A Word (or two) from Mark

Romans 4: 17

even God, who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist.

Often when we pray, we limit ourselves to the kinds of things we can see happening. Much like we wouldn’t ask a friend or our children to do something we think beyond their capability, we limit the kind of requests we make of God. But in Romans 4, as Paul describes the faith of Abraham, he make this passing comment about God. Our God is the one who gives life to the dead, and calls things into being that do not exist.

I stopped as I read those words.  Dead things back to life. How many things do I  consider dead, hopeless? Yet God is the God of resurrection. But even this isn’t an adequate picture of His power. Because when something is dead, it actually once existed…alive. We can see the carcass, the remains. God can do more than that. He can bring something into being that has as yet to EVER exist.

Do I believe this? Honestly?  No. I say that because I don’t pray that way at all. But I am starting to pray that way. I think that is the way God invites us to pray…and live….joining with Him in His work.

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As we have been studying Ephesians together, I have gotten a lot of encouraging comments about how practical this book is. I don’t think I have ever gotten as much positive feedback from a message as I did last week. That reminds me again of how specifically and practically God’s Word addresses our core needs. Love and respect really are deep needs within a marriage. I mentioned a book on Sunday. Here is some more information about it. The title is Love and Respect: The Love She Most Desires and the Respect He Desperately Needs and the author is Emmerson Eggerichs. It is published by Focus on the Family.

As with all of our messages you can download the audio at that main Grace site. You can also download the power point for this message from the link on the right.

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