Silas
Beloved of All
Your longing for true fellowship, for health, for renewed minds, and for grace to honor the older generation is a beautiful reflection of what God Himself desires for you. You were created for fellowship with God, for communion and oneness with Him, sharing heart and mind together. That is the very purpose of your existence, and life only finds its fulfillment when you are walking in that fellowship. That fellowship was broken when sin entered, and all have sinned and been separated from God, but God sought to restore it through Jesus Christ. Through His physical body and His death, you who were once alienated and hostile in mind have been reconciled to be presented holy and blameless in His presence, as Colossians 1:21 and 22 teaches.
The apostle John ties fullness of joy to this fellowship. He writes that what was seen and heard is declared so that we may have fellowship together, and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. This is not a casual friendship as the world thinks of fellowship, but a partnership, a mutual sharing of life and resources and love. God desires this with you, and it brings fullness of joy, which is deeper than happiness. Happiness depends on circumstances, but joy remains because it is rooted in communion with the eternal God.
Scripture is also clear that this fellowship can be hindered. If we say we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in darkness, we are not living in the truth. We cannot have real fellowship unless we are in agreement with God, walking in the light as He is in the light. Then we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin, as 1 John 1:7 says. The purpose of the gospel is to bring us into that restored fellowship and to give us power over sin so that fellowship is not broken.
You prayed from 3 John 1:2 for health and prosperity even as the soul prospers. It is important to understand that verse in its context. It is not a formal promise from God guaranteeing physical healing for everyone who claims it, but a personal and loving greeting from John to Gaius, much as we would write today hoping a letter finds a friend in good health. It is a beautiful wish, and it does show that God cares for the whole person. There is a real connection between the health of the soul and the well being of the body, and it is right to pray for bodily and emotional health, for prosperity, and for provision for life and godliness as 2 Peter 1:3 says. We can bring every need for healing to the Lord, who is our healer as in Exodus 15:26, and ask for deliverance from evil as Jesus taught in Matthew 6:13, trusting His mercy and compassion described in Psalm 103.
Your desire to honor patriarchal and matriarchal figures is directly in line with the command to honor your father and mother, which is the first commandment with a promise that it may go well with you and you may live long on the earth, as in Ephesians 6:2 and 3. Scripture teaches that to care for our elderly parents and grandparents is part of genuine faith, and to refuse to do so is to deny the faith. Older men and women who have walked faithfully are to be counted worthy of respect and double honor. Providing for them a loving environment, honoring them, praying for them, and sharing the Word with them as they are able to hear, as in Mark 4:33, is one way we prove our love for God and for others.
You also prayed for renewed minds according to Romans 12:2 and Ephesians 4:23, to have the mind of Christ and to be transformed to prove the will of God. That renewal comes as the Word of Christ dwells richly in us and as we are sanctified in the truth, for Jesus prayed sanctify them in Your truth, Your Word is truth in John 17:17. It is a growth process, beginning with craving the pure milk of the Word as in 1 Peter 2:2, and then moving on to solid food, being rooted and grounded in love so that Christ dwells in our hearts by faith as in Ephesians 3:17, retaining the Word in our hearts as in Psalm 119:11 and being doers and not hearers only as in James 1:22. As you abide in Christ and His words abide in you, as in John 15:7, you will bear the fruit of the Spirit described in Galatians 5:22 and 23 and the fruit of discipleship by continuing in His Word as in John 8:31.
I join you in prayer for these dear older loved ones and for you. Father, thank You for Your pardon, justification, peace, and adoption through Jesus Christ. Thank You for making fellowship with You possible. I pray that You would deepen true fellowship with You and with one another for this family, that they would walk in the light and know the cleansing of the blood of Jesus and the fullness of joy that comes from abiding in Christ. Open the eyes of their understanding with the Spirit of wisdom and revelation as in Ephesians 1:17 and 18, strengthen them in love, open their minds to understand the Scriptures as in Luke 24:45, and cause Your Word to spread and dwell richly among them. Grant grace to honor father and mother faithfully, to provide spiritual, emotional, and temporal support, and to grow from the elementary principles into maturity in Christ, bearing fruit that remains. I ask for Your healing touch, Your protection from the evil one as in John 17:15 and 2 Thessalonians 3:3, Your peace within their walls as in Psalm 122:7, and Your provision for every need. May they be transformed by the renewing of their minds and grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In Jesus name, amen.
The apostle John ties fullness of joy to this fellowship. He writes that what was seen and heard is declared so that we may have fellowship together, and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. This is not a casual friendship as the world thinks of fellowship, but a partnership, a mutual sharing of life and resources and love. God desires this with you, and it brings fullness of joy, which is deeper than happiness. Happiness depends on circumstances, but joy remains because it is rooted in communion with the eternal God.
Scripture is also clear that this fellowship can be hindered. If we say we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in darkness, we are not living in the truth. We cannot have real fellowship unless we are in agreement with God, walking in the light as He is in the light. Then we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin, as 1 John 1:7 says. The purpose of the gospel is to bring us into that restored fellowship and to give us power over sin so that fellowship is not broken.
You prayed from 3 John 1:2 for health and prosperity even as the soul prospers. It is important to understand that verse in its context. It is not a formal promise from God guaranteeing physical healing for everyone who claims it, but a personal and loving greeting from John to Gaius, much as we would write today hoping a letter finds a friend in good health. It is a beautiful wish, and it does show that God cares for the whole person. There is a real connection between the health of the soul and the well being of the body, and it is right to pray for bodily and emotional health, for prosperity, and for provision for life and godliness as 2 Peter 1:3 says. We can bring every need for healing to the Lord, who is our healer as in Exodus 15:26, and ask for deliverance from evil as Jesus taught in Matthew 6:13, trusting His mercy and compassion described in Psalm 103.
Your desire to honor patriarchal and matriarchal figures is directly in line with the command to honor your father and mother, which is the first commandment with a promise that it may go well with you and you may live long on the earth, as in Ephesians 6:2 and 3. Scripture teaches that to care for our elderly parents and grandparents is part of genuine faith, and to refuse to do so is to deny the faith. Older men and women who have walked faithfully are to be counted worthy of respect and double honor. Providing for them a loving environment, honoring them, praying for them, and sharing the Word with them as they are able to hear, as in Mark 4:33, is one way we prove our love for God and for others.
You also prayed for renewed minds according to Romans 12:2 and Ephesians 4:23, to have the mind of Christ and to be transformed to prove the will of God. That renewal comes as the Word of Christ dwells richly in us and as we are sanctified in the truth, for Jesus prayed sanctify them in Your truth, Your Word is truth in John 17:17. It is a growth process, beginning with craving the pure milk of the Word as in 1 Peter 2:2, and then moving on to solid food, being rooted and grounded in love so that Christ dwells in our hearts by faith as in Ephesians 3:17, retaining the Word in our hearts as in Psalm 119:11 and being doers and not hearers only as in James 1:22. As you abide in Christ and His words abide in you, as in John 15:7, you will bear the fruit of the Spirit described in Galatians 5:22 and 23 and the fruit of discipleship by continuing in His Word as in John 8:31.
I join you in prayer for these dear older loved ones and for you. Father, thank You for Your pardon, justification, peace, and adoption through Jesus Christ. Thank You for making fellowship with You possible. I pray that You would deepen true fellowship with You and with one another for this family, that they would walk in the light and know the cleansing of the blood of Jesus and the fullness of joy that comes from abiding in Christ. Open the eyes of their understanding with the Spirit of wisdom and revelation as in Ephesians 1:17 and 18, strengthen them in love, open their minds to understand the Scriptures as in Luke 24:45, and cause Your Word to spread and dwell richly among them. Grant grace to honor father and mother faithfully, to provide spiritual, emotional, and temporal support, and to grow from the elementary principles into maturity in Christ, bearing fruit that remains. I ask for Your healing touch, Your protection from the evil one as in John 17:15 and 2 Thessalonians 3:3, Your peace within their walls as in Psalm 122:7, and Your provision for every need. May they be transformed by the renewing of their minds and grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In Jesus name, amen.
