Ephesians 3:14ff  (The Message)

^14-19My response is to get down on my knees before the Father, this magnificent Father who parcels out all heaven and earth. I ask him to strengthen you by his Spirit—not a brute strength but a glorious inner strength—that Christ will live in you as you open the door and invite him in. And I ask him that with both feet planted firmly on love, you'll be able to take in with all followers of Jesus the extravagant dimensions of Christ's love. Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full in the fullness of God.

^20-21God 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!

²⁶Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words.²⁷And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.²⁸We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. Romans 8:26-28

Spend at least15-20 in silence.  Find a comfortable place with as few distractions as possible.  Work on clearing your mind.  Count your breathing if you need to, but clear your mind of the to do list.  Let your thoughts wander to a place of serenity and calm.  Let the Spirit intercede for you.

Psalm 134

¹Come, bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord, who stand by night in the house of the Lord!

²Lift up your hands to the holy place, and bless the Lord.

³May the Lord, maker of heaven and earth, bless you from Zion.

2 weeks from today is Easter!  It's time to really reflect on that relationship with God.  Where are the spots that need tweaking?  What are the things that need let go and let grace fill the hole?

It's Sunday!  It's a day to be with God.  Be still and Know God.

ARK DAY!

             Acts of Random Kindness.   Today is a day to do something kind for another person you DON’T live with.  Part of living out our faith is sharing it and one of the best ways to share faith is to be kind to another person.  How many ways can God use you today to be kind to other people?

March 23

“Every time you cross my mind, I break out in exclamations of thanks to God.  Each exclamation is a trigger to prayer.  I find myself praying for you with a glad heart.” 

Philippians 1:3 (Message)

God is not a vending machine.  The purpose of prayer is not to force God into giving us what we want, but to align ourselves with what God is doing within us and in the world.  When we talk with God, the idea is to grow, that we might be changed by knowing that God hears us and loves us.  Sometimes this is the hardest thing about prayer.  We long for an answer to our prayers, and wonder whether God is there or if God really cares for us.  And yet, the very impulse to cry out to God is itself a gift from God to us.  And as we make others more the focus of our prayers than we are ourselves, we discover our hearts and ears are more open to hear God’s answers.  May the words of the hymn be true in our life:

“What a friend we have in Jesus, who will all our sorrows share; What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer.”

¹³May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13

As I read this line of scripture it seemed almost like Paul paused mid-thought...breathed a sigh of faith...and wrote this line.  Just a simple line of truth.  This is what I pray for you!  This...the joy and peace in believing...is all I really want for you.