Good morning, beloved,
The life of the beloved..I have spent this morning contemplating this life in the light of a passage given to me this morning. When I get to heaven, I really want to meet Paul. Truly living, asking the Lord to make His home in our heart. This song kept coming in my mind as I was studying a passage in Ephesians. 🙂
Come, Lord, come make my heart Your home. Come and be everything I have and all I know. Search me through and through til my heart becomes a home for You..
16 May He grant you out of the rich treasury of His glory to be strengthened and reinforced with mighty power in the inner man by the [Holy] Spirit [Himself indwelling your innermost being and personality].
17 May Christ through your faith [actually] dwell (settle down, abide, make His permanent home) in your hearts! May you be rooted deep in love and founded securely on love,
18 That you may have the power and be strong to apprehend and grasp with all the saints [God’s devoted people, the experience of that love] what is the breadth and length and height and depth [of it];
19 [That you may really come] to know [practically, [e]through experience for yourselves] the love of Christ, which far surpasses [f]mere knowledge [without experience]; that you may be filled [through all your being] [g]unto all the fullness of God [may have the richest measure of the divine Presence, and [h]become a body wholly filled and flooded with God Himself]!
20 Now to Him Who, by (in consequence of) the [action of His] power that is at work within us, is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly, far over and above all that we
[dare] ask or think [infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams]—
21 To Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever. Amen (so be it).
What are the gifts found in a relationship with the Father?
Starting at verse 16, we find that God has a rich treasury..
of glory!
of strength!
mighty power by the Holy Spirit!
indwelling in our innermost being!
We are very blessed, are we not? We have His glory, His strength, His mighty power, His Holy Spirit…all indwelling in us.
Yet, the next verse is life to me as well. Christ makes His home..brings His coffee cup, His pillow…ok, maybe not His pillow, but I gotta believe coffee will be available in heaven. 😉 He makes my heart, your heart His home. Oh, precious one, (I’m pulling a Kay, there) do you feel alone at times? Put your hand on your heart and listen. The beating of your heart can be your prompting…His home. You are never alone.
So plant your roots deep in Him, for the roots find their strength deep in His love. His overwhelming love for you and I. Allow that truth to wash all over you.
Now about that alone feeling, the next verse indicates a way to discover and be filled with His love. Community: together with all the saints..experiencing His love in community. My family, my church, my dear friends help me understand Christ’s love in a powerful way. Is it perfect? No, Paul isn’t discussing that..He is saying we can understand “…the breadth and length and height and depth..” of agape (love) as defined by Blue Letter Bible: affection, good will, love, benevolence, brotherly love.
We comprehend agape when we comprehend love in community. When we are real, when we open our lives up to the beloved, when we allow people into our mess…then can there be ministry. When God leads me to pray for someone, I feel the blessing more than anyone else. God’s love pouring through me to minister to His church..it’s not about me. It’s about showing the love of Jesus. Allowing His Spirit to move.
When people ask, how can I help? I need to be humble and take the offer. Say yes. We forget that when we are the ones helping how blessed we feel…allow others the gift of that blessing. So precious, so beautiful, so Jesus.
For then we comprehend His love, this just gets me so excited, the blessing is two-fold. We understand, the one who helps us or we help, brings an understanding of God’s love for us. If you don’t have that experience, you miss the richness, the depth of His agape.
Think of it, our church can experience “.. the richest measure of the divine Presence, and become a body wholly filled and flooded with God Himself!” How about that? Are you going to allow Satan‘s lies to keep you from this? Are you going to live under the chains of unforgiveness? Petty arguments? What is keeping you from experiencing His love?
Don’t let another day go by…find community, seek it, pray for it, hope…the day we chose to leave the mega church and find a little home church was a turning point in our lives. Don’t get me wrong. I loved that church. But we needed community, where if you don’t show up, people began calling. People know your kids, know your requests, give help, give hugs, welcome you like family.
Yes, Satan will do everything in his power to hide that truth from you. But this love is real, and it can be found. As I type this, the sun is breaking over the houses, flooding my eyes with beautiful beams of light. Allow His Light to shine upon you and fill you with His love.
Pray on. Pray on.
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