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
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