MORE COMFORT – MOTHER’S DAY
Monday – May 15, 2017
Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Christ
Jesus. Yesterday we celebrated Mother’s Day commemorating the special place mothers have in our lives. We not only are to commemorate our mothers and their special indispensable role in our lives but to honor (highly value) them. Honoring our parents is very high in God’s priorities, it is one of the big ten.
Exodus 20:12 (KJV)
12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
Bible honor as used here means to place a value upon, a great value. No matter how our mothers may have treated us we are to value them and their important role in our lives and treat them right. Without a mother there was no opportunity to walk the earth, and therefore no opportunity to be a part of the Kingdom of God. Also, remember that the precious blood of Jesus was shed for all of us alike. If our mothers were so precious, so highly valued by God that He would go to the Cross then how much value should we assign to our mother?
1 Peter 1:18-19 (KJV)
18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;
19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:
The pictures I have featured are of my mother, Edna Galouch Wood (1945), and Patti with her Mom Elsie French Snow from 1992. God is so very good.
Now let’s get to our Bible Study taken from the Book of Ephesians.
Ephesians 6:21-24 (KJV)
21 But that ye also may know my affairs, and how I do, Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, shall make known to you all things:
22 Whom I have sent unto you for the same purpose, that ye might know our affairs, and that he might comfort your hearts.
23 Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
24 Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen.
As you may recall we are very near the end of this book and these are the Apostle Paul’s final words to the folks at Ephesus. Paul believes that the saints and faithful in Christ Jesus at Ephesus are worried about him and his situation therefore he is sending Tychicus a beloved brother (spiritual) and faithful minister in the Lord to them. The purpose of the visit is to allay their fears, and to bring comfort to their hearts. The word ‘heart’ here is the Greek word transliterated as ‘kardia’ in English. This is the area of our mind (spiritual organ) where the most important decisions of our life are made. This is the area where we decide what to allow in and what not to allow in and the place or level of importance we will assign to any particular information. Contrary to popular beliefs we choose what we will think about and we choose the level of importance that we assign to each thought. All of our thoughts are to be subject to the Word of God. Are we measuring our thoughts against the Word of God or just letting them fly?
The Apostle apparently believes that fear (worry) has replaced faith in God concerning him. Each of us might want to ask ourselves do we have fears (perhaps we dress that up with what we deem to be a more acceptable word like concerns) that have become our god? If a fear, a worry, a concern, has replaced our faith in God we have a new god(s).
I now want to turn my attention to the word, the idea, of comfort presented in Ephesians 6:22. This particular word is in the same family as the word ‘Comforter’ which is the Holy Spirit or the word ‘comfort’ used to refer to God as the “God of all comfort”. The word comfort (parakaleo) from our text has the primary meaning of ‘to call near’. The word ‘Comforter’ referring to the Holy Spirit (John 14:26) is the Greek word transliterated to English as ‘parakletos’ meaning an intercessor, consoler, advocate, and comforter. We find the word ‘comfort’ in 2 Corinthians 1:3 as well referring to God as the source of all comfort. This word comfort is ‘paraklesis’ meaning to console and exhort. Every bit of time spent in an emotional condition that requires comfort is counterproductive for the Kingdom of God and opens the door in our own lives for stealing, killing, and destroying. The need for comfort is to be transitory in our lives. For example when Moses died God gave them thirty days to grieve and then He told them to get on with it (Deuteronomy 34:7-8, Joshua 1:2). After all the children of God cannot suffer real loss for we are eternal creations in Christ Jesus with infinite capacity (His capacity).
The Apostle Paul is saying to these folks at Ephesus that because of their concern (fear) for him, he (Paul) is sending Tychicus near to them to change their minds from fear to faith, to power, to love, and a sound mind (disciplined mind). When Tychicus comes near he is going to not just give them a hug and a few soft words (minor part) but he is going to exhort (urge, press, push, encourage, insist, spur, goad and prod) them back into the faith fight (major part). They are on the sidelines feeling sorry for themselves mostly and for Paul. They must get back on course or they will perish (be destroyed and of no use to the Kingdom). When we examine the phrase “God of all comfort” from 2 Corinthians 1:3 we find this word ‘comfort’ means to console but also to implore and exhort. We must kiss the warmth of our pity parties’ goodbye and move back into causing the expansion of the Kingdom of God. When we look at the Holy Spirit who is our ‘Comforter’, the One in place of Jesus, we see Jesus written all over Him. The Comforter is an intercessor, a consoler, an advocate, and a comforter. He, the Comforter, does all of this to return us to the battlefield. Until tomorrow I exhort each of you to take the battle to the enemy.
Until our next publication I speak blessing into your life right now, receive it in the name of Jesus, confess it, and walk it out with thanksgiving.
Numbers 6:24-26 (KJV)
24 The LORD bless thee, and keep thee:
25 The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:
26 The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.
By: Dr. David Wood, Author, Bible Teacher, and Prophetic Voice
Contact e-mail: pastordavidwood@gmail.com
Mailing Address: 3 Rosswood Green Lane, Unit Two
Oakland, Maine 04963
