Category: Ephesians

—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God (Ephesians 3:19).

Filled to the measure…to be so full of God that there’s no room for anything else.  You know what that makes me think of? It makes me think of the scene in It’s a Wonderful Life when Jimmy Stewart is wooing Donna Reed.  He tells her he’s gonna lasso the moon and bring it down for her. She could then swallow the moon, and the moonbeams would shoot out from her fingertips and the ends of her hair.  That’s what this verse makes me think of. Paul wants us to be so full of God’s love that it pours out of us—shoots out of us in all directions. Beloved, if we could just grasp the giganticatiousness of God’s love, we would be filled to capacity with his…well, with him.

And if you overflow into the lives of those around you…

well…

would that be so bad?

Happy Wednesday, Beloved

…and to know this love that surpasses knowledge…(Ephesians 3:19).

Paul isn’t finished praying yet.

Fine by me.

So, how do you know that which is, by its very nature, unknowable?

You don’t…yet.

But you and I get to spend the rest of forever learning more, which will cause us to grow more, which will enable us to know more, which will cause us to grow more, which will enable us to know more…

Until always

Further up and further in, Beloved!

Happy Tuesday

And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have the power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ… (Ephesians 3:17b-18).

If you only knew.

We can’t really grasp God’s love.  It is totally beyond our brains. We can use metaphors—parent and child, husband and wife—but ultimately, they fall short.  Can you imagine a trillion of something? I’ll give you a hand. One trillion seconds equates to about 31,000 years. Which we also can’t imagine, since we’ve been around less than a hundred years.

Most of us.

The problem is, we’re finite.  Utterly and completely finite. How do we grasp the idea of an infinite God, and his infinite love?

It’s a good problem to have, really.

Seems to me, the more we can understand the sheer magnitude of God’s love for us, the more our problems will shrink in comparison.

Is God’s love big enough to cover…?

Does God love me even though I…?

Can God’s love handle all the…?

If you only knew, Beloved.

Happy Monday

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 (Ephesians 3:16-17a).

This is pretty much the perfect prayer.

Out of his glorious riches–God already has all you need or could ever need.

…he may strengthen you with power–It is God who does the work in you.

…through his Spirit–He has sent the Holy Spirit to teach and guide and heal and empower us.

…in your inner being–God is not concerned with outward appearances, but with the true you.

…so that Christ may dwell in your hearts–kinda the purpose of life, ya?

…through faith–without which, none of this works.

So, yeppers, a truly excellent prayer.

Who will you use it for today?

I’m pretty sure Paul won’t mind if you borrow it.

Happy Friday, Beloved.

For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name (Ephesians 3:14-15).

A few verses back Paul took a little side trip to remind us of what God has done for us through Paul’s life.

Well, now he’s back.

Gotta love those rabbit trails.

In any case, Paul mentions something about God here that I find fascinating. Almost in passing, he says, “from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derived its name.” Another translation says, “from whom all fatherhood in heaven and on earth…”

I like that.

God is the archetype, the epitome, the model of all fatherhood. The concept originates with him. He defines it. When I see God protecting, loving, providing, teaching, giving, disciplining, guiding, leading, forgiving, sacrificing, restoring–I realize that’s what I’m supposed to be. Then I consider my own track record as a dad and I see my own inadequacies and I begin to hyperventilate

until I remember

grace.

Beloved, if you are a father, you have been given a great name. Do all that you can, in His grace, to live up to it.

Beloved, if you have a father, think of him with grace, knowing that the bar is set pretty high. And remember, no matter what sort of earthly dad you may have, you have a heavenly Father who is all you need always.

Happy Friday, Beloved.

I ask you, therefore, not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are for your glory  (Ephesians 3:13).

So that’s what it feels like

to be loved

by someone

you’ve never met.

Embrace the feeling, Beloved.

Happy Thursday.

In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence (Ephesians 3:12).

Beloved, you don’t have to cower in the shadows of his glory, hoping someone better, stronger, more worthy than you might spill a drop of righteousness that you can lap up before it evaporates.

You can approach boldly.

You belong here.

You are not a slave, but a child. Run to your Father’s house; it is your home. Let him scoop you up in his arms and hold you, because he loves you.

That’s what daddies do.

Happy Wednesday, Beloved.

His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord (Ephesians 3:11).

His purpose

Accomplished by…him

So, what is our responsibility in this, Beloved?

To receive

That’s all…that’s enough…that’s everything.

Receive, Beloved.

Happy Tuesday

His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms… (Ephesians 3:10)

Really, God?

The Church?

I mean, far far far far far be it from me to question God’s wisdom, but does he really expect the Church to be the display of his great plan to the cosmos? 

The Church. That’s us. You realize that, don’t you? 

All the angels and heavenly whatnots are  looking at us to see the glory of his salvation worked out.

No pressure there.

Seriously–doesn’t God realize how pathetic the Church is? How we bicker and fight and whine and cheat and fumble and fail and fall?

I mean, of course he does, but still…

Beloved, I don’t see why God would choose to put us on display, knowing what he knows about us, but then I don’t understand a lot of what God does.

Which is fine, I guess.

The thing to remember is, God’s not worried about it. He isn’t concerned that somehow you or I or the Church in general is going to spoil his plans. In fact, I’m guessing that the interpersonal crunchiness that is so much a part of us is at the heart of his plan, as he shows the tremendous power of his grace over our own weakness.

Or something like that.

Happy Friday, Beloved.

Although I am less than the least of all the Lord’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things  (Ephesians 3:8-9).

What grace has been given to you, Beloved?

The grace to teach?

The grace to learn?

The grace to speak?

The grace to listen?

The grace to encourage?

The grace to challenge?

The grace to fight?

The grace to heal?

The grace to stand?

The grace to fall

and

rise?

Whatever God has given you to do…

Happy Thursday, Beloved.