God placed Jesus over the Church

Verses:  Ephesians 1:15-23

My thoughts about the verses:

Many of us assume that Jesus was the creator of the Church.  This s true yet, the authority came from the Creator.  See what we have to understand is that Jesus who was the Messiah come to give hope to a world that was dying.  He came to give relief to those in pain.  He came to save those that were lost.

All of this was done because the God wanted to reestablish the connection between the created and the Creator.  Jesus did not die to only take away sin.  Jesus died so that we may come closer to God.  Jesus became the missing piece of our life.  The piece that had denied God and walked away from the one that loved us first.

We have to understand that Jesus is the ruler of everything that we see.  The entire creation should bow down to the Beloved Son.  Yet, many of us walk away from God not listening to the loving voice of our Savior.  We go out in the world trying to do it on our own without leaning on the power of our Creator.

The church over time has also slipped from its responsibilities.  We are to reach out into the world.  We are to open our arms and hearts to allow people to come in.  Yet, so much of the Church has established rules that separate people from God instead of uniting them.  It is up to the Church to turn back to God.  The Church must work for God instead of against God.

There are many things that God wants to give the Church.  Yet, it is up to the Church to accept it.  We are able to receive the gift of knowledge and discernment.   We need to understand as we walk closer to God that we will receive the inheritance that God desires for the Church.  God wants to give glorious grace and hope to the world.

We as members of the Church have to accept our role in the relationship between the Church and God.  We have to accept that we are the body of the Church and in so much we have to strive to reach out to the lost and hurting.  We must ask God to guide us to where we need to go to reach those that are lost.  We have to be willing to work with the other members of the Church Body to bring salvation to the world.

The only way that the Church will ever accomplish its goal is to work together.  We have to stop fighting between denominations.  We have to stop fighting within the local Church.  We have to unite so that the world will see a beacon of light.  As long as we are fighting each other we are pushing people away from the very inheritance that we have received. 

The Church must decide if it is ready to accept God’s gift of grace.  If so then we need to reach out beyond our walls.  We need to reach out into the community and teach people about God’s saving grace.  We have to reach across denominations and heal broken bonds.  We have to reach across the aisles of our own faith families and heal wounds.  We have to realize that God has made Jesus the head of the Church.  Yet, we who are the Church are the eyes, legs, hands and heart of the body.  We must start the healing process within so that we may bring healing to those in the world.

Prayer:

Dear God we thank you for all that you have done for us.  We offer up praise to you for you are worthy of honor.  Help us God accept the gifts that you offer.  Help us become the people that you want us to be.  In the name of the Holy Messiah we pray.  Amen

Questions:

Are you willing to reach those that are alienated from the Church?  Are you willing to break down the barriers that have kept denominations away from the same table?  Are you ready to receive the gifts of God?