These last two days have been tough with Doc. He wants to be a part of District Assembly yet his body has refused to cooperate. We pray and yet it seems like our prayers are not heard. But I know they are. Even though we cannot understand why things are the way they are, we continue to lean into Him knowing He is in control. After receiving a message yesterday afternoon from him of what he was going through I waited a bit and sent another message but received no reply. I prayed and asked God to be with him and started back to him. II Timothy 1:7 went through my mind along with all kinds of thoughts as I went. I was relieved to find he had fallen asleep and not seen my message. As I went and got some medicine to try to relieve his symptom I prayed again for God to intervene. As I watched him struggling so, I cried out to friends asking for prayer. Sometimes this journey becomes so overwhelming I get to the point where I feel like I need extra support. People began praying and soon he was able to keep cheese and crackers down. He rested more and then decided to try to go to the ordination service. Prayers were answered and he was able to stay for the entire service. What a blessing! Dr. Graves spoke on Ephesians 3:14-21. This scripture is where Paul prays for believers. Verse sixteen reads, I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being. Dr. Graves spoke about how reading our Bibles, praying, etc. are important but that is not where we find God's empowerment. That is only found through the Holy Spirit. He referred to Luke 4 where verse one tells us Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit when He went into the wilderness and tested by the devil. The result of that testing is found in verse fourteen. Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit... We need to follow Christ's example. We need to be filled with the Spirit. In Acts 10 we find how God used Jesus through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. Verse thirty-eight reads, ...God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power...he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him. Woo hoo! God was with Him! We can have God with us but when we die to self and allow Him free reign of our life, we will be empowered by the Holy Spirit to do His will. I loved what Dr. Graves said about how God desires us to be strong, not weak or anemic. Yes! God desires us to have His strength! He desires to look down upon us saying, 'Wow, look at you daughter! I'm so proud of how you are living!' In verse seventeen Paul describes how God wants us to know His love. We are His children. He desires for us to know He loves us just as we want our children to know we love them. Paul wrote about how we need to be rooted in His love so we will be empowered by the Holy Spirit to grasp it. I love verses eighteen and nineteen in The Passion Translation. It reads:
Then you will be empowered to discover what every holy one experiences—the great magnitude of the astonishing love of Christ in all its dimensions. How deeply intimate and far-reaching is his love! How enduring and inclusive it is! Endless love beyond measurement that transcends our understanding—this extravagant love pours into you until you are filled to overflowing with the fullness of God!
He desires us to experience His love that is only completely experienced through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. Great intimacy is found with Him when we surrender to His will. I love the last part...this extravagant love pours into you until you are filled to overflowing with the fullness of God! Woo hoo! THIS is why I pray every day for God to cleanse me so He can fill me! I desire intimacy with Him! I desire to walk in His will! I desire to be filled to overflowing with Him! I desire for Him to work through me in ways others can't understand! I want my walk with Him to produce fruit. The only way that can happen is by being in complete relationship with Him. Verse twenty in The Passion Translation reads:
Never doubt God’s mighty power to work in you and accomplish all this. He will achieve infinitely more than your greatest request, your most unbelievable dream, and exceed your wildest imagination! He will outdo them all, for his miraculous power constantly energizes you.
Yes! Great faith enables one to Never doubt God. When we doubt, it gives the devil an open door into our lives. Instead we need to lean into Him more. We need to allow Him to work in and through us through difficult circumstances. Yesterday, there were many tears fell as I struggled with Doc being sick. But there were also tears falling as I heard the words of Dr. Graves and watched thirteen be ordained. Tears of joy are much easier than tears of fear. As I sat in the ordination service, my heart cried out to God asking Him to please heal Doc so he can walk me down the aisle next year when I am ordained. I asked Him to not just shrink the tumor but to remove the cancer entirely from his body. I also asked Him to continue to cleanse me so He can fill me to overflowing with more of Him. I loved the way Dr. Graves described the emptying/filling process. When we empty ourselves out of holding onto our checkbook, family, calendar, ministry, etc., God is able to fill us. As we put those things back into our life, that is when our cup runs over. I believe the greatest blessings our found in the process. Woo hoo!
Dear Jesus,
Thank You for empowering me through the Holy Spirit to not just get through the day yesterday but to be blessed in abundance through it! Thank You for being with Doc through the things he went through! Father, may You continue to be his strength. What a blessing to see thirteen people ordained last night. Woo hoo, God! You are so good! It was so exciting to see four of them be from the church that was just established the night before. Woo hoo, God! Father, cleanse me so You can fill me! May You be greater than my words, actions, and attitude throughout this day. May Your love ooze out of me in a new, different way. Lord, Your empowerment is what I desire. Your love is all I need. Thank You for the Church of the Nazarene that stands on Your holiness! Thank You for being My Holiness! Amen.
1 comment:
Amen
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