There Is Nothing Too Big for God

In review of Ephesians 3:20 it says, “Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think”

Bottom Line:

God working within you, can do even more than you could ever think to ask or dream of.

What this means to me:

Now all glory should be given to him, who is able through his power at work within me, to do far more than I could ever dare to ask or even dream of.

Today's passage comes from a section in Ephesians Chapter 3 in which Paul is praying for our Spiritual Growth. Paul asks God from his glorious and unlimited resources to empower us with inner strength through his Spirit. He also asks that Christ make his home in our hearts as we trust in him. Our roots can grow down into God's love and keep us strong. Paul’s desire is for us to really experience and know how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is for us. It is through God's mighty power at work within us, that we are able to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think of.

So God is a competent Father. He can handle any problem I can give him. Nothing is beyond his ability or his resources. More importantly, no request is too big or too small.

Often I don’t think to bring small problems to God, I tend to only bring the big ones, thinking I don’t want to bother him with the small stuff.  However, in reality, is there any problem small or large that God would actually consider big?  It’s all small to him.

And what I have learned and experienced is that nothing is beyond his ability. He is a competent Father.

This is important to grasp.  It seems we have an epidemic in our nation of incompetent fathers. Most dads on TV are doofuses. There’s no “Father Knows Best.” Instead, we have “Family Guy” and Homer Simpson. Today’s dad is the butt of the joke, and everybody else is in on the joke except dad. Unfortunately that’s the kind of father that society is promoting today.

Nothing is impossible with God. My heavenly Father really can do anything. Ephesians 3:20 says, “Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think” (NLT).

It doesn’t matter how much I dream, God can still top it and dream bigger than me.  So yesterday’s impossibilities are today’s miracles. God specializes in the impossible! He is a competent Father.

God Is Always Close By, and He Understands Me

In review of Psalm 145:18 it says, "The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth."

Bottom Line:

God is close to all who call on him sincerely.

What this means to me:

God will drawn close to me when I call on him with sincerity and truth.

Even though God is in heaven, he is not as far away as the furthest star. What I’m learning is that  he’s as close as my next heartbeat. He’s right here present with me every moment. This verse in Acts 17:27 reminds me, “God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us” (NIV).

There are times when it feels like God is a million miles away. However my feelings and reality don’t always match. The truth is, God is with me right now.

Because he is a close Father:

1). God is never too busy for me. That’s how close he is. That’s the kind of love that he has for me. Psalm 145:18 says, “The Lord is near to all who call on him. . .” (NIV). Every time I call, God is near. He thinks about me a lot more than I think about him. He thought about me before I was even born. He thinks about me every moment of every day. I may get too busy for God, but he never gets too busy for me.

What I’m learning is that God loves to meet my needs. He doesn’t do it begrudgingly. He loves it! Matthew 7:11 says, “If you ... know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him” (NIV). I can enjoy the fact that God loves giving good gifts to me.

2). God is sympathetic to my hurts. When things get tough this week, I can count on this verse: “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit” (Psalm 34:18 NIV).

God is close to me, and he understands what I’m going through. I can always turn to him and know with assurance that he’s right there waiting for me.

As I reflect on this passage, I think I need to bring God to mind more often. Lately I’ve been spending time with God in my quiet times, but then setting him aside the rest of the day while I live my life and react to what’s going on.  I think I need to add some form of little reminders into my day to allow me to stop and reflect on the God of the Universe caring about and wanting a relationship with me.

Above Anything Else, I Can Count on God

In review of James 1:17 it says, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows”

Bottom Line:

Good and perfect things come from our heavenly Father above who is unchanging and never wavers in what he does.

What this means to me:

Everything good and perfect is a gift to me from my Father in heaven who is unchanging in what he does. He doesn’t waver.

Today's passage comes from the first chapter in the book of James.  In this section James is telling us how to have build faith and endurance. As a final point, he mentions that we should be careful to not be misled. Good and perfect gifts come down to us from our Father who created the heavens. He never wavers or causes doubt. He chose us and we became his prized possession.

So when I find that everything’s changing around me, it’s important to remember that God is a consistent Father. He will never let me down. He can be counted on. He is reliable. He is worthy of trust.

James reminds me in verse 1:17, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows” (NIV). God is an unchanging, consistent Father.

Human fathers can often be unpredictable and Inconsistent ones produce insecure children.

One great things is that God is not moody. My heavenly Father is consistent. One of the things I can count on is that God always acts the same toward me.

We know that the world is changing faster than ever before. Alvin Toffler wrote a book called “Future Shock,” in which he said that in times of rapid change, people need what he calls islands of stability. I guess when everything else is up in the air, we need something in our lives that never change; an anchor for our souls. We need an island of stability in order to handle the stress.

There’s only one problem: In this world, nothing lasts. There’s only one thing I can count on that is not ever going to change: the consistent, caring love of my heavenly Father.

Psalm 59:10a reminds me, “My God is changeless in his love for me” (TLB).  And in this I can count on.

Remembering that God Is Aware, and That He Cares

In review of Psalm 103:13 it says, “As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him”

Bottom Line:

As a father is kind to his children, so is the Lord to those who take him seriously.

What this means to me:

God has even more compassion on me than my early father, God considers me his child. As such he shows me compassion because I take him and what he says seriously.

Today's passage comes from Psalm 103 where David reflects on God's character and nature. David has many great things to praise God for. He reflects on how much God cares for us. Because of this God is worthy of all of our praise.

As this passage explains, God is a caring, loving, compassionate father. He loves me more than I can ever understand. He loves me more than I can ever comprehend. God is love, and he made me to love me. He is loving toward me in everything that he does, and his compassion is his most outstanding quality. God is a caring father.

This passage in Psalm 103:13 tells me, “As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him” (NIV). This means He cares about everything in my life, compassionately.

Most of the disciples were professional fishermen. One day when they were out fishing, Jesus got tired and curled up in one end of the boat and went to sleep. When a storm came up, it shouldn’t have bothered the disciples. As fishermen, they were used to storms. But this must have been a big one, because they got really scared. The ship was rocking and rolling, and water was coming into the boat. They were frantic and woke up Jesus to ask him one of the most important questions in life: “Lord, don’t you care?”

This is a common question that comes to mind for me.  Often I look at my state of affairs, my problems, my concerns and think, “don’t you care?”  What David reminds me of in this passage is that the answer is yes, God cares. In fact, he cares more than I care. He wants to help more than I want help. He knows what will help me more than I know what will help me. He is aware, and he cares.

When things out of my control pop up around me, I need to remember what Peter wrote, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7 NIV).

When I know and feel how much your heavenly Father constantly and compassionately cares, it’s much easier for me to love him back. Whenever I feel like God is a million miles away, it’s probably because I have forgotten the kind of caring Father he really is. Remembering this is the first step to inner peace.

As I reflect on my life over the last few weeks I’ve had some really trying and problem times at work. Enough so, it makes me wonder if it’s time to move on from this job.  I think I’ve been trying to handle all of those issue on my own strength. I don’t think I’ve invited God into these situations to help me and I’ve certainly not thought to “cast all my anxieties on him.”

Today’s passage is a great reminder of not only how God loves me so dearly, but is always available to help me.  I just need to make sure I don’t compartmentalize my life. Jesus should be at the core of everything I do, not just my outside of work life.

Learning to Know God As Father

In review of Matthew 6:9 it says, “This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name’”

Bottom Line:

Pray like this: Father in heaven, may your name be honored always.

What this means to me:

Above all else God should be set apart and kept honored, therefore, this is how I should pray: Father in Heaven, help guide me so that I can honor you in all I do.

Today's passage comes from the first part of Matthew chapter 6 where Jesus is teaching his disciples about prayer. First he recommends that we don't pray just for show, but rather we pray in private. Also we are not to babble on with many words repeated over and over again. We are to pray like this:

Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy,

May your Kingdom come soon,

May your will be done here on earth, as it is in heaven.

Provide what we need today,

forgive our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.

And don't let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one.

In the Old Testament, God is called “Father” only seven times. People just didn’t think of God as Father. They thought of him as other kinds of things; Creator, Almighty One, etc. But they didn’t think of God as Father. Then Jesus came along and said this is how you’re to pray: Call him Father. Jesus uses the expression more than 150 times to refer to God.

What Jesus does is eliminate the prior stereotypes. Jesus reveals to us that God is not the angry tyrant, the cosmic cop, the universal killjoy, or the impersonal force. Rather God is a personal God. He wants to have a relationship with me, and he created me with the ability to have a relationship with him.

There’s only one problem. For many people, the word “father” can be a negative term that may bring up all kinds of bad memories. If God is like my father, then no thanks.”

The truth is, some human fathers can make home a hell on Earth. Human fathers can be fickle, moody, abusive, controlling, and violent. So the words “our Father in Heaven” carry a lot baggage for some people.

The reason why many people never connect with God is because they unconsciously think God is like their earthly father, who may have been unreasonable, so they think God is unreasonable. Or, maybe their father was unreliable, so they think God is unreliable. There is a tendency to impose all those mixed-up hurts and emotions onto God, and it’s no wonder many have a hard time connecting with him.

Also, unfortunately many kids today have very little connection to their father. So why would they be expected to have a connection with their heavenly Father? It’s no wonder many don’t understand God!

I need to let go any of the misconceptions and myths I may have about God so that I can understand the truth of what God the Father is really like. Because the truth will set you free! Misconceptions will keep me disconnected from God. But when I really know him, it will be easier to love him, so I will continue to have conversations with God each day and to study his Word so that I can more deeply understand who he really is.

To Bear Fruit, I need to Be and Stay Connected

In review of John 15:4 it says, “Live in me, and I will live in you. A branch cannot produce any fruit by itself. It has to stay attached to the vine. In the same way, you cannot produce fruit unless you live in me”

Bottom Line:

A branch cannot produce anything if it is disconnected from the trunk.

What this means to me:

If I live in Him and will live in me. A branch cannot bear fruit if it is severed or disconnected from the vine. In the same manner, I’m not able to produce fruit if I’m not living in Him.

Today's passage comes from the first part of John chapter 15 where John explains how Jesus is the true vine. Jesus is the source, the true grapevine and God is the gardener. God will cut off any branch that isn't productive and producing fruit, likewise he will prune branches that do bear fruit so that they will be even more productive. We are to remain in Jesus, if we do, he will remain in us. Apart from him, we can not do anything fruitful for the kingdom.

Right before Jesus went to the cross, he gave us his last minute instructions: “Live in me, and I will live in you. A branch cannot produce any fruit by itself. It has to stay attached to the vine. In the same way, you cannot produce fruit unless you live in me” (John 15:4 GW).

Being spiritually connected to Jesus is like being attached to a vine. I won’t have any fruitfulness or productivity in life if I’m out there on your own. I need to stay connected.

In plants, a disconnected branch can’t bear fruit. I was reminded of this a few weeks ago, when a large branch fell off of a tree in my neighbor's yard and landed in mine.  It was amazing to notice over the days/weeks that followed (as I worked on ways to break this down to smaller pieces to dispose of), how quickly the leaves died.  Now this was a really large branch of the tree, however without being connected to the trunk it withered quickly.

Jesus is telling us this that this same thing is true for us. When we don’t have the support, we not only start to whither and die, but we also don’t have any productivity in life if we’re not spiritually connected.

Other passages in scripture help explain what kind of fruit I can produce when I’m connected to the Christ and his Body. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control” (Galatians 5:22-23a NIV).

I know I’d like to be more loving. I’d like to be more joyful. I’d like to be more at peace, no matter what happens to the economy. I’d like to be more kind to people who are mean to me. I’d like to be a good person. I want to be faithful, not unfaithful. I want to keep my promises. I’d like to be gentle with people who are not very gentle. And I’d like to have more self-control.

Having and experiencing this is called the fruit of the Spirit, and it’s the evidence that I am spiritually connected. If I’m not seeing evidence of myself growing in all these things, then I’m likely to not be spiritually connected.

Today’s passage emphasizes that is so important that we won’t have any fruitfulness or any productivity if we area out there on my own. I’ve got to be connected to the Christ and his Body (fellowship with other believers.)

When it comes to my own life, I do try to stay connected by being part of a regular group and having daily quiet times.  However, its really easy for me to be part of and do things, but also easy for me to forget and go my own way.  As I look at the fruits of the Spirit, I can see many of these traits being part of who I am, but I can still use help. I have noticed a difference in how these things more easily slip away when I’m not staying connected.  I just need to make sure I continue to make time with him and others a priority.

Be Selective In Memory: Focus on the Good Times

In review of Philippians 1:5 it says, “I thank God for the help you gave me while I preached the Good News—help you gave from the first day you believed until now”

Bottom Line:

Thank God for the help that is provided

What this means to me:

I should remember thank God for those who help me in spreading the good news. They have been faithful from the day they first heard this until now.

One thing that is true for me is in developing an attitude of gratitude, as it does not come naturally. It seems my default nature is to be discontented. Always wanting more or something different.

In the book of Philippians, I see Paul writing to the church that he started in Philippi, where a woman named Lydia opened up her home and, along with others, and welcomed Paul to the city. The Philippian church even helped fund Paul’s missionary journeys. In Philippians 1:5a, Paul says, “I thank God for the help you gave me” (NCV).

Interestingly enough, Paul didn’t have a good time in Philippi. In fact, it was one of his toughest churches to get started. When Paul went to this city to start a church, he was beaten, whipped, humiliated, falsely arrested, thrown into prison, and survived an earthquake. Then, he was politely asked by the city leaders to leave town.

Yet Paul told the believers, “Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God” (Philippians 1:3 NLT).

Amidst all of this Paul is choosing selective memory. Philippi was not a happy place for Paul, and he endured a lot of persecution and suffering during his time in that city. But he chose not to dwell on painful memories and instead expressed his gratitude for the good things that God had done.

The longer we know someone, the more likely we are to take that person for granted and to look for faults and remember the bad things instead of the good things.

I should consider today if I am still reliving painful memories with some people in my life? Perhaps, I’ve never let them off the hook. If so, I won’t be able to enjoy the relationship because I’m still holding on to the past.

My memories are a choice. If I want to hold onto painful memories, I can. But in doing so, I’m not going to be happy! Paul had a lot of reasons to have painful memories of Philippi. Instead, he made the choice to be grateful for the people in his life and the work God was doing in and through them. As I do the same, I’m certain that God will bless my relationships.