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Yes! There Is Good News!

Bill Rollins has been publishing each week a column in the local Elk Horn, Iowa paper for the past several years.
Note the original publication date on each blog post

Yes! There is Good News!                                  January 6, 2018

1/16/2021

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Pundits near and far have been labeling the year 2017, a year of bad news. And what are we, who are seekers of “good news,” to make of that? Wild fires, floods, hurricanes, nuclear threats, riots, fake news … the list could go on and on; one may not be faulted for agreeing with this assessment.

However, before we find ourselves going down that hole, let’s, you and me, take the high ground and consider one of the scriptures that our loving Father has provided for us.

I am always intrigued with the prayers that Paul offers up for his readers. Let’s take a look at one: in his letter to the Ephesians 1:16-19 we read, “I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know Him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and His incomparably great power for us who believe.”

Paul’s prayer goes on from there, but let this much suffice for now. To begin with, Paul gives thanks for his readers. Then he asks that his readers would be given “the Spirit of wisdom and revelation.” Let’s ponder that. Can we, by our own understanding and intellectual prowess, come to know Him better? On the one hand, we can read the bible and come to know a lot about God, but can we really come to know Him? My answer is a solid no! Knowing a lot about someone and truly coming to know them are two different things. We will always need the help of the other person if we are to come to know them. And so Paul prays for a Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that they may know Him better. Paul then asks that the eyes of their heart may be enlightened.

In the scriptures we are told that we should “fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:18) To see the unseen, we need to look with the eyes of our hearts; we need to have the eyes of our heart enlightened! To understand this and to have it happen, we need God’s help. Paul then lists three end results of this God given spiritual eyesight: 1) that you may know the hope to which He has called you; 2) to know the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints; 3) to know His incomparably great power for us who believe.

Each one of these three things deserves to be expounded upon in future articles and God willing we shall do this. But for now let me share with you my readers, why I chose this particular prayer of Paul. Some of you readers have come up to me on the streets around town and expressed your enjoyment in reading the articles. But for the most part I do not know who my readers are. So, before I begin to type an article, I ask a very similar prayer for all of you and for myself. “May God open the eyes of my heart to the needs of my readership and may He open the eyes of your hearts to the things that He has given me to write.”
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    Author

    Bill Rollins resides in Elk Horn, IA, with his wife, Sally, and has pastored the Church of God of Omaha, NE for more than 35 years.

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  • Home
    • Spring Feast 2022
    • FOT 2018 >
      • Feast Schedule
      • Feast messages
  • Essays
    • Psalms of Ascent >
      • Psalm 120
      • Psalm 121
      • Psalm 122
      • Psalm 123
      • Psalm 124
      • Psalm 125
      • Psalm 126
      • Psalm 127
      • Psalm 128
      • Psalm 129
      • Psalm 130
    • Yes, There Is Good News!
    • Timely Comments - Blog
    • Christian Walk
    • Holy Days >
      • Passover >
        • children's lessons
      • Days of Unleavened Bread >
        • children's lessons
      • Pentecost >
        • children's lessons
      • Trumpets >
        • children's lessons
      • Atonement >
        • children's lessons
      • Feast of Tabernacles >
        • children's lessons
      • Eighth Day >
        • children's lessons
    • Holidays
  • Current Sabbath School
    • Sabbath School 2023
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      • April 2014 - Michael Deering's visit >
        • Photos from Michael
      • May 2014 - Tom Benzen's visit >
        • Gardening photos
      • July 2014 - Apples >
        • More Apple Photos
      • August 2014 - New orphans
      • September 2014 - Education >
        • September photos
      • October 2014 - Cyclone
      • December 2014
    • Hebron - 2015 >
      • January 2015
      • March 2015
      • April 2015 - Passover
      • October 2015 >
        • Ice Cream photos
    • Hebron - 2016 >
      • January 2016 photos
      • Passover 2016 >
        • Passover photos
      • Pentecost photos 2016
      • July 2016 - Evening Prayers
      • Apples - July 2016
      • Aug 2016
    • Hebron Building Project >
      • photos of building project
    • Hebron 2017 >
      • Pentecost 2017 photos
      • July 2017 lunch photos
      • Nursing/regular students
      • Lunchtime - Oct 2017
      • Feast of Tabernacles photos
      • October Thank You
      • Nursing Students
      • December photos
    • Hebron 2018 >
      • Passover 2018
      • Baby boy!!
      • Feast of Tabernacles 2018 >
        • Feast photos
    • Hebron 2021 >
      • Photos January 2021
      • February photos
      • December photos
    • Hebron 2022
  • Career Direct