Looking Ahead
July 9
If you have been following the tragic story of flooding in Texas, you know that over 100 people have died due to that terrible storm and flash flooding. Many of those lost were young girls at a summer camp. A camp official had this to say about the flooding, "No amount of planning could have anticipated this disaster," DeHart added. "This tragedy is a sobering reminder of the unpredictable forces of nature, and now the strength of the camp community will rally in compassion and unity when it matters most.” This devastating tragedy is a stark reminder of how powerful God’s creation, nature, can be at times. We often feel lost and wondering how we should respond to these powerful natural disasters. Our first and most powerful response, prayer, is sometimes dismissed as ineffective or trivial. Nothing could be further from the truth. Paul wraps up a prayer, he started in the first chapter of Ephesians, as we turn to Ephesians chapter three.
As we return to the letter Paul penned to the church in Ephesus in chapter three, we are
reminded of a couple of themes. First, Jesus is at the center of everything that happens anywhere. Second, we find the Apostle praying for the church he loves so. Finally, we are reminded of one of the main reasons we can believe what Paul is preaching to the saints in Ephesus, the one true God, is power! There are at least four Greek words used to describe God’s power in the New Testament and Paul uses all of them in the first chapter of Ephesians. But as he closes out the first half of this letter, he prays a powerful prayer and uses the word dynamis, for power, twice. All together Paul talks about the dynamis power of God five times in Ephesians. It is impossible to write about Jesus without writing about His power. This fact stands out when you consider dynamis is used 119 times in the New Testament. Dynamis is used often in the Gospels in relationship to Jesus’ miracles, sometimes even being translated as “miracle.” This same word is used in the LXX (the Greek translation of the Old Testament used in Jesus’ time) to describe the parting of the Red Sea as Moses led God’s people out of Egypt. In Paul’s prayer in Ephesians chapter three God’s dynamis isn’t just in Him, but it is imparted to the saints. This power that made a way for God’s people to escape slavery in Egypt is the power that Jesus displayed in His ministry as He ushered in the Kingdom of God and today this dynamis power strengthens our inner being, enabling us to grow to maturity in Jesus.
Access this dynamis power through prayer today! Please be praying for the victims in Texas, Wallula’s short term mission trip to Honduras, WCC’s upcoming Small Group Leader Training, and whatever else is on your heart and minds. God is big! His power is great! And He is at work in and through you!
I love you guys and can’t wait to see you Sunday!
Lance
Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
- Ephesians 3:20-21
June 4
I’m writing this article from a plane. The flight is nearly full. Klayton and I have one of the few rows with an empty middle seat. I guess sometimes being a grumpy, old, fat guy has its benefits (no one wants to sit next to you)! I’ve just started our family’s journey to upstate New York. Zoe will be ministering at a Christian camp all summer long and we are seeing her off. I’ve noticed a few things on our journey all ready: 1. People are anxious to get where they are going. Folks crowd onto already full buses, surge into crowded escalators, over fill elevators and hurry to line up, just to wait to board a crowded aircraft. Yes, we are in a hurry to get someplace. 2. Almost no one looks happy to be there! I know, I’ve just started our trip, and travel can be a grind, we’ll see how my attitude is doing at the end of the day, but man, I am overwhelmed by the frowns, slumped shoulders and downright sorrowful look in peoples’ eyes. I know people travel for all kinds of reasons. I am sure some folks on this flight are on the tail end of a business trip, others might be traveling to the funeral of a recently deceased loved one, maybe others are traveling to receive medical treatment at a “last resort” kind of hospital or treatment center… Still someone else has to be on their way to that vacation of a lifetime in Europe, or meeting family after a long separation, or someone is surely on their way to a grandchild’s wedding! Shouldn’t there be more smiles? Shouldn’t there be more joy?
As believers we know that every single one of us is heading somewhere for all eternity. It doesn’t really matter if we are in a hurry to arrive or not (the timing isn’t really up to us), but every single human is on this journey. As followers of Jesus, there should be unlimited joy experienced and expressed in our walk with Him. Really, Paul’s letter to the Ephesians in the New Testament is a letter written as a handbook to Christians. In this handbook, Paul lays out the treasure, the inheritance, the joy that every believer has access to in relationship with Jesus! I can’t wait to unpack the first three chapters of Ephesians with you during our new preaching series, Treasure Hunt. All the fun will begin on Father’s Day, June 15!
Exciting things continue to happen at Wallula. We are right in the middle of Vacation Bible School this week. Before I left I saw there were 180 kids registered for VBS. Please be in prayer for the kids, families and volunteers. While attendance on Sunday mornings will ebb and flow some this summer, our worship services continue to trend to the full side, especially at 9:00 am. You can help to make room for folks just beginning their treasure hunt by moving toward the middle of the aisles when you choose your seat, parking on the South lot, if you will be at both services, and if you are really daring, move to the 10:30 am service to free up seats at 9:00 am. Other exciting changes are being planned so that we can continue to have room for your neighbors, friends, family and coworkers to join you on you on Sunday morning.
I love you guys and can’t wait to be back at Wallula with you!
Lance
Blessed be our the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.
- Ephesians 1:3-4
