Sunday, August 21, 2016

Most Read Bible Verses---#51---Ephesians 3:20-21

Ephesians 3:20-21 (NCV)
With God's power working in us, God can do much, much more than anything we can ask or imagine.  To Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus for all time, forever and ever. Amen.

These two verses conclude a prayer of Paul’s that started in Ephesians 3:14.  This prayer teaches so much about daily spiritual experiences.  One daily spiritual experience is the truth that God can do so much in your life that you cannot possibly ask or imagine.  The big question, however, is this---are you allowing His power to work in you?  You are trying to do something great in your life, e.g. be an excellent student, athlete, parent, employee, achieve some professional accomplishment, rise as a Christian servant, whatever.  Are you making most/all of your effort on your own strength and abilities or are you asking and relying on God’s power working in and through you?

In previous verses (16-19) Paul asked that God grant you to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in you so that Christ may dwell in your heart through faith and that because you are rooted and grounded in love, you will be able to comprehend anything and everything and to know the love of Christ and be filled with all the fullness of God.  Whew, that’s a lot to think about and realize, isn’t it?  But, the bottom line is that God is willing to work in and through you to accomplish His will and purpose for your life if you simply yield to Him.  You need to think long and hard about this.  Most Christians do not take to time to meditate and think deeply for a long time over many days about such truths.  And, as a result, so much potential power and accomplishment is lost. 

Think about your life with respect to God’s power to do much, much more than anything you could dream of asking or imagining.  Do you have a story to tell?  If not, why not start today claiming these verses for your life?  The Bible says that you cannot even imagine what He can do with your life.  The key is letting God’s power work in you and the only way that can happen is for you to resolve to follow His ways through faith and obedience.

Think also of what God's power working in us collectively can do with our church.  The church (Christian people) glorifies God.  By all of us allowing God’s power to work in and through us, we cannot imagine what He can do.  Do you think that the originators of famous churches like Willow Creek or Saddleback or other well-known churches (like my Phoenix church, Christ Church of the Valley) imagined where they would be now?  God is always willing to do the same and more for any person or group of people committed to Him.  He can do much, much more than anything we can ask or imagine.  To Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus for all time, forever and ever.  Amen.      


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