A Note from our Pastor:

“That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,”

Ephesians 3:17

Good Morning Dearly Beloved,

This morning’s verse is another prayer, another petition, which is offered up by the Apostle for those at Ephesus and is a prayer for you and I today. The Apostle prays for two things: 1) that Christ might dwell in the hearts of those believers reading this letter; and 2) that they might be rooted and grounded in love.

Let us first address the indwelling of Jesus Christ. This desire of this prayer should not be confused with the fact that Christ is in all places present, or that Christ, by the Holy Spirit, is with each child of God that has been regenerated. No, this is a far more personal indwelling. This is an instance of the showing of a special mercy and it is a personal relationship between the believer and Jesus Christ.

The Apostle in his prayer gives us two important pieces of information. The first is that Christ takes up his dwelling in our heart. The same place where sin resides, where pride begins, and where we often oppose God is the same place where Jesus comes to reside when we by faith push those fleshly desires aside and seek more diligently to follow after him. When he resides with us in this manner he comes as a King to protect his people and as a father to provide for his children. This indwelling is uniquely personal and creates tremendous peace in the believer.

The second part of the Apostle’s prayer is that we might be rooted and grounded in love. We must first be rooted and grounded in the love of God towards us. Knowing first that he loved us when we were yet unlovable. Realizing fully that we did nothing to merit his love but that his love is the foundation of our salvation.

Next we must be rooted and grounded in our love of God. If we fail to love God as we should any other form of love is merely superficial. Our first commandment is to love God with all of our being. To be rooted and grounded in this means that we evaluate our actions, thoughts, and words based on whether or not they show that we love God first and foremost. When this is the case there is no room for mockery, hate, or bitterness.

Finally, we must be rooted and grounded in reflecting God’s love by loving those around us. Scripture is clear that God does not give His blessings to his people for them to hoard them away. God gives his blessings to his people that they might share them, that they might give of themselves, and that they might show the love of God to others. To be rooted and grounded in love means we evaluate how we treat others on the basis of whether or not that reflects the love of Christ.

Our prayer for you today is the same as the prayer the Apostle prayed for those at Ephesus many years ago. May the Lord dwell in your hearts and may ye be rooted and grounded in love.

Our Prayers are with you daily,

Brother Jeremiah