II Timothy 1:7; Ephesians 5 - "Jesus To The World"

Oh how I love Saturday nights with the way God wakes me to pray for pastors. Not only did He have me pray last night but He also gave me Scripture with a message for pastors. Ephesians 5 has great words for all people to follow but during the night He told me to share it with pastors. This chapter is divided into four sections in The Passion Translation. They are: Living in God's Love; Living in God's Light; Living in God's Wisdom; and Loving Relationships. As we follow these ways of living we will set the example for others on how to live. It is crucial for people to see those who call themselves Christians to live in this manner so they will desire to come into relationship with Him. 

Living in God's Love (vs 1-5) means living a life of holiness where His love flows in and through us. I love how His love is described in verse two as an aroma of adoration--a sweet healing fragrance. Woo hoo! We must live a life of His love if we desire to live with Him for eternity.

Living in God's Light (vs 6-14) means He will shine brightly through us as we allow Him. Verse eight reads: Once your life was full of sin's darkness, but now you have the very light of our Lord shining through you because of your union with him. Your mission is to live as children flooded with revelation-light! As we allow Him to shine through us people will see the supernatural fruits of His light...goodness, righteousness, and truth (vs 9) in us.

Living in God's Wisdom (vs 15-21) means as we live in the empowerment of the Holy Spirit we will have His wisdom. As we live in His wisdom we will be blessed with His joy. We need to remember to give thanks to Him for all of the ways He blesses us as we live for Him. I love verse sixteen which reads: Take full advantage of every day as you spend your life for His purposes. Yes! That is exactly how I strive to live my life.

Loving Relationships (vs 22-32) shows how we are to live out all of our relationships in His love. If the pastor isn't living in such manner, how can they expect their people to do so? We must set the right example in our homes before we can set the right example in our church. We also must remember we, the church, are the bride of Christ. Verse twenty-seven reads:  All that He does in us is designed to make us a mature church for His pleasure, until we become a source of praise to Him—glorious and radiant, beautiful and holy, without fault or flaw.

He had me pray for all to take heed of these Scripture but especially for pastors to ponder upon them. He told me "there are too many pastors not striving to live a life of holiness and He needs them to realize it before it's too late." He said He "needs them to get to the end of themselves so He can empower them to be who He desires them to be." I thought of II Timothy 1:7 at that point in time. We do not have to be afraid to live a life as He desires. When we do, He will empower us to be who He has called us to be. We do not have to fret or worry over what people will do or say when we follow His will. He already has everything taken care of and knows the end result. Woo hoo! All we have to do is follow His example as NewSong's Jesus To The World tells of...

We need to be lambs that roar
We need to be eagles that soar
We need to be salt
We need to be light
We need to be Jesus to the world

We need to take love into the streets
Be willing to turn the other cheek 
We need to be strong
We need to be weak
We need to be Jesus
Jesus to the world

Dear Jesus,

Thank You for another Saturday night of praying for pastors! Thank You for giving me this Scripture to share! Thank You for Your love, grace, and mercy that You shower upon me! Thank You for my pastor/husband who needs to feel Your presence so greatly in his life! May today be a better day for Doc physically, mentally, and emotionally. May he see You in a new, different light in the day ahead. Father, I pray for a cleansing in my soul so You can fill me to overflowing with Yourself. I pray You will speak clearly through the message You gave me to give this morning. I pray the same for all pastors but especially for Pastor James as he fills the pulpit this morning and Pastor Scott with Billie's surgery this week. I pray for pastors who are regathering today for the first time since the COVID-19 hit. May You be their Peace in the midst of the situations they are going to face. May they remember You already know the outcome and rest in that knowledge. Father, I pray for decisions that need made by pastors regarding this pandemic to be made in Your wisdom. I pray for people to realize the heavy burdens pastors are dealing with during this time. Thank You Father for the generous monetary donation we received for the Building Fund yesterday! I pray You will continue to be with us in this process. I pray You will light a fire under the electrical contractor so work can continue. May we get into our building sooner than later. Thank You Jesus for being My Example to Follow! Amen.