Post by foxjj on Aug 22, 2021 7:45:54 GMT
Something More
When I was growing up in rural Ireland, my parents would ensure that we went to church every Sunday. During the service we would hear portions of Scripture read and interpreted according to church doctrine. At home Mother always led us children in the ritual church prayers each evening. Consequently, from an early age, my siblings and I were taught a faith in God and the Church. Later in life I was encouraged to read the Bible for myself and in so doing; came to the realisation there was something more.
The apostle Paul had a desire for Christians to know this something more - to know God in a personal way. While writing to the Church in Ephesus he expressed his desire this way: "For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. 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. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord's holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. (Ephesians 3:14-21)
Paul desires his readers to experience more of God by experiencing Jesus Christ dwelling in our hearts by faith - through the power of the Holy Spirit. What a thought; Jesus in me. Paul states that this is how we are 'rooted and established in love' because, we will then 'know how deep is the love of Christ.' When we become born again believers in Jesus, we experience 'the fullness of God.' What a promise from Scripture; we no longer know of God - we experience something more - we can now personally experienced The Living God, in a unique way.
Today, let us thank God for allowing us to experience that something more - Jesus in me.
John Joseph Fox.
When I was growing up in rural Ireland, my parents would ensure that we went to church every Sunday. During the service we would hear portions of Scripture read and interpreted according to church doctrine. At home Mother always led us children in the ritual church prayers each evening. Consequently, from an early age, my siblings and I were taught a faith in God and the Church. Later in life I was encouraged to read the Bible for myself and in so doing; came to the realisation there was something more.
The apostle Paul had a desire for Christians to know this something more - to know God in a personal way. While writing to the Church in Ephesus he expressed his desire this way: "For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. 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. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord's holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. (Ephesians 3:14-21)
Paul desires his readers to experience more of God by experiencing Jesus Christ dwelling in our hearts by faith - through the power of the Holy Spirit. What a thought; Jesus in me. Paul states that this is how we are 'rooted and established in love' because, we will then 'know how deep is the love of Christ.' When we become born again believers in Jesus, we experience 'the fullness of God.' What a promise from Scripture; we no longer know of God - we experience something more - we can now personally experienced The Living God, in a unique way.
Today, let us thank God for allowing us to experience that something more - Jesus in me.
John Joseph Fox.