March 14 - That You May Be Filled

Today's Reading:
1 Chronicles 19:1-21:30
Ephesians 3:1-21
Psalm 108:1-5 
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Focus Verses: 
Ephesians 3:14-19
14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 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. He prays for them to be rooted in love. He prays that they will be able to grasp, know, experience all God has for them. He prays that they be filled with the fullness of Christ's love.

Response and Action:
I want to live and pray with an intensity and vision like that of the Apostle Paul. I want to be passionate in my devotion to Christ. I want to know the love of Christ and experience the fullest measure of the life he gives. 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.

Spiritual Formation Verses:  
Matthew 6:33
33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Resources:
Spiritual Disciplines Handbook: Practices That Transform Us
by Adele Ahlberg Calhoun