"For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole 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 saints, 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 fulness 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
This year I am not making any resolutions. According to Webster's 1828, 'to resolve' means "To fix in opinion or purpose; to determine in mind." And you know what? If there's one thing I've learned, it's that my opinions might be all wrong, my purpose selfish or misguided, and I know a lot less than what I thought I did. Sounds like a setup for failure if I ever heard one!
Two Sundays ago our pastor gave a great sermon with the general idea of anticipation. He referred to the verse above from Ephesians. The beautiful truth is that, no matter how weak our minds or flesh, the power of Christ is able to do immeasurably more than we could ask or even imagine. In Pastor Burger's words, our lives can be transformed to the degree we are willing to be surrendered to Him. The word anticipate literally means "to take before". Did you know that God has plans for you this year? Instead of resolving to accomplish some certain goal this year, I want to live in anticipation of the fulfillment of what the Lord has already planned. Guess that sounds a lot like living by faith, doesn't it?
Of course, this doesn't mean I'm not going to plan anything or set any kinds of goals. To sit around and wait for things to happen would obviously be foolish. But I want for my attitude to be one of surrender, not selfishness. Watch for upcoming posts about our thoughts for our little homestead farm and some ideas we've been tossing around. We continue to pray about where we are headed and surrender daily in faith to what the Lord would have for us, both in the small daily tasks and the "grand scheme", that we may be "filled to the measure of all the fulness of God".
I'll leave you with a song that really got to me this morning...
You Have Me by Gungor
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