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A Heart Flooded with God
Andrea Lende • December 27, 2020
Ephesians 3:17 and 19
A Heart Flooded with God
You can also listen to the devotion and prayer at: https://anchor.fm/andrea-lende/episodes/A-Heart-Flooded-with-God-eo96m6
Ephesians 3:17 and 19
“May Christ through your faith [actually] dwell (settle down, abide, make His permanent home) in your hearts! May you be rooted deep in love and founded securely on love,”
“[That you may really come] to know [practically, through experience for yourselves] the love of Christ, which far surpasses mere knowledge; that you may be filled [through all your being] unto all the fullness of God [may have the richest measure of the divine Presence; and become a body wholly filled and flooded with God Himself]!”
This is my prayer for my children, my loved ones, and all who desire to know God.
Paul’s request for the Ephesians perfectly states living in the fullness of the Lord.
First, he says, “May Christ through faith dwell in your hearts”.
The Amplified Bible further defines this statement to mean that Christ will “(settle down, abide, and make His permanent home)" in our hearts.
Oh, to have Christ Himself make His residence in our hearts is more than we could ask for.
The Christ Who gave of Himself completely will come and live in us.
He loves us.
He has purified us.
He intercedes for us because He is One with us.
Nothing more beautiful could happen to any of us than to have the Messiah living in our hearts.
Secondly, Paul hopes that we will “be rooted deep in love and founded securely on love”.
For love comes from God and was sent to this earth in the form of Christ.
It was pure love Who was nailed to the cross.
Love carried His cross and then prayed to be nailed to it in order to do God’s will and save all of us.
Lastly, Paul wants us to fully know and experience this love that Christ has for us.
His hope is that we will be filled to the brim with the “fullness of God”.
This is further defined as, “the richest measure of the divine Presence, becoming a body wholly filled and flooded with God Himself!”
Until we experience this kind of complete and total filling and flooding of God’s Spirit, we are run around by our own feelings, emotions, and desires.
Once the Lord truly fills us to the brim with His “divine Presence”, we are fully His.
We are fully led and guided by Him.
He will help us be obedient to His calling and will for our lives.
He becomes our Ruler instead of our flesh ruling us.
Today I choose to be led by God as He completely fills my spirit with His Holy Spirit.
May you find the Lord will fill you with His Holy Spirit and His “divine Presence”
so you will come to experience the fullness of His love.
Daily Prayer:
O Lord, my God, thank You for showing me more about the fullness of Your love. Thank You for Your Word that continues to fill me with Wisdom and teach me more about You. Thank You for filling my spirit with Your Holy Spirit. Father, I pray if there are any other parts of my spirit that still lack Your Presence, that You will pour Your Spirit into mine. Fill every crack and crevice with Your Spirit, Lord. May I be flooded with You so I can experience being fully loved by You. Help me follow You and be obedient to You in every way. Keep my heart seeking You. Keep my eyes on You. Keep my spirit in Your care, Father, until I am with You in heaven. No matter what is happening here on this earth and in my little world, keep me Yours. Thank You, Lord, for choosing me to be Yours. Help me bless someone as You bless me. Thank You for hearing my prayer.
Answer: You are Mine, and I will continue to flood your spirit with Mine.
Response: Undeservedly Yours, Lord, thank You.
We start a New Year! How exciting! Paul had just finished telling the Ephesians to put off their old nature. They had been run around by their feelings and desires. He told them to be renewed in their spirit. The Amplified Bible defines this to be “having a fresh mental and spiritual attitude.” As we say goodbye to this year, let us put on the new and leave the old behind. We have an opportunity to reflect on what to bring forward into this New Year.
This is a great message for the New Year. We can be in control of our own words. As a mother, I used to tell my children to use their words to explain what was happening in their minds. I tried to help them find the right words. Words that would help the situation and not make it worse. I must do the same thing when talking to them. It’s important to use words that do not damage their spirits. Words that lift up instead of tear down. Even though my children have grown, I still want to be careful how I speak to them because my worlds will impact them for the rest of their lives.
As we approach the New Year, it is a perfect time to take inventory of what part of our lives, our hearts, and our souls are not bearing fruit. What can we give up as this year comes to a close? What do we need to give to the Lord for His cleansing and pruning? The answers to these questions take time. Time with the Lord. We are creatures of routines and habits which serve us well. But we can also change our routines and habits to serve us and the Lord better. So, we can ask God to show us what He wants us to give up so that He can have more of us.
I cannot think of a better verse to meditate on as we approach the New Year. Jesus said, "the kingdom of God is within you [in your hearts] and among you [surrounding you]." For so many years I believed I had to wait to go to heaven to experience the kingdom of God. I have longed to step into heaven and meet the Lord and His Son. However, as we read the Gospels and study Jesus and all that He said, we begin to understand the kingdom of God is all around us. The kingdom of God is within.
Paul wrote to the Colossians and told them he was praying for them. He prayed they would be refreshed, renewed, and invigorated. He also prayed they would be strengthened. May his prayer be heard by the Lord God Almighty on our behalf today just as it was received two thousand years ago. God is the Source of all things beautiful and wonderful. There is no shortage of renewal, refreshment, or inspiration in His kingdom. And as the Creator of this universe, He continues to pour all good things into His people. Paul wrote that refreshment and strength are needed so we may have endurance.
This verse is the perfect verse to reflect on as Christmas comes to a close. The Lord sent His Son to us. He sent Him to this world as a babe. Jesus was given the task of growing up. A difficult one for all of us. He endured the awkward stages we all go through as we grow past them. I look back at old picture and cringe, yes, I cringe. This life provides plenty of opportunities to feel awkward and just plain weird, but our Father loves us as though we are perfect every day of our lives. This is why Jesus came. He came to make us perfect in God’s sight.
God made Himself flesh so He could take away the sins of the world. The story of the very first Christmas was humble, yet the most powerful and loving birth ever recorded in history. All humanity changed in an instant. When Jesus was born, love filled the earth. Love came down and lifted us up. The angels came to tell the shepherds of this beautiful birth. The stars in the heavens also told the story. As we do all tasks that we do to ensure a beautiful Christmas day, may we remember the miracle that God sent long ago. The miracle of all miracles.
The first Christmas was going to be documented, so that it could be read many times over for all Christmas’ to come. It was also documented so the prophecy of the Messiah’s birth would be known to be fulfilled. Prophets of old foretold Jesus would come from the house of David. They also prophesied that He would be born in Bethlehem. And all this came to pass. Even though Jesus would be known as a Nazarene, His beginning began in Bethlehem. God’s divine plan was set in motion with the first census while Mary was at the end of her pregnancy.
What a wonderful passage to read during Christmas week. Our passage touched my heart as I read it through the lens of Jesus’ birth. “It was God [personally present] in Christ, reconciling and restoring the world to favor with Himself.” We have so much to be thankful for in these few short words, “restoring the world to favor with Himself.” So undeserved and yet so graciously given. We are offered favor with the Lord. Imagine having favor with the almighty God, the Creator of the universe. Jesus chose to leave heaven’s door where all was perfect. He chose to be born into this dusty messy world.
Jesus had just spoken to a fig tree and deemed it unworthy to live because it had no fruit on it. His disciples were amazed when they saw the fig tree wither and die. Then the Lord talked to them about prayer and belief. He told them that whatever they asked for, if they had the faith and belief, they would receive it. I remember the day I started hearing music and lyrics. I had just bowed my head at the piano and asked if the Lord would bless praise and worship music. As soon as I prayed that prayer, the Lord bestowed the gift of song writing upon me.