Tag: Ephesians 3:20-21

When we are not even close to being capable trust God is exceedingly able. Ephesians 3:20-21 

Ephesians 3:20-21 The Message

20-21 God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.

Glory to God in the church!
Glory to God in the Messiah, in Jesus!
Glory down all the generations!
Glory through all millennia! Oh, yes!

Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

Fact or Fiction: God Should Be the Biggest Influencer of Your Wellness Journey?

Many people refer to God as “The Great Physician.”

Certainly, that’s one of many appropriate and valid ways to think of Him.

Since He created us and is all-powerful, He can certainly arrange for us to be healed when we need it.

He’s also willing and able to come alongside us and bring healing through the hands of healthcare providers, and He likely intervenes and protects us from sickness from time to time. 

Since His ways are immeasurably higher than ours, His thoughts higher than ours (Isaiah 55:8-9), we’ll never know exactly why He may choose one option over another. Those reasons are probably as varied as the people He has created.

That being said, it’s always appropriate to go before Him and ask for whatever it is we need, whether that’s healing or we just want Him involved in helping us to enjoy staying healthy (Hebrews 4:16), Kingdon living into His Spiritual Gifts.

Suggested here are five reasons (of many) God should be the biggest influencer of your wellness journey.  

1. God Knows Our Bodies Better than We Do

In addition to being “The Great Physician,” God is also “The Great Creator.”

I once told a friend to whom I was witnessing that God is “The Great Engineer” because my friend’s background is engineering, and I believed he’d get a kick out of the connection.

It’s also true that God engineered our bodies with many complex systems and processes that keep us alive.

For example, there’s the cardiovascular system, nervous system, respiratory system, circulatory system, and so much more.

There’s a very intricate blend of many minerals and vitamins that are needed to keep the body functioning at top capacity.

If anything gets out of balance for any reason, we will all experience health problems. Truly, He “formed our inward parts,” and we are both “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139: 13-14). He knows how to restore order and can reveal that through healthcare providers, His Word, or a combination of both.

2. God Designed Us to Thrive in His Service

The healthier we are, the easier it is to be involved in the work of the Lord with the talents, skills, and gifting’s He has given to us. God has put many types of fruits, vegetables, and herbs on this earth for our benefit.

The vitamins, minerals, fiber, and natural sugar these items provide help the body maintain its health and even make some repairs on its own.

Even the animals are for our benefit since many of them provide the protein our bodies need to function properly.

Believe it or not, even a reasonable amount of carbohydrates and fats are necessary.

Getting enough water and sleep are likely the most important parts of a healthy lifestyle. 

Experts generally break down essential nutrients for a healthy lifestyle into two categories: macronutrients and micronutrients.

Macronutrients are what provide our bodies with energy, and in general, those are made up of protein, carbohydrates, and fat.

Micronutrients are basically made up of vitamins and minerals, which support the immune system, metabolism, cells, and more, according to Healthline. 

3. God Modeled and Encourages Rest for Our Renewal

God set up the idea of adequate rest from the very beginning of time.

In the book of Genesis it specifically states that God “rested” from creating everything on the seventh day (Genesis 2:2).

When Elijah had been extremely busy with God’s work and was very tired and possibly even feeling burned out, he went and slept under a broom tree for a while (1 Kings 19:5-8). 

Today, it’s just as important for us to get adequate sleep.

When we’re sleep deficient, we’re more vulnerable to colds, the flu, and even more serious ailments.

When we get adequate sleep (about 7-8 hours per night), it benefits our mental health, heart health, blood sugar regulation, our ability to function mentally, benefits our immune system, reduces stress, helps with physical functioning, helps with weight management and control, according to the Sleep Foundation. 

4. God Created Us to Move and Be Active

We live in a day and time when many of us spend our work day behind a desk.

So it’s important to take time to exercise.

Not only does adequate exercise lower stress levels, but the release of endorphins enhances our mental health and the physical activity puts us at a lower risk for serious diseases.

Adequate exercise can also help with a better quality of sleep, according to Healthline.

In general, about 30 minutes five times per week is considered the minimum amount for maintaining your present weight, according to Harvard Health Publishing.

That can also be broken up into 15 minutes twice per day if that’s a better scheduling fit.

5. God Offers Health Guidance through His Word

The Lord was very involved in even the practical aspects of the lives of the Hebrews in the Old Testament.

Many of the laws He instructed them to keep in the Old Testament were connected to helping them maintain their health in practical ways.

In the 11th chapter of the book of Leviticus, the Lord was very specific about what the Hebrews should and shouldn’t eat. 

Today, many people refer to this specific diet (with minor alterations) as The Mediterranean Diet.

It has been linked to being especially beneficial to those who struggle with heart disease or come from a background that puts them at much high risk for heart disease, according to The Cleveland Clinic.

It’s also believed that this diet may help stabilize blood sugar and lower cholesterol and triglycerides, according to Medline Plus.

In addition, The Endocrine Society has found the Mediterranean Diet may help reduce the symptoms of menopause.

For more information on the Mediterranean Diet, check out The Bible Cure by Dr. Reginald Cherry.

While the focus of this passage is on God, on “him who is able,” I want to draw our attention to one other key phrase in this passage — “his power that is at work within us.” 

Paul has earlier prayed that God would “strengthen you [the Ephesians and us] with power through his Spirit in your inner being” (Ephesians 3:16).

While the Holy Spirit is far more than just God’s power, the Spirit clearly does live in us to bring us God’s power!

As we journey through this year, each day we will remind ourselves of God’s personal presence in our lives through the Holy Spirit.

The Spirit within us is a powerful blessing that empowers us and transforms us.

Let’s never forget that we are not only saved by grace but that we are also vastly empowered by this gracious gift of the Holy Spirit within us to live for Jesus!

In the name of God, the Father and God, the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Praying …

Psalm 103 The Message

103 1-2 O my soul, bless God.
    From head to toe, I’ll bless his holy name!
O my soul, bless God,
    don’t forget a single blessing!

3-5     He forgives your sins—every one.
    He heals your diseases—every one.
    He redeems you from hell—saves your life!
    He crowns you with love and mercy—a paradise crown.
    He wraps you in goodness—beauty eternal.
    He renews your youth—you’re always young in his presence.

6-18 God makes everything come out right;
    he puts victims back on their feet.
He showed Moses how he went about his work,
    opened up his plans to all Israel.
God is sheer mercy and grace;
    not easily angered, he’s rich in love.
He doesn’t endlessly nag and scold,
    nor hold grudges forever.
He doesn’t treat us as our sins deserve,
    nor pay us back in full for our wrongs.
As high as heaven is over the earth,
    so strong is his love to those who fear him.
And as far as sunrise is from sunset,
    he has separated us from our sins.
As parents feel for their children,
    God feels for those who fear him.
He knows us inside and out,
    keeps in mind that we’re made of mud.
Men and women don’t live very long;
    like wildflowers they spring up and blossom,
But a storm snuffs them out just as quickly,
    leaving nothing to show they were here.
God’s love, though, is ever and always,
    eternally present to all who fear him,
Making everything right for them and their children
    as they follow his Covenant ways
    and remember to do whatever he said.

19-22 God has set his throne in heaven;
    he rules over us all. He’s the King!
So bless God, you angels,
    ready and able to fly at his bidding,
    quick to hear and do what he says.
Bless God, all you armies of angels,
    alert to respond to whatever he wills.
Bless God, all creatures, wherever you are—
    everything and everyone made by God.

And you, O my soul, bless God!

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

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Some Subtle Biblical Suggestions for the Cultivation of True Friendships. Proverbs 18:24

Depending on the Bible translation, we discover that “a man who has friends must himself be friendly,” or that “a man with too many friends will come to ruin,” and both are true in their own right.

In the former, we are instructed that in order to have friends, we need to show friendship towards other people, while in the latter, we are informed that having a lot of ‘fair-weather friends’ can make us vulnerable, because their loyalty towards us may fluctuate with feelings or change with circumstances.

We would be wise to heed the sound advice contained in each of these translations of this text of Scripture, and apply them to our own lives and the friendship choices we make.

But all translations agree that “there is a friend that sticks closer that a brother,” there is a friend who displays such loyalty towards us that no matter what we say or do they will remain loyal to us.

They will support and encourage us, help and counsel us, comfort and warn us, and they will love us no matter what happens.

Proverbs 18:24 Authorized (King James) Version

24 A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly:
    and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory Be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the Beginning is now and ever shall be. Worlds Without End. Amen, Amen, Amen.

Friendship Arises Out Of Mere Companionship

“Friendship arises out of mere Companionship when two or more of the companions discover that they have in common some insight or interest or even taste which the others do not share and which, till that moment, each believed to be his own unique treasure (or burden). The typical expression of opening Friendship would be something like, ‘What? You too? I thought I was the only one.’” – C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves 

It is indeed truly wonderful to find a companion who shares something in common with us which then, over time, builds into a genuine friendship.

However, we must also be very aware that there are times when making and sustaining lasting friendships does not and will not come to us very easily.

For adults, life can get busy with balancing various responsibilities at work, home, hobbies, family life and myriads and myriads of other activities.

Finding time to cultivate friendships can be challenging and there will always be those that we struggle to connect with.

Forging true friendships takes time and commitment.

Are we making it an authentically active or authentically passive priority?

Are there things that we can do, or need to do to start, continue a friendship?

I am a firm believer that God’s truth as found in the Bible can help us in times when finding, making and maintaining, sustaining friendships, can be tough.

What is Friendship?

Proverbs 18:24 Amplified Bible

24 
The man of too many friends [chosen indiscriminately] will be broken in pieces and come to ruin,
But there is a [true, loving] friend who [is reliable and] sticks closer than a brother.

The union between God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit reveals a closeness and relationship which we all long for, and God invites us to be a part of that.

People were made for companionship as image bearers of the triune God and it was declared that it was not good for man to be alone (Genesis 2:18 Amplified).

18 Now the Lord God said, “It is not good (beneficial) for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper [one who balances him—a counterpart who is] [a] suitable and complementary for him.”

From Adam’s own body, God made Eve as a helper for Adam and walked with them in the Garden of Eden before the fall.

God himself was relational to them and they were relational toward Him and in turn, to and towards one another.

Even after Adam and Eve sinned, it was the Lord who first embraced them and unfolded His plan of redemption against the evil one (Genesis 3:15 Amplified). 

15 
“And I will put enmity (open hostility)
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed (offspring) and her [a]Seed;
He shall [fatally] bruise your head,
And you shall [only] bruise His heel.”

Friendship is most clearly demonstrated in the life and death of Jesus.

He said, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you” (John 15:13-15).

Jesus has revealed Himself to us and has not withheld anything, even His life.

When we follow and obey Him, we are called His friends.

He is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His nature (Hebrews 1:3).

We can come to know God because He became flesh and has made Himself known to us.

He laid down His life for us.

To be known and loved by God and be blessed by God to be called His friends should motivate us in being a friend to others out of our love for and obedience to Jesus – We can love others because He first loved us (1 John 4:19). 

1 John 4:19 The Message

19 We, though, are going to love—love and be loved. First we were loved, now we love. He loved us first.

Biblical Ways to Forge Friendships

1. Pray for One or Two Close Friends

Have we asked God for close friendships?

He cares very deeply about everyone of us and knows exactly all that we need.

It might never have been something we would think to pray for.

In 1 John 5:14-15 it says,

“this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.”

In an expectant faith, we can each ask Him to bring someone into our lives to encourage us, to challenge us, be with us and to continue to point us to Jesus.

If we have asked God to help us cultivate close friendships that can spur us on in our faith and life, we need to anticipate and to believe that He will answer us.

Let’s be expectant that God can do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine by His power at work in us (Ephesians 3:20-21 The Message). 

20-21 God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.

Glory to God in the church!
Glory to God in the Messiah, in Jesus!
Glory down all the generations!
Glory through all millennia! Oh, yes!

2. Look to the Bible for Wisdom on Friendship

The Bible is filled with wisdom and the book of Proverbs has much to say on friendship, including choosing friends wisely and being a friend.

It speaks of good counsel from a friend: “Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart, and the pleasantness of a friend springs from their heartfelt advice” (Proverbs 27:9).

Proverbs 27:9 The Message

9 Just as lotions and fragrance give sensual delight,
    a sweet friendship refreshes the soul.

It also warns about those who can break down friendships:

“A perverse person stirs up conflict, and a gossip separates close friends” (Proverbs 16:28)

Proverbs 16:28 The Message

28 Troublemakers start fights;
    gossips break up friendships.

“Whoever would foster love covers over an offense, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends” (Proverbs 17:9).

Proverbs 17:9 The Message

9 Overlook an offense and bond a friendship;
    fasten on to a slight and—good-bye, friend!

In the New Testament, Jesus is our greatest example of what it means to be a friend.

He says, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13).

John 15:13-15 The Message

11-15 “I’ve told you these things for a purpose: that my joy might be your joy, and your joy wholly mature. This is my command: Love one another the way I loved you. This is the very best way to love. Put your life on the line for your friends. You are my friends when you do the things I command you. I’m no longer calling you servants because servants don’t understand what their master is thinking and planning. No, I’ve named you friends because I’ve let you in on everything I’ve heard from the Father.

From the first verse of Genesis to the last verse of Revelation we see the story of God’s love and friendship with people.

He has always been Shepherding us.

Will we shepherd others with this same love that Christ had for us?

3. Be a Friend

It is not just about our own edification and what we can get out of a friendship. 

Philippians 2:4 says, “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others’ and 1 Thessalonians 5:11 says, “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”

There are many who are feigning, choosing to remain hidden who are lonely and struggling, longing for a friend, to be noticed and for someone to listen.

Who can we bless and encourage?

Is there anyone that we should get to know?

Not every acquaintance or person we help will become a close friend.

Yet, we are called to love our neighbor and even our enemies, and serve those that we meet and love them like Jesus does (Matthew 5:43-48 The Message).

Matthew 5:43-48 The Message

43-47 “You’re familiar with the old written law, ‘Love your friend,’ and its unwritten companion, ‘Hate your enemy.’ I’m challenging that. I’m telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the supple moves of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does. He gives his best—the sun to warm and the rain to nourish—to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty. If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that.

48 “In a word, what I’m saying is, Grow up. You’re kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you.”

As it also says in Romans 12:10, “Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.”

Romans 12:10 The Message

9-10 Love from the center of who you are; don’t fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle.

4. Take the Initiative

Taking a step of faith can be really difficult.

Asking someone to meet up for a meal or coffee, inviting someone into our home or doing something that we hope will bless someone can take courage.

There may be all sorts of barriers.

Perhaps it is overcoming shyness or fear.

Maybe there is a cultural or societal wall that needs to be broken, prejudices or biases or stereotypes that needs to be confronted, challenged or we simply need to trust that Jesus will go before us, will 100% be with us in all our interactions.

It may well be daunting and difficult, complex and quite overly complicated.

Following Jesus first, not self, is not easy, yet there is no greater way to live.

We must be intentional and open up our heart and home with those around us, showing hospitality and kindness, and loving them first as Christ first loves us.

It was Jesus who initiated redemption by pouring out His grace on us when we were still enemies and sinners against God (Romans 5:6-10).

Romans 5:6-11 The Message

6-8 Christ arrives right on time to make this happen. He didn’t, and doesn’t, wait for us to get ready. He presented himself for this sacrificial death when we were far too weak and rebellious to do anything to get ourselves ready. And even if we hadn’t been so weak, we wouldn’t have known what to do anyway. We can understand someone dying for a person worth dying for, and we can understand how someone good and noble could inspire us to selfless sacrifice. But God put his love on the line for us by offering his Son in sacrificial death while we were of no use whatever to him.

9-11 Now that we are set right with God by means of this sacrificial death, the consummate blood sacrifice, there is no longer a question of being at odds with God in any way. If, when we were at our worst, we were put on friendly terms with God by the sacrificial death of his Son, now that we’re at our best, just think of how our lives will expand and deepen by means of his resurrection life! Now that we have actually received this amazing friendship with God, we are no longer content to simply say it in plodding prose. We sing and shout our praises to God through Jesus, the Messiah!

If God can first lavish such amazing grace onto us, we can pour out that same measure of “first” amazing grace on others also.

5. Live Sacrificially

Matthew 14:13-21 English Standard Version

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

13 Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. 14  When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick. 15 Now when it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” 16 But Jesus said, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” 17  They said to him, “We have only five loaves here and two fish.” 18 And he said, “Bring them here to me.” 19 Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, and taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 20 And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over. 21 And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

Jesus was always moving from place to place, meeting different people from the crowds and meeting their physical and spiritual needs.

Yet, He continuously made time to spend with His Father in prayer and with His disciples.

Ultimately, Jesus lived a life of complete sacrifice as He obeyed His Father and ultimately laid down His life on the cross for us.

We can now be a friend of God’s because He died for our sin, reconciling us into a right relationship with Him.

We are likewise covenanted to go and do likewise and live a life that is less about us, and significantly more about Jesus and is as self-sacrificing toward others.

Being transformed by the Savior’s sacrificial love, we are able to love others in a radical way and invest in people like Jesus did. 

Romans 12:1-3 The Message

Place Your Life Before God

12 1-2 So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

3 I’m speaking to you out of deep gratitude for all that God has given me, and especially as I have responsibilities in relation to you. Living then, as every one of you does, in pure grace, it’s important that you not misinterpret yourselves as people who are bringing this goodness to God. No, God brings it all to you. The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him.

6. Stand by Friends in Ups and Downs

A true friend is steadfast and immovable and will remain by our sides in times of hardship and sorrow as well as sharing in moments of joy and celebration.

Friends share both trials and accomplishments, are transparent and truthful.

The close friendship shared between David and Jonathan in 1 Samuel 18:1 demonstrates this:

“As soon as he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.”

Jonathan showed kindness to David when his father King Saul pursued David’s life.

David trusted Jonathan to help him persuade his father to relent, but also to alert him if Saul was still after his life (1 Samuel 20).

After Jonathan was killed in battle, David was grieved which showed the depth of their relationship (2 Samuel 1:25-27).

7. Remember that Jesus Is the Ultimate Friend

It can be difficult to forge true, lasting friendships but as we trust the Lord to help us in this, we need to remember that Jesus is our ultimate friend.

He calls believers His friends because He has opened up to them and kept nothing hidden (John 15:15).

He died for us, He loved us first (1 John 4:19), He chose us (John 15:16), and when while we were still his sworn enemies, we were still far off from God He brought us near by His blood, shed for us on the cross (Romans 5:8, Ephesians 2:13).

Ephesians 2:11-13 The Message

11-13 But don’t take any of this for granted. It was only yesterday that you outsiders to God’s ways had no idea of any of this, didn’t know the first thing about the way God works, hadn’t the faintest idea of Christ. You knew nothing of that rich history of God’s covenants and promises in Israel, hadn’t a clue about what God was doing in the world at large. Now because of Christ—dying that death, shedding that blood—you who were once out of it altogether are in on everything.

He is the penultimate friend of sinners and promises never to leave nor forsake those who trust in Him.

Deuteronomy 31:7-8Amplified Bible

7 Then Moses called to Joshua and said to him in the sight of all [the people of] Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you will go with this people into the land which the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you will give it to them as an inheritance. 8 It is the Lord who goes before you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or abandon you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”

The foundation of a true and lasting friendship will be one that spurs us on to follow God and Jesus in all of life, willing us to finish the race towards eternity.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Father, Son and Holy Spirit,

Thank you for your great love and blessing over our lives. Thank you that your anger is brief and your favor has no end, but it lasts for our entire lifetime. Forgive us for sometimes forgetting you are intimately acquainted with all of our ways, that you know what concerns us, and you cover us, as with a shield. We ask for your guidance so that we might walk fully in your blessing and goodness today. We ask that your face would shine on us. That you would open the right doors for our lives and for our loved ones, that you would close the wrong doors and protect us from those we need to walk away from. Establish the work of our hands and bring to fulfillment all that you have gifted, given us to do in these days. We pray that you would make our way purposeful and our footsteps firm out of your goodness and love. Give us a heart of wisdom to hear your voice, and make us strong by your huge favor and grace.

Glory Be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the Beginning is now and ever shall be. Worlds Without End. Amen, Amen, Amen.

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Abundantly Prayerfully Exceeding Your Expectations: Expecting Infinitely More From God. Ephesians 3:20-21

Ephesians 3:20-21 The Message

20-21 God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.

Glory to God in the church!
Glory to God in the Messiah, in Jesus!
Glory down all the generations!
Glory through all millennia! Oh, yes!

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Adeste Fideles! Laeti Triumphantes! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

A lack of, or troubled faith may make us expect far less than God is willing to do.

An unexpectant faith may make us feel far less able to be bold and courageous in these days when too many people do not hold God in high regard or at all.

Too many people, believers and non believers alike have the idea that with so much turmoil going on, so much division and rancor, strife of every imaginable description behind every single blade of grass every weed, both alive and dead, it is simply not possible for everyone to believe God cannot raise to the moment.

Yet the Word of God from Paul’s letter to the new followers at Ephesus is clear when it tells us to exceedingly expect our God to answer when we pray in faith.

But, nowadays, who is it with any exceeding boldness and abundant courage does anything to go above and beyond to raise OUR expectations beyond ZERO?

What are your expectations?

Specifically, what are your expectations of God and what are your expectations of yourself this day?

Consider these words from Ephesians chapter 3:

Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21 NLT)

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21 NKJV)

Apostle Paul is writing to both believers and skeptics God is able to accomplish infinitely more or do exceeding abundantly more than we can ever ask or think.

Matthew Henry commenting on this truth wrote:

“There is an inexhaustible fullness of grace and mercy in God, which the prayers of all the saints can never draw dry. Whatever we may ask, or think to ask, still God is still able to do more, abundantly more, exceedingly abundantly more. Open your mouth ever so wide, still he has the wherewithal to fill it.”

What are your expectations?

What are your all too human expectations of God?

What are your eternal expectations from God

Do your all too human expectations of God include the steadfast belief God is able to do more in your life and mine than we can hope or think or imagine?

There may be many things we believe we can not ever do in our own strength or our own ability as we acknowledge what Jesus said in Matthew 19:26 “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.”

When we pray according to God’s will all things are possible.

Perhaps our problem when we pray is we often put limits on what God can do.

Often we can think our problem or circumstance or situation is beyond the scope of God’s ability.

If we think that our problems are bigger than God is able or willing to handle,

then we show a lack of faith in the God who loves us and cares for us.

A lack of faith may make us expect far less than God is willing to do.

Yet the Word of God is clear when it tells us to expect God to answer when we pray in faith.

Luke 18:1-8 English Standard Version

The Parable of the Persistent Widow

18 And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. 2 He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. 3 And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ 4 For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’” 6 And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. 7 And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? 8 I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

Listen to these verses to encourage your expectation:

Psalm 16:11 – You make known to me the path of life;
    in your presence there is fullness of joy;
    at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Psalm 23:1 – The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

Isaiah 43:1-3 – But now thus says the Lord,
he who created you, O Jacob,
    he who formed you, O Israel:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
    I have called you by name, you are mine.
2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
    and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
    and the flame shall not consume you.
3 For I am the Lord your God,
    the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
I give Egypt as your ransom,
    Cush and Seba in exchange for you.

Jeremiah 33:1-3 –

The Lord Promises Peace

33 The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah a second time, while he was still shut up in the court of the guard: 2 “Thus says the Lord who made the earth,[a] the Lord who formed it to establish it—the Lord is his name: 3 Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.

Matthew 18:19– “I also tell you this: If two of you agree here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you.

Matthew 21:22 – You can pray for anything, and if you have faith, you will receive it.”

Mark 11:24 – I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours.

John 14:13 – You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father.

John 15:7 – But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted!

John 15:16 – You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name.

John 16:23-24 – At that time you won’t need to ask me for anything. I tell you the truth, you will ask the Father directly, and He will grant your request because you use my name. You haven’t done this before. Ask, using my name, and you will receive, and you will have abundant joy.

James 1:5-6 – If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and He will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. But when you ask Him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind.

James 1:17 – Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.

1 John 3:22 – And we will receive from Him whatever we ask because we obey Him and do the things that please Him.

1 John 5:14-15 – And we are confident that He hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases Him. And since we know He hears us when we make our requests, we also know that He will give us what we ask for.

Fellow Children of God, the eternal truth of the matter is this: when we pray, we need to pray in faith, we all need to pray expectantly, expect God to do infinitely more, exceedingly and abundantly above all that we all ask or think or imagine.

Be exceedingly and abundantly honest with God who 100% already knows what is going on, when you pray, what are all those things you think about, that you do not, wont, pray about because you are too worried that God will not answer?

Are there things that you do not pray about because in your heart you do not want or do not expect our exceedingly abundant God to answer your prayer?

What?

Let me give a couple of examples:

What if the thought of sharing your faith with other people scares you, you may choose not to pray for God to provide those exceedingly abundant opportunities to share the truth of Jesus with others.

If you are exceedingly, abundantly comfortable being in a small church where everybody knows your name, you will never pray for God to grow your church.

The truth is we may expect many things of God, but He also highly expects us to be abundantly willing to follow His purpose for us, our church, our community.

We need to pray in an abundantly expectant faith, trusting God, obedient to His plans, His Word, His Truth, His life, His covenanted precepts, His perfect will.

We can expect God to answer prayer in the right way at the perfect time.

One thing God keeps teaching me through prayer is patience.

His timing is perfect in every situation.

God will act at the right time and He is willing to do far more than we ever ask, or think, or imagine.

What is going on in your life right now that needs a touch from the King of Kings and Lord of Lords?

Your health… your relationships… your family…

your work… your prayer life… your faith…

your daily walk… your witness for our Lord.

Don’t try and carry it on your own, don’t let it draw your attention away from God.

Joseph Scriven wrote some very appropriate words in his hymn ‘What a Friend we have in Jesus’:

What a Friend we have in Jesus, All our sins and griefs to bear! What a privilege to carry Everything to God in prayer!

O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear, All because we do not carry, Everything to God in prayer!

Whatever the situation, whatever the circumstances, take it to the Lord in prayer.

Pray and ask God to speak, to act, to move, to bless.

Pray in faith and expect God to move.

Here is another question:

How Big are Your Expectations of God?

How big is your expectation of God?

When you pray do you limit your expectation of what God can do?

Are you praying for someone in your family who as yet does not know God?

Are you praying in faith that God will change their heart?

Or have you given up praying for that person because your expectation is they will never turn to Jesus and be saved?

The Bible from our passage from Ephesians 3 is clear when it says God can and will do infinitely more, exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think.

Don’t let your expectations limit your prayers.

Don’t limit what God can and will do!

Remember the words of Jesus in Matthew 16:20,

“I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.”

Throughout the Bible, we can read of many people who dared to ask God to do make the impossible possible.

God answered their prayers.

Maybe in your own life you have experienced God doing the impossible.

When you thought there was no hope,

when you thought the odds were against you,

when you thought it was impossible for circumstances to change,

when you expected the worst,

God stepped in and everything changed.

God stepped in and did infinitely more, exceedingly abundantly above all that you could ask or think or imagine.

God is Almighty, God is exceedingly incredible, God’s mighty power works an exceedingly abundant array of miracles in this messed up world every day.

God’s love and mercy is poured out into our lives every day; we are His children; our salvation is secure and certain in Jesus Christ; we are empowered by the Holy Spirit; God listens when we come to Him in prayer, God answers prayer.

God can abundantly exceed our expectation in every area of our everyday lives.

As I was reflecting on this devotional message, God laid an important truth on my heart to share with you:

Philippians 2:5-11 English Standard Version

5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,[a] 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,[b] 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant,[c] being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by  becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10  so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

With the Like Mind of our Savior Christ, We must always make time to pray.

It is equally important for us to pray in times of joy as well as times of trouble.

Expectant Prayer Builds Abundant Relationship With God

Romans 12:12 simply tells us we should:

Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying (Romans 12:12)

This is an essential command for each of us to follow isn’t it?

Joyful hope and patience in afflic­tion go against the grain of our own natures.

Excessive Despair and exceedingly abundant self-pity come much more easily.

In times like that, it’s important to turn to God in prayer.

We pray for many reasons: to thank God for blessings, to praise God, to confess sins, to seek God’s exceedingly abundant leading, guidance and direction for us.

In good times and bad we are to speak to God,

we are to draw near to Him,

grow in our relationship with Him.

The truth of the matter is this: Sometimes God answers our requests for help exactly as we ask, but sometimes not – sometimes the answer comes back: NO!

Either way, the Bible calls us to be faithful in prayer.

Prayer—thanking, praising, confessing, asking for help—connects us with God.

Prayer builds relationship.

Prayer strengthens the bond between God and us.

When we all have a good relationship with someone, hopefulness and patience become a little easier, especially when Someone is the Creator and Sustainer of the universe.

We can have a confident and expectant hope in God.

The fact that you are here this devotional suggests that you have hope in God,

it suggests you want to know more of our exceedingly abundant God,

that you want to draw exceedingly and abundantly closer to Him,

that right now you want to be in a real relationship with Him,

that right now you are expecting God to be abundantly active in your life today.

How is your relationship with God?

Have you felt His presence and experienced His touch upon your life today?

When you woke up this morning was it with an expectant heart?

Were you thrilled by the thought God would work in you, through you today?

Did you come to this devotional writing today with an utterly expectant heart?

Expecting to worship an exceedingly abundant God…

Expecting to feel His exceedingly abundant presence…

Expecting to the Word of God speak into your life…

Expecting to see and believe in the exceedingly abundant miracles of God …

Expecting to feel your life changed, transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit…

Expecting to be uplifted, refilled, renewed, restored, revitalized…

Expecting an exceedingly abundant revival get all revved up inside you …

Did you expect to come to “church” today expecting infinitely more, far exceedingly abundantly above all that you could ask or think or imagine?

What is God’s Abundant Expectation of You Today?

What is God’s exceedingly abundant expectations of you today?

As disciples of Jesus, God expects our daily commitment to Him.

God expects us to trust Him.

God expects us to follow Him.

God expects us to love Him.

God expects us to serve Him.

God expects us to speak to Him in prayer.

God expects us to learn more about Him.

God expects us to think about the things of God.

God expects us to tell others about Him.

God expects us to give Him first place in our lives.

God expects many things of each and every one of us.

Are you meeting God’s expectation of you?

One more thing God exceedingly and abundantly expects is for us to fill our minds, hearts with the #1 hard core Truth of God’s Word: “God is 100% #1!”

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Almighty God, we serve and worship you, the One, True, Everlasting God, Who, when we are in absolute surrender to your Holy Will, show your incredible Power, your Omnipotence, Omnipresence and Omniscience, which is beyond limits of description and human comprehension. Your exceedingly abundant wonders and miracles, your exceedingly abundant love, goodness and mercy, exceeds all known perceptions and expectations goes beyond borders and boundaries into unlimited infinity.

You can create, recreate, do or undo anything, for the end of the greatest length of any of man’s abilities, is just the beginning of the endless possibilities and the wondrous working of your Mighty Hands. This amply demonstrates that for those who walk exceedingly abundantly according to your Holy Will and find favor in your eyes by their dedicated faith, your great outpourings of graces and blessings manifest your vast Glory and are exceedingly and abundantly visited upon them endlessly.

Lord, we are grateful beyond measure to worship and serve you, who dares the impossible and does the unthinkable. You work in us through the power of your Holy Spirit to increase our faith, and preserve to salvation all believers in Christ our Lord. His immense sacrifice of washing us pure of all sin, has made the gift of eternal life available and attainable by all who give Christ the glory in his Church, and in his far exceedingly abundant Name forever and forever and forever more. Amen.

Adeste Fideles! Laeti Triumphantes! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

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