Big dreams?

With God’s power working in us, he can do much, much more than anything we can ask or think of. To him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus for all time, forever and ever. Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21)

Do you ask God for big things? Or do you play it safe and ask only for the things you are pretty confident he will provide? Don't be afraid to ask for the big things because we serve a BIG God who delights in revealing his love toward us. What we don't want to do is limit God in any way. We want to remain open to the 'power working in us' that will 'do much' if we allow him access, are obedient to what he asks, and trust him with our whole heart.

In my youth I was a big dreamer. In fact, I was a bit of a daydreamer growing up. I'd drift off into thought about things way bigger than I could achieve right then, finding myself carried away in a world of imagined plans. It wasn't until I began to realize God has dreams for me that were being limited by the dreams, I concocted in my own mind that I began to let God show me the 'much more' he had planned for me. His power within me was aching to be turned lose, but I was limiting his actions by the limitations of my dreams.

With God's power working in us - this doesn't say 'when' his power is working within us - it says 'with'. The way we read this is important because we already have his power resident within us, ready to work not only within us, but through us. If we read just a few verses prior to today's passage, we will see Paul reminding us that God's plan is for Christ to live in our hearts, for us to come to experience his love, and that we should be 'filled with everything he has for us'. When Christ is in the center of our lives, his power is working within us - no matter what!

What are the 'big things' God has prepared for you? Today is a great time to find out. You won't know until you begin to ask! He can do much - we just need to be available to him. Maybe it is time to ditch some of our 'daydreaming' and listen to hear the plans he has prepared for us well in advance of us ever knowing he would do such things in or through us. Just sayin!

More than an icon

Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us. (I John 4:11-12)

We all desire to 'see' God in some form, don't we? Since the beginning of time, mankind has tried to 'see' God, going to the extremes of making 'images' of him so they could have a 'thing' to look upon that reminded them of God. The 'images' didn't even come close to really represent the character, power, or majesty of God. The truth is that God is 'evident' in each of us - his love being brought to full expression in us through the power of the Holy Spirit within. We don't need 'images', we just need to observe how God manifests himself through those around us. 

God's grace has a unique expression in each of our lives. We are not the same - so what makes us think God's 'image' would be expressed the same way through each of us? We begin to understand the many-faceted love of God as we look upon the way his grace changes the lives of those around us. As uniquely as his grace comes through our lives in the form of transformation, we learn little aspects of God's character and power - his love in action within the lives of those who have said a resounding "YES" to Jesus. 

We don't need images - we just need Christ in us. We need each other - relishing the glimpses into his heart that each of us uniquely exemplifies. We don't need more religion - we need more relationship. We don't need more truth - we need to use the truth we have been given. As we focus more on that ONE relationship that matters above all others - Christ First - we begin to see evidence of his love in our lives. That evidence becomes the ONE THING that may actually draw another into relationship with him. There is more power in an example of love than there is any number of words, images, or 'icons' of love! Just sayin!

In this place

Abraham Lincoln had perhaps one of the most 'grounded' perspectives on how he was to live: "...my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side, for God is always right." To be 'on God's side' is maybe one of the most significant steps a man or woman can take in their lifetime. There are many who 'report' they are on his side - but when you examine their actions, the testimony of their words doesn't match the evidence of their life! The two always much match up. We debate more about if God is on our side, forgetting entirely that we need to place ourselves squarely on his side with each decision we make in life.

If God is for us, who can be against us? He that did not hesitate to spare his own Son but gave him up for us all—can we not trust such a God to give us, with him, everything else that we can need? (Romans 8:31-32)

When we are not clearly on his side, we are actually standing against him. Unfortunately, when we are standing against him, we are not on the 'right side' in life! Many times we seek what is right, find what is 'sort of right', and settle in there to live our days doing what is 'sort of right'. The problem is that there is no 'sort of right' in God's economy. There is either right or wrong. Some may ask about all the stuff we 'could do', but scripture doesn't say much about it, or anything at all. For example, scripture doesn't tell us to not smoke cigarettes, but it does tell us to take care of the 'temple' we are given (our bodies). So, even though scripture doesn't say 'thou shalt not smoke', it does tell us to be wise stewards of the body we are given. Right is never unclear - it is always in alignment with scripture because scripture is God's living and breathing testimony!

I daresay our country is riddled with a great many who 'fly the banner' of being a Christian - going to church on Sunday and having a Bible on their bookshelf. The words from their mouth even sound a little like 'Christian' words, but the evidence of their life choices tells us something quite different. As Lincoln said, God is clearly on our side - how is it we give 'evidence' that we are fully on his? Lincoln also reminds us, "I like to see a man proud of the place in which he lives. I like to see a man live so that his place will be proud of him." What does your 'place' say about you? Are you making life choices that God will view as things that make him proud, for God lives in 'this place'? Just askin!