Ephesians 3:16- 21 - For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
Did Paul really fathom …when he penned this awesome prayer…just how powerful and true these words would be for all Christians? Paul well knew the power of God…he knew and bathed moment by moment in the rich love of Christ….it transformed him from the inside out. He lived a life of sacrifice and knew well the power he could tap into….and he wanted all the converts to understand how to tap into the power of God. He wanted all Christians to understand the power of love…God’s infinite love…so deep…so wide…so long…and high…that no human could ever reach the limits of what it can do.
I love that phrase….the phrase…strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being….that is just what had happened to him on that road to Damascus
Saul became Paul...mighty preacher….teacher…friend….newly rooted and established in love…the great infinite love of God. Paul woke with his savior each morning and allowed him to use the Holy Spirit to fill his inner being with power and strength for the day. He lived his whole life traveling to spread this wonderful message of love…establish a church…a body of believers who could continue the mandate of God well past Paul’s Earthly time on this Earth. WE ARE THAT CHURCH….WE ARE MANDATED TO CARRY ON FOR PAUL! We must allow God to strip us of all our Earthly hate….all those excuses we offer… spend time in prayer! We must wait for our Ananias….and then become his teachers….preachers…friends….who ask God daily to bathe us in his power…through the Holy Spirit…so we can spread his love to others.
Father …I thank you….for that amazing love…love so powerful that my human brain can not fathom its power. I thank you for how you have been emptying me…of my hate…of my worldly desires…of my pride…of my need to be loved by man. And I thank you …thank you…thank you for filling me back up with just as much love as you know I can hold…in this moment….so that I can share your love with all that you send to me…so that I can begin to comprehend your great love…and become the church that you intended. Help me father…to accept that I am capable of so much more than my brain allows me to think that I can do. Amen
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