – pray for friend’s mother-in-law which is battling cancer

Gary – pray for strength in working with IRS, praise and prayer for staff infection, pray for stepdaughters in their struggles

Ramon – pray for continued healing with wife, pray for sister-in-law

Larry Miller – pray for strength and guidance in leading marriage ministry at Northshore

Randy – pray for release of addictions of the flesh

Michael – praise for Michael finding a Church in Alabama for himself and family


*** pray also for the men’s ministry in developing Godly leaders

Future Meetings

Wednesday, November 14th, 7:00-9:00 pm, regular meeting at the Northshore Christian Church (call Mark for directions) Topic: “Deity of Christ”

Wednesday, November 28th, 7:00-9:00 pm, regular meeting with topic to be determined

Challenge

May we find peace and power within our inner being in order to build unity throughout the Church…