Today's Reading:O.T. - 1 Kings 14 - 15
N.T. - Ephesians 3
Focus Verses: Ephesians 3:14-19
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.
Insight:
With great passion, the Apostle Paul prays for the Ephesian Christians to be strengthened by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit; to be rooted in love; and to grasp, know, experience, and be filled with the fullness of Christ's love.
Response and Action:
I want live and pray with an intensity and vision like the Apostle Paul's. I want to be passionate in my devotion to Christ. I want to know and experience the love of Christ to the fullest measure possible. I want to be strengthened, guided, and shaped by the Holy Spirit. This must be my highest priority, the foundation for all my life, and the object of all my intentions. This is also my prayer for others in Christ -- my family, my friends, my neighbors, and my colleagues.
O God. I believe that knowing you and growing in you must be the passion of my life. I believe that living life to the fullest can only happen by knowing and experiencing the love of Christ to the fullest. Help me as I desire to seek him first -- his kingdom and his righteousness. Strengthen me and guide me by your Spirit. Help me, by your grace, to stretch and to focus my energies and intentions on every good thing that draws me closer to you -- further, deeper, higher, and wider into Christ. Amen.
Proverbs: 19:8
"He who gets wisdom loves his own soul; he who cherishes understanding prospers."
Resources:
Spiritual Disciplines Handbook: Practices That Transform Us
by Adele Ahlberg Calhoun
