January 19
"I'm asking God to give you a gift from the wealth of his glory. I pray that he would give you inner strength and power through his Spirit. Then Christ will live in you through faith. I also pray that love may be the ground into which you sink your roots and on which you have your foundation. This way, with all of God's people you will be able to understand how wide, long, high, and deep his love is. You will know Christ's love, which goes far beyond any knowledge. I am praying this so that you may be completely filled with God." -Ephesians 3:16-19 (GW)
The Greek word for "foundation" or "being founded" is tethemeliomenoi. It is an architectural term and indicates that our life in order to be stable and productive needs to be like a building with strong foundations. It emphasizes the importance of the depth of Christ in our life rather than superficiality. This metaphor conveys the revelation that the love of Christ is essential for a deep and solid relationship with God. Such a life will bring powerful fruit in your life that cannot be taken away by drought, disaster, or stress. Christ is our only truly eternal and solid rock. All else passes away in time including fame, wealth, and possessions. God's love is total, says Paul. It reaches every corner of our experience. It is wide—it covers the breadth of our own experience, and it reaches out to the whole world. God's love is long— it continues the length of our lives. It is high— it rises to the heights of our celebration and depths of any depression. His love is deep— it reaches to the depths of discouragement, despair, and even death. When you feel shut out, lonely, or isolated, remember you can never be lost to God's love. God's loving abundant inexpressible "fullness" is totally expressed only in Christ Jesus (Col. 2:9-10). It is only in union with Christ and through his empowering Spirit, that we can become complete. You already have all the fullness of God available to you. But you need to appropriate that fullness through faith and prayer as you daily draw closer to him. Paul's prayer for the Ephesians in today's scripture is also for you. You can ask God's Holy Spirit to fill every aspect of your life to the fullest! What a great gift!
Prayer: Lord God, Thank you for your incredible gifts. Amen.
Meditation For The Day: My emptiness can be fullness with God.
Brief Devotions For Busy Lives: Daily Winter Renewal Paperback – November 25, 2017, by Rev. Dr. Mary Johnson (Author)
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