Sunday, May 17, 2015

You put the skip in my stroll...

artwork by Lena Zieber 
We recently attended a concert with the Vertical Church Band on their Church Songs Tour. Worship leader and singer/songwriter, Jon Guerra, opened the concert with selections from his newly released album, Little Songs, which is filled with one anointed song after another, beginning with his exuberant song, Nothing Better, You put the song in my heart, You put the drum in my march…You put the song in my soul, You put the skip in my stroll…Nothing better than Your love, Nothing better than love that never ends, never ends…The joyous work of art, O Happy Day by Lena Zieber seems to be the perfect visual for this jubilant song! The mysterious source of this joy drew my heart back to Ephesians Chapter One for a word study on the word, mystery, from Ephesians 1:9-10…

Amplified Bible: Making known to us the mystery (secret) of His will (of His plan, of His purpose). [And it is this:] In accordance with His good pleasure (His merciful intention) which He had previously purposed and set forth in Him, [He planned] for the maturity of the times and the climax of the ages to unify all things and head them up and consummate them in Christ, [both] things in heaven and things on the earth.

New Living Translation: God has now revealed to us his mysterious plan regarding Christ, a plan to fulfill his own good pleasure. And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth.

J.B. Phillips:
For God had allowed us to know the secret of his plan, and it is this: he purposes in his sovereign will that all human history shall be consummated in Christ, that everything that exists in Heaven or earth shall find its perfection and fulfillment in him.

Wuest: having made known to us the mystery of His will according to that which seemed good to Him, which good thing He purposed in himself, with respect to an administration of the completion of the epochs of time to bring back again to their original state all things in the Christ, the things in the heavens and the things on the earth, in Him.

Young's Literal: having made known to us the secret of His will, according to His good pleasure, that He purposed in Himself, in regard to the dispensation of the fullness of the times, to bring into one the whole in the Christ, both the things in the heavens, and the things upon the earth -- in him.

Mystery (musterion) as used in the New Testament is not mysterious or mystical but describes previously hidden truth now revealed by God and in fact describes truth that can be known only through revelation mediated from God. That which was once hidden is now revealed and a secret out in the open…it does not convey the idea of something that we cannot take in or understand even when it is declared to us. Musterion in the Bible means those truths which are part of God's plan and can only be understood as He reveals them by His Spirit through His Word. Stated another way musterion is "a secret purpose of God which when uncovered is understood by the Spirit-taught believer." It refers to a truth which without special revelation would have been unknown and  is commonly used with words denoting revelation or knowledge. Musterion is a divine secret or truth which is unknowable apart from divine revelation and which has now been revealed in Christ and the surrounding context stresses the fact that the mystery was hidden from pre-cross times, but now has been manifested to the saints of the church age.


This is an amazing illustration of the mysterious ways in which God moves—how God took two men who were mortal enemies, brought them together, and led them to Himself. He is in control…He knows what He is doing. Jacob DeShazer served the US Army Air Corps in World War II as a bombardier in the squadron of General Doolittle. While participating in Doolittle's raid on Japan in 1942, DeShazer and his crew ran out of fuel and bailed out over China. He was taken to a Japanese prison camp where he trusted Jesus as his Savior. After his release, he became a missionary to Japan. One day DeShazer handed a tract with his story in it to a man named Mitsuo Fuchida. He didn't know that Mitsuo was on his way to a trial for his wartime role as the commander of Japanese forces that attacked Pearl Harbor. Fuchida read the pamphlet and got a Bible. He soon became a Christian and an evangelist to his people. Eventually, DeShazer and Fuchida met again and became friends.

My daily relationship with our living Lord Jesus Christ reinforces my belief in the sovereignty of God, that nothing comes into my life that is not filtered through God's hands of love. I believe there are no “accidents.”  I believe that God sees the end from the beginning. He knows me intimately, He knit me together in my mother's womb, one day I will see Him face-to-face and I will know as I am known. It is His plan that’s important, not my desire. I didn't bring myself into this world, and I can’t take myself into heaven. I really don’t know what is best for me or for those I love. I ask God to make me sensitive to the reality that He is in control, and that He is using this--even this--to conform me to the image of His Son. I want that most of all. I train my mind to acknowledge God’s hand in whatever it is I'm living with. I pray, “Jesus, You know what You’re doing,”  “I will trust,” “I release it all,” because God is sovereign. He is the beginning, He will be the ending, and in between, by His grace, He lets us be part of His perfect plan, for His glory and for our good. In the meantime, I am trusting Him, resting in the mystery...

Previous posts from Ephesians Chapter One...

Ephesians 1:3-4


Weekly LinkUps

43 comments:

  1. Don't you just love sons like that that really build you up? Those are the best kinds of songs to get stuck in your head!

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    1. Brittany, yes, I so agree with you...anointed music lifts my spirits and helps me focus on Jesus and all He has done for us ❤️

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  2. Hello Beth, how are you?
    I also believe there are no accidents. Like today, I clicked to read this beautiful article.
    I loved the reflections you wrote at the end.
    God Bless

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    1. Hi there Ifeoma! thank you so much for stopping by and leaving such an encouraging and affirming comment...many blessings to you!

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    2. Okay my dear friend. You are also a kind and encouraging friend.
      God Bless

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  3. OH, Beth! You will never know how much I needed and enjoyed this wonderful post. I love your attitude and how you turn everything over to God, and I so appreciated you stopping by my blog and leaving such sweet encouragement behind. I really appreciated what you said about how God saw the picture on the box while we were yet in our mother's womb!! So edifying and helpful to me. I am going to start following you blog and am so grateful to "meet" you. God bless you. :)

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    1. Cheryl, thank you so much for your kind words! I so enjoyed your post about the puzzle pieces...my mom really enjoyed doing puzzles in her last years...we even mounted some of them and covered them with ModgePodge, framed them and have them hanging on the walls in our home...sweet memories. Many blessings to you!

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  4. Thank you so much Beth for sharing this great post with us at Good Morning Mondays. I really liked the story of the American pilot and the Japanese Commander, and will share that one with my husband. It is amazing how God puts it all together and we need not worry, we need just to be willing. Thanks and blessings

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    1. Terri, I'm so glad you enjoyed that story...it reminded me of my Dad, who served in WWII...God is so in control, we trust Him with our eternity, we can trust Him with the next 10 minutes, amen? Many blessings to you!

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  5. Love your word studies Beth... thank you for all you give to us, your readers.... your gift is a blessing to many.
    God Bless YOU. xx

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    1. Mary, thank you! Your words of encouragement, affirmation, and prayers are a blessing to me and so many others...many, many blessings to you ❤️

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  6. Powerful words today! I love your last paragraph were you speak clearly of your convictions about God. It is such a beautiful testimony to our sovereign God. I always love your word studies and I look forward to reading them. Blessings friend!

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    1. Thank you so much, Mary, your thoughtful comments mean so much to me. When the Lord led me to start this series on Ephesians Chapter One, I didn't even know it was going to be a series...I only knew that in my quiet time with our Lord Jesus Christ, I always began with thanking Him for Who He is and who I am in Christ...blessed, accepted, adopted, chosen, redeemed, forgiven, and loved...all from Ephesians Chapter One...so rich, we can never fathom the depth and breadth of God's Word, amen?

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  7. A most encouraging post, Beth! This here spoke to me > "I train my mind to acknowledge God’s hand in whatever it is I'm living with." It does take training & I am so grateful He is a faithful teacher. Blessings!

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    1. Amen, Joanne, I so agree with you...many blessings to you ❤️

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  8. Lovely... the song, the artwork, the Scripture, and your unpacking of it! So much Amen! Ahh the mysteries of God, and the joy of when they are revealed to us!

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    1. Karrilee, how sweet! Thank you for your enthusiastic and affirming comments...many blessings to you ❤️

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  9. The skip in my stroll. I just LOVE this Beth, it's making me smile early this morning. And your image simply brings it on home.

    Thanks, friend!

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    1. Thank you, Linda, your smiling comments always make me smile...many blessings to you ❤️

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  10. I'm glad we are privy to the mystery of Christ. Such a grace to live in this time! Thanks for sharing this truth from Ephesians 1. I was just reading that myself a few days ago. Such a rich chapter.

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    1. Thank you, Lisa, I so agree with you...many blessings to you ❤️

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  11. Beside you at Woman 2 Woman. He really does put the skip in our stroll and the joy and peace in our hearts...because as we sing and give praises to Him we are meditating on His word and goodness and completely changing our focus. Revelations are sweet and your sharing is rich with promise and the expectation of understanding the mystery. Bless you.

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    1. Jeannie, love your affirming comments...I so agree with you about praise changing our focus to Jesus...many blessings to you ❤️

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  12. I really love Ephesians - so much encouragement about our identity and purpose. Thanks for linking up at #ThreeWordWednesday.

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  13. Hi Beth! I love how you unpacked the term 'mystery' which can confuse and make us wonder. But really, how can we understand the essence of God? I am so limited, He must live in that mystery. Can't wait until I meet Him to truly grasp His glory!
    From Thought Provoking Thursday,
    Ceil

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    1. Ceil, thank you so much for your encouraging comments, I so agree with you ❤️

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  14. O happy day, because God's got this (whatever it is that comes before us). Needed to be reminded of this today!

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    1. Amen, Kathryn! When I read those words on the beautiful artwork, my heart ❤️ leapt within me with such joy, believing as Truth His Words, "It is finished!"

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  15. There are no "accidents" with God's plan! Our 2014 was a year of famine in many ways and a year of questioning but God had a plan for what to teach us through the famine and restore our hearts and minds before bringing restoration into other areas of our lives :) #livefreeThursday

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    1. Sarah, thank you so much for your heart-felt comments...I so agree with you, He restores our soul, amen ❤️

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  16. What a wonderful word study. Thank you so much for sharing.

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    1. Thank you, Holly, I so appreciate your encouraging comments ❤️

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  17. Always always always I'm intrigued by the use of the word mystery in God's Word, and by the unfathomable metaphors by which He chooses to reveal truth about himself. Thanks for this consideration of this particular truth. Blessings on your weekend from Barbie's place.

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    1. Thank you so much, Michele...I so agree with you...in many ways I feel that mystery defines my life...He has taught me to rest with Him in that mystery in the green pasture by the still water of the 23rd Psalm...many blessings to you ❤️

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  18. WONDERFUL post! I am such a word nerd, and I live it when God grabs my attention with a word in scripture, we encouraging me to go even deeper with Him like this!

    Beckey
    http://reallyreallyrealhousewives.blogspot.com
    http://queenbsbusywork.etsy.com

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    1. Thank you, Beckey, I feel exactly the same way...many blessings to you ❤️

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  19. I read a book called "The Pleasures of God" by John Piper and was just totally awakened by the fact that God takes pleasure in us...delights in us. It was really life changing for me! And I love the song "O Happy Day!"

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  20. Hi, Beth! Beautiful post here! It gives me great comfort to know that our Father knows me and wished the best for me, even when the trials of life might tempt me to think otherwise. Thank you for sharing this with us at Grace and Truth last week! :)
    Jen @ Being Confident of This

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    1. Jen, thank you so much for sharing your heart with me...praying for you ❤️

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