A DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT by Pastor Phil
In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul puts into prayer his heart, his greatest desires, the things that keep him going. It’s a prayer that captivates me because it not only expresses my desires for myself, it also expresses the reason why I do what I do, why I am a pastor, why I preach and teach and write. It captures my heart.
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 Lord’s holy people,
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 fullness of God.
Ephesians 3:16-19
That’s my heart—that I, and you, and as many others as possible be filled to all the fullness of God. My head spins at the thought of being filled to the fullness of God. I cannot comprehend all of what that means. I have contemplated that one powerful phrase for years and I pray for it daily.
I want to be filled with the fullness of God. I want to be captivated by God and all of God’s glory. I want to see the world as God sees it, see others as God sees them, desire as God desires, and respond as God does. I want to be so full of God’s fullness that there is no place left for selfishness, no place for temptation to stick. So full, that people see Christ in me and experience Christ through me.
I want that for you as well.
I want you to have more than just knowledge about God. I want you to be strengthened with power by the Spirit in your inner being. I want you to intimately know God’s love that surpasses comprehension.
I want you to be so rooted in your experience of God that though the storms of life may shake you, they won’t topple you.
I want your relationship with God to be so deeply embedded in your heart, that even if your mental faculties start to slip your relationship with God will still be vibrant.
I want you to be so established in God that even when you can’t physically be with others, you are still able to nourish your faith.
I want you to be filled to all the fullness of God!
So, I spend my days thinking about what we as a church and staff can do to nourish and strengthen you as you continue to become Christ-like and filled to all the fullness of God. Towards that goal, we offer exercises that are biblical, time-tested and allow the Holy Spirit to continue God’s work of filling you to all His fullness. You will find these exercises readily available on our church website. CLICK HERE.
The foundation of all spiritual formation is immersion in God’s Word. The Bible is God’s “living” word (see Heb. 4:12). God uses it to form us (see 2 Tim. 3:16-17). You need to be in God’s word daily. Not just reading it, but soaking it in, letting it challenge you, asking what God is saying to you and how God wants you to apply it today.
However, daily Bible reading can become routine and boring. So, at our first staff meeting of the year ...
Pastor Scott challenged us to change up our routines and find a daily devotional that will challenge us to think and inspire us to act.
You are invited to join us!
Here are the devotional books some of us have chosen for ourselves. I recommend them to you, or you may want to use a different daily devotional book.
Live in Grace, Walk in Love by Bob Goff - Pastor Scott
Hearing God Through the Year by Dallas Willard – Pastor Phil
Unshakable by Christine Caine – Lois Coady
Morning and Evening by Charles Spurgeon – Brandon Young
Other Recommendations:
Jesus Calling by Sarah Young
You are the Beloved by Henri Nouwen
A Year with CS Lewis
My Daily Pursuit by AW Tozer
My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers
Find a good daily devotional then use it as a tool to immerse yourself in God’s word and allow God to fill you to all His fullness.
We plan to share gems of insight we gain from our daily devotions with each other. I invite you to share your discoveries with us as well by emailing them to us at 1730pgccoffice@gmail.com.
