Real Power

Ephesians 1:19-21

That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.

God gave us his word for our understanding. If we will study his word, we will be able to know what he’s talking about when he has a conversation with us. For instance: the word “power” means something a little different to different kinds of people. God gives us one definition in the verses above.

This is power: God raised Jesus from the lowest point to the very highest. God is strong enough to do that. He can certainly hold us up under the stress and pressures of our everyday life.

Worship him because of his goodness, not because you have something to celebrate. Worship him not for his power but in his power.

Rest in him and be flexible under his guidance. Many of us get hard-headed and feel the need to press on until our power runs out. But our batteries need to be recharged too often for us to be really effective. Let God’s guidance signal our direction. Let his power keep you running until you arrive at the destination he sent you to. Know that the power he wants you to use is his power. He doesn’t expect you to be able to do in your own power what he asks of you.

Cherish his presence whether you think your day has been good or bad. God is still with you and can help you know his power.

Follow Your Heart

Ephesians 1:17-19

I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.

Have you heard the phrase “follow your heart”? I have. It sounds so wise. It seems romantic and ethereal and yet so doable. It’s an encouraging phrase that sounds like it’s telling us to do whatever we want.

But that’s not what it’s saying.

God put into everyone’s heart enough wisdom to lead them to God. When people truly encounter God, they know it. When God gets somebody’s attention and they truly hear Him, they know it from the bottom of their heart. We sometimes feel things in the deepest part of our being, but we can’t always see things clearly.

When God gives you an eye-opening experience, you are able to see things differently. Your perspective about some things may change.

One of the many things God is good at is helping us to see things differently.

I love it when I’m finally able to understand an issue I’ve been struggling with. God lets us put our best effort into understanding things we encounter, and then when we come to a dead end with it, he removes what was blocking our vision. He opens the eyes of our heart. He wants to share the moment of discovery with us when we see something His way.

God doesn’t want us to know about everything we encounter. Some of the things we stumble upon are a distraction and a waste of time. I want to have blinders on when I’m around distractions. I only want to see the things God wants me to discover. As we seek God, we can expect God to open our eyes to some things so that we may follow our hearts in his guidance and receive his wisdom and revelation.

God wants us to know him better. He wants us to know the hope to which he has called us, and he wants us to know his power. But we’re not going to understand what he has for us unless he gives us the Spirit of wisdom and revelation. God has to enlighten us.

If we follow our enlightened hearts, God will show us the unexpected treasures he holds. These treasures are power to help people. These treasures are power we’ve never experienced. God works all kinds of blessings through the hands of his people. When God shares experiences with us, that helps us know him better, and it builds up our testimony so others may know him better.

When you pray, ask God to give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation. Ask him for clear vision in your heart.

May God open the eyes of our hearts so we may know the hope and power he wants us to know.

Receive

Ephesians 1:7-8

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.

If we were God, how would we have acted when the first sin was committed? Some of us might have restarted the whole project over and over until we got the desired outcome.

But God is love. And he has all wisdom and understanding. Man does not.

In his wisdom, God decided that instead of scrapping the whole project, he would give man a way out of his sin. He made a way for us to be redeemed, forgiven, returned to him by his grace.

It wasn’t an easy thing to do because it involved a huge sacrifice.

Knowing our determined nature, God dug deep into his treasure of grace and lavished it on us “with all wisdom and understanding”. He knew what it would take to turn us around. He knew us before Jesus walked on the Earth’s dirt, and he knows us now.

There are people in today’s society who do not understand that God’s grace isn’t running low. The treasury is still full. We can still receive from him, but for that to happen, we have to go to him. The verse in Ephesians tells us that it is “in him” that we have these things.

If the ice cream is in the freezer, you can’t have the ice cream unless you go to the freezer.

Today, I challenge you to go to God and receive.

Are You Special?

Ephesians 1:3-4

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.

Do you think you’re special? God does.

You were picked out apart from all others to be exactly who you are. You were given a personality and physical traits which distinguish you from others.

God thinks you’re special because he looked inside himself and gave you pieces of him that he wanted to see in you. If God is love (and he is), then you have pieces of his love in you – by his design.

As you worship God and study his word, allow yourself to be used by him. Give him the opportunity to help others with your hands and to comfort the wounded with his powerful words from your mouth.

God wants to see himself in you. He wants to see you in him too. So continue seeking God and studying his word. Be aware of the opportunities he puts before you.

When you look into God’s face, can you see yourself? Most of us say, “Of course not.” However, I challenge you to find yourself in him.