House of Hope Online

August 11, 2024

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A couple of weeks ago, we saw in the word of God that Jesus is the life-giving spirit.

1^st Corinthians 15:

 45 So also it is written, “The first MAN, Adam, BECAME A LIVING SOUL.” The last Adam [became] a life-giving spirit.

Jesus is the last Adam referred to in verse 45.  Jesus brings life to our mortal bodies.

 Romans 8:

10 ¶ And if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness.

 11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who indwells you.

Notice the reference to our mortal bodies.  The Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in us and gives life to our mortal bodies through His Spirit.  Jesus is the giver of life to our mortal bodies.

Our family saw this firsthand this week as we prayed through the miracle birth of our new granddaughter, Madelyn Grace Balash.  My daughter Laura and son-in-law Ralph were in the delivery room on Monday, and Ralph was texting us to pray, as the baby’s umbilical cord was wrapped three times around her neck, causing her heartbeat to decelerate during contractions.

As I read the text message, I cried out to the Lord in distress.  I prayed in tongues with groans too deep for words.  Just then, I saw in the Spirit the umbilical cord unraveling and the baby being born without complication. Then I waited.

A few minutes later, I wept with joy when the news came that this precious little one was born unscathed, and my daughter Laura was fine.  Her middle name is Grace, and she lives by the grace of God, as all of us do.  She is a testimony to the faithfulness of our God to hear us in our distress and deliver us from the hand of calamity.

King David knows this feeling of deliverance very well.  Here is what he said in praise of the Lord from Psalms 18:

Psalms 18:

 2 The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

 3 I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, And I am saved from my enemies.

 4 The cords of death encompassed me, And the torrents of ungodliness terrified me.

 5 The cords of Sheol surrounded me; The snares of death confronted me.

 6 In my distress I called upon the LORD, And cried to my God for help; He heard my voice out of His temple, And my cry for help before Him came into His ears.

That umbilical cord represented the cords of death and the torrents of ungodliness, as the devil would like nothing better than to have taken Madelyn Grace from us.  The snares of death confronted us.  But in our distress, we called upon the Lord, and cried to our God for help.  As verse 6 promises, He heard our voices out of His temple, and our cries for help came into His ears.

As we have discussed in the last couple of weeks, Jesus is the Spirit of life.  He is a life-giving Spirit.  He gives life to our mortal bodies through the Holy Spirit.

Ephesian 2:

 4 ¶ But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,

 5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),

Ephesians 2:

 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, [it is] the gift of God;

 9 not as a result of works, that no one should boast.

 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Verse 5 says God has made us alive together with Christ by grace.  And verse 8 teaches by grace we have been saved, not of ourselves, but as a gift from God.

As the cords of death surrounded her little neck, Madelyn Grace was made alive together with Christ by grace.  She was saved as a gift from God and, according to verse 10, she was created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand.

I proclaim and declare that God has prepared good works for Madelyn Grace to walk in, and that she is His workmanship.  She will live as a testimony of the grace of our God toward those of us who receive His son Jesus into our hearts. 

Closing

Ephesians 1:

 18 [I pray that] the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,

 19 and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. [These are] in accordance with the working of the strength of His might

 20 which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly [places],

 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the one to come.

 22 And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church,

 23 which is His body, the fulness of Him who fills all in all. (NASB)

May Madelyn Grace know the hope of His calling on her life, and may she know the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe!  For He is far above all rule and authority and power and dominion.  All things are in subjection under His feet.  All glory to God!

Let us pray.

Father God, we thank You and praise You for the miracle that is the life of Madelyn Grace Balash.  We pray over her life, that she will walk in accordance with the word of God, and that she will walk in the good works that You have prepared for her beforehand.  May she know the hope of Your calling and the surpassing greatness of Your power toward us.  We give glory to Jesus, who is our life-giving Spirit, whom You raised from the dead and seated in Heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion.  We declare Your word that all things are in subjection to Him. Amen.