The Church, You See, Is Not Peripheral To The World; The World Is Peripheral To The Church.

Today’s "Life Journal" Daily Bible Reading can be found on Line. Click Here!
Proverbs 30; Proverbs 31; Psalm 33; Ephesians 1 

The Church, You See, 

Is Not Peripheral To The World; 

The World Is Peripheral To The Church.

Scripture

Ephesians 1 

^15-19  That's why, when I heard of the solid trust you have in the Master Jesus and your outpouring of love to all the followers of Jesus, I couldn't stop thanking God for you—every time I prayed, I'd think of you and give thanks. But I do more than thank. I ask—ask the God of our Master, Jesus Christ, the God of glory—to make you intelligent and discerning in knowing him personally, your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is he is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life he has for his followers, oh, the utter extravagance of his work in us who trust him—endless energy, boundless strength! 

 ^20-23All this energy issues from Christ: God raised him from death and set him on a throne in deep heaven, in charge of running the universe, everything from galaxies to governments, no name and no power exempt from his rule. And not just for the time being, but forever. He is in charge of it all, has the final word on everything. At the center of all this, Christ rules the church. The church, you see, is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the church. The church is Christ's body, in which he speaks and acts, by which he fills everything with his presence. 

Observation

Do you ever wonder how important the “church” is to this world we live in?

Ephesians 1 helps put this world and Christ’s church in their proper places.

Sometimes we may tend to think that all these little churches scattered out all over our city and all over our country don’t have much impact on the world around them, but if you thought that you would be wrong.

Just go and stay in a country that doesn’t have any of those little churches scattered around on every corner and you will see and experience what a difference Christ’s church makes on a culture, on a people, and on a nation. Oh my goodness – what a difference the church makes!

There is nothing more powerful on this earth than the church of Jesus Christ. Its influence will permeate and change people groups, countries, and nations. Don’t believe me – just look what is happening in China and Cuba! God’s church is powerful – nothing compares to it.

Christ wants us to be the “Salt and Light” to this out of control world. His plan is to change the people on this planet using people like us!

Amazing isn’t it!

Application

I will continue to serve Christ through His “Church”. How about you?

Prayer

Heavenly Father, I pray that You continue to use our church to reach our city. Our church has a huge opportunity to touch and change the inner city. Help our people and our staff realize the power that we have in Christ to accomplish this task. 

Give our pastor energy and a fresh vision and don’t let him give up on reaching our city for You. Open the eyes of our church to the huge potential we have as a church. We have everything we need to get the job done. Help us accomplish the task of reaching Tampa with the Good News of Jesus Christ. 

Today’s "Life Journal" Daily Bible Reading can be found on Line. Click Here!