(no subject)
Colossians 2:9, 10
For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority.
Hello friends,
I hope things are going well for you- winter continues to move on here, but since I spoke about winter last time there’s no need for me to dwell on it once more!
One of the things that has been brought up for me recently on a few occasions, is the notion of living in God’s fullness. The term is kind of an unusual one, isn’t it? Really, what does that even mean, to live in the fullness God has given us? From what I’ve been able to gather, it means living fully in the freedom we have in Christ. I reflect on this because I have to wonder if most of us are in some fashion afraid of this freedom. There are times when I feel hesitant to ask God for something because I wonder, in the back of my mind, if I really should even want it in the first place or if it’s out of place to ask for it. But I think that God wants us to ask boldly for things… not in a demanding sort of way, but in a way that understands that if it’s not something within His will it won’t come together and if it is then it’s God who gets the glory for it.
Similarly, I think some of us are hesitant to do things for God because others - perhaps especially our brothers and sisters - might find it unorthodox. I have to wonder if this is when the boundaries we have from God get expanded on and become broader than they need to be. There are certainly times when God asks us to do things that are out of the ordinary that can have significant impact in the lives of others for God’s glory.
A dear friend of mine is a good example for this. Through a long process of discernment and prayer, she’s moved out to California to help a family minister to ex-porn stars and help others get out of pornography and find Christ. What a tremendous undertaking, to bring light into a very dark place that others (and with some reason) are hesitant to go into. Or they might even say it’s a lost cause and this friend should protect herself by avoiding it - something even I would have said to someone several years ago. But this is her calling, and fears shouldn’t stop anyone from pursuing what God is calling them to do. Discernment, understanding the Gospel, and prayer, however, are essential.
So whether we’re asking God for our hearts’ desires or being called to do something a little outside of the box or even enjoying, there is so much more to following God than maybe a lot of us allow ourselves. Through discernment, reading & understanding Scripture, and - of course! - lots of prayer I would hope that we all would learn how to grow more into the “fullness” God calls us to.
Ephesians 3:16-20
I pray that out of his glorious riches God 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 the saints, 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. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
In Him and in love, Your sister,
Yvonne
For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority.
Hello friends,
I hope things are going well for you- winter continues to move on here, but since I spoke about winter last time there’s no need for me to dwell on it once more!
One of the things that has been brought up for me recently on a few occasions, is the notion of living in God’s fullness. The term is kind of an unusual one, isn’t it? Really, what does that even mean, to live in the fullness God has given us? From what I’ve been able to gather, it means living fully in the freedom we have in Christ. I reflect on this because I have to wonder if most of us are in some fashion afraid of this freedom. There are times when I feel hesitant to ask God for something because I wonder, in the back of my mind, if I really should even want it in the first place or if it’s out of place to ask for it. But I think that God wants us to ask boldly for things… not in a demanding sort of way, but in a way that understands that if it’s not something within His will it won’t come together and if it is then it’s God who gets the glory for it.
Similarly, I think some of us are hesitant to do things for God because others - perhaps especially our brothers and sisters - might find it unorthodox. I have to wonder if this is when the boundaries we have from God get expanded on and become broader than they need to be. There are certainly times when God asks us to do things that are out of the ordinary that can have significant impact in the lives of others for God’s glory.
A dear friend of mine is a good example for this. Through a long process of discernment and prayer, she’s moved out to California to help a family minister to ex-porn stars and help others get out of pornography and find Christ. What a tremendous undertaking, to bring light into a very dark place that others (and with some reason) are hesitant to go into. Or they might even say it’s a lost cause and this friend should protect herself by avoiding it - something even I would have said to someone several years ago. But this is her calling, and fears shouldn’t stop anyone from pursuing what God is calling them to do. Discernment, understanding the Gospel, and prayer, however, are essential.
So whether we’re asking God for our hearts’ desires or being called to do something a little outside of the box or even enjoying, there is so much more to following God than maybe a lot of us allow ourselves. Through discernment, reading & understanding Scripture, and - of course! - lots of prayer I would hope that we all would learn how to grow more into the “fullness” God calls us to.
Ephesians 3:16-20
I pray that out of his glorious riches God 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 the saints, 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. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
In Him and in love, Your sister,
Yvonne