“I pray the eyes of your heart would be enlightened, that you would know what is the hope of your calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe.” Ephesians 1:18-19
A Poignant Story: One day a kind farmer found a wounded eagle in one of his fields. He took him home, tended his wounds and placed him in his barnyard to recuperate. Strangely, the young eagle soon adapted to the habits of the barnyard chickens. He learned to walk and cluck like them, drink from a trough and peck the dirt for food.
A friend visiting the farmer saw the eagle and asked, “Why in the world is that eagle acting like a chicken?” The farmer explained but his friend replied, “I’m going to do something about this.” So he picked the eagle up, climbed atop a fence and tossed him into the air. The confused bird just fell back to the ground and scurried off. Undaunted, he then took the eagle and climbed to the top of the barn and heaved him off the roof. The bird made a few loud squawks, turned sideways, and plummeted straight into a bale of hay.
The man then grabbed the bird, threw it into his pickup truck and drove to the top of a nearby mountain. He held the bird aloft, and made sure the eagle faced the brilliant light of the sun. The eagle is the only bird that has a special third-eye-lens that enables it to fly directly into the sun. He yelled at the bird, “Hey, you are not a chicken. Do you understand me? You were born to fly!”
He then hurtled the bird into the sky and this time the eagle open his wings, looked at the sun, caught an updraft rising from the valley, and soared into the clouds of heaven.
Many Christians are like that eagle. Born into the kingdom of God and given power to live a victorious life, they instead tend to languish in a state of spiritual mediocrity, unaware of who they really are. Called to be an over-comer, they instead are pecking around in a spiritual barnyard, content to live with no sense of God’s power available to them. I’ve lived in this condition before.
Reread the verses above and ask God to reveal just who you are in Christ. I am praying that prayer, asking God to illuminate my heart and help me understand the richness of Christ in my life.
Prayer Needs This Week…
- 20 were baptized on Saturday in the Dominican Republic following a wonderful week-long outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Pray for all of them plus the other 40 who returned from the trip on Sunday.
- Pray for Jeff’s Wednesday study; Greg’s men’s study, Alison and Robin’s Shine Bible study
- Increase of signups for the Women’s Spring Retreat, March 15-17
- Resuming this week of Refuge and Impact Youth meetings
- Good News Club and Worship Warriors with Toby and Tricia
- Chris and the Worship Team members
- Elders/Pastoral Staff and Spouses
I have friends in the Philippines who have been ministering to Muslims in Mindanao, especially the Bajao people who are the poorest of the poor. Last week their village burned, along with the church and school they built. Please pray God would use this firestorm to open opportunities for many to come to Christ. And that the church and school would be rebuilt. My friends and the villagers are heartbroken as they possessed so little.
Finally: Comparing yourself to others is always the thief of joy.
Jay