For This Cause
There are people all over the globe who are each standing up for their belief, their cause. One group may be fighting on behalf of one particular issue, while another is advancing a completely different one.
What cause are we living for? What is it that we believe in, and for which cause are we expending our time, our energy, and our resources?
There are many causes to fight for – some are worth standing up for, while many are worth nothing at all. If we are not watchful, we can get so caught up in our “cause” that we loose sight of the miraculous.
While it is very important to stand up for what is right and just, if all we are focused on are the issues at hand, we will often fail to recognize the miraculous in our midst. Worst than that, we may fail to experience miracles altogether.
Our mere human efforts are miserably ineffective when it comes to making a real difference in any cause. We may be able to make a little progress in solving a problem, but how long will that even last? Without the grace and power which God gives, we simply do not have what it takes to make a lasting impact on the situations of our world.
THE RESULT OF GRACE
Consider the following quote:
There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle.
The other is as though everything is a miracle. --Albert Einstein
As long as we depend upon our own intelligence and ability to solve problems, we will not perceive the miraculous. But when we observe and recognize the immensity of God’s ability and power at work for us, and acknowledge that it is by His Grace alone that we can do what we do, we will see miracles in everything.
It is in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for (Ephesians 1.11 MSG). And it is in Christ that we come to comprehend that everything good which comes to our life is the result of God’s grace.
Ephesians 3.20 reveals that by the action of God’s power at work within us, He is able to do superabundantly, far over and above all that we dare ask or think, infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams.
When something occurs that is superabundantly, far over and above what you and I have thought, desired, dreamed, prayed, or hoped – would that not be considered a miracle? This is the kind of life which the Lord desires for us to experience all the time. By the action of His grace, His power at work within us, He manifests the miraculous in our life.
MAJORING ON GRATEFULNESS
Experiencing miracles in our life on an on-going basis is largely dependant upon our continual appreciation to the Lord for the miracles which He performs for us. When we begin to see even little things that go well for us as gifts from God, we will also begin to see an acceleration of miracles in our life.
Thanksgiving and heartfelt appreciation to the Lord for everything He does for us is a powerful proponent for receiving miracles and blessings. When we live in gratefulness to the Lord for His Love, grace, and goodness to us – our gratitude will foster the production and increase of miracles in our life. The blessings and miracles are already in our midst. Our gratefulness before God releases the flow of these blessings to us.
The work of Christ has often been referred to as the Miracle of Redemption. A miracle is often defined as an act of divine nature which contradicts the ordinary – an act of God. Christ’s Passion was not something expected out of the ordinary. It was and is a miraculous work which only Almighty God could perform – a plan which far excels all that mortal man, or even the hosts of heaven and of darkness, could ever anticipate.
In light of this glorious Redemption, the Apostle Paul exclaimed, “When I think of the wisdom and scope of God’s plan, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from His glorious, unlimited resources He will give you mighty inner strength through His Holy Spirit… and may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His Love really is” (Ephesians 3.14-16,18 NLT).
In other translations of the above text, Paul’s statement begins with the phrase – “For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ…”
For this Cause… In light of the mystery of God’s grace and the Redemptive work of Christ for all mankind, for this cause I bow my knees in worship and pray to the Father, the Creator of all…
The wisdom of God and the scope of His plan throughout eternity is an immensely wonderful and miraculous work. In His infinite wisdom and immeasurable greatness, the Father Almighty has intently and beautifully laid out to perfection every detail of His great and awesome plan – and by the power of His Holy Spirit, on the authority of His Word, He has fulfilled His plan and will bring it all to full completion.
In His grace, the Father has not only planned the collective purpose of the scope of all time and all Creation – He has lovingly planned and prepared the personal, individual purpose of every human being. Christ’s redemptive work restored us to our unique and important place in God’s eternal plan: sons of God, joint-heirs with Jesus Christ our Lord – a position which we accepted by faith in Him.
Ephesians 2.4-6 explains, “But God – so rich is He in His mercy! Because of and in order to satisfy the great and wonderful and intense love with which He loved us, even when we were dead (slain) by our own shortcomings and trespasses, He made us alive together in fellowship and in union with Christ; He gave us the very life of Christ Himself, the same new life with which He quickened Him, for it is by grace – His favour and mercy – that you are saved… And He raised us up together with Him and made us sit down together [giving us joint seating with Him] in the heavenly sphere by virtue of being in Christ Jesus” (AMP).
Not only has the Lord started His wonderful work of grace within us, Philippians 1.6 assures “He Who has begun a good work in you will continue until the day of Jesus Christ [right up to the time of His return], developing that good work and perfecting and bringing it to full completion in you” (AMP).
Every blessing and every miracle we receive is the result of the grace of God and THE MIRACLE of Christ’s Redemption.
A CAUSE WORTH LIVING FOR
The greatest cause for which to live is not the cause which we or any mortal has initiated. It is the works which Almighty God has done that is the cause truly worth living for.
The works of Redemption, Grace and Mercy which the Lord has done – and which He continues to work in our life – are surely cause enough for which to live. When we major on such Divine demonstrations and live continually in gratefulness for the Lord’s great grace and goodness to us, we will surely witness the miraculous in every sphere of our life.
It is by the grace of God that we have been saved through faith, and that not of ourselves: it is the gift of God – not of works, so we cannot take credit for it. It is by grace, God’s gift, that we are what we are – and it is upon His grace alone that we should continually depend in every endeavour we undertake. His Covenant of Grace, ratified in the Blood of Jesus, covers every aspect of our life.
The Apostle Paul said, “By the grace of God I am what I am” (I Corinthians 15.10). The grace of God transformed Paul from a vehement opponent of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, into an ardent proponent for the Gospel – one of the greatest leaders of the early Church. In light of Paul’s life, it is evident that the grace of God doesn’t make just a big difference – His Grace makes ALL the difference.
“Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.” – II Timothy 2.1
Let us fervently endeavour to perpetuate this our glorious, heavenly legacy – an endless line of Grace, Mercy, and Blessing running through all eternity.
Let us live our life as though everything is a miracle – because, it really is… Every blessing is a miracle of God’s Love and God’s Grace.
For this cause we worship – And For this Cause WE LIVE.
Copyright © First Love Ministries International aka FERVOUR
All Rights Reserved
There are people all over the globe who are each standing up for their belief, their cause. One group may be fighting on behalf of one particular issue, while another is advancing a completely different one.
What cause are we living for? What is it that we believe in, and for which cause are we expending our time, our energy, and our resources?
There are many causes to fight for – some are worth standing up for, while many are worth nothing at all. If we are not watchful, we can get so caught up in our “cause” that we loose sight of the miraculous.
While it is very important to stand up for what is right and just, if all we are focused on are the issues at hand, we will often fail to recognize the miraculous in our midst. Worst than that, we may fail to experience miracles altogether.
Our mere human efforts are miserably ineffective when it comes to making a real difference in any cause. We may be able to make a little progress in solving a problem, but how long will that even last? Without the grace and power which God gives, we simply do not have what it takes to make a lasting impact on the situations of our world.
THE RESULT OF GRACE
Consider the following quote:
There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle.
The other is as though everything is a miracle. --Albert Einstein
As long as we depend upon our own intelligence and ability to solve problems, we will not perceive the miraculous. But when we observe and recognize the immensity of God’s ability and power at work for us, and acknowledge that it is by His Grace alone that we can do what we do, we will see miracles in everything.
It is in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for (Ephesians 1.11 MSG). And it is in Christ that we come to comprehend that everything good which comes to our life is the result of God’s grace.
Ephesians 3.20 reveals that by the action of God’s power at work within us, He is able to do superabundantly, far over and above all that we dare ask or think, infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams.
When something occurs that is superabundantly, far over and above what you and I have thought, desired, dreamed, prayed, or hoped – would that not be considered a miracle? This is the kind of life which the Lord desires for us to experience all the time. By the action of His grace, His power at work within us, He manifests the miraculous in our life.
MAJORING ON GRATEFULNESS
Experiencing miracles in our life on an on-going basis is largely dependant upon our continual appreciation to the Lord for the miracles which He performs for us. When we begin to see even little things that go well for us as gifts from God, we will also begin to see an acceleration of miracles in our life.
Thanksgiving and heartfelt appreciation to the Lord for everything He does for us is a powerful proponent for receiving miracles and blessings. When we live in gratefulness to the Lord for His Love, grace, and goodness to us – our gratitude will foster the production and increase of miracles in our life. The blessings and miracles are already in our midst. Our gratefulness before God releases the flow of these blessings to us.
The work of Christ has often been referred to as the Miracle of Redemption. A miracle is often defined as an act of divine nature which contradicts the ordinary – an act of God. Christ’s Passion was not something expected out of the ordinary. It was and is a miraculous work which only Almighty God could perform – a plan which far excels all that mortal man, or even the hosts of heaven and of darkness, could ever anticipate.
In light of this glorious Redemption, the Apostle Paul exclaimed, “When I think of the wisdom and scope of God’s plan, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from His glorious, unlimited resources He will give you mighty inner strength through His Holy Spirit… and may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His Love really is” (Ephesians 3.14-16,18 NLT).
In other translations of the above text, Paul’s statement begins with the phrase – “For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ…”
For this Cause… In light of the mystery of God’s grace and the Redemptive work of Christ for all mankind, for this cause I bow my knees in worship and pray to the Father, the Creator of all…
The wisdom of God and the scope of His plan throughout eternity is an immensely wonderful and miraculous work. In His infinite wisdom and immeasurable greatness, the Father Almighty has intently and beautifully laid out to perfection every detail of His great and awesome plan – and by the power of His Holy Spirit, on the authority of His Word, He has fulfilled His plan and will bring it all to full completion.
In His grace, the Father has not only planned the collective purpose of the scope of all time and all Creation – He has lovingly planned and prepared the personal, individual purpose of every human being. Christ’s redemptive work restored us to our unique and important place in God’s eternal plan: sons of God, joint-heirs with Jesus Christ our Lord – a position which we accepted by faith in Him.
Ephesians 2.4-6 explains, “But God – so rich is He in His mercy! Because of and in order to satisfy the great and wonderful and intense love with which He loved us, even when we were dead (slain) by our own shortcomings and trespasses, He made us alive together in fellowship and in union with Christ; He gave us the very life of Christ Himself, the same new life with which He quickened Him, for it is by grace – His favour and mercy – that you are saved… And He raised us up together with Him and made us sit down together [giving us joint seating with Him] in the heavenly sphere by virtue of being in Christ Jesus” (AMP).
Not only has the Lord started His wonderful work of grace within us, Philippians 1.6 assures “He Who has begun a good work in you will continue until the day of Jesus Christ [right up to the time of His return], developing that good work and perfecting and bringing it to full completion in you” (AMP).
Every blessing and every miracle we receive is the result of the grace of God and THE MIRACLE of Christ’s Redemption.
A CAUSE WORTH LIVING FOR
The greatest cause for which to live is not the cause which we or any mortal has initiated. It is the works which Almighty God has done that is the cause truly worth living for.
The works of Redemption, Grace and Mercy which the Lord has done – and which He continues to work in our life – are surely cause enough for which to live. When we major on such Divine demonstrations and live continually in gratefulness for the Lord’s great grace and goodness to us, we will surely witness the miraculous in every sphere of our life.
It is by the grace of God that we have been saved through faith, and that not of ourselves: it is the gift of God – not of works, so we cannot take credit for it. It is by grace, God’s gift, that we are what we are – and it is upon His grace alone that we should continually depend in every endeavour we undertake. His Covenant of Grace, ratified in the Blood of Jesus, covers every aspect of our life.
The Apostle Paul said, “By the grace of God I am what I am” (I Corinthians 15.10). The grace of God transformed Paul from a vehement opponent of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, into an ardent proponent for the Gospel – one of the greatest leaders of the early Church. In light of Paul’s life, it is evident that the grace of God doesn’t make just a big difference – His Grace makes ALL the difference.
“Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.” – II Timothy 2.1
Let us fervently endeavour to perpetuate this our glorious, heavenly legacy – an endless line of Grace, Mercy, and Blessing running through all eternity.
Let us live our life as though everything is a miracle – because, it really is… Every blessing is a miracle of God’s Love and God’s Grace.
For this cause we worship – And For this Cause WE LIVE.
Copyright © First Love Ministries International aka FERVOUR
All Rights Reserved